#ee'char

[astralbondpro]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine // S04E19: Hard Time

#Star Trek #Deep Space Nine #ST: DS9 #ST:DS9 #DS9 #Mile O'Brien #Colm Meaney #Chief Miles O'Brien #Chief O'Brien #Ee'char #Eechar #Craig Wasson #ST DS9 #STDS9 #Star Trek Deep Space Nine #Star Trek DS9 #Star Trek Deep Space Nine Gifs #Gifs #Television #Television Gifs #AVTV #AVTVGfis #AVGifs #AVDS9 #AVDS9Gifs

[sshbpodcast]

Top 3 Star Trek Deep Space Nine characters

By Ames

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

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

[images © CBS/Paramount] 

Jake – Honorable fights

Aamin Marritza

Tekeny Ghemor

Grilka

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

—

Ames – Voices of a generation

Tosk

Pel

Lisa Cusak

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

—

Caitlin – Found family

Lwaxana Troi

Liam Bilby and Chester

Tekeny Ghemor

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

—

Chris – One day more to revolution

Michael Eddington

Aamin Marritza

Leck the Eliminator

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

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

#star trek #star trek podcast #podcast #deep space nine #star trek ds9 #ds9 #tosk #lwaxana troi #aamin marritza #pel #tekeny ghemor #grilka #michael eddington #ee'char #sirella #leck the eliminator #liam bilby #lisa cusak #les miserables

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k d e e p s p a c e n i n e created by rick berman, michael piller Hard Time [s4ep18]

#star trek #star trek deep space nine #deep space nine #rick berman #Michael Piller #ds9 season 4 #deep space nine season 4 #ds9 hard time #hard time #lot: st ds9 season 4 ep 19/26 (ep 91/176) #colm meaney #rosalind chao #Hana Hatae #craig wasson #miles o'brien #keiko o'brien #molly o'brien #Ee'char

[writergeekrhw]

DS9 Hard Times

Was Ee'char implanted in the simulation to torment Miles with positivity and hope during his imprisonment?

Or was Ee'char a genuine mercy from the Argrathi to comfort and "rehabilitate" Miles?

Thank you for this wonderful episode. I loved it!

Pretty much the first one. The Argrathi aren't big on mercy.

They wanted O'Brien to... umm... suffer.

#ask me anything #tv writing #ask me stuff #ds9 #star trek ds9 #star trek #deep space nine #star trek deep space nine #deep space 9 #star trek deep space 9 #hard time #o'brien must suffer

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 4x18 Hard Time thoughts (I’m re-watching, so beware spoilers for future episodes!) [11 July ‘23]

"Do you wish to add anything to the official record?" His scared shake of his head. Already my heart and we're not long in.

Kira's hard face. She's so gentle with him :3

"I used to dream about this. Being on in runabout, coming through the wormhole, seeing the station again." The time loss thing is so jilting, I love how they've managed to make it weird for us, echoing just a little bit of O'Brien's feelings.

Kira's obviously so uncomfortable with the dream versus reality situation, and Miles' experiences.

He's walking so stiffly, you can tell he still feels as though he's aged 20 years in his body...

"Julian. Is it really you?" "It's me." This meeting is so short but still my heart 💔Julian can't take his eyes off Miles.

"I can't imagine what it would have been like. Twenty years in that cell." At least Julian's talking like it was real, unlike Kira's 'it wasn't real' vibe.

"I was alone." Cut to flashback of not being alone. I'm looking forward to seeing this with the knowledge of what has happened in the prison.

*Miles' hesitancy over ordering something from the replicator? "Computer? A piece of chee'lesh fruit, please." What different ways are there of saying "oh my heart" because I think I'll be needing some....

"Miles? Oh, Miles." Keiko is so fantastic, and oh, their reunion is so understated but so good.

I'm so jealous of the recycling capabilities of replicators.

"I've been alone for so long." He didn't even need to mention of he'd been alone or not, he's really keeping up the pretence, making sure his barriers are high. Or maybe trying to make himself believe it.

"How do you do that? Laugh?" It's so weird. Ee'char is so nice and then you remember he was completely created just to break Miles. I keep thinking "it was a good thing Ee'char was thing was there for Miles" and then having to fight to go "no, actually, Ee'char wasn't real."

