#texts from the delta quadrant | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

worldcatlas · 1 year

Text

DS9: Emissary (Part 1)

After an oddly Star Wars-esque text crawl, we meet Benjamin Sisko in a flashback to his time on the USS Saratoga, during the battle of Wolf 359. The ship is captained by a Vulcan named Storil, played by J.G. Hertzler, who would later come back to play the Klingon General Martok. Both are wearing TNG-style uniforms, and both are having a very bad day.

One of these characters is about to gain a tragic backstory, and it’s probably not the one we’ll never see again.

Oof. Thankfully, the plot fast forwards three years, and we see Sisko’s son Jake holo-fishing in some cute space overalls. The shirt appears to have an interesting texture, and the slightly darker fabric on the shoulders is a nice touch, with the double piping at the seams giving it just a hint of “space suit”.

You can eat whatever you catch, but it might leave you feeling a little… hollow.

Interestingly, this outfit would later find its way to the Delta quadrant, as we often see it worn by Rebi, one of the Borg twins in season 6 of Voyager.

Look, we all just want to be Super Mario in our hearts.

Next, it’s time to meet an old friend in a new uniform: it’s the universe’s favourite punching bag, Miles O’Brien! In contrast to the old uniforms, which displayed rank pips on a stiff collar, the new ones have a soft grey turtleneck under the jacket. As well, where the old uniforms had black shoulders and a coloured body and sleeves, the new ones are only coloured on top.

It saves on coloured ink in the replicator.

A tour of the dilapidated station wouldn’t be complete, of course, without a spooky Bajoran monk making ominous invitations, and Sisko is in luck! I love this look; the cowl and long sleeves convey religious modesty, while the asymmetry, exotic fabrics, and metallic accents give it a distinctly alien flair. Given the importance of Bajor to the plot of Deep Space Nine, it’s not surprising they’ve given this much care and attention to the Bajorans’ costume designs, but it’s still nice to see this level of detail on a one-off character.

He may be a harbinger of your cursed destiny, but he’s got his aesthetic locked down.

Speaking of Bajorans, we soon meet a very angry Major Kira in the uniform of the Bajoran militia. We’ll see different earth-toned variations around the station, but Kira’s is a rusty orange colour, made with heavy corduroy and quilted fabric on the sleeves. It’s a nice contrast to the primary colours Starfleet brings to the table, while still using rank pips and a communicator on the chest.

What, do you want me to do a twirl?

Elsewhere on the station, some last-minute looters are causing trouble, and we get a quick look at Ferengi fashion. Nog wears a typical Ferengi headpiece with shimmering sequins, and Quark adorns himself in heavy, patterned fabrics.

Rule of Acquisition #47: Don't trust a man wearing a better suit than your own.

Even better is Nog’s partner in (literal) crime, an unnamed alien in an impressively monochrome outfit. The alien wears baggy pants and a cowl similar to the Bajorans’, but also carries a spiked flail on his belt. He also wears a leather-looking vest with a strange bar across the front, and heavy bracers and boots, all in varying shades of brown.

It probably works great as camouflage… outside of a space station.

The two are busted, however, when security chief Odo shows up to out-brown them all.

Don’t make me go all the way to beige.

On board the docked Enterprise, Sisko has a very tense meeting with Picard, who asks him if they’ve met – before realizing they have, kinda, when Jean-Luc sort of uh… murdered Ben’s wife in his Borg phase. Oops.

Haha awkwarddd

The final straw was Sisko’s realization that they’d worn the same outfit, so he returns to the station to change into something else.

New year, new you(niform).

He gets a fit check from his new pal Odo, who wears a slightly different uniform in this scene than the one we saw on the promenade. This version is yellower, which doesn’t do any favours for his complexion, especially since the makeup also seems to be, uh, droopier.

You good, Odo? Need some bucket time?

Of course, a good captain always gets the opinion of his second in command, so he goes to see Kira as well, who is hard at work cleaning up the mess left behind by the Cardassians. It’s sweaty work, so she has removed her uniform jacket, revealing a very lovely sleeveless blouse underneath.

Redefining high-waisted pants for the 24th century.

In a helpful bit of exposition, she explains to Sisko how the Bajoran religion is the only thing holding her people together, and we get a glimpse of her earring – an important symbol of her faith.

However, their heartfelt conversation is cut short when the ominous monk from earlier returns to tell Sisko, simply, “It’s time.” He’s too Starfleet-polite to say no, or “who the heck even are you,” so we find ourselves whisked away to a temple.

Welcome! Get comfortable. It won’t last long.

The monks here, too, do amazing things with robes, using the same layering as before in various colours and textures. We meet Kai Opaka, an important religious leader, who insists on showing Ben a magic box. Suddenly, we’re transported to a beach, and our stoic commander is wearing some extremely purple beachwear.

I need to stop saying “yes” to everyone.Once the shock wears off, Sisko realizes his dead wife Jennifer is here too, in a killer teal and gold bikini! This would be great, except she doesn’t know who he is, so he just kind of weirds her out a little.

Excuse me, you’re blocking the radiation.

Sisko is nothing if not determined, however, and as he pursues Jennifer down the beach, we get to see some interesting swimwear in the background, too. I dig the pattern on the left suit, and the guy on the right is a great example of the old Trek standby of “colour blocking = futuristic”.

My man looking like an early aughts DVD menu.

Just as Ben’s about to win Jennifer over with aubergine stew, we’re thrown back to the present. Fortunately, it’s a present where we have Dabo girls in metallic latex dresses.

We’re all winners at the Dabo table.

Not fashion related, but I’m 99% sure this alien is playing his instrument with two cucumbers.

…?!

Anyway.

Gul Dukat comes aboard the station to spread smugness, wearing armour consistent with the Cardassians’ last appearance on TNG, though considerably updated from their first appearance (pictured: TNG season 4 “The Wounded”).

Is it just me, or do all Cardassians look alike?

Don’t expect to get any great fashion inspo from these guys, though, as they never leave the house without their pointy black security blankets.

Seriously, these guys have one look.

Lastly, we get a good – if all too brief – look at the outfit worn by Morn, the chatty barfly often seen in Quark’s. He’s wearing what appear to be studded leather gauntlets, to match the sleeves/pauldrons(?) on his top, which is obviously just stretched tight over his rippling muscles.

Some folks are just built different.

0 notes

elephant-in-the-pride-parade · 2 years

Note

💌 🤍 🎀

🎀 Give yourself a compliment about your own writing!

I have gotten really good at organizing and finishing long fics. Especially after all the mistakes I learned from finishing 300,000 words of Sailor Moon H, Half Blood Prince, I think now I've really hit my stride plotting longer fics out so that they stay within a manageable length. I've gotten much more confident starting them out and knowing what it takes for me to finish one even if the writing process takes a long time.

🤍 What's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

Not a whole fic, but part of the plot of one...

In The Parent Trap I had done a lot of work re-tooling the antagonist. The movies had a stereotypical female gold digger charicature for the father's fianceé and I knew from the start that I didn't want to cast Seven in that roll. I also wasn't particularly enthused about what it would imply for KJ's judgement if I assigned her a male fianceé who had such enmity for her child.

The compromise was to give the antagonist role to a newer boyfriend "Nick", who would have a more complex ulterior motive than just coveting the status of being an Admiral's husband. The time traveling canon villain Braxton was a good fit.

I tried to drop hints about his secret identity into the text, but I don't think I was able to do so effectively. It's something that bothered me through the back half of the writing/posting process. I was never sure if the foreshadowing wasn't strong enough or if people were simply enjoying him as a two dimensional romantic antagonist and were skimming those details. It was a challenge to drop enough hints to make the audience and the child character suspicious without also making KJ seem to have dreadfully poor romantic judgement. I think if I have the opportunity in the future I'd try to rework the Nick / Braxton content to try to strike a better balance so that the reveal of his identity wasnt as much of a shock.

💌 Share something with us about an up-and-coming WIP that has you excited!

I'm working on "The Universe to Bend," a Voyager Novel Era story that brings back the Kremin Imperium and Omega Continuum as related threats and pits the exiled, bitter Denzit Janeway and a grieving, outcast Q against them. I've wanted to do something with Denzit for a while. (I always hated that they just dumped her on Sormana and were like "She gets to be a single mom now, she wont mind giving up her old space explorer dreams for that"). Q also gave me the chance to resurrect the Protostar and Hologram Janeway for the adventure, and to see how the Maquis crew from Denzit's original universe is faring without her Voyager. The last one has been really really exciting! I have gotten to explore a Chakotay would have to make it through the Delta Quadrant with his Maquis raider without ever meeting his universe's Janeway!

#writing asks #elephantwrites #thank you anon!#sailor moon fanfiction #star trek voyager fanfiction #beyerverse #beyerverse fanfiction #kathryn janeway x Q #kathryn janeway/Q #denzit janeway #denzit/q

1 note · View note

textsfromthedeltaquadrant · 7 years

Photo

#star trek #voyager #texts from the delta quadrant #tfln #tom paris #emh #emergency medical hologram

209 notes · View notes

trektexting · 3 years

Text

#star trek #voyager #kathryn janeway #captain janeway #seven of nine #texts from trek #y'all know Janeway was thriving in the Delta Quadrant

44 notes · View notes

cnrothtrek · 7 years

Text

Mitochondria is the Powerhouse of the Cell

A double drabble based on this post from @textsfromthedeltaquadrant

So, he’s a sleep talker, Captain Kathryn Janeway texts to her security chief and oldest friend, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, while they work on the bridge the next morning.

