#the romulans were in the wrong

[quasi-normalcy]

Actually, you know what? Ever since I learned that Ira Steven Behr signed that grossly unfair letter against Jonathan Glazer, I've been forced to kind of reevaluate some of my interpretations of things in Deep Space Nine.

Like Section 31. I was willing to suppose that it was always and only intended to be villainous. But knowing as I do now that the showrunner who included it is perfectly willing to turn a blind eye to genocide, I'm forced to wonder...was it critical? Was it?

Like, let's consider canon here. In "Statistical Probabilities", Bashir and the other augments calculate, in no uncertain terms, that the Federation can't win its war with the Dominion. Their model even accurately forecasts things that happen later in the series: the Romulans declaring war on the Dominion; a full-scale revolt on Cardassia Prime. The end of the episode kind of pooh-poohs their model, like, "Well you couldn't even forecast what Serena would do in this room" but like...(1) the premise is basically lifted from Asimov's psychohistory concept, which works on populations rather than individuals, and (2) there's even a line of dialogue in the episode saying that the models become *less* uncertain the further you go in time. And indeed, the Federation ultimately wins the war not because any of their assumptions were wrong, but because there was another factor that they weren't aware of: the Changeling plague. The plague that had, of course, been engineered by Section 31 to exterminate the Changelings.

So again you have to ask: *was* this critical? Or was the real message that a black ops division willing to commit genocide is necessary to preserve a "utopian" society, no matter how squeamish it makes a naïve idealist like Bashir? And yeah, the war is ultimately won by an act of compassion, but only *after* Bashir sinks to S31's level by kidnapping Sloane and invading his mind with illicit technology. So...is this really a win for idealism?

And then we have the Jem'Hadar. They're a race of slave soldiers, genetically engineered to require a compound that only the Changelings can give them. By any reasonable standard, they're victims. And yet, the series goes out of its way, especially in "The Abandoned", to establish that they're irredeemable. You can't save them. Victims of colonialism they may be, but your only choice is to kill them, or else they--preternaturally violent almost from the moment that they're born--*will* kill you. And of course, I've long assumed that this was just a really unfortunate attempt to subvert what had become the standard "I, Borg" style Star Trek trope where your enemies become less scary once you get to know them, but like. I would say that there's pretty close to a one-to-one correspondence between this premise and the ideology excusing the mass murder of children in Gaza.

Or the Maquis. There's this line at the start of "For the Uniform" where Sisko tells Eddington that he regards the refugees in the Demilitarized Zone as being "Victims of the Maquis", because they've kept alive the forlorn hope that they would ever be allowed to return to their homes and...Jesus, when I write it out like that, Hello, Palestinian Right of Return. [The episode of course ends with Sisko bombing a Maquis colony with chemical weapons, though it is somewhat less objectionable in practice than I'm making it sound here].

And you know what...I get that DS9 is a show that's intended to have moral complexity, and to be kind of ambiguous in a lot places, and not to give you simple answers and so on. And I'm *not* trying to do the standard JK Rowling/ Joss Whedon/ Justin Roiland thing where a creator falls from grace for whatever reason and people comb through their oeuvre to show that they were always wicked and fans were stupid for not seeing it earlier or whatever. But I will say that these things hit different when you know that the series was show-run for five seasons, comprising every episode that I've just named, by a man who would go on to sign his name to a letter maliciously quoting Jonathan Glazer out of context to drag him for condemning an active genocide. And given that I've been a fan of DS9 for basically my entire life, this is deeply unsettling to me.

[raisins-n-space]

I’m going off only what i’ve seen so this is mostly headcanon territory but

You know that headcanon where human/vulcan, red/green significances swap because vulcan blood is green and vulcan nature is red whereas on earth it’s the opposite? so green is like their angry/passionate colour?

As far as i’ve seen (which probably means i’m wrong but in a headcanon context just bear with me) there are no other vulcans with green eyes except for Saavik (her twok actress at least) who’s half romulan?

So if vulcans don’t really have green eyes, but do have hazel and similar colours, I think that gives Saavik lots of untapped slightly-uncanny vulcan potential? Like if you were to see someone with slightly-too-red brown eyes… I think she deserves to be a little bit creepy compared to other vulcans.

Especially since in the movies it’s not known/stated she’s half romulan? I think a bunch of vulcans would do a double take idk i just think it’s potentially neat.

[stra-tek]

Lots and lots of random spoilerific things about Star Trek comics

Gold Key's old run was written by people who had never actually seen the show. Later they involved fans like Doug Drexler to make things a bit more authentic

This however made them, IMHO, amazing

Blond scotty. Wearing green.

Voodoo planet, with papier mache versions of Earth landmarks which, when blasted with a death ray, cause the real ones to collapse

Spock learns voodoo to combat this threat

The Enterprise completely razes a planet of hostile plant spore things. Like full on extermination of all life

There's a locked room on deck 7 full of evil Vulcan spirits. A yeoman blunders in and all hell breaks loose

Kirk doesn't know what a god damn black hole is

Spock is kidnapped by aliens, has their entire knowledge downloaded into his brain which makes him into a bobblehead for awhile

The Enterprise is briefly taken from Kirk and given to Captain Zarlo, who is a total bellend

Spock forgets to have pointed ears sometimes

The old UK newspaper comic strips were even worse. The first few issues feature "Captain Kurt" and he wears a red shirt. Bailey is also a lead character, giving away which one episode they had knowledge of

Depictions of the Enterprise in their very first strip will shock and horrify you, but after that the art becomes amazing and maintains a very high standard

Marvel did a series following The Motion Picture, and it was a vast improvement, although they technically had rights to the movie and not the series, which led to a little weirdness. Tons of references still were snuck in, though

There's a series of Book and Records, which you can listen to on YouTube and are goofy fun. The Enterprise desperately needs a meal in the art, though.

They draw Romulans as green wizards

They didn't have the rights to Nichelle Nichols or George Takei's likenesses, so get ready for White Uhura and Black Sulu!

They didn't have the rights to The Animated Series either, so M'Ress is a human with weird face paint and Arex is substituted for just some guy

There's an unlicensed Chinese adaptation of The Motion Picture's novelisation (made with zero prior knowledge of Star Trek), which features an all-star cast like O.J. Simpson as Decker and James Brolin as Kirk. It's called The Star Trek, which is a better name than The Motion Picture, IMHO.

DC comics' first run is considered some of the best Trek ever. They're made with love and a deep knowledge of the source material

You know how Star Trek III takes place right after II? WRONG. It was several months later and the crew (with Saavik taking over from Spock) had tons of adventures in the interim. It just seemed like it was right after😂

Before Worf and long long before Ash Tyler, Kirk had a Klingon on his crew

He was a cowardly Klingon named Konom who fled the Empire

He fell in love with a human woman named Bryce

They adopted an albino Klingon/human child with dwarfism which they named Bernie

Kirk has an unhinged, insubordinate crewman on board named Bearclaw and they hate each other

Tension escalates and eventually there's a stabbing

Sulu/M'Ress happens and I don't think people knew what furrys were in the 80's

You know how Spock comes back at the end of III but isn't his old self until the end of Star Trek IV? WRONG AGAIN. He came back just fine, and lost his marbles following an incident months later that just happened to line everything up to make it all seem like it was right after.

After STIII, Kirk becomes captain of the U.S.S. Excelsior NX-2000 and Spock becomes captain of the U.S.S. Surak. We get a few issues exclusively focusing on Spock's ship and his band of merry weirdos.