"Do I need one seventeen, or two?" "I am not sure." It's sweet that Worf is trying, despite his dislike of games.

There's something so heart-hitting about Jake reteaching Miles the engineering stuff. It's lovely that Jake has learnt enough from Miles for it to go the other way.

"I don't want to be embarrassed in front of the repair crews." But it says a lot that he's not in front of Jake, despite Jake being less of an expert.

"You may be a little rusty, but you're still the Chief." "Oh, well if I'm still the Chief, I say we go through it again." That's the old Miles shining through there!

I'm sorry HOW does Julian walk down a ladder?! Facing forward like their stairs?! Seriously, go watch this clip!

"I just want to forget about what happened on Argratha and get on with my life." -just like that, hey? I'm sorry Miles, it doesn't work like that.

"Tell me about Keiko again." Is that subtle Argrathi torture or Ee'char niceness?

Ee'char calls him Miles - does anyone on the station call him Miles usually at this point? (To check when spreadsheet updates!)

I feel like losing control and hurting Quark isn't going to help with the guilt he's feeling about losing control and killing Ee'char. Miles, you can tell your spiralling, I know you're scared but please get help!

"Please, Captain. I'm asking you as a personal favour to me, give me one more chance." "I wish I could. But right now, in the judgement of this station's Chief Medical Officer, you're unfit for duty." Oof, throwing Bashir under the bus. (I definitely headcanon Julian's prepared to take on all of Miles' anger so he can still get support from the others.)

"You should listen to him, Miles. He cares about you just like I did. Don't make the same mistake with him you did with me." OUCH. HallucEe'char! That's basically implying Miles might kill Julian!

"Don't you get it. You're not my friend. Not anymore. The O'Brien that was your friend died in that cell." "He's not dead. He just needs a little help, that's all." Oh Julian, still trying and trying and trying.

"He wants to help you." "Like you did?" "That's right. We're both your friends." "Yeah. And look what happened to you." I don't think hallucEe'char is the best at getting through to Miles. Which makes sense since he kind of is Miles? But yeah it's so clear here Miles feels like he has to distance himself because he's worried about what he might do to Julian, he knows what he's capable of if he loses control.

"I didn't mean to. I'm sorry." He's just scared of himself - and I'm guessing also what the counsellor or anyone else might find out about him or think of him, he was desperate to keep this horrible side of himself to himself. That's why he can't seek help, and he's just trying to brute force his brain into working.

"Chief?" Oh, Julian is so tense, you can see it in his entire body.

The thing is, Ee'char is making it easy for O'Brien to stay angry at him, he's not offering the explanation that would make things better *because* the simulation wants Miles to kill him.

"But when it came down to it, when I had the chance to show that no matter what anyone did to me, I was still an evolved human being, I failed." Those are some damn high expectations there Miles! No matter what anyone did to you?! It was a set-up, and you can't expect to come out of twenty years of torture unchanged!

WHY DID MILES NOT GET A HUG

"It's a treatment, not a cure." I'm glad they had Julian say this. It did feel a bit like "he's some medicine take it and you'll be fine" at the beginning of this scene.

Miles' smile at Molly's excited "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!"

Idk, but the fact he suddenly seems so much better between the cargo bay scene and the corridor makes me think he must have spent at least a night or two in the infirmary with Julian, which would also make sense why him coming home would be such a big thing for Molly.

Man, this episode does not pull it's punches. And that's why it's such an incredible episode. 💔💔💔

#DS9 4x18 #DS9 Hard Time #andi watches DS9 #Miles O'Brien must suffer #WSB

[slippery-domjot-balls]

DS9 S4 E19 Hard Times - Slippy Analysis

We made it. Just like this episode, we are going to talk about some heavy things.

Disclaimer, maybe skip this post if suicide or intense topics like that would be more harmful than helpful to read.

This was one of the more incredible episodes I have seen in DS9. It will likely be one of the most memorable for me. Colm Meaney, that was fantastic and unforgettable, so thank you very much for that performance. He delivered a believable performance that portrayed mental suffering and PTSD in an emotional and meaningful way. I really feel bad for Miles now. I understood the internet memes and jokes about his suffering, but every episode I have watched after this shows an engineer that is just carrying on. Even as a semi-episodic show, I still see Miles working through his trauma from episode to episode. I now see Miles as a permanently changed character. We are living in the post-Hard Times universe now and there is no going back.