At the tactical station, he regards her message with a single, raised eyebrow. Usually, the human proclivity for gossip did little more than to irritate him. In all the years he had spent serving under Kathryn Janeway’s command, however, he had never known her to stoop so low. So, he responds. Is that so?

It doesn’t take her long to type out her explanation. “Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.” Right in my ear. 0200.

Tuvok shows none of his amusement, but he certainly appreciates the humor. Curious, he types back. The commander has no involvement whatsoever in the science or medical divisions. What prompted this unconscious observation?

He hears her snort lightly as she reads his message. Beats me.

Perhaps you are, as humans say, “rubbing off on him.”

No more than three seconds after he has sent the text, Janeway stands abruptly and announces that she is retiring to her ready room. She pivots on the spot to face Tuvok. “You have the bridge, Commander. I need some coffee.”

#wordsofjc #texts from the delta quadrant #vulcan sass #st voy #star trek

8 notes · View notes

shesquaredpodcast · 3 years

Text

As I’m rewatching however, it is even more blatant that Janeway and Seven were supposed to be a couple. In the span of two episodes which I ADORE (4.14 and 4.15) when they receive the transmission from Starfleet after Seven sees she can get a message to the Alpha quadrant using the Dr - all of it is laid out.

When Starfleet sends the message “You’re no longer alone” and the camera focuses in on Janeway - it’s really showing that she is absolutely who is carrying this on her shoulders. All of it. The strain, the worry, the unknown of if she’ll ever get these people home. She’s doing her job and suddenly- they’re not alone anymore. It was a beautiful moment.

But let’s go further. Exploring in the Delta quadrant seemed nonsensical to Seven specifically and she said so to Janeway.

“Keep on course to the Alpha Quadrant and stop being delayed” and you’ll be more likely to be successful and Janeway told her it was their way to explore, but truthfully doing so was the only thing - the only stability they knew.

Basically - If they focus on being lost that’s all they’ll ever be. But if they are exploring and cataloging and making first contact then they still have a semblance of normalcy.

Janeway can’t allow herself to accept that they are doing anything other than that; that they are anything but on a deep space mission because otherwise … she can’t accept the despair.

Janeway NEEDED VOYAGER to be a ship of exploration just as much as the crew did because otherwise it was all about them probably not making it home all the time. How far away they were would be the primary focus not secondary or tertiary. It’d be all they focused on.

Seven’s primary drive and singular goal in 4.14 and 4.15 is getting back to the Alpha quadrant. It’s it. That’s all she’s focused on. B’Elanna calls her a bitch basically, scoffs that she’s now “giving orders” when she excitedly demands Janeway and Chakotay come to Astrometrics, and she’s called blatantly rude and all kinds of things by B’elanna but she refused to leave her post.

She flat out refused to leave her post in Astrometrics. She did it not because she had someone in the Alpha quadrant to get back to - she refused to leave her post (4.14) and missed appts in sickbay because she was clearing up messages from the relay from Starfleet command (15) NOT because she cared about it herself. But because Janeway did. She didn’t sleep in days. 58 hrs. She did that because she cared about someone - someone who needed someone to care about her.

She retrieved 6 words in 58 hrs.

58 hours straight.

And she got excited when she got the 6th word. When the doctor snarkily questioned the logic of that excitement, she angrily replied, “This message is important to the Captain.”

As if that is all the explanation needed. Because it WAS.

And when Janeway comes into Astrometrtics right after and Seven tells her what the messages may be containing, she demonstrates a moment of trust and says, “Well I might just hope that it contains a plan for bringing us back to the Alpha quadrant.”

This kind of hope was the very thing Janeway had just chastised her closest people for daydreaming about and then she proceeded to immediately state what she was holding hope for. She immediately let her guard down and spoken openly about her own desires and hopes.

To Seven.

Seven fought tooth and nail to get 6 words of text in 58 hrs - not sleeping a wink to do so because it was “important to the Captain”. Let that sink in.

Now we know why Seven was so persistent.

LITERALLY in the same episode, when Seven volunteers to go forth and try to retrieve messages from Starfleet and people’s families because they have to get closer to the relay, Janeway sends tuvok with her. This causes Seven to believe that Janeway may be distrustful of her still, and after everything she’s been doing to show she cares, she can’t take it.

She straight up asks Tuvok if Janeway doesn’t trust her once she establishes he won’t lie to her.

His response is the ONLY thing that gives her comfort.

WHY?!

Tuvok wants to know that exact thing and asks her why Janeway’s opinion is so important to her and she gives him a bs reason about the Captain’s opinion being important to everyone, right? He merely looks skeptical.

Remember that TUVOK IS TELEPATHIC. He knows these feelings already. This is now the second time he has commented to Seven that she is expressing affection and trust and distress over the Captain.

And once again they parallel Tom and B’Elanna and Seven and Janeway.

Seven and B’Elanna, who both have NO ONE back home to be working furiously towards getting a letter from, literally work tirelessly to download the messages and Tom and Janeway both get messages they don’t want. It’s blatant.

Want more? Tom and Janeway both confide in B’Elanna and Seven in Astrometrics about their feelings. Now RIGHT after that Janeway tells the truth of her letter to Chakotay - not sharing her hopes, only her truth and disappointment. That’s ALSO exactly what Tom does, too.

And since Janeway and Chakotay were 100% built to be confidants and intimate with each other - what can we infer when the only other person Janeway does that with is Seven?

Finally, Janeway straight up says in ep 15 that she was using Mark as a safety net to avoid becoming involved with someone else. She flat out says that to Chakotay.

Someone who maybe was showing her devotion and concern by pushing her own self to the very limits?

Just like Janeway?

This is when Janeway/Seven began.

#j7 #n lance rewatches voyager #janeway x seven of nine #seven x janeway #janeway x seven #janeway/seven #janeway/seven thoughts

67 notes · View notes

reduxulousoctopus · 2 years

Text

[text reads "Introducing: Kid Lantern!"]

Part One - Part Two - Part Three

Part Four

Binary suns crest over the distant curve of the planet Radioworld, casting a brilliant corona over the landscape of fantastic alien machinery. The light also reveals a waiting fleet of ships belonging to the infamous Kahless-Tor Armada, a band of space pirates feared across every star system in the Delta Quadrant.

As soon as this hoard of dangerous thieves and cut-throats appeared in their region of space, the people of Radioworld sent out a desperate call for help. Now Wally West is here to answer that call.

“Beee careful Wah-leee,” a high, buzzing voice pleads over his radio. “The Kahless-Tor have weapons that can deeeeestroy a whole Phalendron Battle Cruiser in one shot!”

“Thanks for the warning, Krakkl, but don’t worry about me,” Wally replies. He holds up his fist, brandishing his Green Lantern ring. “I’ve got the most powerful weapon in the universe.”

He fires a beam of green energy at the largest ship, a hulking behemoth of jagged brown and gray metal. The energy beam coalesces into a gigantic power drill, which begins tearing into the ship’s armored hull as easily as a hot knife through butter.

Suddenly, Wally’s lungs start to burn and ache. It feels like they’re shriveling up inside his chest.

“Wah-leee! The pirates are draining your oxygen! You neeeeeed to find another source beeeefore it’s too late!”

Wally lifts his head above the surface of the water and takes several gasping breaths. He pushes his goggles up onto his forehead and swims in a circle until he finds Aunt Iris exactly where he last saw her: reclined on a plastic deck chair, typing rapidly on her laptop. Even though she’s wearing her swimsuit, she hasn’t so much as dipped a toe in the hotel pool since they got here.

“Aunt I-riss! Are you done yet?” Wally asks.

“Almost, sweetie,” Iris says without looking up from her computer.

“You already said that three times,” Wally whines. “It’s gonna be dark soon.”

“I know, Wally, I just need to finish my article about Miss Ferris so I can completely focus on the bank robbery story tomorrow,” Iris says. “If you’re bored, why don’t you play with the other kids?”

Wally looks flatly at the only other people in the pool, a group of senior citizens who complain whenever he splashes too much. The only other person his own age he’s seen since they got to the pool was a girl who, when he asked if she wanted to play Green Lantern, called him weird and then ignored him until she and her parents went back to their hotel room.

With a heavy sigh, Wally lets himself tip backwards until he’s floating on the surface of the water, staring forlornly up into the empty sky. He doesn’t know why, but he’s always had trouble making friends. Well, no, that’s not true. He actually makes friends very easily. It’s keeping them that’s the problem. Most of the other kids back in Blue Valley think he’s either funny or annoying, and their opinion of him can switch from one to the other multiple times a day. His teachers call him a class clown. Bullies call him a spastic nerd.

It hurts to think about, but Wally’s under no illusion that Hal Jordan—as cool and nice and friendly as he was today—will be his friend for very long. Wally will pester Hal with instant messages for a few days. Then Wally will get distracted, and Hal will be privately relieved that Wally isn’t constantly bothering him anymore, and by the time Wally remembers, enough time will have passed that it would be too awkward to pick up where they left off.

People drift in and out of Wally’s life, friends come and go, and he’ll feel sad about it for a few minutes before forgetting all about it and moving onto the next thing that catches his attention. Wally has never really felt close to anyone.

The only exception is his Aunt Iris. His best friend. She’s in his earliest memories. When he was little, he even used to call her ‘mommy’—and oh boy, did that make his real mother angry. Secretly, Wally still wishes Aunt Iris was his real mom. When his parents agreed to let him stay with Aunt Iris for the whole summer, Wally was on cloud nine. He’d get to have three entire months away from his parents with his favorite person in the whole world.

Then he met Aunt Iris’s fiance Barry Allen, and Wally’s whole world fell apart.

