#janeway is one of the best captains the federation has ever had

[punkbxt]

dime the takes. por favor.

*gets real close to the vending machine* quiero pepsi

okay all seriousness tho imma try to do this in a way thats like idk semi respectful towards janeway but i also need yall to know i do NOT reallyf fuck with her. idk if ive explained why before but i guess here we go

unlike most people that enjoy star trek i didnt really get into it till 2018 and then the demmy hit n i had nothing but time to consume every star trek imaginable and thats how i found voyager. yeah sure make fun of me for not knowing what star trek is but i need YALL to know that it is white and usamerican culture to be raised on trek and I DONT CARE. the only reason i got into star trek is bc a white friend introduced me. all this to say i was introduced to janeways actress through oitnb red ilu so much red best evil white lady <3

anyways i know janeway gets hate for having been the only lady captain and i always preface anything i say about her with this so yall understand that this is not the reason i dislike her but in reality it doesnt help either

also its tiring as fuck to include my opposing argument but it has to be done bc ppl are like “what about- pkay but you didnt consider how- yeah but- actually youre wrong bc-“ like fuck man im doing my damndest i literally hate voicing my opinions bc yall INSIST people of color dont actually get it n its tiring

if youve followed me since i started voyagerposting you may have noticed ive only actually drawn janeway twice and its cuz as a person she rubs me the wrong way for so many reasons

janeway gets put in this impossible position of being the top of the hierarchy pyramid to a crew that doesnt think theyll ever make it home again. shes deemed a mother figure by a LOT of characters but im gonna talk abt her dynamics with b’elanna, and seven because if i were to talk about the dynamics between janeway and harry thatd have to be its own post

when i get into a show, i loooveeee knowing what was happening behind the scenes because i love it!! i love set design i love character design i love costume design i love seeing what the actors are like outside of the show and how they feel about these characters bc these things ARE important. (writers too pero i have beef) behind the scenes is the biggest influence to the final product bc its the reason the final product exists in the first place and behind the scenes so many things went wrong. and when actors are mistreated or dont get along with eachother it becomes pretty apparent. well at least if you analyze things the way i do

so heres my issue with janeway seven and b’elanna. b’elanna is typecast to be the ugly character. klingons gave always gotten the short end of the stick and the case with her isnt as harsh bc her actress is a mixed puerto rican (information that has actually only recently been revealed bc when i tried to find out what roxan’s ethnicity was in 2019 i literally could not find anything definitive except for shes latina) but she STILL gets a lot of shit

one of my favorite things about voyager before the introduction of seven was how b’elanna and janeway actually got to bond a lot over science and when seven took on the roll of pretty girl on the ship, b’elanna and janeway suffered a LOT for it. we have an interesting dynamic between a maquis engineer and a federation captain genuinely not getting along bc b’elanna doesnt see janeways as an authority figure. not until chakotay has something to say about it and also until b’elanna and janeway actually talk about shit n get over their differences. the issue is when ppl purposely skip the earlier seasons to get to seven and then a lot of important interpersonal character building is missed I SAY THIS BC PEOPLE OFTEN FORGET THAT VOYAGER HAS BEEN ASSIMILATED BY THE BORG BEFORE AND EVEN THE WRITERS LET IT SLIP THEUR MIND N ITS LIKE BRO U HAVE GOLD TO WRITE WITH N U JUST LET IT COLLECT IN THE CORNER

seven is a unique and interesting character when she is first introduced. seven looks like any other borg and is so COOL. and then immediately all the cool interesting things about the way seven looks is basically negated to a few shiny parts. and yes janeway is partly to blame

BUT! what is the easiest way to gain the trust of people who already have bad history with who you once were? assimilation of course! seven goes from being one of many to the outcasts outcast

but punkbxt! what does any of this have to do with why you dislike janeway as a character? if anything it sounds more like you dislike seven. as long as the character is white ill always hold a lil disdain for them in my heart <3

janeway symbolizes the best of starfleet. she is an accredited officer and an extremely capable scientist. she is a beautiful white woman in THE position of power something that was revolutionary for her time. the issues with white women being put in positions of power is they they have NEVER had the interests of black and brown people to heart. “yes they-“ SHUT UP and let me speak before you decide to comment on this goddamn post