The U.S.S. Surak keeps changing design, starting off as a sort of Oberth-class ship, then randomly becoming an Excelsior-class ship and finally ending as the warp sled shuttlecraft from The Motion Picture

The Surak's crew include a giant chicken man, a Vulcan hating racist lady and a balding man with a bicycle

They all die horribly and a massive reset button is pressed so everyone is exactly where they were at the end of Star Trek III

In order to make that work they had to bs that the Klingon Bird of Prey was hidden in Excelsior's shuttlebay all this time despite it being way, way too big for that

There's a full on mirror universe invasion

Kirk becomes a celebrity from saving the galaxy all the time

Mr. Arex comes back and becomes chief of security but doesn't really do much

HORTA CREWMEMBER. It's as amazing as it sounds

The first Next Generation comic miniseries was made with knowledge of the first 2 or 3 TNG episodes and nothing else

Everyone is hench as fuck. Picard has washboard abs and bulging muscles

Data is emotional and Troi feels the emotions she senses a la "Encounter at Farpoint"

Wesley is drawn as if he's 10

The B-shift con and ops team are a husband and wife who wear caped superhero versions of Starfleet uniforms with bare legs.

They argue. A lot.

The crew meet an alien Santa Claus and Q loses his powers years before "Deja Q"

The whole Q Continuum visits the Enterprise and they're all John De Lancie but in Starfleet uniforms of every colour under the sun.

After that initial miniseries, the Next Gen crew lose a lot of their muscle mass and start resembling their on screen counterparts a lot better

Picard had a brother who fell down a hole and died as a child. Q offers to rewrite history so he doesn't die. Claude Picard grew up to be Space Superhitler and turns Starfleet and the Federation fascist.

Before all this Q turned Jean-Luc into a goat for the lolz

Marvel's The Early Voyages was very literally Strange New Worlds before Strange New Worlds.

They have a pyrokinetic security officer named Nano and he's awesome

Marvel lost the Trek license quite suddenly, and so the series ends on a cliffhanger where Admiral April is up to something iffy.

Marvel did a Starfleet Academy series featuring Nog and its utterly fantastic

A female Andorian cadet tries to make Nog feel at ease by greeting him in the nude, but Nog fails to take it as an innocent gesture and she immediately sends him flying across the room

Romulan agents with split personalities in Starfleet Academy!

They visit Talos IV and get help from Captain Pike, who's still alive

IDW comics did a prequel to the 2009 reboot where Picard is an ambassador, Data is captain of the Enterprise-E and Nero has hair. It was co-written by the movie writers and was considered sort of vaguely semi canon ish for a time

They originally wanted the Romulan supernova to destroy a lot more, including Earth and have Nero kill the TNG crew. It was the Star Trek Online devs that got them to scale things back because they'd have no universe left to set their game in.

Nero's ship looks like it does because after Romulus was destroyed he took it to a secret Romulan base and had it equipped with reverse-engineered Borg technology

You thought DC struggled to keep ship designs correct? IDW's comics keep using traced fan art from Google Images, and fan art (sometimes with unique ship designs) has shown up on multiple occasions as the Kelvinverse U.S.S. Enterprise

In one IDW TOS comic, the bridge is totally covered with TNG LCARS graphics.

In another, an Orion ship is a gigantic Stargate sticking out of the middle part of Battlestar Galactica.

Wanna see Kelvinverse versions of TOS episodes? That was their first comics run, picking up after the 2009 reboot movie. They start off very faithful and as the series goes on things diverge more and more

To the extent some stories have very different backstories and outcomes

We visit 2 Kelvin mirror universes and a genderswapped universe too. No, Kirk doesn't do what you're thinking.

Q visits the Kelvin Universe and brings the crew forward in time to their version of Deep Space Nine

Nero's time in Klingon prison (from the Star Trek 2009 deleted scenes) and escape is fleshed out

Nero meets V'ger.

Nero mind melds with V'ger.

V'ger turns away due to the sheer force of Nero's hatred.

I wish I was making that up.

Klingons get their hands on Narada's technology and go to war

We get a Khan backstory where the Eugenics Wars are a full on nuclear conflict and "Khan" is the title that little Noon Sing adopts when he takes power

After being revived in the 23rd century, Admiral Marcus has Khan surgically altered to look like Benedict Cumberbatch as part of his John Harrison cover identity

They did a series of shorts called Waypoint, and in the first one Geordi is captain of a future Enterprise and his crew is made up of holographic versions of Data and it's a really sweet concept (this was several years before before ST: Picard brought Data back twice)

There's a prequel series centred around Number One where nobody manages to say her name before being interrupted. If you put the bits together it seems her name was Eureka Robbins. Of course, this is long before novels and SNW made her Una Chin-Riley.

[star-trek-fandom-confessions]

Re: many of the various about the Gorn or listing SNW's handling of the Gorn as one of its major problems.

Perception not matching reality, what is/is not a monster is a huge theme throughout SNW.

Ghost of Illyria – Those light monsters didn’t murder the Illyrians, they are the Illyrians and were trying to save Pike and Spock all along. Everyone (except Una ofc) learns a lesson that Illyrians can’t be lumped in with the Augments and need greater understanding Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach – Turns out that nice lovely civilization is literally torturing children. The terrorists are actually trying to save those children. The Serene Squall – Surprise the counselor is a pirate Ad Astra Per Aspera – Continues with the Illyrians deserve understanding theme. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow – That helpful reporter is actually a Romulan. Even notorious tyrant and mass murderer Khan Noonien Singh was once a scared child. Lost in Translation – Starfleet is the monster, accidentally torturing and killing a life form they didn't know existed. Under the Clock of War – Turns out the lovely ship’s doctor is actually the Butcher of J’Gal and capable of murdering someone in cold blood. War can make a monster of anyone.

Yet so many people seem to think they’re not going to pull something similar with the Gorn? Even though the show has taken time to establish that the Gorn are intelligent and have a religion?

The thing about the Gorn is that people have died - La’an’s family, Hemmer, some other members of the Enterprise crew, nearly the entire crew of the Cayuga, multiple colonies - and possibly Marie will be added to that list before the two-parter is done. That creates an environment where it’s understandable that the SNW characters would not want to have their perception that the Gorn are monsters challenged, because the harm they have caused is so personal.

It creates a really interesting conflict for the crew, because how do you find understanding, how to you fight the will for revenge, when there’s been so much pain?

I could be wrong about this being the route the SNW writers are going down, but I’m really excited to see if they do.

Posting this as a response to several earlier confessions.

[trekkie-polls]

Yes I straight up plagiarized the plot of saga, but it would be good wouldn’t it? What are your ideas?

Soap box below the fold! You were warned!

To be honest I’m usually not excited about the new series rumors. Sometimes they turn out great, and I’m wrong. But they’re never about the stuff I really crave. There’s so much that’s unexplored in trek! So much we don’t know. I get really disappointed when I see another borg story or Klingon remake or tos prequel.

I want to know how trill symbionts reproduce, or what it’s like the first lifetime they join. I want to know what happened to the Denobulans in the 24th century. I want a post-dominion Vorta society. I want to meet the Iconians. I want more animal and plant biology. I want to know how giant spacefaring creatures evolved. I want to encounter cultures that aren’t just archetypes of peaceful! or warlike!, but who are so different they do things in ways I never would have thought of. I want mystery and exploration. I don’t want endless nostalgia. I want to be caught off guard.

[lunarbreaksblog]

Note: Tumblr is being weird, so I can't edit drafts

Note 2: I basically grew up with RiD, I remembering staying up to midnight to watch the reruns lol

How RiD! Drift, Fracture and Thunderhoof react to Alien! Reader

Fracture

How did you manage to capture his spark is one thing but to make him not turn you in for a bounty was something new.

Your species is ancient, more older than Cybertron and perhaps the universe itself. You are but a ball of pure energy.

He met you when you were experimenting with using a dead mech as a vessel. That was some sort of war crime you were committing but he couldn't care less.

Quickly you fled, even if your species was old, you were a great source of energy for warp technology. He let you flee, after all you were spectacular, he never saw you kind.

Soon, he met you again.

You spoke to him

You spoke

You had no mouth but he could hear you.

Quickly he realized that maybe he shouldn't hand you into someplace so he could get credits even if it was a lot of credits.

You could be his. His energy.

Drift

You looked and felt cybertronian but you weren't

If he had met you as Deadlock, he would've claimed the bounty on your helm. However, now as Drift, he's curious about you.

How do resemble his people but some how are his people, there's something wrong with you. Not that it's big issues like wrong number of optics. Its the way that your face doesn't seem right if he looks close enough. How your mouth never seems to move with your vocals.