He was wrongly imprisoned, abused, starved, and tortured for 20 years. From his perspective it was 20 years and that is all that matters for our discussion. Time distortion or simulation is irrelevant, kind of.

Let's talk about false imprisonment, the trauma of physical abuse, PTSD, and suicide. Since this is Star Trek and the future we also have the interesting dynamic of Miles serving a 20 year sentence in a matter of hours which creates a gaslighting effect that potentially belittles his suffering.

Miles quickly goes from being a curious engineer checking out alien technology to a beaten down person with little left but survival instinct. We see Miles start in a state of confusion. He is still fresh in imprisonment so he is full of hope and life. His spirit is not yet crushed. That will soon change...

I love that Miles had Ee'char. It was a merciful part of the simulation. Or was it? Ee'char represents that small part of the human mind that is resilient against all odds, that little piece of all of us that can withstand unimaginable difficulty and horror. As the punishment continued Ee'char tried to preserve Miles' humanity. But was that to tease him with false hope? Was it to irritate him with positivity against future full of futility?

I cannot decide if this was entirely a kindness given by the Argrathi government. I am still evaluating their decision to swiftly punish Miles without any fair trial and Starfleet representation for his defense. I am leaning towards Ee'Char's involvement in the simulation as a sort of relief for Miles, but it is hard to overlook the truth that this entire simulation was unanimously slammed onto him without any allowance for personal explanation and defense.

False imprisonment adds a depth of insult to injury that is far beyond my experience, and to an extent my comprehension. To know of your own innocence and complete the full punishment is an astounding burden. I imagine the resentment, the anger, and upset he must feel towards everyone. I doubt he will ever favorably perceive any Argrathi. Miles might be furious with his coworkers and friends because they were unable to intervene and stop this event. Remember, he is now victimized and in a state of emotional instability. He is definitely irritated by their mentioning of his 20 year sentence only being a matter of hours. He mentions several times that regardless of the passage of real time it was still 20 years for him.

The physical abuse Miles endures is rough. The lack of comforts, decent food, clothing, hygiene, medicines, for 20 years.....

It is shocking how much physical damage can be done just through neglect. We often read of the violence and cruelty of mankind in history and modern day through their weaponry and vile tools, but neglect can be just as effective. Just leave Miles alone. No contact with his captors, no aid, no answers. Just food....sometimes. Ee'char is there, but Miles is still hopelessly alone.

Julian is a phenomenal friend. I hope each of you have a Julian in your lives, and if not, well don't give up. Be Julian for someone and keep looking for your own Julian.

Before Miles is ready for help he needs to find a way to reveal his pain and let go of his trauma. He needs a confidant that he can share his pains with. Selecting someone he can unburden his experiences on is not easy for him. He just wants to move on and continue with his work, but he does not yet recognize that in order to move on he needs to receive some professional help. Like any severe wound it needs medical attention to heal. Gashes need stiches. Broken limbs need setting and support. Emotional injuries need similar procedures too.

Miles deserves absolution. Part of his healing is forgiving himself for Ee'char's demise. Yet, he is not ready for that. He has not come to grips with what he has experienced and has not forgiven himself of his actions while in distress.

Upon reuniting with his family he struggles to reconnect. He has been away from them for 20 years in a different world living by different rules. The prison environment changed him while his family remained exactly the same. Imagine the pain of finally being released, but not being able to enjoy the company of your loved ones because you no longer connect with them. You are physically with them but still far away.

Keiko is pained as well. The damage is not just to Miles, but to everyone else in his life. They were not there to comfort him or protect him or even save him. She lost her husband, at least a major part of him. She tries to soothe his injuries, but he does not know how to receive that love. He murdered the last person that tried to offer him kindness. He is vulnerable and scared, but does not know where to turn. Miles could be wondering what it could take to push him over the edge to harm Keiko and Molly?

He eventually lashes out towards Molly. He stops himself, but that attempt alone tears open his mental wounds furthering that damage.

