#dominion war

[uttaberries]

(he doesn't get it)

#gul dukat #dukat #ds9 #ds9 dukat #miles o'brien #startrek #star trek #star trek deep space nine #deep space nine #deep space 9 #st: ds9 #st ds9 #st #star trek fanart #weyoun #dominion #vorta #dominion war #sorry i was gone for so long!!

[lykegenia]

I've said this already in the tags on a different post but I can't stop thinking about Janeway after the Pathfinder project is successful and she starts getting reports from Starfleet HQ about the Dominion War. How inexorable a force the Jem'Hadar seem. How world after world is falling. How the casualties mount. The Maquis have already been destroyed and she can feel the grief from those of her officers who lost friends, but beyond that there's the knowledge that the destruction didn't end with a few rebels on the edge of Federation space. The entire Alpha Quadrant is tearing itself apart, and it's all so far away. Yes, her little ship has face Borg and alien power struggles and a Void without stars - they've lost friends too - but as the numbers keep coming in, day after day, impossibly high, what goes through her mind? Does she wish harder that she hadn't destroyed the array, so that she could have stayed to fight and do her part to save the home she so desperate to get back to? Or is some part of her soothed about her decision, knowing that by putting the needs of the Ocampa before her own, she likely saved the lives of many of the people now under her command? How do you deal with loss on such an abstract yet personal scale, and how do you sit and read the reports of lost battle after lost battle, knowing that it might mean the home you were so desperate for might no longer exist by the time you get there?

What if Voyager ends up being all that's left?

#star trek #star trek voyager #janeway #kathryn janeway #captain janeway #dominion war #i really would have loved to see some impacts of the dw on voyager's crew #not just one episode of b'elanna having depression before it goes away again #because how many of the crew are losing friends in the war? #does it bring the starfleet and the maquis crews closer in shared grief? #anyway this is a fancy way of saying voyager really should have invested in a counsellor program for the holodeck #my dudes you don't need irish stereotype village you need a psychologist

[starfleetskunkworks]

So I'm thinking about California-class starships again and Why They Are The Way They Are. I have a pet theory that they and the crews assigned to them are the result of personnel shortages during the war with the Dominion.

Starfleet took heavy losses in the early days of the war and had to press cadets into early service. It would make sense that they'd have to relax their standards for recruitment from what we see in TNG, and we meet a lot of colorful Starfleet characters during that time.

I think a lot of them got rushed through training. I think a lot were accepted to the Academy in the last year of the war when they otherwise wouldn't have been, and the Fleet decided to let them continue their education. I think they might not have had access to the best instructors or equipment due to the needs of the front-line.

So when the war ends, what do you do with these officers? Do you give up on them? Do you cashier them out? Those might be the things we'd expect but Starfleet seems to try to bring out the best in its officers, so I believe that's what they're trying to do.

They're taking these folks and assigning them to a sort of Auxiliary Program Lite, serviced by "new" ships made from old parts (there's a reason for that even in a post-scarcity economy that I want to make a separate post about). They are, crucially, mixed in with more traditional Starfleet officers. These are people who didn't get assigned to a ship of the line for whatever reason, but there's nothing really wrong with them.

For example, Rutherford is a great engineer. Tendi is extremely competent and also likely a political feather in Starfleet's cap. Boimler is Boimler. And Mariner is the kind of officer who would be serving on the Enterprise if it weren't for her desire to avoid promotion.

They all have things they need to learn, and it seems that they are, from the California program. And I think that may be the point.

#star trek #lower decks #uss cerritos #deep space nine #dominion war

[whirligig-girl]

Mellanus belongs to the Dominion. Earth is a smouldering ruin. Orion just surrendered. The LCARS displays say this is the battleship Cerritos. Tendi what did you DO?