It terrifies him.

But he sees that as a thing to get over, to accomplish not being afraid of you, even if you say you're cybertronian.

Thunderhoof

He might not be into organics, but he will admit you have a very nice ass. He's doesn't seem like it but genuinely could care less about what race you are. As long as you listen to him and let him do his business with his dealings.

You seem human but what makes you different is the fact that you seem to have weird sharp ears and green blood.

Something about you being a Romulan, he knows that your species is secretive but he's glad he took the chance to speak with a Romulan, which was you.

You only come to his knee, but damn does he like what he sees.

You though, could care less.

[tazaryoot]

Star Trek Novel Review #3

Killing Time (1985) by Della Van Hise

Hi everyone, this is my third Star Trek novel review! This one’s a wild one, I doubt my review can accurately summarize how crazy the plot is. Initially, I was going to just read the rereleased copy I had picked up and compare it with the pdf of the original, but I was able to come across an original copy of the book at a retro paperback book fair. Regardless of how you feel about the book or the Premise, its an interesting niche bit of Star Trek history! As always, thanks for reading, and LLAP 🖖

A bit of context before we begin: The original publication of Killing Time by Della Van Hise was recalled and rereleased after changes were made to remove what was deemed too overt implications of homoerotica, making the book notorious for it’s particularly slashy plotline.

Summary :

Kirk and Spock experience a shared dream about an alternate reality where Spock is captain and Kirk is an ensign and become concerned over its implications. Over time, other crew members come forward relaying their dreams about the alternate reality as well and Kirk begins to wonder if some strange illness is affecting the Enterprise.

Soon after, Kirk seemingly awakes to find that the dream has become reality. The whole Enterprise crew and ship have been transformed into the VSS Shikahr, where Spock is Captain and Kirk is a lowly ensign. Suddenly, Captain Spock is given orders to violate a Vulcan-Romulan treaty with means to attack the Romulans. He and McCoy question whether their higher-ups are possibly affected by the mysterious brain fog sweeping across the ShiKahr.

Meanwhile, orders given to Romulan Commander Tazol reveal that the Romulan Empire is attempting to tamper with our reality. Their master plan is to time travel into the past to kill historical figureheads that ensure the creation of the Federation. However this mission proves unsuccessful, as reality has already shifted and a multi-species alliance resembling the Federation is still formed- except with the Vulcans as the leading force.

McCoy deploys the use of a neural vid scanner to compare crewmember’s dreams, but Kirk is unwilling to participate. Spock and Kirk struggle to communicate amidst their vague recollections of each other, but Spock believes Kirk is somehow the epicentre of the illness. Eventually Spock and McCoy determine the cause of the ‘illness’ sweeping through the crew to be the dimensional alterations being made; resulting in a sort of psychosis. As their orders to attack the Romulan territory linger over their heads, they predict they have around 15 days before the madness becomes wide scale. Then, the Shikahr is given orders to pick up a diplomat for an escort mission and Spock assigns Kirk to the team. Before they can react, the team is surprise attacked.

Romulan Science Officer Sarela is permitted to meet with the Praetor of the Romulan Empire. The Praetor reveals herself to Sarela as a woman named Thea, who surprisingly wants the Romulan Empire to put an end to their opposition and join the alliance. However, she believes the only way to do this is through Spock. Their plan is to kidnap his beloved Kirk so he has no option but to agree to peace.

The away team recouperate on the Shikahr, with McCoy and Spock realising their ‘mission’ to retrieve the ambassador was a trap. Spock finds an unconscious Kirk in the botanical gardens and impulsively initiates a mind meld, waking him up. Spock tries to explain to him their theories on the alternate universe, and Kirk angrily questions why Spock would want to return to the old world and give up command. A brawl between them breaks out, resulting in Spock forcing another mind meld which reveals their repressed memories. So I guess they’re besties again. Love is in the air? Wrong. It’s Pon Farr. And now Spock is quickly succumbing to blood fever. Pike mention.

The Praetor and Sarela pose as remaining crewmembers of a Romulan ship sending a distress call to the ShiKahr. Spock takes the bait, and they capture Kirk and his roomie Richardson to desert them on some planet. (Around this point, the plot started being incomprehensible to me.) The Praetor has Spock pose as her to do some infiltrating of a Romulan ship since her identity is largely unknown. Spock has McCoy pose as his personal slave (because the Praetor just has a tonne of them and that’s normal in Romulan society) to administer drugs to lessen the symptoms of his blood fever, this shit is really getting crazy!

On the deserted planet, Richardson suggests Kirk call out to Spock via their mindlink, because I guess he knows about their personal relationship somehow. This results in them having a steamy shared dream where they become one. On the Romulan vessel, Spock is now super dying of Pon Farr, and the Praetor seems to have sussed his condition out. She reveals that most Romulans do Not experience Pon Farr! But don’t worry, she says she knows a way to fix his condition! …Oh.

The Praetor offers that Spock rule together with her to continue to fulfill her dreams of an alliance between Romulans and the Psuedo-Federation of this world. Spock doesn’t really like her back, and explains how the instability of this tampered reality will cause everyone succumb to madness if they do not restore it, so it’s a no. Once the universe is corrected, Captain Spock will cease to exist and effectively die, undoing everything that has occurred so far. The Praetor just can’t have this though, and asks Spock why he’d turn her down. James Kirk, obviously, he says. This is just a novel and we can’t make any major changes to lore so the Praetor does a 180 and accepts that the Romulans must always be the enemies of the Federation. Then she goes into another room and talks to a huge evil demon lord which they never mentioned until now and remains totally unimportant afterwards, and then retrieve Kirk and Richardson to fix the timeline.

Kirk, Spock, and Richardson travel back in time to precisely when the Romulan operatives alter the universe, tracking them down to a swanky reception where the founding members of the Federation were assassinated. They take down the Romulan android operatives and restore reality, but not before being hit with poison darts or something. Kirk and Spock share their final moments together, pondering their lives and mind melding one last time before death.

Back in our normal reality, the dreams and madness have slowly dissipated. Kirk and Spock remain hazy about what truly occurred, and meet in Spock’s quarters to sort it out…Through some more mind melding of course! They acknowledge their lives in the alternate universe and Kirk makes a rather poor joke about the Romulan woman suing Spock for child support, even though now that never happened. The story ends with Kirk wistfully thanking alternate universe Kirk for his sacrifice to restore their world.

Review :

Star Trek is no stranger to time travel and alternate universe stories, in fact they tend to be some of the most compelling episodes of the franchise! …That being said, Killing Time still manages to be a bit far fetched in its premise and execution… It’s shaky attempts to justify the thinly veiled K/S elements sacrifice much of the plausibility of the overall story. The logic can be more than iffy at times- How Kirk and Spock are the centre of the alternate universe in this when they aren’t the only ones to undergo change and retain dreams of their past lives, why the Romulans would need specifically Spock to execute an alliance when he doesn’t have the rank or status to officiate that, why if they want a peace alliance they don’t just ask for one, why Spock is randomly having Pon Farr as a result of the timeline-change induced madness, the Praetor’s instant admit of defeat, the demon lord???? that just lives in her closet, the odd focus on the side character who is literally just a dog woman…

The inclusion of a female love interest for Spock is an obvious attempt to dismiss any notions of queerness and makes for a pretty uncomfortable scene when they use Pon Farr as a selling point for it. There’s questionable consent here; Spock adamantly rejects her initially but is literally dying of his symptoms at this point and she uses it to her advantage. They then go back and forth on whether Spock even has feelings for her afterwards, ending in a sort of unclear jumbled answer. Spock is very firmly against being in a relationship since he’s devoted to Kirk and the Praetor is actively jealous and bitter towards him for this. At the end they have them do a flimsy “If we truly had free will and were able to choose, maybe in another universe…. Perhaps…” thing, which is honestly just a paradoxical cop out.