Sometimes life does fell like it is too much. Many of us feel the call of death offering comfort from life. Miles, in distress, seeks to protect his family from the monster he believes he became. So here he sits on the wrong end of a phaser daring himself to do it. Imprisonment killed the man he once was and he has decided to kill what he has become.

Ee'char still plays an important role for Miles. He no longer is a simulated memory, but part of Miles' subconscious pleading with him to seek help. Ee'char/Miles is trying to save himself.

Enter Julian. It had to be Julian. Julian stopped being the clinician and went in as a friend to just listen. Sometimes it is best to just listen and say "that sucks'. Be there for them. Julian was there for Miles and it saved him.

I think Miles is going to be okay.

DS9 has a unique connection to surviving mental terrors and PTSD.

If you can stomach intense trauma and vivid imagery of a difficult topic then I advise you give time to listen to Nana Visitor explain her experiences of trauma. The Gates McFadden Podcast interview with Nana left me speechless.

Nana has a positive mindset and warm heart that exudes love in direct defiance with her trauma. It is difficult to listen to at times, but healing as well. Podcast Episodes 106 and 107.

Time to give each of you a warm hug. And maybe don't go looking for Argrathi tech.

#star trek #deep space nine #slippy thoughts #pictures courtesy of trekcore.com

[tempus-fuckit]

I bet the planet Argrathi from DS9 has Insanely Good Memes circulating among the convicted felons.

I wonder if Miles ever tunes in to get a morbid laugh.

"When Ee'char takes my bread" as a rage face.

#star trek

[necco-wafer-official]

So in Hard Time, did O'Brien really live out those 20 years or does he just have the memories? Is there a standard memory set? Does everybody kill Ee'char?

#deep space 9 #ds9

[thedevotionaltour]

these are screenshots sent to me by duckie this is what was happening between miles and ee'char in the hard time episode

#static.soundz

[fullmetal-angelgrace]

"When we were growing up, they used to tell us… Humanity had evolved, that mankind had outgrown hate and rage. But when it came down to it, when I had the chance to show, that no matter what anybody did to me, that I was still an evolved Human being… I failed. I repaid kindness with blood. I was no better than an animal."

"No. No, no, no. An animal would've killed Ee'Char and never had a second thought, never shed a tear… But not you. You hate yourself. You hate yourself so much you think you deserve to die. The Argrathi did everything they could to strip you of your Humanity and in the end, for one brief moment they succeeded. But you can't let that brief moment define your entire life. If you do, if you pull that trigger… then the Argrathi will have won. They will have destroyed a good man. You cannot let that happen, my friend."

#hello. i am unwell. #good GOD this episode fucked me up i need a break #ds9 #deep space nine #ds9 4x19 #miles o'brien #julian bashir #ds9 hard time #< biggest understatement #suicide mention #tw suicide #if you need a sign this is it :) please be kind to yourself #naomi watches ds9 #naomi's post tag #star trek deep space 9 #screenshot

[runrundoyourstuff]

15, 18 for Julian Bashir?

(in reference to this ask meme!)

15) Favourite line of theirs?

I like most of his lines with Garak! (Surprise, surprise!), but a lot of that is because I like their dynamic. If we're talking about lines of Bashir's specifically, I really like this one, from the episode "Hard Time," to Miles:

No, no, no, no. An animal would've killed Ee'char and never had a second thought, never shed a tear. But not you. You hate yourself. You hate yourself so much you think you deserve to die. The Argrathi did everything they could to strip you of your humanity. And in the end, for one brief moment, they succeeded. But you can't let that brief moment define your entire life. If you do, if you pull that trigger, then the Argrathi will have won. They will have destroyed a good man. You cannot let that happen, my friend.

I just feel like it really highlights his compassion.

18) What’s something you associate this character with? E.g. a certain colour, object or scenery?

Maybe his teddy bear Kukalaka? I just think it's cute!