#Star Trek #Dominion War #Star Trek Lower Decks #Lower Decks #Alternate timeline #alternate universe #time travel #D'vana Tendi #Tendi #Eaurp Guz #Slimegirl #Cerritos

[ffcrazy15]

Lower Decks Theory: Boimler lived on Risa for a while

I think Boimler enlisted when the Dominion War broke out and was assigned to Risa at some sort of desk job. It would explain why he and Mariner seem to be about the same age but she has way more practical experience; while she was on the frontlines on Deep Space 9 (presumably as a senior cadet either who was either mobilized or volunteered, since we see in the 2009 movie that cadets can be sent into active-duty during out breaks of war) he would have been doing paperwork at the Galaxy’s R&R hotspot, and then afterwards gone through the Academy to get officer status.

That would make him about three years younger than Mariner and their timelines would line up perfectly: they would both spend two years in active service during the war (2373-2375), and then he would go back to the Academy for another four years for officer training (’75-’79) and then two more years as an ensign on the Cerritos (’79-’81), while she would spend the same time serving on “five different starships” (’75-’81) before getting sent to the Cerritos.

It would also explain why he apparently prefers “jamaharon” (a Risa-specific sex practice mentioned by the Anabaj who tries to seduce him in Episode 2), knows what a horga'hn is when Riker and Troi are talking about it on the Titan, and is able to at least passably fake his way through Ransom’s Hawai’ian-themed party but only uses “generic island stuff” as conversation topics, since presumably Risa and Hawai’i have similar geographies but different cultures.

(It also makes the fact that he’s allergic to sand even funnier.)

#lower decks #star trek lower decks #brad boimler #boimler #beckett mariner #mariner #risa #dominion war

[alphamecha-mkii]

Vulcan Defense by jerkirk and jetfreak-7

#Star Trek #Federation #Starfleet #Galaxy Class #Defiant Class #Sovereign Class #Dominion #Jem'Hadar #Sci-Fi #Mecha #Spaceship #Dominion War #jerkirk #jetfreak-7

[halestromthewhoobsessed]

Love this scene from Deep Space Nine- Colm Meaney plays the Changeling O’Brien just the perfect amount of off kilter, his cheery delivery as he talks about matters of the safety of the Alpha Quadrant is chilling, even more so in that he’s honestly rather helpful in a twisted way. The two parter struggles with budget, so there’s no morphing effects at all, and it honestly makes the whole sequence even more simple and effective.

#deep space nine #deep space 9 #captain sisko #benjamin sisko #miles o'brien #cheif o’brien #dominion #dominion war #star trek #star trek deep space 9 #star trek deep space nine

[chrismarilein]

General Velal as a guest in Quark's Bar.

#star trek #deep space nine #star trek ds9 #deep space 9 #ds9 quark #star trek fanart #star trek quark #ferengi #star trek deep space nine #quark's bar #romulans star trek #romulan commander #dominion war #romulan star empire #raktajino #romulan ale #kali-fal #bar #restaurant #casino

[unknownfaceless-ds9]

DS9 Headcanon:

On DS9 is an engineer that is absolutely obsessed with musicals. Every time there is karaoke at Quark's they sing at least three musical numbers and over the time all of ds9, even Odo and Garak, could perform at least six Broadway shows without a single mistake.

When Starfleet evacuates DS9 they are heartbroken, but do not disappear without a little surprise for the Dominion.

Cut to a few months later.

Dukat, Damar, Weyoun etc. walk over the Promenade at it's high time, when suddenly drums sound from every speaker on the station. At first they are confused, when a song starts playing.

"Do you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men..."

Suddenly everyone stops doing, what they were doing and quiten down, until one by one the whole promenade and the whole station sing "Do you hear the people sing".

Dukat and the Dominion are firstly confused and then angry because obviously they are protesting openly against them, they could be plotting a revolution!

However Odo stops them, by explaining, very smugly, that singing to traditional songs, even if their human, is not forbidden and to change that would take way too long because by then the song would be finished. Also, what should he do? Arrest the whole station including himself? That would be against the contract with Bajor!