The plot and reasoning for itself just doesn’t stand on any solid ground and much of it is just bafflingly irrelevant to the end result. The writing is cliche in every sort of fanfiction troupe. But hey, they were bullshitting their way through for a greater purpose : Spirk. And they do deliver. (I’ll get into the k/s review in a reblog to keep the post from being too long)

Conclusion :

Worth reading? Sure, why not. It’s hot trash, but it’s shippy to high hell and I love some good accidentally officially liscensed K/S fanfiction.

[electronickingdomfox]

"The Trellisane Confrontation" review

Novel by David Dvorkin from 1984. Finally a cover that looks a bit different! By the way, that's Chapel there, and not some random lady that never shows up, as I thought at first.

Is this high literature? Surely not. The prose is pretty simplistic and straight to the point. Is it very original? Also nope. The plot is a mishmash of everything TOS, put together: there are two alien races at war, and on top of that the Enterprise is hijacked and taken from Kirk, and on top of that there are Klingons, and on top of that, Romulans. Also McCoy struggles to free slaves, and dines with cannibals. And then Chapel finds (briefly) love, when she enters into communion with a composite being that looks like a ball of flesh (okay, THAT'S new, and not really as disturbing as it seems at first; though there are some disturbing things in this novel). Having said all that, did I enjoy this book? Hell, yeah! (see everything above).

With so many things going on, the plot can be a bit confusing, as it keeps branching out when characters go their separate ways. Though somehow, everything clicks. There's also an underlying theme of IDIC to help bring things together. The resolution of the main conflict, however, is less than satisfactory. Let's be frank; the political situation in the planet Trellisane when the Enterprise leaves is... well, shit. There's no way that's not gonna end in another war. But Kirk seems satisfied so...

As for characterization, I found it spot-on, which is not frequent in these novels (usually there's something that seems "off"). The focus is more on action than character development, but you get those glimpses of personality. Spock is sassy, and sometimes Kirk discovers those cracks in his Vulcan mask, and wonders if his occasional humor isn't really another way to hide his true emotions. Kirk has his boyish, fun-loving side in addition to his responsible side as starship captain. Scotty is a badass, and not just a miracle worker. And McCoy is particularly developed, with his softness under a crusty exterior, and his disregard for cruel authority figures. Still, I've found reviews of this novel criticizing it for being out-of-character, which I truly can't understand. If anything, the easy way in which the Enterprise is hijacked is a bit unbelievable. And Sulu makes a really, really stupid mistake while having the con, that triggers the whole problem. But hey, Sulu isn't yet a Captain, and even then, he's just a fallible human! I don't see how having a crew that's always impeccably perfect is any more realistic...

Spoilers under the cut (it's a short novel, but a long plot):

Kirk's mission this time around consists in taking a bunch of dangerous criminals and bringing them to a more secure prison. The criminals are fanatics that believe the Federation should conquer as much territory as possible, so they were trying to enter the Romulan Neutral Zone to trigger a war. They consist of the leader, Hander Morl, his four bodyguards, and a curious creature: an Onctiliian. This race has four sexes, and when they mate, all four individuals are permanently merged in a ball of flesh (body horror much), and can't exist separately anymore. In this state, Onctiliians are very dangerous and aggresive.

However, Kirk receives a fading distress call from Trellisane, vaguely mentioning Klingons. So he decides to investigate this planet before putting the criminals in prison (aka "wrong decision"). Kirk, Spock and McCoy meet the Trellisane leader, who explains they're under attack from the neighboring planet, Sealon (populated by some aquatic, seal-like beings). They suspect the Klingons are behind the sudden weapon development of Sealon. At first, the Trellisanian come off as the peaceful, advanced, but somewhat naive race. While the Sealons are described as barbaric. But things aren't quite so simple.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise is attacked by Sealon ships. Sulu underestimates them, and the ship gets a direct hit, which affects the security cells. The prisoners escape, and after killing some redshirts, they manage to reach the bridge, seal up the doors, and hold everyone there at gunpoint. But the Onctiliian has been seriously injured and goes a different way. The rest of the crew only know the prisoners have escaped, and are unaware of the situation in the bridge. Morl leaves the red alarm flaring, so everyone is busy elsewhere, and forces the bridge crew to depart to the Neutral Zone, to trigger his war. And Kirk watches his ship warping away under his nose.

Down in the planet, the trio find out the Trellisane government is completely ineffectual, so they try to take matters into their hands (violation of the Prime Directive, of course, but it's not like they can do much else this time). McCoy starts tending to the wounded, and discovers strange brain implants in some of them, which he removes. Soon, it becomes apparent that Trellisane has a slave class, which is treated like animals and denied all rights, so McCoy has to cure them in secret. For their part, Kirk and Spock rally the slaves (the only willing to fight), and help them plant explosives under the ocean, where the Sealons are already building bases.

In the Enterprise, Scotty uses his brains and notices something is wrong. He gets to the bridge and is captured as well. But he improvises an excuse about the warp engines being very damaged, and convinces Morl to stop the ship for maintenance, thus gaining some time. Chapel has found the injured Onctiliian, now dying, since one of its four members was killed. She overcomes her fear, and tries to remove the corpse, so the rest of the body can heal. But upon coming in contact with the link spot, the Onctiliian accepts her as a new fourth member, and a mind link is established between them. With the new input from Chapel, more peaceful and intelligent, the creature understands how wrong are Morl's ways.

Again back in the planet, Kirk and Spock are captured by Sealons in one of their bombing incursions, and brought to their underwater base. Effectively, the base is run by Klingons, the real masterminds behind the war. Then, the Klingons bring them to their main base in Sealon. Kirk explains the situation with the Enterprise, and convinces the Klingon leader that, if the Romulans are provoked, they'll also interfere with Klingon affairs in this sector. The Klingon captain agrees to take Kirk to his ship, so he can regain it and avert the conflict. But then Kirk must surrender the Enterprise to the Klingons (ha! gullible Klingon much!). Meanwhile, Spock escapes his imprisonment, after Sealon rebels start attacking Klingon infrastructures. He comes face to face with the Sealon leader, and of course can't resist the temptation of mind-melding with him. This gives Spock a new viewpoint about the Sealons.

As for McCoy, he's at his wit's end with the Trellisanian and their classism. To make things worse, he discovers the brain implants are used to control slaves, and even kill them on the spot when they misbehave. And then comes... the revelation (actually, you can see it coming since earlier in the novel, but still...). The Trellisanian leader says McCoy is an hypocrite, for defending the slaves and still eating meat. He brings the doctor to a butcher house, and there McCoy discovers the meat actually came from slaves. It's a shame that McCoy's coping with this fact isn't explored further (Tarsus IV anyone?).

In the end, the Enterprise bridge is regained when Chapel bursts in, with her Onctiliian bondmate wreaking havoc on all the bad guys. The creature dies in the fight, however, freeing Chapel from the bond (and she's pretty sad about it). Morl has a villanous breakdown, and at last surrenders, when Kirk beams in the bridge. The Romulans have been attracted by the suspicious presence of the Enterprise near their border. But Kirk invites both the Romulan and the Klingon captains to his ship, to reach a cooperation agreement in regards to Trellisane and Sealon (okay, this was waaaay too easy). Down in the planet, Spock has reunited with McCoy, and together they organize a meeting between Trellisane and Sealon leaders, to reach another agreement. First, the slaves must be set free, if Trellisane ever wants to receive help from the Federation. And the Sealons are allowed to keep the conquered oceans, if they share the fishing. I think it's a rather shitty arrangement that leaves nobody happy (not even the slaves, since the grudge is still there). But anyway, both the Trellisanians and the Sealons are rather shitty in their own ways, so there.

Spirk Meter: 1/10*. Very little. But Spock reflects a moment about how much he admires his Captain, for having such a perfect balance between logic and emotion (but it's not hero-worship, nope...). However, his ideal image is suddenly broken, when he sees Kirk excited like a little boy, at the prospect of rowing in a boat.