In fairness, Barry himself isn’t really the problem. He’s… fine. Back when he was just a boyfriend, Wally hadn’t spared him a second’s thought. Boyfriends are temporary things that catch Aunt Iris’s attention for a while but never keep it for long. But now he’s a fiancé and prospective uncle, meaning Wally suddenly needs to spend much more time thinking about him than someone so boring would otherwise deserve.

And Barry Allen is very boring. If there were a competition for the Most Boring Man Alive, Barry would win second place because winning first place might accidentally make him too interesting. He’s slow and deliberate in everything he does, which is probably why he’s never been on time for anything. He doesn’t own a TV, but does owns a collection of patterned bow-ties with matching socks—which he does, in fact, wear in public, despite being a grown man who should probably know better. In fact, in Wally’s estimation, the only way someone could be that boring is if they were deliberately putting on an act. Wally is just waiting for the day Barry lets the mask slip and reveals that he’s an ax murderer or an assassin for hire. He’s a ‘forensic scientist,’ which in Wally’s mind just means that Barry knows how to hide a body.

But no, Barry himself isn’t really the problem. He’s dependable and steady, he doesn’t drink or cheat, he never hits Aunt Iris or yells at her, and he rightfully worships the ground she walks on. If he makes Aunt Iris happy, Wally is willing to grant his approval.

The problem is Barry’s son, Roy. After Aunt Iris and Barry get married, Roy will be her son, too. Wally’s mother has warned him about this eventuality often enough: “Someday Aunt Iris is going to have kids of her own, you know, and then she won’t want you around anymore. Maybe then you’ll finally learn to appreciate your own mother.”

Wally just thought he’d have more time.

It’s a shame, because Roy is actually pretty cool, in a shocking contrast to his adoptive father. He’s a little bit older than Wally, he’s Native American (grew up on a reservation and everything), he’s kind of a jerk but in that cool way where it just shows that he doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him, he’s in a rock band, and when Barry told him that he couldn’t get his ear pierced, Roy just used a safety pin to do it himself. If it wasn’t for the fact that Roy is in the process of taking away the only person who ever loved him—making Roy his sworn enemy for life—Wally might have actually liked the guy.

Wally closes his eyes. The next time he opens them, he’s floating on an endless sea as smooth and reflective as a mirror. Hovering hundreds of thousands of miles above him, partly obscured by clouds and atmospheric haze, is a glowing blue bird so incomprehensibly massive that the tips of its wings stretch from horizon to horizon.

“There’s a light inside you, Wally,” the bird says in Aunt Iris’s voice. Wally lifts up his right hand. There’s a Green Lantern ring on his middle finger. “Someday, the whole world is going to see it.”

“Hal said I could be a Green Lantern,” Wally tells the bird. “I want to believe it so bad. I want to be a Green Lantern more than I’ve wanted anything my whole life.”

The bird speaks again, this time in the voice of Hal Jordan. “If you’ve got what it takes, a ring will find you. No matter who you are, no matter where you are.”

“What if I don’t have what it takes?” Wally asks.

In its own voice, the bird replies ALL WILL BE WELL.

Wally’s head bumps into the side of the pool. The bird is gone and so is the Green Lantern ring. He heaves a sigh and asks again, “Aunt Iris, are you done yet?”

“Almost, sweetie.”

Wally glares at her. Before he can stop himself, he swipes his hand through the water as fast and hard as he can. The resulting splash only makes it to Iris’s feet, but she recoils with a gasp and holds the laptop as far away from the water as she can reach.

“Wally! That’s not okay!”

He cringes and turns away, unable to bear the look of shock and anger on his aunt’s face.

“Wallace Rudolph West, you look at me right now and tell me—”

He takes a quick breath and sinks beneath the water until he’s sitting at the bottom of the pool with his arms around his knees and his eyes squeezed shut. His aunt’s shouting voice is a distant, indistinct murmur. In an instant, he’s not in a bad kid hiding at the bottom of a hotel pool in southern California—he’s a brave Green Lantern fighting space-pirates high above the surface of Radioworld. His aunt’s proud of him and isn’t mad at him and still loves him.

Wally ignores the burn in his lungs to stay in the fantasy as long as he can, but eventually instinct takes over his body and forces him to return to the surface. Warily, he turns his head to look behind him. To his surprise, Aunt Iris is sitting calmly at the edge of the pool with her feet in the water, just watching him.

“So, do you want to tell me what that was about?” she asks.

Wally tips his face down towards the water until his mouth is below the surface so he can’t answer her.

“Where is your head at right now, Wally?”

He shrugs.

Aunt Iris heaves a heavy, exasperated sigh, and something about it hits Wally the wrong way. He scowls at her and scrambles out of the pool, avoiding Aunt Iris on his way to grab his towel from one of the deck chairs. “I’m tired of swimming. I’m going back to our room.”

He storms through the breezeway and up the stairs until he reaches the door to their hotel room, where he then realizes that he has to wait for Aunt Iris anyway because he doesn’t have the key. Now awkward and embarrassed on top of everything else, he glowers down at his own feet and drips miserably all over the doormat. Aunt Iris arrives a minute later with her computer bag slung over one shoulder and her unused towel draped over the other. She thankfully doesn’t comment as she unlocks and opens the door.

Wally immediately heads for the shower to scrub off the chlorine and finally shed the angry tears that have been gathering in his eyes for the last several minutes. One longer-than-necessary shower later, Wally dresses in a t-shirt and boxers before cautiously opening the bathroom door. Aunt Iris has changed into her pajamas and is now sitting at the end of the bed next to an open pizza box, watching Jon Stewart make jokes about the president.

“Dinner’s here,” she says cheerfully, like she isn’t even mad at him.

“I’m not hungry,” Wally mumbles. He lies down at the head of the bed and curls into a ball with his back to Aunt Iris.

“Not hungry?” she echoes. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

Wally huffs skeptically. Best friend. Yeah, right.

“Come on, I got your favorite,” Aunt Iris says in a sing-song voice.

“I don’t feel good.”

Aunt Iris sighs. “I don’t get it. You were in a great mood all day, and now… I know you wanted me to swim with you, but it feels like there’s something else going on.”

Wally glowers at the hotel’s tacky floral wallpaper, determined to ignore Aunt Iris all night. That plan flies out the window when she starts poking him in the back.

“Tell me.” Poke. “Come on.” Poke. “Spill.” Poke. “I can do this all night.” Poke. “Go away, Wall-Man. I want to talk to Wally.” Poke.

“Knock it off!” Wally snaps, shoving her hand away.

“I’m not ready for you to be a moody teenager yet,” Aunt Iris mock-whines. “I get enough of that from Roy.”

“Who cares about Roy?” Wally growls as he crosses his arms tightly over his chest.

Aunt Iris goes quiet for a long moment. Then, in a knowing tone, “Oh.”

“What oh?”

“Sweetheart… are you jealous of Roy?”

“I’m not jealous!” Wally snaps. He closes his eyes and curls into an even tighter ball. “I know after you and Barry get married, Roy’s gonna be your son and then you aren’t gonna want me around anymore.” Despite his best efforts, tears start to squeeze out from between his tightly shut eyelids. “And that’s fine! I get it! But this weekend was supposed to be our last chance to hang out without Barry or Roy, just us, but instead you just want to write a dumb story even though nobody in Central City is gonna care about some bank robbery all the way in California, and Hal and I caught the bad guys anyway so—”

Wally presses the heels of his hands against his eyes hard enough to hurt. Aunt Iris has never judged him for his tears—she’s always been the one person in the whole world in front of whom it was safe to cry, because she would never make fun of him or yell at him for it—but he’s going to have to learn how to live without her. That means he needs to toughen up and start acting like a man.

Men don’t cry.

Aunt Iris crawls up the bed to lay behind Wally, then carefully wraps her arms around him. He briefly considers staying mad—remaining curled up in a tense ball of anger, or even wriggling out of her grasp to go lock himself in the bathroom.

He rolls over and hugs Aunt Iris instead, hiding his face in her shoulder and soaking her pajama top with tears. He cries as quietly as he can, like it won’t count as long as nobody hears him. She makes wordless soothing noises as she pets his hair, kisses the top of his head, and rubs his back.

As soon as he’s able to speak again, Wally mumbles, “Sorry I tried to wreck your computer.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about this sooner,” Aunt Iris replies. She cups his cheek with her hand and turns his face up towards hers. “Look at me, Wally. I don’t love you any less just because I also love Barry and Roy. Your heart’s like any other muscle—it gets a little stronger every time you use it. Every new person you love makes your heart grow a little bit bigger, which means you get better at loving everyone who came before. Does that make sense?”

Wally frowns. “Wouldn’t your heart growing that much kill you?”

Aunt Iris briefly closes her eyes and lets out a quiet chuckle. “Your heart doesn’t literally get bigger. It’s a metaphor.”

Wally sighs and leans into Aunt Iris’s hand as she resumes petting his hair. “It’s not fair, though. Barry and Roy have each other. You’re all I’ve got.”

“That’s not true. You have friends at school.” No he doesn’t. “You have your parents.” No he doesn’t. “And you can have Barry and Roy, too, if you let them.”

“You can keep ‘em.”

Aunt Iris rolls her eyes. “Wally…”

“Fine,” Wally groans. “I’ll… try to be nicer to them. Okay?”

“Good. Barry’s so excited to be an uncle. He was an only child, so he’s never had a nephew before, and he hears me brag about you all the time,” Aunt Iris says. “He was heartbroken when I told him the Flash isn’t your favorite superhero anymore. He’s been a huge fan of the original Flash ever since he was a boy, and he was hoping that would be a way to bond with you.”