#julian bashir #star trek ds9 #suicide tw

[autisticburnham]

Hard Time

I know it's a terrible joke but this episode's fucked up. I need my laughs where I can get them

Also, fun fact. My Miles and Julian "alright, it sounds like you googled "how to talk to your bisexual friends"" "well, yeah" post? The screenshots came from this episode bc it was the first one I could think of off the top of my head where I knew they had scenes together

Oh, also the Miles screenshot on my John Mulaney post that has him saying he looks like he just sat in a room eating saltines for 28 years also comes from this episode. That one was intentional but idk how many people picked up on it

Hey, I'm reading Angela Davis' Are Prisons Obsolete? rn and I feel like this episode is gonna hit extra hard bc of it

Hey, you've got a baby on the way, perfect time for a new dose of PTSD

I tend to only think of Tom and Michael as Star Trek's ex-cons, but I think I should include Miles in that too

Oh, Ee'Char...

Oh, Setlik III. I said Cestus III on my last post. Too many III planets

I just googled it and Cestus III is the planet Kirk fought the Gorn on. How did I remember that hut not Setlik III?

I know I'm not reacting much to the episode itself but that's bc my reaction is basically just "Oh, Miles..." over and over again

Oh, Miles...

Ee'Char can slav squat

I didn't realize Miles wears the slutty asymmetrical v neck too

Miles, honey, you needed therapy before this and you definitely need it now

Oof, I've never sympathized with Quark more

This episode is so much better than Voyager's prison episode. Also I can't believe Discovery hasn't done a prison episode

Benjamin, I know you have good intentions but I really don't think threatening him with confinement is a good idea

Not to make this all about Julian but "the you you were before your trauma isn't dead, he just needs help"... Julian, honey, please take your own advice

Oh, Molly...

I'm glad these obviously empty containers are making me laugh bc otherwise I'd be crying

Yay for antidepressants

I do think this episode could have been slightly improved by having Miles actually be guilty. As it is, you can say Miles didn't deserve this bc he's innocent. But the truth is no one deserves it. 9.5/10

#ds9 #ds9 rewatch #my post

[sshbpodcast]

Tales from the Holodeck: DS9 Fanfic: Chris’s Story

Not only has A Star to Steer Her By wrapped all of Deep Space Nine, but your podcast hosts are also celebrating our fifth anniversary of bringing you through all of Star Trek! As a treat, we’ve concocted DS9-themed fanfic stories and teleplays in our much-celebrated “Tales from the Holodeck” series that you can listen to us cold read here (this one starts at 39:05). Read on for the transcript of Chris’s Weyoun-Ee’char story below, that might pilot a whole new series we’re all asking for!

[images © Paramount/CBS]

“Dude, Where’s My Ee’char?”

By Chris

Random picks: Weyoun, Ee’char

“Tea, earl grey, hot?”

Miles O’Brien instinctively glanced up at those words. Surely not. Sure enough, a lanky Andorian walked up to the counter and accepted the drink that had been called out. Admiral Picard – well, not Admiral, anymore, but even thinking of him as “Jean-Luc” was bizarre to O’Brien – had less than no reason to be hanging around Starfleet Academy. Or Starfleet anything, for that matter.

“Not that I can entirely blame him,” he mused to himself, going back to the PADD containing last week’s warp field dynamics exam. “Nothing’s felt right since Romulus was destroyed. And then Mars…maybe Keiko’s right. Maybe it’s time to retire.”

He sighed and put down his stylus. Twenty years of teaching at Starfleet academy and even he could see how things were shifting. The students grew less and less enthused, dropout rates going up, those that did stay becoming so by-the-book when it came to everything that it was maddening.

“They’re just lacking in imagination,” he’d moaned to Keiko one day. “If I’d thought like them we’d’ve never got the Defiant working like she did. They think the deflector array is just for deflecting things.”

He had immediately realized how ridiculous and old-mannish it had sounded. But even his wife had been on Starfleet ships long enough to get it. Everything on a ship potentially had a purpose no one had ever dreamed of, and dreaming it up in that critical moment could be the difference between getting the ship home and a warp core breach.

“Professor O’Brien?” came a strangely-familiar voice from behind him. He turned and saw what he thought, at first, must have been a Romulan because they were smiling. And there was a sardonic edge to the tone that didn’t seem terribly Vulcan, either. But the fellow had that waxlike pallor that was unique to the latter, something their cousin species had evolved away over their centuries apart.

“Yes. Can I help you?”

“No, but my employer believes he can help you.”