Is it my impression, or do male authors gravitate much more towards McKirk and Spones, while books written by women are more spirky? In the first page, we already have Kirk looking up and down at Bones in his dress uniform, and telling him that his old country doctor persona is all he needs to impress the colonists. And then, Kirk brings McCoy to his cabin, closes the door, and undresses in front of him (okay, he needs to change into his dress uniform too, but still...).

Then, at the end, McCoy is discussing with Spock about cross-breeding between different species, when he changes the subject, to comment on Spock's warm, human emotion upon reuniting with him. McCoy wants Spock to admit he was worried about him, but yet again, Spock is cold and hurts him. McCoy goes away, angry, and Chapel reprimands Spock for being so cruel, since the doctor is sensitive. Spock agrees. And adds he's a remarkable doctor, and probably derives pleasure from insulting and being insulted by Spock, as it's his only way of showing his affection. All this in the context of IDIC, and Chapel's recent experience as a mate of the Onctiliian. Hmmm...

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[walkingstackofbooks]

During In The Pale Moonlight, Sisko commits to an action that no-one would have expected he would do.

The Romulans coming on-side was a significant turning point during the war.

In Statistical Probabilities, Julian concedes their predictions may be wrong, as one person can do something totally unexpected.

I wonder if the augments' projections were coming true up until this point in time.

I wonder if Sisko really did change the course of the war here.

(And if the projections were coming true, I wonder how much more hopeless the war seemed to Sisko and Julian, if what Julian had presented began seeming inevitable...)

[quasi-normalcy]

*Prodigy spoilers*

I actually really like how they handled the attack on Mars in Star Trek: Prodigy. Like, it wasn't the central focus by any means, but there were constant references to the Romulan evacuation and how thinly spread Starfleet had become throughout the Federation as something that was just going on in the background. And if you're an absolute timeline obsessive like me, you were just kind of eyeballing the Stardates when they appeared on screen, like, "Oh dear, we're getting pretty close to the point where everything goes wrong, aren't we?" And I almost figured that, maybe they would use some kind of timeline jiggery-pokery to get around it. But then they didn't, and it became what they used to set up the third season, and, ugh, I really love this show.

[t0ast-ghost]

Episode 14 (The Conscience of The King). This is the reason I didn’t use the titles, you think I know how to spell concience?

Anyhow:

- oh neat mackers

- that was a weird and sudden transition for the theme

- WHY as the daughter of the actor playing mac would you play lady m???

- I also see dead men when trying to kiss women..

- “Mr. Spock, the man on top walks a lonely street. The chain of command is often a noose.” “Spare me your philosophical metaphors, Doctor.” They hate each other

- “my fathers race was spared the effects of alcohol” “oh now I know why they were conquered” WHAT THE FUCK BONES

- “did it ever occur to you that he actually just might like the girl?” “It occurred. I dismissed it” “you would”

- this scene is just Spock trying to get Bones to agree with him and Bones trying to get Spock to sit down to have a drink with him. They’re married and you cannot convince me otherwise.

- Spock is worried :((

- NOT THE MILK!

- “you should be told the difference between empiricism and stubbornness, Doctor” DAMN. damn.

- God, I hope they don’t spoil hamlet for me

- I like how her story is actually similar to lady m, trying to protect a terrible man’s actions, killing, going insane because of it

- “but you’re safe now father” could you say that MORE like a creepy doll

- her performance, smiling and laughing and crying, wow. Just, wow.

- WOAH BONES WHAT? She doesn’t remember her father’s death?

- I may be an actor but this is not my favourite episode so far…

Episode 15 (Balance Of Terror):

- if I dressed like that on my wedding day I’d cry. This is why we love Garak

- the first look at Romulans and everybody is looking at Spock and Spock is surprised as fuck

- the navigator for this episode (it’s not Chekhov, I don’t care what his name is) being disgusting towards Spock and Kirk going “what was that?” Like you better fucking not

- Spock is biting his lip and not defending himself, he was/is scared that Jim will think he’s with the Romulans

- “this is the hardest substance known to our science” *proceeds to break it* McCoy then goes into *studying Spock* mode

- McCoy and Kirk watching as Spock gets verbally attacked. I cannot describe the laugh I let out after saying “guess who’s going to die”

- They are the angel and devil on Kirk’s shoulder but not who you’d expect is who. And they’re married. And they literally hate each other.

- “Bones, what if I’m wrong?” Then Bones gives a great speech. It consists of what he’s essentially been trying to say this whole episode, which is, “Stop trying to end up in my med bay. You idiot.”

- not sure why the Romulan captain was so ready to say they’d be friends but it was a good speech

- of course Tomilson died. And now there’s another person hugging Kirk when sad. He almost never hugs back, he cannot be that comforting.

Wow already finished episode 15, and it feels like I’ve barely just finished 10. I am excited for 20 though, I read a couple episode descriptions…

Continuing this thread is honestly just fun for me. A lot of the time I find I don’t make exactly astute observations.

Here’s the master list :)

[baubeautyandthegeek]

Sense Of Self - Kathryn Janeway/Seven of Nine/Laris/Raffi Musiker

A/N: Alt 8 for @polyamships polyartober.

Operating with a missing sense wasn’t easy, Laris had always hated sensory deprivation but now, with her ears still healing from the attack she was suffering. Seven, who understands it best, brings her home to the vineyard, calling for Raffi and Kathryn, Raffi quick to press gentle kisses to Laris’ sore fingers, Kathryn moving to gather wine and blankets, wrapping Laris gently in the warmth, letting her touch linger against the woman’s shoulder, a reassuring pressure that promises even now she’s not going to be left. By every definition their relationship should not exist, humanity was still adjusting to polyamory even if they were understanding enough, Borg had never believed in personal relationships until recently but Seven broke that rule daily, choosing her lovers. Laris, she supposed, was closest to a normal relationship, Romulan culture believed three was the right number, Laris had discovered the peace of four. The attack had been one of her own, of course, someone who thought bringing Kathryn into their relationship was the wrong step. Now, of course, Kathryn’s grip at her shoulder, steady, warm, caring, reminds her she is safe now. Raffi’s touch as she re-wraps her fingers is warmth itself and Seven is quiet, a shoulder to lean on when needed but quietly radiating her love in the gentle caress of metal-tipped fingers against Laris’ hip. Sensory deprivation might hurt, but her lovers can communicate without words all the same.

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Gul Dukat

By Ames

Last week we expanded our spotlight series to include villains, and like our focus character Kai Winn, this week’s villain is so compelling he deserves his own post. It’s no secret I’m a big fan of Dukat (both my favorite Cardassian and my favorite DS9 villain), but what is it about him that’s just so entrancing? Is it the swaggering charisma he exudes? Is it all the justifications he makes for his clearly villainous actions? Clearly it’s the mile-long neck, right? Well A Star to Steer Her By is going to get to the bottom of how such a bad man makes such a great character.

Did Dukat do nothing wrong? Of course not; he’s a monster, after all. But as a character, he gets so much right, and his performance by Marc Alaimo is so devoted that, every so often, you let your guard slip and root for the guy. He has the sheer audacity to pull off some of the schemes we’ve highlighted below, so scroll on down, listen to us whispering in your ear on this week’s podcast (jump to 1:15:10), and swagger up the place.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Favorite moments

Won’t someone please think of the children? One of the most impressive things about Cardassians is their ability to scheme for the long term. And Dukat is particularly skilled at scheming. His war orphans plot in “Cardassians” to undermine Gul Pa’dar sat dormant for eight years before it emerged! How many other schemes is he sitting on, waiting for them to hatch into something nefarious?

I spent the last few years building up an immunity to mind melds When Sarkonna tries to mind meld Dukat to extract information, she learns the hard way that Dukat’s mental discipline somehow surpasses hers. And she’s a freakin’ Vulcan! And then Dukat spends the rest of the scene in “The Maquis” sassing at his Maquis captors about how terrible they are at handling their prisoners and how the Cardassians are so much better at it.

Attention Bajoran workers It is downright badass for Dukat to beam in during “Civil Defense” and snark at the crew in Ops about how naive they were to set off the counterinsurgency program… all while standing in front of a ball shooting lasers! We also see more layers of trademark Cardassian scheming when even Dukat’s program is supplanted by yet another directive from Central Command!