“Really?”

Aunt Iris nods. “I think it would make him happy if you let him take you to the Flash Museum sometime this summer.”

“I guess that’d be alright,” Wally says with a shrug. It wouldn’t be a terrible time. He still likes the Flash, even if Green Lantern is his new favorite.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Aunt Iris says. She kisses his forehead in approval. “As for Roy, I think you two could be great friends if you spent more time together. You have a lot more in common than you might think.”

“Like what?” Wally asks skeptically.

“Nope, not telling,” Aunt Iris says with a cheeky grin. “Guess you’ll have to get to know him and find out.”

Wally groans in annoyance.

“Now,” Aunt Iris says, sitting up and scooting to the end of the bed, “are you going to help me eat this pizza or what?”

They watch TV while they eat dinner. After the end of the Colbert Report, she switches over to the real news. That would ordinarily be pretty boring, but Wally and Iris make it fun by roasting the anchors and riffing over the actual news stories with silly ones of their own.

“When we come back with the local news in a few minutes: three people were shot this afternoon during an attempted bank robbery in downtown Coast City, but before the crooks could get away with the cash, they were taken down by two heroic bystanders—one of whom was just a ten-year-old boy. We have the amazing footage captured by security cameras at the scene.”

Wally gasps. “That’s me! I’m gonna be on TV!”

Aunt Iris grins proudly and ruffles his hair.

“Speaking of Coast City, preparations are underway for the Annual Coast City Parade this Sunday.” The footage switches from the anchors’ desk in the studio to the inside of a large warehouse, where several people are busy decorating floats and rigging up the balloons. Two volunteers staple layers of shiny metallic fringe in three different shades of green around one of the floats while an electrician rigs a flashing light into the center of a gigantic paper mache green lantern. A banner stretched across the front of the float reads COAST CITY WELCOMES GREEN LANTERN! “The biggest attractions slated to appear during the parade include the debut of a giant animatronic puppet built by local artist Jordan Weir, and Coast City’s new superhero Green Lantern, who will be signing autographs and demonstrating his flying skills for the crowd. Sounds like a great time for the kids, doesn’t it, Chuck?”

“Sure does, Janet! We’ll have more after this commercial break.”

Wally bounces excitedly on the end of the bed. “I can’t wait to meet Green Lantern!”

Aunt Iris just smiles as she starts gathering the leftover pizza slices into a large plastic baggy.

“We’re gonna be best friends!”

Aunt Iris’s smile freezes uncomfortably on her face.

“And he’s gonna take me flying!”

Her smile gradually fades into a worried grimace.

“And we’re gonna go to space and fight monsters!”

“Er—Hold your horses,” Aunt Iris says. “There are going to be lots of kids at the parade. I don’t think Green Lantern’s going to be able to spend that much time with each of you.”

“Oh… yeah,” Wally says. He’d been so lost in the excitement of getting to meet his hero, he hadn’t really considered the fact that this wouldn’t be anything close to a one-on-one experience. To Green Lantern, he would be just another face in the crowd.

“I’m sorry, honey,” Aunt Iris sighs. She kneels on the floor to put the leftover pizza in the hotel room’s mini-fridge. “I didn’t mean to burst your bubble, I just...”

“Don’t want me to be disappointed.” Wally flops backwards onto the bed. He hates it when people say that. “Hal told me that Green Lantern was chosen by his ring. He said that if I was fearless and strong-willed and imaginative, and if I wanted to fight bad guys and help people, then a ring would choose me, too.”

“All that does sound like someone I know,” Aunt Iris admits.

“...Roy?”

Aunt Iris pounces on him with tickling fingers. “I’m talking about you, you brave—” First she targets his ribs, “—stubborn—” then his neck below his ear, “—day-dreaming—” and the back of his knee, “—heroic—” down to his foot, “—generous goof!”

She finally stops her assault, leaving Wally breathless from laughing too much and worn out from trying and failing to guard all his ticklish spots.

“So maybe you’re right,” Aunt Iris says, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Even if it is a one-in-a-billion shot—I don’t know. If there’s one person who could beat those odds, it’s you.”

Something suddenly shoots through the wall. Aunt Iris screams and throws herself protectively over Wally as a bright green light fills the hotel room.

“What’s happening?” Wally asks. He squirms in his aunt’s grasp until he can see it over her shoulder: a Green Lantern ring, floating in midair above the bed. His heart leaps in his chest.

“Wally West, for your courage and heroism, your dedication and enthusiasm, and your kindness to those in need, you have been chosen to be Green Lantern’s partner for a day.”

This time, Wally is the one screaming—not in fear, but with absolute joy and excitement. He wriggles out of Aunt Iris’s grip and reaches out to the ring, which immediately flies onto the middle finger of his right hand. The instant the ring settles on his finger, Wally’s t-shirt and boxers transform into an identical copy of Green Lantern’s costume. It fits as perfectly and comfortably as a second skin.

“Look, Aunt Iris! I’m a Green Lantern!”

Aunt Iris, now standing with her back against the wall, stares back at him in complete bewilderment and shock as she softly mutters, “What the fuck?”

Part Five

#hal jordan #wally west #iris allen #my stuff #kid lantern au #sidekick swap

3 notes · View notes

songbookff · 4 years

Note

Valentine's j/7 ❤

I’m making this an established janeway/seven. Set whenever you want it to be. Also it turned out a waaaayyy longer than I thought...so I also posted it on A03. Thank you, anon. If you want me to gift you the fic on A03, just message me your username. Or if you want to stay anon, that’s fine too.

In the early morning, Captain Janeway entered her office and went straight for her replicator. Coffee was calling. She gave the computer her normal order, but to her surprise, when her coffee appeared, so did a single red rose.

Tentatively, she reached out to touch the vibrantly colored rose. Attached to the green stem was a note. It was odd, to see the cardstock, although replicated and the small ribbon that secured it in place. In printed script, it read: “Roses are red...”

Kathryn pulled the rose up to her face, knowing that the scent was replicated, but reveling in it all the same. She turned away and made it halfway to her desk before she remembered that her coffee was still sitting in the replicator. Even a red rose couldn’t completely distract her from her morning cup of survival.

Rose in one hand, coffee in the other, she slipped into her chair behind her desk, only to find a small bouquet of purplish-blue flowers. A blue ribbon tied the stems together and another note attached. This one read, “Violets are blue...”

She set down the rose and her coffee (after a quick sip of course) and picked up the bundle. These felt different than the replicated rose. Katheryn’s eyes widened when she realized these were from Voyager’s own botanical gardens. They were real violets, not generated by the computer. They felt much more delicate than the rose and she could see the tiny imperfections of being grown rather than created. They were truly beautiful.

After replicating a small vase with water to set them in, Kathryn tried to start her day. However, there was the faintest smile on her face and she was convinced her coffee tasted better this morning. Finally, she pulled up her data padd to review the reports from the night shift. When the padd turned on, a single message appeared, marked urgent.

Odd. Usually urgent messages were reported by the computer so that she didn’t miss any when she was sleeping or off duty. She pressed open and the text read: “...I would like to spend dinner in the holodeck just with you.”

This time, Kathryn didn’t attempt to suppress the smile. Whatever Seven was up to, she had gone out of her way to surprise her this morning. The poem sounded familiar now. It was an old Earth romantic ballad of sorts: “Roses are red, violets, are blue...” usually followed by a rhyming ending that expressed love and adoration. It was clever, really.

And very unlike Seven of Nine. This of course, only intrigued Kathryn more.

However, she did have a ship to run. So she pulled up the reports and began reading, trying not to let the beautiful flowers on her desk distract her. It seemed everything had been quiet the night before, so the reports were short. A blown fuse on deck three had been the only excitement of the night and had been resolved within a half hour.

The door chimed after an hour, and she rose for her morning meeting with Chakotay. He entered the office was a pleasant smile, hands tucked behind his back. “Good morning, Captain.”

“It has been...” admitted Kathryn with a smile. She couldn’t help but noticed he had a mischievous look in his eyes. “Chakotay, what’s going on?”

“Can’t slip anything past you,” he chuckled. “Nothing new to report, although B’elanna claims to have come up with an idea to maximize our warp capacity by another percentage. I’ll be sure to have someone double check her math before she begins any experimentation. Although, Tom has volunteered to do the preliminary fight tests on the shuttle. So she can’t think it’s that dangerous.”

“Just make sure Harry is there to monitor,” replied Kathryn with a smirk.

“Will do. Also, I have been asked to make a delivery.” From behind his back, Chakotay produced a red box that had been formed in the shape of a geometric heart. He was grinning from ear to ear now, obviously in on whatever Seven was planning by the looks of the box he was holding out to her.

Curiously, she took the box, surprised a little by the weight of it. Under Chakotay’s excited gaze, she opened it to find an assortment of tiny chocolates also shaped as hearts. They appeared to be different flavors and if she could guess, different fillings as well.

“What is going on?” she repeated, astonished at the chocolates.

Chakotay laughed and shrugged, innocently proclaiming, “I’m just they delivery guy. But I do have strict instructions that you are to try one before we get out on the bridge.”

Chocolate wasn’t something she normally indulged in, especially not for breakfast, but the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach, knowing somehow this was all Seven’s design, forced her to comply. She picked a dark brown piece with a red swirl design and popped it into her mouth.

“Well?” asked Chakotay, eyebrow raised in anticipation.

“Dark chocolate with cherry. Absolutely delicious,” declared Kathryn. Then she let out a chuckle at the ridiculousness of the situation. She set the chocolates on the desk next to the rose and the vase she had put the violets in.