Well, this was shady. Was Section 31 out for belated revenge? Maybe someone had finally slipped in Starfleet Intelligence and the Orion syndicate found out he’d worked undercover against them? Could it be that some T’Lani was still cross about what he and Julian had revealed about their corruption? The grudge could’ve gone further back; someone related to the incident at Setlik III had tracked him down. Christ, for someone who’d only ever been an engineer he’d sure managed to pile up a list of old enemies that could come calling. Ought to at least make him an honorary Commander for that.

“And he would be?”

“An old friend.” The mystery man reached into a pocket and pulled out a small, red figurine. The coonskin cap was unmistakable. “He said this would explain. He remembers the hours you and the good Doctor spent on this.”

So it wasn’t Julian, but someone who knew how they’d passed their time in their DS9 days. Didn’t rule out Section 31, or necessarily a few others, but it did make him feel a little better. He realized the man was still holding out the figure to him, so he reached out and took it, putting it in the bag he’d been carrying his PADD and some miscellany in.

“My employer understands that you’re too cautious a man to just meet somewhere.” The man’s voice – what was it that was so familiar? – had dropped even further. “Be at your desk in twenty minutes. A signal will come in. Use the code on the bottom of the figure.”

The man turned without another word and strode off. O’Brien raised his eyebrows and watched him go. He’d have to tell Julian about this next time they talked; he’d be jealous. Goodness knows how long it had been since his old friend had been involved in any cloak-and-dagger shenanigans.

*

Despite everything O’Brien was a little surprised when, back at his desk, his computer began to chirp. The text on the screen read “incoming external transmission”. External transmissions were always supposed to go through central comms; only an Admiral could bypass that procedure, normally. He turned the little figure over and punched in the numbers he saw there.

“Ah, my dear Professor O’Brien!”

“Ga-” O’Brien stopped himself. For some reason he felt if he said the full name of the Cardassian now grinning at him from the screen it would just summon the whole of Starfleet security. Just behind him and to his left stood the mystery Vulcan/Romulan from the cafe.

“You look well, Professor,” Garak continued, not acknowledging whether or not he had caught the Engineer’s odd outburst.

“Having you call me that is a bit weird,” O’Brien admitted. “How about Chief? I think that’s still technically my rank.”

“Very well, Chief. I believe you know my associate?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“Oh, how silly of me,” the man said, reaching up. “I still have the mask on.”

His hand slid down his face, and the telltale webbing of a holographic disguise flickered to life as the pallor, eyebrows, and eyes vanished. Instead there was a very different kind of pointed ear, skin like powder, and violently violet eyes.

“Weyoun…”

“Yes, it would seem there were, in fact, a few leftover despite what we had been told.” Garak smirked in that old, familiar, entirely unsettling way of his. “It seems they just meant their Alpha Quadrant supply.”

“Of course, I’m now the actual, final one,” Weyoun added. “Garak here found me right before I was…discarded. My predecessors had not been quite so lucky.”

“Is that where you’ve been the past two decades then?” O’Brien asked. “The Gamma Quadrant?”

“Mostly.” Garak raised his brow briefly. “Someone has to keep an eye on the Dominion. Starfleet Intelligence can hardly be trusted to do it on their own, the Romulans are too busy trying to keep their culture intact, and Klingons have never had a spy agency in their entire recorded history.”

“I see.”

“I came across a story that I thought might interest you.” He glanced down and pecked a few buttons just off-camera, and a ping sounded on the Chief’s computer. “Look particularly carefully at the upper left-hand corner of the screen. It was a pleasure to see you, Chief.”

“Wait…”

But Garak was already gone. O’Brien knew there’d be no point in asking for a trace. Should he report this? He was supposed to, certainly. But this was Garak. O’Brien…well, okay, to say he trusted Garak would be a staggering lie. But he certainly felt like both the Federation and he personally owed him enough that he could be allowed this little indulgence. At least once.

Decision made, O’Brien opened the message he’d been sent. He winced when he recognized rather quickly the world of Argratha. It had all the appearance of a news story of some kind. But the Universal Translator hadn’t caught up to the shift, so he started over and paused it.