I thought the Obsidian Order didn’t have any ships I find it amusing that, while normal Romulans acquiesce to the Tal Shiar in “Face of the Enemy,” the Cardassian Central Command and the Obsidian Order seem to loathe each other. In “Defiant,” Dukat has teamed up with Sisko to get the Defiant back from Tom Riker, and he manages to gleefully expose the Obsidian Order’s illegal ship-building plans on the way!

Cue the fireworks! Cardassians are nothing if not petty. When the Siskos have proven it possible for Bajoran lightships to have traveled to Cardassian space in “Explorers,” Dukat is there to congratulate them. Turns out the Cardassians have beaten Sisko the punch by “discovering” wreckage of a Bajoran lightship right before Sisko arrived. Coincidence? I think not.

You’re my number one dad, give or take Okay, so Dukat was fully planning on killing Ziyal in “Indiscretion,” and it’s the lowest bar for a man to not murder his progeny, but he manages to clear it! Leaving his bastard daughter alive ends up ruining his position and his marriage, but Dukat can’t bring himself to harm his daughter when he finally confronts her. And damn does he look good in a Breen uniform.

The first Klingon Bird-of-Prey ever to be captured by Cardassia Marauding Dukat may be my favorite Dukat. Sure, he lost his status after the news about Ziyal spread, but in “Return to Grace,” he just goes with it! He uses his dinky little freighter the Groumall to actually capture a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, which is all kinds of impressive. And he even has a good rapport with Kira this episode, trying to tempt her over to the privateer life.

Remember to rate your Uber driver While Sisko, Odo, and O’Brien are dressing up like Klingons to infiltrate the Order of the Bat’leth ceremony in “Apocalypse Rising,” Dukat is flying around with his stolen Klingon Bird-of-Prey. He’s even magnanimous enough to bring our DS9 friends to the ceremony, likely as an excuse to show off his spoils and how damn great he looks in a Klingon baldric.

The enemy of my enemy, twice removed If there’s a theme to many of these favorite Dukat moments, it’s the sheer audacity he displays. If nothing else, he always picks the ballsiest moves, which makes for the most entertaining developments. And it’s nothing short of audacious when he reveals that he has allied Cardassia with the Dominion in “By Inferno’s Light” while the DS9 crew picks their jaws up off the deck.

A graveyard the likes of which the galaxy had never seen! Just everything about “Waltz” is spellbinding, which is a testament to Dukat’s character because a majority of the episode is watching him go slowly (and then quickly) absolutely insane. He reveals to Sisko with relish how he believes he was right in how he treated the Bajorans and how he deplores that they never so much as said “thank you.” Ingrates.

Yo Momma jokes, Bajoran edition Is it contrived that “Wrongs Darker than Death or Night” establishes that Gul Dukat took Kira’s mom as a comfort woman during the Occupation? Yeah, a little. And I’ve already given both Sisko and Kira guff for their actions this episode. But you’ve got to appreciate the gall of Dukat, ringing Kira in the middle of the night to drop this bombshell on her for no damn reason.

How do you fight a god? Dukat turns a new leaf when he gets really into Bajoran religion. And sure, all his leaves are evil, but this one is still new! In “Tears of the Prophets” he lets himself get possessed by Kosst Amojen so he could take on the Prophets, and subsequently hit the Bajoran people where it hurts: right in the religion. Sadly it results in Jadzia’s death, but Dukat was just that committed.

Don’t drink the Kool-Aid Another “Oh the audacity” moment from Dukat comes in “Covenant” when he establishes the Cult of the Pah-wraiths. Rather successfully too, I might add! He’s got a decent and devoted little cult going, so brainwashed that they don’t bat an eye when he knocks up [at least] one woman, and even convinces them to go full Jonestown to cover his ass.

A little more than a neck lift If other Cardassians thought it was audacious to jump feet first into bed with the Dominion in “By Inferno’s Light” or watch a Pah-wraith possess him for reasons in “Tears of the Prophets,” imagine how Damar feels when he finds Dukat has gotten cosmetic surgery to try to infiltrate the Bajorans’ ranks in “Penumbra.” This guy. Always upping the ante, he is.

I’m just a simple man of the land By the top of the next episode, “‘Til Death Do Us Part,” Dukat has weaseled his way into the good graces of Kai Winn. And an episode after that in “Strange Bedfellows,” he’s weaseled into her bed. We covered all this in the Winn Adami spotlight, but Dukat’s skill at deception and persuasion are rivaled by none. He plays Winn like a fiddle and she loves it!

Feel our love: the love of the Pah-wraiths Okay, the Prophet stuff at the end of the series treads too far into fantasy for me, but what’s perfectly on the nose is both Dukat’s and Winn’s characterization. Dukat so seamlessly plays Winn into the hands of the Pah-wraiths by “Strange Bedfellows” that it is a work of art. And he gets her to read from the Book of the Kosst Amojen in “The Changing Face of Evil,” sealing their fates and bringing the whole series toward its conclusion. Praise be!

—

What a truly audacious journey! That’s everyone from Deep Space Nine I felt like covering in these spotlights, so next week we start revisiting some of our friends from Voyager! Boy, are we missing them during our watchthrough of Enterprise, for which I hope you’re humoring us by following along on SoundCloud, or wherever you get your podcasts. Summon the Pah-wraiths with us over on Facebook and Twitter, and see what schemes transpire!

[rocket-sith]

Q GOT TIRED OF MAKING ROBINHOOD LARPS SO HE DECIDED TO OPEN FOUR DIFFERENT CHRONO-TRIGGER SAVE FILES AT THE SAME TIME INSTEAD, but only one needed further progress (non-linear progress of course), two were already complete but were saved in the wrong place and missing a sidequest (lol time being non-linear what?), and the fourth was a big ol' sparkly decoy, a glitched file of nonsensical bits n bites, alluringly named Picard, that nearly crashed the game and took everything with it while you were busy looking for continuity in all the wrong places.

Behold! Season 2 of Picard, AKA Facepalm Theater Presents, AKA "Dude, where's my Tapestry?"

Love it, hate it, WTF it, or some should-be-impossible combination thereof - but somehow, you feel it. Are you in one or both of those last two camps? Yeah, me too. But I think I might have a theory. And no, it's not bunnies. (I rambled a bit about this somewhat in the A/Ns and comment thread of one of my fics a few weeks back, but the proper brain dump belongs here).

Season 2 of Picard is neither episodic, NOR is it one major overarching story with various sub-plots. It's FOUR overarching major stories, well-conceived in theory (mostly), but thrown together as gracelessly and incoherently, with the same abundance of panic and lack of transitions as the night-before-it's-due school essays we're all so painfully familiar with perpetrating. (Admittedly, a lot of us got pretty good at being zero-hour coherent by the time we got to high school, but apparently, this skill does not translate to timetravel via stellar slingshots and demigod trolls.) So that leaves us with - 

Picard Season 2: A Trek in Four Acts Loosely Disjointed and Sloppily Squished Together Parts. Feast your eyes, rub your temples, and buckle up. 

CRIS AND THERESA'S WILD RIDE: (Love story, social commentary, classic Trek shiz focused on the more touching/emotional side of temporal shenanigans.)

RENEE PICARD'S TIME HEIST AND EVEN WILDER RIDE:  (Classic Trek shiz, classic time travel fuckery, focuses on the more action-packed side of temporal shenanigans.)

THE RED HERRING, AKA THE ROCKY HORROR PICARD SHOW:

Supposedly the main plot, but really a completely ridiculous distraction that's the narrative equivalent of dumping sand in the snowglobe and violently shaking it up. Captain Picard takes a wrong turn at Albuquerque and has to go do the Timewarp (again) in some creepy old castle so he can be magically transported back home. Yeah, okay buddy, just don't forget the teddy and the TP rolls to throw around the theater.