Together, they exited her ready room to start the morning on the bridge. Her crew was bustling as usual. To be honest it had been a dull week, but after all the excitement they had recently, Kathryn was glad for the down time. There was maintenance to be done and the crew were rotating on new shifts to get some down time. So for the next hour, Kathryn read reports in the Captain’s chair, tuning out the business of the bridge.

That is until Harry Kim was at her elbow. He cleared his throat and hesitated, “Captain...”

“What can I do for you, Ensign?” asked Kathryn. Noticing the nervous expression on his face, she added, “What did Lieutenant Paris do now?”

“I’m right here!” came the exasperated call from the helm. Tom whirled around in his seat, throwing his hands in the air. The tension broke and Harry managed a short laugh.

“As you were,” ordered Kathryn. Tom turned back to his helm, but not before giving Harry a wink.

“Captain, I need to borrow your badge...and your pips...”

“Excuse me?”

“Just for a few minutes,” he hastily said. “I just need to upgrade the badge!”

“And my pips?” Kathryn raised an eyebrow. Harry stood firm under her gaze and reached out his open palm.

Chakotay leaned over in his chair and whispered, “Don’t interrogate the poor kid. Just give him what he asked for...”

It suddenly dawned on Kathryn that this was another part of Seven’s elaborate plan. Of course, she had no idea what in the world Harry would do with her badge or rank, but wordlessly she plucked the badge from her chest and allowed Chakotay to help her unpin the four pips from her collar.

Eagerly, Harry hustled away without another word. Amused glances were being exchanged between her bridge crew and she swore she saw Tuvok give Harry a nod of approval as he left the bridge. Kathryn spend the next half hour wondering what in the stars everyone was up to when Harry returned, velvet box in hand.

Wordlessly, he handed it to her before scurrying back to his post at Ops. Chakotay was staring at the blur of stars on the viewscreen now, purposely giving her a moment of privacy. Kathryn opened the box to reveal her comm badge and four shining pips staring back at her. She hadn’t seen them this polished since they were new, well before Voyager had entered the Delta Quadrant.

It wasn’t that she didn’t take care of her hardware, but keeping them shining was the last thing on her mind during most of the journey. But here they were, good as new. The badge gleamed too, no residual fingerprints any more. She pinned it back on and nudged Chakotay to help her put the pips back on her collar.

Harry cleared his throat from Ops and she turned in her chair to face him. With the slightest red in his cheeks he said, “I think you’ll find I took care of the problem you were having with your badge sticking.”

“Very good, Ensign,” was all she could think to say. For the past two weeks, she had been complaining that her badge needed to be hit twice on occasion to connect to the computer. If they were in Starfleet space, the comm badges would be replaced regularly so this wouldn’t happen.

The rest of the morning went on as normal, although now Kathryn was wondering what else could possibly happened. Lunchtime came and she made her way to the Mess Hall. There were a few crew members already enjoying lunch. However, she reached the replicators, a voice called out.

“Captain! Your lunch is already ready for you.” Standing behind her was Icheb, proudly holding a tray. “Today the kitchen has prepared a vegetable and bean stew with a side of crusty bread.”

Icheb, still learning about human cuisine seemed unsure of what he was saying, but a steaming bowl sat atop the tray and a slice of toasted french bread rested on a napkin next to it. The stew was reminiscent of one that she had grown up eating, although it was usually replicated if she remembered correctly. It was a favorite of her father.

“Thank you, Icheb,” she said politely, taking the tray from him. He gave her a quick nod before turning on his heal to go back into the kitchen. Kathryn gave a small shake of her head in amusement. What a day this was turning out to be...

The stew was tasty, if a little heavy on beans and the bread was as crusty as Icheb had said. Still, it was a good lunch, one she had not been expecting. As she wiped up the last of the stew with her bread, Naomi Wildman slipped into the chair across from her.

“Hello, Captain.” The girl had a broad smile on her face.

“How are you, Naomi?” asked Kathryn, wondering what Seven could have put the child up to.

“I have something for you,” replied Naomi with excitement. From her lap, hidden from Kathryn’s view, she produced a small stuffed bear. It was brown with a red bow around the neck and wasn’t much bigger than Naomi’s hands. She pushed it over for Kathryn to grab and then slipped off the chair and skipped out of the Mess Hall.

The bear was soft and fit perfectly into Kathryn’s grasp. The little thing made her smile, right there in front of the other members of the crew in the Mess Hall. Most were grinning back at her and now Kathryn was certain that the entire ship was in on Seven’s escapade.

She took the bear back to the bridge with her and said nothing when Chakotay tried to cover a laugh at the sight of it sitting on the arm of her chair. She had no idea what had possessed Seven, or rather Naomi, to give it to her, but she enjoyed the little stuff thing. It was silly, but sweet.

Two hours later, Tuvok called her attention, “Captain. I believe it is time to report to your quarters.”

“I’m on shift for another three hours, Tuvok.”

“I will escort you to your quarters.” The answer was firm and when she looked behind her, he had left his post and was waiting by the turbolift doors.

Everyone on the bridge seemed to be determined to stare at their consoles and not look directly at her. Well, she had played along all morning, why stop now? With a sigh, she pushed herself out of the Captain’s seat and walked towards the exit.

“Forgetting something?” asked Chakotay, holding up the little bear. He was failing miserably at keeping his face neutral.

“You have the bridge, Commander.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kathryn retrieved the bear with a roll of her eyes and then allowed Tuvok to escort her back to her quarters. “Tuvok, will you please tell me what is going on?”

“I have been sworn to the strictest of confidences.” He continued to look straight ahead.

“I know Seven is behind all of this...but it’s interfering with my job now.”

He didn’t answer until the reached her door and then he slowly turned and spoke, “I would never place you or this ship in any precarious situation. I assure you that this is in your best interest and should a situation arrive that would need your direct attention, I will be the first to summon you.”

“Thank you, Tuvok.” He held up the Vulcan salute and then left her to enter her quarters.

When the doors whooshed open, she could hear soothing music playing. The lights were dimmed and there was a large porcelain bathtub where her coffee table used to be. And Neelix was standing behind it, grinning from ear to ear.

“Captain! Welcome to Neelix’s home spa treatment!” he greeted her with a grand motion of his arms.

“How...?” Kathryn glanced back at her closed door and then back at Neelix.

“We were worried you may not have appreciated the intrusion. But I promise that I haven’t been in any of your personal belongings. I brought all my own things. Your table was the only thing removed.” He winked at her and then, like the showman he was, waved his hands dramatically and began by lifting a small bowl from the small table he had arranged next to the bath tub.“Today I have for you the most luxurious and moisturizing face cream that will leave you glowing and relieved.”

Placing the bowl back down he reached for a bottle and wine glass also sitting on the table. Pouring the red liquid into in the glass, he said, “A top of the line red wine that comes from Earth, the French region, I believe. It is dry with a hint of blackberries and oak.”

“And here,” he pulled a leather bound book from seemingly thin air, “Is your entertainment for the evening. A romance novel circa the twentieth century, for your enjoyment.”

“All of this in what is called a ‘bathtub’.” Neelix motioned towards the tub with a sweep of his hand. “I made some adjustments to make it more comfortable. I have no idea how humans could stand sitting for long period of times with that shape. Seven wanted everything to be as historically accurate as possible, so we’ll just have to keep that secret to ourselves. The water will remain the most comfortable of temperatures for the human body and it has bubbles that give off the scent of lavender.”

“Thank you?” Kathryn eyed the bathtub wearily and then back to Neelix.

He had produced a plum colored robe and walked towards her. The silk was soft on her hands when she grasped the it. “I will leave you know. Just let the computer know if you need anything. Your next guest will be arriving at eighteen hundred hours to help you get ready for your dinner on the holosuite. The computer will give you a fifteen minute warning.”

Neelix left with a wink and a smile, leaving Kathryn alone with the robe and bathtub. Self care like this wasn’t something she indulged in anymore. It made her a little uncomfortable at first, as she stripped off her uniform and put on the robe.

A sip of wine helped relax her senses and she liberally applied Neelix’s face cream to her face. She figured that even if Neelix had somehow given her something that she was allergic to, the Doctor would be able to set it right. Once the face mask had been applied, she slipped off the robe and climbed into the tub.

As she lowered her body into the perfectly warmed water, she found the modifications that Neelix had been talking about. Instead of the rounded bottom of the tub, she found a soft, almost cushiony chair, waiting for her to rest on. She sunk back against the porcelain with a sigh.

After another sip of wine, she reached for the book. She hadn’t read it before, but it looked like something she would enjoy. It as written in the twentieth century, but appeared to take place in the eighteenth. Soon, she was entranced in the story, with nothing but the soothing music, warm water, and delicious wine to fill her mind.

The computer chimed some time later, altering her that she needed to get out of the tub. There was a towel hanging from the edge of the tub that she used to dry off and then put the silky robe back on. The door chimed and she said enter without even asking who it was.

To her surprise, B’Elanna burst through the door, a black garment bag slung over her shoulder. She took one look at Kathryn, frowned, and said, “What the hell do you have on your face?”

Kathryn had completely forgotten about the face cream and hoped she wasn’t supposed to have removed it after a certain amount of time. “I’m not sure she admitted.”

“Well, go wash it off while I get these out.” B’Elanna made a shooing motion while she walked over to Kathryn’s bed. Kathryn went into the bathroom to wash off the cream. To her relief, her face appeared to be fine. In fact, she felt light and refreshed.