Argratha. He’d been twice. The second time some fifteen years later, to testify at a public hearing about his experiences the first time. What his false-memory twenty year imprisonment had been like. There was talk at the time of abandoning the practice; it made the judicial process too casual, too many false guilty charges because, for those who’d never experienced it, what was really lost? The Chief and countless others had told them. How real the time felt, and how cruel the simulation was. He’d told the Special Envoy who’d arranged for him to go that he felt he deserved a medal for how calm he’d been during his testimony. The Envoy had chuckled until the Chief’s expression had told him he had very much meant it.

He started the story up again. When he’d not heard anything for months after his testimony he’d assumed the reforms had failed and the sick practice was still going on. But in fact it had simply taken a bit of extra time and work. The story was about the closing of the final facility that had run such incarcerations. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to weep or go celebrate. He was going to call Keiko straightaway, that much was…

The upper left hand corner.

“No.”

He had almost forgotten to look.

“No.”

Despite it being the entire reason Garak had dropped by.

“Fuck.”

Ee’char. His “imaginary” cellmate. Standing among the crowd of politicians and other self-congratulatory types formally shutting the program down. Almost identical to the twenty-year-older Ee’char from his memories, though one that had clearly lived a somewhat less wretched life. One who’d gotten proper meals and sleep and care, just like O’Brien had.

But did he have the false twenty years that still occasionally wafted into his nightmares and had him waking in a cold sweat? Did he still, on rare occasions, almost set aside a bit of his meal before realizing saving it wasn’t necessary?

“In short, friend,” the Chief said aloud. “Who the fuck are you?”

*

He was glad the stopover at DS9 to switch transports had been short. None of the old crew were there, anymore, but he was fairly certain he was at least vaguely acquainted with some of the Stafleet staff that still maintained a presence on the Bajoran station, and the last thing he wanted to be was some old man wandering around his old posting looking worn and nostalgic. Even Quark had shipped out for Freecloud. A part of him had been tempted to see if Morn was still at his usual seat in whatever the bar was called now, assuming it was even still a bar. But he had just stayed in the docking ring and then made his way to the next leg of his journey.

He spent the flight through the wormhole standing by a window with just about everyone else. He realized that he’d never gone through it after the War had ended, so it was his first time making the journey in ages that he wasn’t expecting to potentially die on the other end. It was so nice to just watch it, to get lost in its beauty, and vaguely wonder if Sisko was watching him just then.

*

O’Brien stood in the space between two homes, watching as a car slid noiselessly from the sky and halted in front of the house. Finding his old friend had been much easier than he’d expected; Garak had encoded everything he needed to find the man in the newsclip he’d sent. A door hissed open and the old Argrathan stepped out. He exchanged inaudible words with someone in the vehicle before the door shut and it lazily drifted back into the sky. O’Brien glanced around. No one else seemed to be coming. He watched as the other man walked towards the his home.

The Chief darted from the shadows and jogged across the street. If Ee’char heard him he showed no sign. O’Brien reached up, paused, and then gently tapped the other man on the shoulder. He gasped and spun.

“Yes?” he asked.

“I’m…ah…I’m Miles O’Brien.”

“Oh. Oh! Yes, yes, I remember watching your testimony.” He held out a hand “Ko’vax.”

“A pleasure,” the Chief replied, taking his hand and shaking it.

“But why did you come to see me?”

“We…well, we were cellmates, you see.”

“Were we?” He nodded slowly. “Well. Someone had quite the sense of humor.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been arguing against our mental prisons for a very long time.” His lips went slender and he glanced off. “Please. Come in, have a warm drink.”

“I…sure, thank you.”

*

“I never had the misfortune of experiencing what you or so many others did,” Ko’vax explained, putting down what seemed effectively to be a mug in front of O’Brien. “But my father did.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.” He picked up his own mug, almost took a drink, but didn’t and put it down. “His story was similar to so many others. To yours. Adjusting was so hard. Too hard. They don’t offer any kind of help to reintegrate to society. To help you deal with the fact that you’ve not actually lost any time but it still feels like a huge swathe of your life is gone. That might be worse than actually losing time. I don’t know.”

“Neither do I. I’ve never had the real version.”

“He lasted…half a year. My brother found him.” Ko’vax paused and took a sip of his drink, and the Chief finally did automatically. Not that he took any note of the flavor. “I’d already started writing letters, but I got more active after that. Showed up at politician’s doorsteps. Showed up and shouted at meetings that had nothing to do with it. Became a real pain.”