feminism throughout the centuries has focused on white women and while a show is merely a fraction of the lived reality of its time the effects are still extremely clear. white feminism JUMPED at the character of janeway and celebrated her and rightfully so! the issues came about when women like b’elanna got attacked and pushed to the side. this directly affected janeway within fandom and she got and still is recognized for accomplishments SHE DID NOT DO. she got put on a pedestal and once that happens to a character they suddenly can do no wrong. except she does because shes a human and shes white and shes a character with writers behind her

b’elanna has never actually been a super popular character and the wave of love for her is actually pretty fucking recent and not to toot my own horn but i definitely was a big part of the b’elanna love resurgence. when i got into voyager and these dates ARE important, i used to scroll through her entire tag easily a couple times through a DAY. fans occasionally created art for her and yeah! she got fics but nowhere in comparison to her other peers. surrounding yourself with people who also love her and want to create for her does help with recognition of b’elanna but its super recent stuff. and to add onto that any white fan that has an opinion about her will always be biased because they just do not understand what it is like to exist as a latina woman of color

this is where me myself and i come into the story because wowowowowow star trek is so cool! star trek preaches on and on and on about diversity love acceptance hate oppression and all that good stuff so who wouldnt love it??? and then??? OMG THERES A LATINA CHARACTER IN ONE SERIES OMG OMG OMG. imagine my disappointment when i found out that she a main character barely was getting any love. it hurt. because even within a narrative of inclusion somehow characters of color just seem to always be pushed to the side. especially when a fandom has such a majority percentage of white people

watching her story was SO personal to me. i could see myself in her struggling with living in america. i lived my childhoods in puerto rico and in many different parts of usamerica, surrounded by family and people like me until that wasnt the case anymore. i spent my life living as a nomad with no place to call home for on average no less than a year and no more than three. i could understand b’elanna with her struggles of living in a klingon monastery and then being thrust into an unforgiving and unaccepting world where humans/white people are the most important. the internalized racism that i grew up with was horrendous and to this DAY i am still trying to learn and better myself and connect with my culture in any way i can. because in a black ans white world, where is the space for those of us that dont fall under either? we are ignored and erased and with b’elanna is has been the same

the rejection b’elanna had to her klingon side was something i could relate to incredibly. but it still isnt enough. because even though i could connect with her through her klingon-ness, her latinidad is simply a label. throughout the show you see her change and grow and assimilate to the federation standard and it HURT. the narrative that i was directly picking up from her story was yeah you can be a part of the club but only if you do it how we want you to do it. and dont you EVER even talk about being latino unless its to shit on your deadbeat of a father. and i did. i learned how to adapt at an extremely young age. ive been told its one of the things i do best (sad isnt it?)

and okay how do seven and janeway have anything to do with this? well they are the white women who we literally have to conform to and for. thats it period

seven as a character had an amazing opportunity to challenge gender and sexuality because of her story (one that would have been better suited had she been an indigenous woman which ive spoken on before but thats for another post too) and then the people in charge decided that she just HAD to be the sexywoman instead of leaning into just how much she was no longer human and how humanity itself doesnt actually have one right way to be

this narrative is given to us by janeway time and time and time again correcting seven and telling her that seven simply is not himan enough and still has to learn. (things autistic ppl can suuuuuper relate to which is a reason i could connect with seven at all). no matter how you want to look at it (whatever canon you want to decide isnt canon anymore for the sake of a fucking ship) janeway was directly written to be a mentor and mother figure to seven. janeway is there to help her learn when in reality she can never understand what its like to be an outcast within the federation and to take it a step further be part of a eace which is treated with hostility by humans. something b’elanna CAN understand and relate to because at the time of voyager shits still om the rocks between klingons and humans. janeway pushes seven to accept and embrace humanity as if thats the only option seven has to become a better character but its just not true. the story woven between janeway and seven is one of white women and femininity and how to be the perfect white woman and how to be a good lover. by actively ignoring the help and influence b’elanna could have provided for seven to learn and adapt to a majority human world they put all that weight on janeway. something that affects ALL three of them negatively and results in a narrative of “well b’elanna could never understand and relate to seven in a way that matters” which is beyond true because they are so interwoven even unintentionally so. it simply just wasnt taken further and its a true shame