When she came back in, B’Elanna had laid two pieces of clothing on the bed. One was a dark green gown, with a lace pattern overlaid on the silken material on the chest. It was belted at the waist and floor length. The second was a light grey suit, with a silken green shirt beneath it that matched the dress. Both had obviously been tailored to her size.

“I have no idea what Seven was thinking, putting me in charge of getting you dressed. So I got some opinions from the other women in the crew and we decided on these two. There is a bet going about whether you will pick the dress or the suit. I’m betting on the suit, so don’t let me down.”

Both garments were beautiful, but B’Elanna was right, the suit was probably more her style. The dress was beautiful, but the thought of wearing it down to the holosuite for anyone to see made her uncomfortable.

“I’ll wear the suit, but leave the dress.” Maybe later she could put it on just for Seven.

B’Elanna clapped her hands together in triumph. “Alright, so Seven wanted this to be authentic, hence the real clothes, but I’m not a stylist. So I programmed the holodeck to do your hair and makeup when you enter. She’ll never know. And don’t worry, I am a firm believer that no one needs makeup, so it won’t be anything heavy.”

If there was one person on this ship that Kathryn trusted wouldn’t overdo her hair or makeup, it was B’Elanna. “Thank you.”

“Alright, let’s get you into this thing. Wouldn’t want to keep the Borg waiting...” she grinned at her own joke and Kathryn rolled her eyes. It was a teasing that had been occurring since Kathryn and Seven had made their relationship public.

The pants and shirt fit like a glove and B’Elanna helped her get the suit jacket on. B’Elanna stood back, admiring her work. “Huh. It does look good.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” replied Kathryn sarcastically. “But seriously, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” B’Elanna straightened her collar and added, “Seriously. Let’s never mention this again.”

“Deal.”

The two women left the Captain’s quarters and headed toward the holosuite. There weren’t too many crewmembers in the corridors. Kathryn wondered if they had been instructed to make themselves scarce or if everyone was just busy. Waiting by the holosuite was Tom Paris, bottle in hand, leaning against the bulkhead.

Tom let out a whistle when Kathryn and B’Elanna approached him and his wife punched him in the shoulder for it. Kathryn only rolled her eyes. “Is that bottle for me?”

“The finest champagne I could replicate. I did a little magic with the replicator to get around the safety features, that that there is the real deal. Harry and I tried a dozen just to make sure you got the best one. It’s authentic as you can get this far into the delta quadrant.” Tom handed her the bottle with a wink. Then he slung his arm around B’Elanna’s shoulder. “My fair lady, would you escort me back to our quarters. I seem to have lost my way.”

“How much did you drink, you idiot?” B’Elanna grabbed ahold of Tom and as they walked away, she called over her shoulder, “Have a good evening, Captain.”

“Go get the girl!” shouted Tom, encouragingly. He let out a hoot that was quickly shushed by his wife.

Bottle in hand, smile on her face, Kathryn entered the simulation. She walked into what appeared to be a countryside vineyard of old Earth. A single table for two was set on a stone patio that had fairy lights strung up in the air. A pair of candles lit the table on a white table cloth. Long stemmed champagne glasses were paired with white china plates.

“Hello, Kathryn.” Seven of Nine walked out of the vineyard across from Kathryn. She was dressed in a beautiful, shimmering full length red dress. The neckline dipped to reveal just enough of her chest to make Kathryn blush. It was held up by slender straps and blonde hair was curled on her shoulders. The color was gorgeous and Kathryn was sure that her jaw dropped.

“Seven...you look...” Kathryn gripped the neck of the champagne bottle tighter as she tried to find the right words. “You are beautiful.”

“I am partial to the dress,” replied Seven, looking down at herself. “It is impractical, but I believe it has the desired effect.”

“All of this is beautiful,” said Kathryn as she approached the table. “Today was been wonderful. Quite surprising, but wonderful.”

“Your suit fits you well. I find that my attraction to you is heightened in that outfit.” Kathryn allowed herself to blush under Seven’s gaze. Seven motioned for her to take a seat.

Suddenly, the Doctor, dressed in a tuxedo appeared out of thin air. “May I take that bottle from you, Captain?”

“I...yes...” Kathryn handed it over, surprised by his appearance. He deftly popped the cork and poured out the two glasses as the women seated themselves.

“Tonight, I will be serving a lobster linguine. We will begin with a light salad to prime the palate and then we will move to the main course. A decadent chocolate cheesecake will be served for dessert.” He gave them a smile and then snapped his fingers and the salads appeared on the plate in front of them. With another snap, he had disappeared.

“Seven, what is all of this?” asked Kathryn. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but I don’t understand.”

“As you know, I have been studying Earth history to help reconnect with my humanity. I came across several holidays and traditions that have intrigued me. Some of them were based on religious or political movements of the time. I found one particularly of interest now that I am in a relationship with you. It is called ‘St. Valentine’s Day’. Have you heard of it?”

A smile graced Kathryn’s face. “I have.”

“I was confused by the history at first. There are conflicting thoughts on the origins of the holiday, but all seemed to be grim. However, it transformed into a day to celebrate lovers. When calendar dates were still being observed, it occurred annually on February fourteenth. I decided to make today Valentine’s Day for just the two of us.” Seven tilted her head to the side. “I thought it would be romantic.”

“It is...” murmured Kathryn. She took another bite of salad. “I don’t know that much about the history of Valentine’s Day. I understood your poem this morning. I think it is a traditional Valentine.”

“Yes. Roses and violets. Although, the name violets implies a purple color rather than blue, I did not correct it in order to continue the rhyme. I read that a dozen roses is a common gift, but a single red rose often implies more intimacy. Therefore, I provided a single red rose and a dozen violets.”

“Chocolates are a traditional gift for lovers, even now. I can’t wait to eat the rest of them.”

“I too am found of chocolates,” admitted Seven and Kathryn filed that information away for use at a later date. “Another traditional gift is jewelry. However, necklaces, bracelets, and rings are against the dress code. And you do not wear any off duty.”

“So you had my pips and badge cleaned.” Her heartbeat quickened. Seven had thought all of this through. It really was romantic. Kathryn wasn’t sure she could love the woman more, but somehow, she still had the ability to surprise her.

“Another common gift was stuffed animals. The Doctor explained that these are not taxidermized animals, but fluff stuffed fake figures. They are more commonly used by children for comfort. A ‘teddy bear’ is a traditional stuffed animal.”

“It was cute,” laughed Kathryn and to her pleasure, she saw Seven’s eyes light up at her reaction. “The spa was nice, too.”

“I am pleased that you enjoyed it.” Seven gave her a natural smile. Goodness, she was so beautiful, especially over candlelight.

The Doctor cleared his throat to announce his return. He snapped his fingers and announced, “Dinner is served.”

The salad plates disappeared and were replaced by a delicious looking pasta dish, topped with pieces of lobster. Breadsticks appeared in the middle of the table. Seven motioned to the food and explained, “Many references sourced traditional pasta from the Italian region of Earth was a common Valentine’s meal. Others reported that a home cooked meal that was nostalgic was also a good choice.”

“So you made my father’s favorite stew.”

Seven nodded. “You don’t have many favorites, but you talk about your family so often. I thought it would be the correct touch.”

“It was perfect.” Kathryn reached across the table to take Seven’s hand in her own. “All of it was perfect.”

“I believe the correct response would be that you are perfect. But I think that is incorrect. Everyone has flaws. It is in our nature.” Seven gave her hand a squeeze. “But I feel like you deserve to be treated with perfection, because I love you.”

“I love you, too, Seven.” The candlelight twinkled in their eyes.

“We should engage in eating this meal. My research says it will be pleasing to the palate,” added Seven with a tiny smirk. Kathryn laughed and picked up her fork to dig into the pasta.

Seven was right, it was delicious. And so was the slice of cheesecake that they shared for dessert. When they were finished, the Doctor appeared again. “I hope you enjoyed your dinner tonight. If you will stand please, I will delete the table and leave you two ladies to enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Both Kathryn and Seven rose to their feet. The Doctor snapped his fingers and the table disappeared. He gave them both a little bow and then snapped himself out of the simulation. Upon his departure, music starting playing. Soft, but with a dancing rhythm. Seven offered her hand and Kathryn accepted.

The two began dancing, slowly turning on the stone patio together, beneath the moonlight and the tiny string of lights above them. Kathryn pulled Seven’s thin body tightly against her own. She dropped her face to press their cheeks together, breathing in the scent that was Seven.

Kathryn loved being this close to Seven. They fit together so well. It was something that Kathryn had never experienced with anyone else. She loved the feel of Seven’s body against her own.

“I am pleased that you are my Valentine,” whispered Seven in her ear. Kathryn smiled and pressed a kiss to Seven’s collarbone.

Then she pulled back just enough to lock eyes with her lover. Gently, Kathryn raised her hand from Seven’s hip to cup her face. Then she firmly pressed their lips together. Beneath the moonlight, Kathryn kissed her Valentine.

#kathryn janeway #seven of nine #j/7 #kathryn/seven #kathryn janeway/seven of nine #star trek #st:voy #voyager

17 notes · View notes

babeltrekopenproject · 5 years

Text

Prompts list!

Since the reveal date is approaching, here we post again a prompt list. Feel free to submit your own ideas, or pick any of these for your stories!!

Remember, the collection is here (https://archiveofourown.org/collections/BabelTrek), and we are delighted with every story!