“Must’ve been afraid they’d…well, you know.”

“Oh, sure. But I didn’t care. Let them. Let them put me in a fifty year dream, a century, I knew I’d be fine. I’d have my rage to see me through.” He sighed. “I was so angry for so long. I mean, I never stopped being angry, but you can’t be as constantly angry as I was at first. That would be impossible.”

“So what happened?”

“I lived my life. But I never stopped my campaigning. Whatever free moment I could scrounge up was spent talking with others who shared my goal. I guess someone thought it would be a good laugh to have a cellmate based on the man who hated them and their program so damn much.” He smiled. “But then I got to be there today. When it all ended. Thanks to so many people. Like you.”

“I…” The Chief paused. “I’m glad I could help.”

“So what made you come to see me?”

“I wasn’t sure who you were, to be honest. Outside of looking like Ee’char. That was his name.” He paused. “I guess a part of me was almost hoping you’d been part of it somehow. So I could let you have it. And feel less bad about…how things went between me and the other you.”

“We didn’t get along, eh?”

“We did, eventually. And then for a long time. But then, towards the end…”

“It gets particularly bad, yes. Everyone says that.”

“Well. Glad to know it wasn’t just me getting special treatment, I suppose.” O’Brien took another drink. Now that he was paying attention he realized it was very pleasant. He’d have to find out what it was and bring some home. “We fought. You…he…I killed him.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’ve nothing to apologize for. I killed you. Sort of.”

“I’m sorry on behalf of a government that will never properly apologize fo anyone affected by their sick little program because they think it’s just fine. They are giving it up with great reluctance you can be sure.” He paused. “And I’m sorry you were driven to that. I know we’ve barely met but you don’t seem the type. So it must have been truly awful to drive you that far.”

“I guess so. I hope so.” He paused. “I don’t know. I’d killed before. Served in one war already by then. But this was something else. Something that still comes up at me in the wee hours. Every time I’d killed before then I could justify it as having been for my survival. And that’s what I told myself it was that time, but I’d not actually proven that first. I told myself it must have been so I could.”

“I wish I could help. I’m almost sorry I’m not who you thought I was.” He shrugged. “If it helps, well…I didn’t go what you went through, but I saw firsthand what it does to people. I know how real it can seem, even to those who go in knowing it isn’t. You had no idea. I’m sorry they used my face as part of your torture. But, if it helps…well, I forgive you. On behalf of the false me. And I only wish you the best.”

“Thanks.” He smiled, nodded. “That actually is nice to hear, somehow.”

*

The wormhole again. Its eddies and currents and majesty unchanged even as the twenty years around it had entirely altered O’Brien’s world. Why had the gone all the way to the Gamma Quadrant? What would he have done if Ko’vax had been involved somehow? Certainly not killed him. Shouted for a bit? What good would that have done? But what good had this done? No. Time to move on. Figure out what’s next. He’d been in neutral for far too long, and…

“Oh, I know that look,” came a voice to his side that he scarcely believed he was hearing. “That is the look of the Chief when everything seems against him. When things have stopped making sense.”

O’Brien turned. There, not looking a day older when he’d last seen him, still in the now very out-of-date uniform, stood Captain Sisko.

“Well, Chief. It’s time for things to start making sense again. And I’m going to need your help.”

The End

—

For more DS9 fanfic, check out Caitlin, Jake, and Ames’s stories from this round of Tales from the Holodeck! And be sure to keep listening to new episodes every Thursday on SoundCloud, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and stay out of brain jail if you can. Jay-sus.

#star trek #star trek deep space 9 #ds9 #fanfic #star trek fanfiction #ds9 fanfiction #weyoun #ee'char #miles o'brien #garak #hard time

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k d e e p s p a c e n i n e created by rick berman, michael piller [hard time, s4ep18] 'Meeting Ee'char'

#star trek #star trek deep space nine #deep space nine #rick berman #Michael Piller #ds9 season 4 #deep space nine season 4 #ds9 hard time #hard time #lot: st ds9 season 4 ep 19/26 (ep 91/176) #colm meaney #craig wasson #miles o'brien #Ee'char #Meeting Ee'char