and this isnt even touching on how badly seven’s actress was treated by janeways actress for being the pretty new doll at the time of filming and how that affected how i felt about janeway/seven as a ship (similarly how castle and beckett did not get along behind scenes i could no longer enjoy that show anymore)

i simplified this IMMENSELY and this shit is already long enough as it is so im sorry about that but yeah thats it. also sorry if things got repetitive ive been told i tend to do that when i write. these are my feelings and i am a real human behind this account so keep in mind how you react to this post. i have recieved countless hate anons most of which ive deleted throughout my short lived time as a fan of this franchise. i used to be MUCH more vocal about representation within star trek and people got mad so i left. but im back because the people that love b’elanna and that love that i have things to say about her matter so much fucking more than any angry person ever will

#to add a lil statistics to it b7 barely breaks 200 fics on ao3 and numbers like that classify them rarepair within a fandom as big as trek #AND I BARELY TOUCH ON THE SHIPPING ASPECT TOO LOL #b’elanna torres #seven of nine #captain janeway #star trek voyager

[startrek-logicoftheforce]

Star Trek: Logic of the Force - Chapter One

I have had this idea of a Star Trek/Star Wars crossover for several years. Finally, I decided that it was the perfect time to write this story.

This story is set shortly after the events of Star Trek Nemesis.

-----------------------------------------------

STARDATE 57898.7

It was said a long time ago that in space, nobody could hear you scream. However, in the case of Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise, that was not the case. The Enterprise - NCC-1701-E - had just finished repairs shortly after a catastrophic battle with the Romulan secret agent Shinzon. There were mary losses in that battle, but one year later, one loss still haunted Picard to that day,

"Data..."

Picard suddenly arose from a deep slumber. It was just a dream. In his dream, he had watched the Enterprise's navigator - an android with hauntingly yellow eyes and grey artificial skin - being blasted out into the cold vastness of interstellar space, and presumably killed, while shouting "CAPTAIN!"

"CAPTAIN!"

The voice shouted from his computer terminal on his desk. Groggingly, Picard arose from his bunk and made his way to the replicator.

"Tea, Earl Gray. Hot. " Picard momentarily waited as the replicator created a perfect cup of Earl Grey tea. He took the hot beverage and took a sip of the delicious drink as he made his way to the terminal, Upon sitting down, he pressed a button on the touch sreen.

'Picard here." On the screen showal a familiar face. "Admiral Jawway. Is something wrong?"

"I could ask the same of you, "said the hauntingly beautiful yet elderly and battle-worn admiral who was one year removed from bringing back the Voyager from the Delta Quadrant. "Are you up for another adventure?"

"Admiral, " replied the aging captain, "I think my days of gallivanting across the galaxy are done.”

"Nonsense, Jean-Luc, We have found the perfect candidate to act as your ship's navigator." Before Picard could protest, Janeway interrupted. "This is a direct order from Starfleat Command"Admiral," replied Picard, "I would prefer an android. They engage in perfect examples of duty and logic "

“And a Vulcan doesn't?" Picard was puzzled  at the admiral's questioning reply, "Juan-Luc, you are to embark to Vulcan. There is a Vulcan scientist there who has shown remarkable aptitude for ship navigation, And he is also well-versed in other aspects of ship control and ship protocol." Janeway produced a rare smile that emphasized the crow's feet on the sides of her eyes. "You know, Jean-Luc. He could very well be a prime candidate for ship's captain. Janeway out."

As Janeway ended the transmission, the screen reverted to its normal image of the ensignia of the United Federation of Planets. Picard noticed that his tea had become cold from being neglected for too long. He chugged the rest of the tea and he rose to put on his standard captain's uniform. After looking in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable,he exited his quarters and made his was to the turbolift and entered.

"Bridge." With that single word, the turbolift made a rapid ascension to the bridge. After the turbolift stopped, he stepped onto the bridge and saw familior faces he had not expected to see on his ship again. "Will. Deanna, This is a pleasant surprise Why are you here?"

"As ordered by Janeway, sir," said the bearded Will.

"Captain Willian T. Riker. I knew you would rise to the captain's chair, son," Picard beamed with pride.

"That's because I had the best teacher," Riker replied. "So what is on Vulcan?"

"Our new ship's navigator," said Picard. "Although nobody can ever replace our sorely-missed Commander Data." Suddenly, Picaes heard a female's voice speaking to him.