1. The translator never existed

2. Translator is used only in official situations

3. The Translator is considered too unreliable in many situations

4. The translator is illegal in some places

5. Translators take time to learn languages — this is the norm rather than the exception

6. Texts are not translated

7. It's considered rude to translate friends so they teach their language to each other

8. Fantasy aus with no translation magic

9. Bajorans refuse to use them as part of their cultural revival

10. Translators are useless in the Delta or Gamma quadrants

11. Instead of translators there's an official Federation language as well as local ones

12. Post-canon Cardassia fics where Julian is forbidden to use it

13. Trills have problems using them when they are joined (as with transporters in TNG)

14. Proximity-dependant translators. If characters are away from a ship or station they can't connect to the database and are useless.

15. Public opinion blames translators for the Dominion War and some planets forbid them

16. Some languages are untranslatable, like the Founders'

17. Translator Free Party

18. Episode rewrite, for any series

19. Time travel episodes, translators don't work outside their era

20. The Borg are untranslatable

21. Translators don’t work after going through wormholes

22. Cardassians don’t use translators on Cardassia to maintain their privacy

#babel #babel trek #star trek #star trek voyager #star trek ds9 #Star Trek TNG #star trek enterprise #star trek tos #Star Trek Discovery #No translator #writing project #writing fest #writing

34 notes · View notes

somebodysittingthereallthetime · 5 years

Text

My Star Trek Voyager Pitch

Opening episode is basically the episode One Small Step (season 6 episode 8), except Voyager and a Maquis ship gets into the graviton ellipse in the Alpha quadrant. They agree to stop hostilities to find a way out. While looking for clues on other ships, they find Ares IV, but by the time they find a way out, the ellipse moved to the Delta Quadrant, so the episode ends with 1. The Maquis and Starfleet agree that they should work together to find a way home. (The Maquis ship can fit into Voyager’s hangar for future shenanigans) 2. The two crews together listen to John Kelly’s last entry:

“I guess this is John Kelly's last flight. This time, I can't blame it on pilot error. This time, no regrets. What I've seen proves we were right to come out here. We're not alone, I know that now. The module's losing power. I'm taking life support off-line. Re-routing whatever's left to the imager. Keep it running as long as possible. Mission Control… Dad… Whoever finds this… Do me a favor. Take all the data I've collected. Put it to good use. I hope you don't look at this as a failure. I don't.“

Now, the journey. The thing is, that I envisioned this as a shorter series, so the villains are the Borg from start to finish, basically the Voyager is always on the edge of Borg space. You could still do most of the better episodes and arcs of Voyager, but there’s no Neelix and Kes (I like Kes, but there’s just no time or room for her here). The crew could meet Seven Of Nine near the start of the series. Something that is off about the series is that they seem to have infinite shuttles for example. My vision is the exact opposite. Through the series the ship keeps losing stuff, things keep breaking without a chance to repair them, and people die. But meanwhile they also get better and better technology, by stealing it from the borg and some other places. So by the end of the series we have a ship close to totally breaking down, and with a crew of so few people we know all of them by name but with a few tricks up their sleeve.

So, the way the finale works is the Voyager finds a relay station of the Hirogen Sensor Network and they find a way to use it to get in contact with Starfleet. Except Voyager has so much Borg tech at this point, that if they transmit all they know to Starfleet, the Borg will basically be defeated. The Borg know this and they send their closest ship to intercept. Now Voyager has two options. Flee or stay and transmit. They could try to flee, but honestly, the ship is falling apart, so they choose to stay. So we see the Borg ship attack and destroy the heavily modified Voyager while we hear the captain’s voice:

“I guess this is the Voyager's last flight. This time, we can't blame it on a weird cosmic anomaly. This time, no regrets. What we've seen proves we were right to come out here. The ship's losing power. We’re taking everything off-line. We’re taking life support off-line. Re-routing whatever's left to the shields and the communications array. Keep it running as long as possible. Starfleet Command… Do us a favor. Take all the data we've collected. Put it to good use. We hope you don't look at this as a failure. We don't.“

Fade to black. The text “5 years later” appear on the screen. We see new types of federation starships, resembling in their design how the Voyager was modified by the end. They are flying towards a Borg fleet and there is an epic battle, but no ship gets destroyed. The borg ships are disabled one by one, and then we see smaller federation ships boarding the Borg ships and we see medical personnel start to help the assimilated people. The End.

And yes, the whole idea really is just that I love that speech in One Small Step so much and I just think Voyager’s journey should have paralleled the Journey of John Kelly.

#star trek #star trek voyager #voyager #borg #one small step

5 notes · View notes

phantom-le6 · 2 years

Text

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: Voyager Season 1 (1 of 4)

Having finally cleared my film review backlog for the present, it’s time to dive into another TV series. This time, we’re warping back to the 1990’s in terms of original air dates and ahead to the 24th century in setting, as I finally review my favourite Trek series, Voyager.

Episodes 1-2: Caretaker

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

A scrolling text introduces the Cardassian and Federation relationship with the Maquis rebels for new audience members. The opening scene shows the Cardassians pursuing a smaller Maquis spacecraft ship that escapes into the Badlands, a region of space known for volatile plasma storms that impede warp travel. The Cardassian vessel is damaged by a plasma storm and the Maquis ship is caught in a displacement wave.

On Earth, Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager recruits Tom Paris, a disgraced former Starfleet officer and now a captured Maquis member, to help find the missing Maquis spacecraft. Janeway is searching for Tuvok, her security officer who was undercover aboard the Maquis ship. Departing from Deep Space Nine, Voyager journeys to the Badlands, where it is scanned by a coherent tetryon beam before a displacement wave hits and wreaks havoc on the ship.

The crew recovers and find themselves in the Delta Quadrant, over 70,000 light years from Federation space. Fatalities include Voyager's second-in-command, helm officer, chief engineer, and medical staff. In sickbay, the Emergency Medical Hologram is activated to treat the injured. Before that can get their bearings, the crew is transported to a holographic simulation aboard a nearby array controlled by a being later identified as the Caretaker. Seeing through the simulation, the Voyager crew discover the unconscious Maquis crew undergoing strange medical experiments. The Voyager crew are subjected to the same experiments. Later, both crews awaken on their own vessels and find each are missing one crew member: Harry Kim from Voyager, and B'Elanna Torres of the Maquis. Attempts to negotiate with the Caretaker are fruitless as he insists there is "no time". Janeway offers to work with the Maquis leader Chakotay, a former Starfleet officer, to find their missing crewmembers and return to the Alpha Quadrant.

The two ships follow energy pulses sent from the array to a nearby planet. En route, they encounter Neelix, a space trader eager to assist them in exchange for water and, as they later learn, rescuing his companion Kes from the violent Kazon that inhabit the planet's surface. Kes' people, the Ocampa, live in a subterranean complex, cared for by the Caretaker who supplies them with energy and other essentials. They also tend to any beings sent to them by the Caretaker, each suffering an unknown disease the Ocampa lack the knowledge to treat. As the crews determine how to rescue Kim and Torres, the Caretaker realigns the array and fires more frequent energy bursts. Tuvok deduces that the Caretaker is dying and is ensuring the Ocampa are kept safe by providing a surplus of resources and then sealing the underground complex, though eventually their resources will be depleted. With time running short, a combined away team penetrates the shields protecting the complex and rescues Kim and Torres.

The crews again ask the Caretaker to return them to the Alpha Quadrant. He reveals that he was part of an ancient alien race whose technology accidentally destroyed the Ocampan planet's atmosphere, leaving it lifeless. In recompense, he and another of his race have cared for the Ocampa ever since. His companion having long moved on, he was experimenting on species from distant galactic sectors hoping to find a compatible match so that he could reproduce and pass the responsibility to his offspring. Nearing death, the Caretaker initiates the array's self-destruct sequence to prevent the technology from falling to the Kazon. As the Caretaker dies, the ships are attacked by a Kazon fleet. Janeway and Chakotay coordinate a counterattack to protect the array; Chakotay sacrifices his vessel to destroy a Kazon ship, but the subsequent damage to the array disables the self-destruct sequence. Janeway opts to respect the Caretaker's wishes and orders the array destroyed, despite it being their only chance at returning home. With the array destroyed, the Kazon disengage. Their leader informs Janeway she has made an enemy.

As Voyager begins a potentially 75-year journey back to the Alpha Quadrant, Janeway integrates the Maquis into the Starfleet crew, with Chakotay as her new second-in-command. Janeway re-instates Paris as a Starfleet officer holding the rank of Lieutenant and assigns him as helmsman. Neelix and Kes join the crew, Neelix offering his services as guide while Kes’ role is as yet undefined.

Review:

Some people may wonder why Voyager is my favourite Trek series, considering it was apparently less popular with audiences generally compared to The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine while it was on the air. Well, there’s two key reasons for this; the first is that it was the first Trek show I knew that had a sense of continuity rather than being a dip in-and-out show as TNG had been (bearing in mind I only came to DS9 as an adult, well after I’d seen all of Voyager). Second, as I’ll illustrate throughout my reviewing of this series, Voyager has the most characters with autism-like traits of any Trek series I’ve seen to date. As someone who is autistic themselves, I’ve always appreciated that aspect of this series.

Now to put this pilot in context, let me set the proverbial stage; it’s the mid-1990’s, TNG’s going into a seventh and final season with a view to going straight into production of the first feature film using the TNG cast and ship. DS9 is going into a second season, and could soon be the totality of Trek on TV. For whatever reason, the power-that-be decide this isn’t enough, and another Trek series is called for, one that can take over from TNG as the main series for being on a ship and exploring the galaxy. The challenge for the show-makers, how to make that something fresh and original for a Trek series and yet still of the Trek world?