So Dukat, Weyoun and the other Dominion soldiers have to stand on the upper level of the promenade while all the people on it are looking up at them, standing still, singing.

"Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men? It is the music of the people Who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart Echoes the beating of the drums There is a life about to start When tomorrow comes "

So yeah, that engineering ensign? They got a fat promotion.

#star trek #star trek deep space nine #star trek ds9 #ds9 headcanon #ds9 season 5 #ds9 season 6 #dominion war #gul dukat #damar #weyoun #odo #quark #les mis #do you hear the people sing

[dadbodbensisko-moved]

i think about this a lot

#ds9 #rom #star trek rom #ds9 rom #deep space nine #star trek #dominion war #the cardassians did/would do to the rest of the alpha quadrant what they did to bajoran women #the dominion war was probably devastating in ways we didn't see #and #rom....... #saved almost everyone from this fate. #allowed people who did face consequences of war to be saved...... #captioned

[frogblast-the-ventcore]

A classic Dominion War era propaganda poster.

Key to the various national and subnational flags below:

A link to further information:

#star trek #star trek ds9 #star trek deep space nine #deep space nine #dominion war #star trek fanfiction

[vexingvorta]

The Dominion war would've ended in about five minutes if they'd gifted Weyoun a tribble

#ds9 #vorta #weyoun #dominion #dominion war

[spockvarietyhour]

Romulan Diversion, Pursuit of a Dream fanfilm

#Star Trek #Pursuit of a Dream #fanfilm #Dominion War #Romulan Warbird #Dominion #Romulan Star Empire #Romulans #Jem'Hadar #Jem'Hadar Fighter #D'Deridex Class #starship #startrekedit #GIF #my gifs #fanfilmedit #Hide and Queue

[quarkslobes]

yall look what @solisaru just made after i watched the s6 finale. crying

#star trek #ds9 #benjamin sisko #sisko #bajor #bajorans #dominion war #prophets #tears of the prophets #st ds9

[godofdystopia]

My only thought during all of Under The Cloak Of War was:

"Wow, J'Gal was brutal... thank God none of these people live to see the Dominion War."

#joseph m'benga #christine chapel #erica ortegas #strange new worlds #deep space nine #dominion war #star trek ds9 #star trek #it would break them

[biblioflyer]

Star Trek Wars and Responsible Allegory

The ending for Strange New Worlds season premiere has me setting yellow alert. Mild spoilers follow.

I trust the writers and showrunners of Strange New Worlds.

I trust them to maintain a fundamentally optimistic worldview while not shying away from the impact of what the characters are experiencing. M’Benga and Chapel illustrated that beautifully.

Strange New Worlds is an easier watch than Picard, and that is to be expected. As I’ve passionately argued, Picard is a show about damaged people bereft of resources and facing hard moral dilemmas. Star Trek the Next Generation and Strange New Worlds are about the elite, handpicked for their gifts, provided every advantage, and with the best ship in the fleet insulating from the consequences of poorly calculated risks.

Neither is a better concept! Although even with an open heart, Picard is not an easy show to watch. I love Strange New Worlds for its ability to go down smoothly without feeling stupid. I’m unbelievably burnt out on hopeless suffering and bleak universes that defy attempts to improve them.

Which is why the implications of a Gorn war story alarm me so much.

My ethics call me to be pro-Ukraine but anti war propaganda.

Do you follow that nuance?

I’ll unpack it.

If the Ukraine War is something the Strange New Worlds production feels it needs to acknowledge in some fashion and allegorize, then using the take on the Gorn we’ve seen to date speaks to the soul scorching atrocities of the Russian invasion force, but little else about this conflict.

The likely Gorn motive of expansion for expansion’s sake is not an inaccurate parallel to Russia but it is superficial. It's comfort food for those of us rooting for the speedy removal of Russia’s occupation and horrified by the carnage wrought, but frankly Star Trek doesn’t need to be that ham fisted. It has a history of treating war as more than a spectator sport and seeking a deeper, richer understanding of the origins of conflict.