Cut this entire arc out, and the season improves substantially in both enjoyability and coherence. (I said what I said.) If any of the four major threads don't belong, don't move the story forward, and only serve to muck things up - it's this one. It's not so much an arc as a collapsible squiggly line that looks like it might go somewhere but never does. Great if you're drunk with a shadow cast and some floorwalkers. Not so great if you're actually trying to figure out WTF is going on. 

TAPESTRY RIDES AGAIN, AKA GRAND THEFT BORG QUEEN LOS ANGELES: And now for the main event, which was literally announced as such in one of the episodes, by two people breaking the fourth wall who were probably the LAST people anyone was expecting to break the fourth wall: Seven and Raffi. So naturally, we viewers took it as a couple of throwaway comments and cute banter to lighten the dark/intense mood of all the other crap. Yeah, oops. We can't say they didn't warn us.

At one point the two of them are joking around, talking about how they're the main event, and all these other side stories are just side stories, but...yeah. Looking back after S3, that was not a joke, and it goes above and beyond the call of foreshadowing. It was a flat-out tell, and with ALL the potential fourth wallbreakers in S2 - Q, the Borg Queen, The Traveller, the Long-Lived Alien Bartender With Multiple Mysterious Powers, The Temporally Flexible Romulan Spy Of Dubious Origin - if somebody's gonna spill some futuristic tea, it's gotta be one of them, right? RIGHT? Nope. Seven and Raffi snuck in the back door.

Basically, the Grand Theft Borg Queen arc was Tapestry, but for Seven (and Raffi and Jurati to an extent). Jurati and Raffi were, IMHO, initially intended to be pieces on the gameboard, not players, but they made themselves into major players. To what extent Jurati's involvement in outsmarting the Borg Queen was meant to be a challenge for her by Q, or part of Seven's trial that Jurati unwittingly assisted in IDK, and ditto Raffi's major role in all the aforementioned drama, but either way - Seven finally accepting herself the way she is, Borg hardware and all, was a direct, not even subtle parallel to the TNG episode Tapestry. 

The most direct link is the scene in Tapestry where Picard realizes he'd rather die as his true self than live as his other-universe self who "corrected" the "mistake" that led to his artifical heart. Seven accepted that she would rather live as her Ex-B true self than die as a fully organic human, and in doing so, passed the test. 

And Jurati and Raffi played no small part in that realization, and passed their own tests in the process - with Raffi embracing Seven (literally and figuratively) while resisting the urge to manipulate Cris out of choosing his own fate, and Jurati outsmarting and merging herself with the damn Borg Queen to protect humanity and her friends. Seven passed the Q Troll test with flying colors, and Raffi and Jurati did too - giving us Elnor and a benevolent Borg Queen in the future as a result. (Q is totally one of those teachers who gives his students rewards for passing the Big Test.)

Fire up S2 of Picard, get your Fast Forward button ready, and follow the Grand Theft Borg Queen: Los Angeles arc and ONLY that arc. Skip over every single thing (other than Q monologing, as that's the one common thread) that doesn't have Seven, Raffi, and/or Jurati. You'll get an entirely different experience. It's Tapestry, but for Seven, and with different tests/opportunities for Jurati and Raffi. (And they all pass). 

Now do it again, but FF anything that ISN'T either part of the Renee Picard Time Heist plotline or part of Cris and Theresa's story. You'll get a classic Back to the Future, MCU, Reset the Timeline, Poke-An-Alternate-Reality's-Doom-Destination-With-A-Stick style story. And they all pass too. Cris and Theresa get their happily ever after and punt the primeline forward through the next generation of temporally paradoxical, adopted and found family members. 

As for the BS at Chateau Picard? It's all a decoy/charade. So come in costume, bring plenty of shit to throw, and chug the wine. You'll need it. 

[deepspacedukat]

Patience

Alright, here comes day two! Vreenak has entered the chat!

Day 2: Orgasm Denial

SOC prompt list here. SOC Masterlist here. Cross-posted to AO3 here.

~*~

Vreenak (ST:DS9) x Reader

[A/N: This is smut, so 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI!!!]

Warnings: Interspecies sex, Romulan/Human sex, orgasm denial, dirty talk, fingering, necking, almost getting caught, power imbalance, power play, getting interrupted, enemies to lovers kind of.

~*~

“Do you do that for the sole purpose of annoying me?” Vreenak’s low, silken voice seemed almost too loud in the confined space of the motionless turbolift. At least ten minutes had passed since either of us had spoken, and we’d been stuck between levels for nearly half an hour. We’d received one communication from Ops saying that we’d be out soon, then we were left on our own.

“What?” I asked meeting his icy, irate gaze with confusion.

“You’re tapping your foot,” he said gesturing to the offending appendage.

“So?” I didn’t dare admit that I was just getting rid of some nervous energy. That would open a whole other can of worms that I didn’t want to have to deal with while I was stuck here with Vreenak.

“So it’s irritating,” he snapped with a pointed glare. “I’ve half a mind to cut it off at the joint if you don’t stop.”

“With what? Your shit attitude? Besides, it’s no worse than your pacing a while back,” I muttered under my breath as I leaned against the back wall of the turbolift and crossed one ankle over the other. Folding my arms across my chest, I acknowledged that it was bad enough that he hated me and everything that I did. He didn’t need to know that I was attracted to him, bad attitude and all.

Fine. If he wanted to be an ass on what was already the worst day I’d had aboard this damn station, who was I to stop him? It wasn’t like I hadn’t tried in the past. Apparently, everything I did, including the way I dressed, annoyed the Senator. For a man his age, he really should have better manners.

“You’re lucky we’re not on Romulus. Speaking that way to a man in my position would undoubtedly garner more serious consequences than you could anticipate.” Was I crazy or was there a hint of amusement in his voice? I didn’t bother to look up. I just took a deep, slow breath, and tried to concentrate on anything but the fact that I was stuck in such a confined space with a man who clearly despised me. “Oh, don’t go quiet on me now. I thought even the weakest Humans had more fight in them than that.”

Stubbornly staring ahead at the dark, non-functioning panel on the opposite wall of the turbolift, I listened to both our breaths.

“I suppose I was wrong. How disappointing. What meetings will I miss if we’re stuck here for the next few hours? Or didn’t you have time to memorize my schedule this morning?” Despite his snide comment, I was glad he changed the subject. A little of my tension melted away. I could handle business talk.

“Don’t be absurd. I’ve worked for you for how long now? You’ll only miss one. A Bajoran Minister and Admiral Ross were scheduled for three hours of your time, beginning roughly an hour from now,” I answered without missing a beat. “I believe they wanted to discuss some prior incident that occurred a few years ago at a place called Derna.”

“Oh, wonderful,” he groused, and I glanced up just in time to see him pinching the bridge of his nose with those long, agile, stupidly gorgeous fingers of his. A professional sculptor couldn’t have done a better job– Stop it, stop it! Get your mind out of the gutter! “That’ll be three hours of posturing wrapped up in pointless, transparent appeasement and assurances. Utterly tedious.”

“You could always cancel or reschedule,” I suggested as he leaned against the lift wall beside me with a sigh. “I could tell them that I’d accidentally double-booked your appointments, or something so you wouldn’t be blamed.”

My mind screamed that after how he nitpicked everything I did, he deserved to suffer through a rough meeting. Just a little bit. Why was I offering him an alternative?

Those sharp, blue eyes that I both hated and adored in turns scanned my face - presumably to determine whether I was serious. After the absurdity of the day, I supposed that was only fair. Beginning the day with a drunk Klingon tearing up his office, an Andorian challenging me to a fight in said destroyed office because the Senator was busy, and the replicator nearly exploding in both our faces when we tried unsuccessfully to order lunch...that wasn’t exactly a normal day.

This turbolift incident, as inconvenient as it was, at least afforded us a moment to breathe. Sure, we’d still have to clean up his office, give statements to security about the Klingon and the Andorian, and put in a repair call for the replicator, but, for now, all we had to do - all we could do - was stay put and wait.

Well, that and try not to kill each other before the station’s engineering team could get us out. That was much easier said than done, especially on Vreenak’s part. The Senator certainly had a temper, but I’d only seen him really lose it once. He’d needed a new desk, and the person he’d thrown through it needed major surgery. His anger with me never seemed quite that intense, though.