The introduction of the terrorist/freedom fighter group known as the Maquis via TNG and DS9 in the build-up to Voyager set up the first point of distinction, in that the crew of Voyager would be a mix of Star Fleet and non-Star Fleet personnel, though considering the fact that in Deep Space Nine a similar mix of main characters existed, this wasn’t all that original. What made Voyager truly original was two-fold; giving us a female commanding officer to headline the series where all prior shows had been headed by men, and having Voyager hurled to the other side of the universe with no fast way home. Both elements are set up in this pilot double-length episode to great effect.

As you’d expect of any pilot, this episode does well to establish premise and characters, though some characters are somewhat neglected, chief among them Kes and the Doctor, who are initially almost bit players alongside many of the others. The pilot also incorporates a lot of action, in an effort to distance itself from the more cerebral and introspective nature of Deep Space Nine’s pilot. It’s a good move, though in places scenes are evidently cut that needed to stay in to keep the plot coherent. How Kes and Neelix know each other is never explored, and nor do any later episodes explain this, and Harry and B’Elanna are a bit too quick to heal, as is Chakotay after his supposed leg break. Frankly, you could have done a shorter “hand-over” scene at Deep Space Nine with any character other than Quark, cut down the Neelix-in-a-bath scene and vastly shortened the yokel scene on board the array. All of that would have allowed time for the Doctor to be shown healing everyone and allowed a little Neelix-Kes backstory, while also eliminating some truly irksome moments from the episode.

Overall, “Caretaker” starts Voyager off on decent form. Some have complained that the integration of the two crews is rushed at the end, but I disagree. Just because Janeway and Chakotay get everyone to dress in Star Fleet uniforms doesn’t mean everyone’s going to get along. Also, all the Maquis have something very different on their collars to standard Star Fleet rank pips, and that’s a constant throughout the lifetime of the show as far as I know. Future episodes would regularly re-visit the issue of integration between the two crews, so I think anyone being misled by the uniforms and making a judgement on that is being a bit hasty. It just needed to change around what scenes went and what scenes stayed, but that’s easier said than done when you lose your original captain within days of starting production and then having to shut down after all the non-captain scenes are shot until a new actress is found. Kudos that it happened, though, as I can’t imagine anyone else doing better as Janeway that Kate Mulgrew ended up doing. Overall, I give this episode 8 out of 10.

Episode 3: Parallax

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

As Voyager starts its way back home from the Delta Quadrant, tensions between the Starfleet and the Maquis crewmembers begin to rise, and some brief hostilities are incurred. Chief among them is an altercation between Maquis member B’Elanna Torres and senior engineering officer Lt. Carey. However, both Captain Kathryn Janeway and her first officer, the former Maquis captain Chakotay, agree they need to integrate the two crews as one. As part of this, they are seeking to fill vacancies left by the disastrous events to date, and Chakotay recommends B'Elanna, who is also a former Starfleet cadet, to be Chief of Engineering. Janeway is hesitant about this considering that B’Elanna almost broke Carey’s nose, but Chakotay angrily insists he refuses to be a “token Maquis officer” and strongly urges Janeway to get to know B’Elanna first.

As the ship passes near a quantum singularity, the Voyager crew detect a ship stuck in the singularity's event horizon. Receiving no contact with the ship, they attempt to move in closer to rescue the ship using tractor beams, but the effort results in damage to more of Voyager's systems. Janeway orders the crew to take Voyager to a nearby planet to seek help for the trapped ship. However, after some time has passed, the crew finds themselves back at the singularity, and quickly realize the ship they are seeing is themselves from before. Due to insights from B’Elanna and Janeway, they soon understand that the ship has become trapped in the singularity, which is impacting the ship's systems and crew, and they deduce a means of escaping.

Eventually, the crew discovers a point in space where Voyager crossed into the singularity, but it has since shrunk, too small for Voyager to exit through. Janeway takes Torres, who has knowledge of singularities, on a shuttle to the opening using a dekyon beam to expand the opening large enough for Voyager to pass through. However, spatial distortions withing the singularity and the beam’s energy result in the disabling of communications systems, and on returning to Voyager they find two versions of the ship, both appearing real to their sensors. Though they have a heated debate about which ship is the correct Voyager, Janeway makes the ultimate decision, and correctly picks the right vessel. Voyager leaves the singularity safely and begins to effect repairs. Janeway follows through on Chakotay's advice and promotes Torres to Chief Engineer.

Review:

One key thing to remember about Trek is that whatever sci-fi technobabble elements come into play, there’s usually a plot centred on exploration of a character or an issue lurking behind all that. In the case of this episode, we’re getting the progression of the integration of the Maquis into Voyager’s crew, primarily centred around Janeway, Chakotay and B’Elanna. It’s a good plot that’s fun to watch, and I really enjoy Chakotay’s defiance when he states he has no intention of being a “token Maquis officer”. Not only does this translate to anyone who might feel they’re a “token” hire, picked more to fill a company’s equality quota than because someone else saw their worth, but there’s an interesting irony in someone who is a “token” Native American main character on a show making that kind of statement. I think it would have been nice to see the franchise work in more Native American officers as background characters so Chakotay wasn’t the only one.

The whole B’Elanna story arc for this episode also demonstrates the value of placing ability above seniority in granting jobs. Janeway initially can’t see past B’Elanna’s attitude and lack of qualifications, but given a chance to prove herself, she easily surpasses her “qualified” Star Fleet counter-part. This episode should be a message to employers and educators about relying more on demonstrations of skills and less on qualifications, especially when so many of the latter only prove an ability to parrot answers on exam papers, not actual understanding of a given subject. We also see the beginning of the almost mother-daughter relationship that comes to be forged between Janeway and B’Elanna, which is cool.

We also get some minor development of other characters and series elements; Kes and Neelix begin to integrate at the senior staff level, with Kes starting off the idea of the hydroponics bay so Voyager can grow its own food, and the Doctor becomes slightly more developed while Tom Paris gets double-duty as a medic/nurse for the first time. It’s all a decent progression from the pilot, and while more or less flawless, it lacks a certain something to really make it a top-level episode. 9 out of 10 for this one.

Episode 4: Time and Again

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While Lt Tom Paris is peer-pressuring Ensign Harry Kim to go on a date with the Delaney sisters from stellar cartography, Voyager is hit by a polaric detonation from a nearby planet. On arrival, they find the planet's population has been completely wiped out. An away team, including Captain Kathryn Janeway and Lieutenant Tom Paris, transport to the surface and estimate from the ruins that the explosion resulted from a polaric power system that ran the society. The away team begins to encounter signs of temporal anomalies left in the wake of the explosion. Janeway and Paris become caught in one as Janeway tries to order an emergency beam-out, and the two of them find themselves on the planet the day before the explosion.

Quickly integrating themselves into the general population, they learn that some of the planet's civilization protests the use of polaric energy. Janeway and Paris become caught up with a group of saboteurs threatening to compromise one of the polaric power plants. Janeway and Paris' strange Starfleet equipment prompt the saboteurs to believe they are infiltrators, so they confiscate the equipment, bring forward their sabotage plan and force Janeway and Paris to accompany them to the power plant. Janeway tries to tell the saboteurs the truth, but they don’t believe her. Paris is mystified as he’d previously been ordered to adhere to the Prime Directive, but Janeway explains that their presence in the past has set in motion events that somehow trigger the detonation.

Meanwhile, back in the present, Kes's nascent psychic ability allows her to identify that Janeway and Paris have fallen back into the past. The remaining senior Voyager officers develop a method to create a short-lived rift to the past through which they hope to evacuate Janeway and Paris. In the past, the saboteurs use Janeway and Paris as a diversion to allow them access to the polaric plant, during which Paris is shot and wounded. As they begin their sabotage, the Voyager crew initiates the rift. Janeway recognizes that it is the rift which, if not closed, will trigger the detonation that kills all life on the planet. The saboteurs allow Janeway to use her phaser to force the rift to close, changing the timeline.

Events then return to the start of the episode: Voyager detects the nearby planet, bustling with a pre-warp civilization using polaric energy. Kes appears on the bridge, concerned about a feeling of deja vu, but is relieved to see the planet's civilization is alive and well. In accordance with the Prime Directive, Voyager refrains from communicating with it and continues on its journey home.

Review:

According to Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki site, the seed of this episode’s plot involved speculation about the controversial Bombing of Dresden during World War II. In effect, Paris and Janeway going back in time on the alien planet is a loose metaphor for if someone were to go back in time a day before the fire-bombing of Dresden; what would one do in such a circumstance? In the case of the fire-bombing, considering what the Germans were doing not just to jews, but to black people, homosexuals, gypsies and the disabled in concentration camps, my view would be get out of the blast zone and order a few more bombers. Any nation who elects a genocidal maniac and then allows said maniac to commit genocide against differently abled folks like me, I have zero sympathy for any casualties they then incur. You made your bed, Germans of the 1930’s and 40’s, you can damn well lie in it as it burns. Tens of thousands dead is nothing compared to the millions dead from the holocaust of the Nazi death camps.

As to the episode itself, it’s a mediocre effort. The aliens on the planet are a poor effort on every front; no distinction from humans in their physical appearance, a very limited wardrobe, and their power system is basically a thin sci-fi metaphor for nuclear power. The repetition of all things temporal from the previous episode without the substantive underlying plot is a poor showing, and the timeline re-set means all development the episode makes is instantly eradicated and thus meaningless. Why bother to start showcasing Kes’ mental powers or developing Janeway’s character relationship with Paris if they’re just going to be wiped out by a temporal deus ex machina? Throw in a guest child actor that the show doesn’t really know how to write well, and it feels like the time travel for the audience is back to the worst of TNG. For me, this episode rates no more than 5 out of 10.

1 note · View note