The Gorn, thus far, are entirely lacking in the sort of dimensionality and nuance that would make them compelling villains or hold a mirror up to our world to seek more profound truths. They’re the sort of villains to consume war as content, not understand war.

For all the slings and arrows directed at Discovery, something it did right with its Klingon War arc is show how actually it's not entirely about cynical, material motives like those of us who see the machinations of greedy oligarchs behind society’s ills would prefer to think is generally the rule. 

T’Kuvma’s supremacist ideology, contempt for other cultures, and “fear” of assimilation and loss of identity is familiar to students of the intellectual rationalizations of Russia’s invasion. That’s not coincidental. T’Kuvma was rather clearly meant to stand in for various strains of ultranationalism and ethnonationalism circulating at the time. 

T’Kuvma is reminiscent of Orban, Trump, Johnson etc. because the advisers whispering in their ears were themselves inspired by if not directly, then by very few degrees of remove, by Alexander Dugin and other architects of the Dark Enlightenment values that gave Putin the labels and rationales to crush both political threats to his regime and people he found aesthetically repugnant. These same Dark Enlightenment values create the permission structure for invasions, annexations, and the systematic murder of Ukrainian public intellectuals, civil leaders, and other cultural figures.

Now of course other Klingon House Leaders, oligarchs if you will, flock to T’Kuvma’s banner for their own cynical reasons, but much of our current reality is difficult to explain using an entirely cynical, materialist framework. If only because it's hard to imagine how the most outrageously successful (for Russia) invasion would have been a profitable enterprise without a myopic degree of cultural supremacism and complete disregard for the idea that this invasion might fail utterly to achieve any goal that would shore up and enrich the Russian economy, demography, or even just enrich the already extravagantly wealthy.

In the Dominion War, we find the Founders, themselves consumed by a supremacist and xenophobic worldview, using Jem’Hadar and Cardassians alike as phaser fodder with the casual attitude of Skynet deploying a wave of Terminators. 

At one point DS9 even manages to humanize the Jem’Hadar. Outmatched and Ketracel White starved survivors recognizing the futility of their assault on a prepared Starfleet position, but unwilling or unable to shake off their conditioning to choose surrender. Even the betrayal of this band’s Vorta is reminiscent of accusations that Wagner was leaking intelligence on the Russian army in exchange for lighter treatment from Ukrainian forces.

Meanwhile, Damar portrays the horror of recognizing an ally is intentionally wasting the lives of your people for a cause that seemed worthy in the beginning, but has been exposed as inevitably bringing greater ruin not glory. Damar drowns his grief in kanar because he can’t see a way out. His own cultural heritage has left him without much of a tangible idea of a different society to hope for and fight for. Eventually though, he realizes if he doesn’t do something the humiliation of losing a war will be just the beginning of the horrors visited upon the Cardassian people.

Damar is many characters. He’s the separatist who realized his “liberator” cares nothing for him except as a prop to rationalize the war and will sell his life cheaply once his part in the narrative is no longer interesting. Damar is the homegrown resistance to the war in Russia we scan the news desperately searching for.

The Gorn of Strange New Worlds can allegorize the depravity of the Russian invasion, but it would be a caricature in every other respect. Good allegory shouldn’t simply inspire us, it should inspire dissent and righteous rebellion were it to leak across digital iron curtains. If Star Trek is to dabble in propaganda, then it should not just be about great victories on the battlefield, it should describe a better future.

Sorry George, there are not heroes on both sides, but there are victims. Yet the Gorn really don’t seem like they can be victims unless Strange New Worlds is preparing to show us a different side of them. Maybe we’ll see some Gorn convicts used as phaser fodder or sympathizers who thought they were purchasing freedom with their loyalty but have found themselves instead press ganged with bottom of the barrel equipment in hand.

#star trek #star trek ethics #propaganda #allegory #war stories #Strange New Worlds #Strange New Worlds spoilers #spoilers #first reactions #Gorn #Dominion War #Klingon War