“Who are you to assume the relative importance of my appointments?” Vreenak’s voice dropped to that low, raspy register with which I’d become so familiar and agitated over the last few months. That tone always made me question whether he was serious or teasing, so I usually didn’t push my luck.

Today, however, I was feeling foolishly bold. After all the chaos of the morning culminated in this damn turbolift trapping us, I’d had enough. My patience had run out, and Vreenak’s snide little comment was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“I think I’m the one who sets up your schedule and keeps angry Admirals from bursting into your office. I was trying to do something nice for you, not that you could tell. You wouldn’t know kindness if it bit those pretty, pointed ears of yours,” I retorted before I could think better of it. His eyes widened in surprise, but I wasn’t done yet. I’d been kind, I’d been accommodating, but that didn’t mean I was going to allow him to walk all over me just because I was nothing more than a glorified secretary to the man. Like a tidal wave, all my built-up frustration with the man came spilling out of me before I could stop it. “If you really want to deal with Starfleet and the Bajorans after a day like today, by all means, go right ahead! Don’t listen to your secretary’s advice. See how well that goes. After all, what the hell do I know? I’m just a Human. I’ve only covered for you about a dozen times! Heaven forbid I try to make things easier for you, you arrogant, ungrateful bastar–”

“Shut up,” he growled pinning me against the wall with one arm and grabbing my jaw with the other. The thought flickered across my mind that he might snap my neck. Instead, he crushed his mouth against mine in a hard kiss. After a beat of frozen surprise, I kissed him back with the same level of intensity. For several long moments, we lost ourselves in a dance of teeth and tongues.

He was essentially my boss. This should feel wrong, but every movement he made felt so perfect. His hands slid down my body with something like hasty reverence.

“Fuck you.” The words spilled involuntarily from my lips as he ground the heel of his palm between my thighs over my uniform.

“You seem quite eager to try,” Vreenak pointed out as I spread my legs for him. Practically clawing at the closure to my pants, he swore quietly when he dipped those long, devious fingers of his beneath my clothes and found me dripping.

He asked me something, but I could do no more than let out a desperate whine as he shoved two long digits into me. Grabbing his shoulders to steady myself, I tugged him closer.

“You’re infuriating,” he hissed as I bit the corner of his jaw. In retaliation, his fingers curled mercilessly, striking that place inside me over and over with unrelenting precision.

“Says the most irritating man in existence,” I gasped, rolling my hips to try and get more friction. Burying his head in the crook of my neck, Vreenak moaned as I palmed the bulge that had been pressing against me so insistently. Intense satisfaction poured through me when he began rutting slowly into my touch.

“Yes, but you want me, nonetheless. Don’t deny it. I’ve seen the way you look at me,” the Senator lorded that observation proudly over me even as he dragged me closer and closer to an orgasm. “Beautiful, pliant, little thing...”

“I fucking hate you,” I breathed, but my protest was so feeble and obviously false that neither of us could stifle our half-choked laughter.

“You’ve always been such an awful liar,” Vreenak murmured slanting his mouth over mine with an affection that I hadn’t anticipated. His hand sped up, intent on drawing screams from me. I was so close I could taste it. The lift jolted, but neither of us paid any attention. My breathing was no more than a stream of whimpered pleas as I began to tip over the edge–

“Ops to Turbolift Four, please respond,” a voice crackled over the comm, and we froze. Our labored breathing seemed almost too loud, now. With both our orgasms stolen away by reality’s return, Vreenak helped steady me on my feet before going to the comm panel. “Our controls show that you should be moving now. Can you confirm?”

“Yes, Ops. We’re moving,” the Senator said as he readjusted himself in his pants and took slow, deliberate breaths. I couldn’t help but smirk at the knowledge that he’d been as close as I’d been. Tuning out the conversation, I righted my clothing and tried to make myself look as if I hadn’t just been fingered within an inch of my sanity by my boss.

Mere seconds later when the turbolift opened on the level where the Senator’s office was, we both looked relatively put together for people who’d just been wrapped around each other. Navigating through the small group of people who were gathered at the lift entrance, I was suddenly grateful for the officer who’d interrupted us. If they hadn’t, we would’ve had quite the captive audience when the door had opened. We were almost to his door when one of Vreenak’s hands took up residence on my lower back.

“Cancel that appointment, but don’t pretend you double booked. Tell them the truth. Tell them...that an urgent personal matter has arisen that requires my immediate attention,” he murmured as we paused in the empty hallway. He tilted my chin up and gave me a mischievous smirk. “Once you’ve done that, I’d like you to come to my quarters. I believe you owe me a few screams for talking back to me, my dear.”

“Oh my, Senator, whatever will people say?” I teased winking up at him.

“If they’re wise, they won’t say a word. The ones who do, well...let’s not forget that I’m the Vice Chairman of the Tal.” His playful threat drew a laugh from me.

“You’d make someone disappear for gossiping about us?”

“For you, I’d make whole worlds disappear.” Having stunned me into silence, Vreenak placed a soft kiss on my forehead and started to walk away. One final teasing comment floated over to me as I moved to enter his office. “Don’t take too long, or I may have to begin without you.”

~*~*~

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[swimmingwolf59]

omfg how long has this been sitting in my drafts??? At least four months LMAO because I baked these from the star trek cookbook for my friends for the winter holidays!

First was the Ha Rageel (Vulcan carrot loaf) - I loved how moist this loaf was!! Probably could've used a bit more sugar, and it did fall apart in transport lol, but otherwise I thought it was good!

It also has one of my favorite captions from the cookbook: "It has never ceased to amuse Doctor McCoy that Mister Spock, with all his logical training, cannot consider Ha Rageel a close equivalent to Tufeen Hushani. Actually, to the logical Vulcan mind, a ceremonial wedding cake is quite unrelated to an "everyday" dessert loaf. It is quite true that they contain many of the same ingredients and have a somewhat similar taste. But this no more makes them related than the same number of eyes and legs makes first cousins of horses and dogs. To a cook the difference is also important. Preparing the wedding cake requires time, attention and care to avoid a minor disaster; with Ha Rageel you can hardly go wrong."

Yes this was the inspiration for my fic. I mean, how can you tell me McCoy has teased Spock about the carrot loaf being similar to the wedding cake and NOT expect me to write a fic about it.

Also sorry McCoy, but after making both, they are WAY different, and the wedding cake is better imo 🤣

I also made Criniti, Romulan spice cookies! These turned out sooooooo yummy, will definitely be making them again!

They also have a fun legend for the caption in the cookbook: "The name for these cookies comes from an ancient Romulan legend. The story is about how the Romulan herding wolves came to be domesticated.

"Once there was a long, hard winter, and the tribe of the boy Kalyb was short on furs. The boy was already a good hunter, but not yet old enough to go with the men. The men had caught all the meat they needed, and the tribe had stored seeds, honey, nuts, and dried fruit. But still they needed furs, or they would freeze.

"One morning Kalyb chanced on a sleeping Canis crinitus with a magnificent pelt and was about to kill it. The animal pleaded for its life and offered the following bargain. If Kalyb's tribe would prepare his favorite treat for him and his clan, they would help the boy's tribe catch all the woolly, sheep-like mountain creatures they needed.

The boy's tribe prepared cakes from seeds, dried fruits, nuts and honey and left them where the Criniti could find them. The next day, the cakes were gone, and before long, Kalyb heard a great commotion. The Criniti were sweeping down from the hills driving the woolly animals before them. Kalyb's tribe killed many of them and had enough furs to keep themselves warm all winter. Kalyb's people learned more about the habits and needs of the Criniti, and between them figured out how to keep a supply of the woolly sheep-like animals on hand for meat and fur.

"Romulans still use fruit and nut cakes for training their animals. They also make delicious spiced cookies using many of the same ingredients as rewards for their children. On certain feast days it is even proper for adults to be seen eating them."

Idk if this is based on anything in real life? Cool either way tho! Also I want a pet wolf LMAO