"He will return…"

“Deanna?" Picard looked at the strikingly beautiful Betazoid who was  also the wife of Riker. "Deanna Troi, did you say something?

"No, sir, "replied Trol. "Captain, I sense much confusion and anger in you."

"Why would I NOT be angry?" Picard's voke took on a sense of agitation, "The Romulans sending in secret agents cloned from me, one of whom attacks my ship and causes the deaths of many crewman, including...Data. So excuse me if I seem confused and angry."

Picard head another voice.. a gravelly yet high-pitched voie. "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate, Hate leads to...suffering."

Picard looked at Troi. "No. That wasn't you talking. I apologize for my emotional outburst."

“Don't worry yourself, Captain," The beautiful empath said. "Do you need somebody to navigate to Vulcan? If so, I still hold my qualifications for navigation."

"Then take your station, navigator - and counselor - Deanna Troi of Betazed," replied Picard. Troi and the rest of the bridge crew assembled at their respective stations.

A voice came over the bridge's intercom. "Commander LaForge reporting from engineering, sir. Ship engines at full capacity. Warp speed at your discretion."

“Thank you, Geordi." Picard sat in the captain's chair and looked at the new helmsman - a male Bajoran. "Ensign, impulse speed.”

“Aye sir," replied the ensign.

“Course laid in for Vulcan, Captain," said Troi.

"Warp speed at my mark, ensign." As the ship moved out of the Sol system, familiar planets passed by. Once the Enterprise moved past Saturn, Picard knew it was time. "Warp speed now."

With that single command, the warp drive was engaged, and the Enterprise moved many times faster than the speed of light. "Thank you, Zeframe Cochrane," Picard said to himself, giving praise to the person who brought Earth out of the despair of post-World War III trauma and into a new era of discovery and enlightenment. "And thank you, Lily," once again said to himself, remembering the Earth woman who helped him to get over the trauma of his assimilation by the Borg.

#star wars #star trek #crossover #fanfic #fanfiction

[crazynerdandproud]

I fucking love Tuvok

#he is just a really solid character #dependable and loyal #I may only be on season 1 still #but pretty much 9 out of 10 times I agree with Tuvok about what should be done #he is extremely underrated #yes chakotay is awesome #bellana is a badass #janeway is one of the best captains the federation has ever had #harry and kim are both great #(I mostly say harry solely because of the character development he goes through throughout the show) #(so far he hasn’t really stood out much though) #the doctor continues to be a whole mood #honestly if I had to pick a favorite so could choose #anyways yeah I’m rambling #tuvok is awesome and he doesn’t get enough credit

[getoutofmyjaneway]

Since Star Trek Voyager is Leaving Netflix, Here are 10 Episodes that you Should Watch Before the End of September

1. The Cloud

The Cloud is a great example of the early dynamic between the main cast. This bottle episode shows a very Star Trek episode dealing with some space creature they accidently harm, and being oh so very Starfleet, they assist. That, of course, is not why you watch this episode. It has some pretty great comedic moments, the iconic “There’s coffee in that nebula,” moment, and (if you can over look the cringy and incorrect portrayal of Native American culture) great moments that will let you better get to know the character we love.

2. Tuvix

Tuvix is was created when there was a transporter accident fused Neelix, Tuvok, and some plants together to create a new single sentient being. Tuvix loves being himself but ultimately it was decided by Captain Janeway that they would be separated back into there original beings. This episode is not only thought provoking, but has been the basis for many discussions of morality on a broader level. It is an interesting thought experiment that is so very Star Trek in nature - it is a don’t miss in my book.

3. Before and After

You remember Kes yes? She was definitely not given the most to do throughout the run of Voyager, but this is her best story by far. This story sees Kes aging backwards through death to birth, giving us a full picture of her life. This also brings us some of the very seldomly seen foreshadowing in the series, eluding to the Year of Hell (we’ll talk about that soon) and Tom and B’Elanna’s relationship. This is how I choose to remember Kes (we don’t talk about Furry).

4. Year of Hell Part 1 and 2

Yeah you knew this was going to be on here. There is a reason this is on most peoples lists of top Voyager episodes. And yes, I know I am cheating by putting both episodes on the same spot on my list, but like Janeway, I make my own rules. This is the most action packed two-parter in the series, serving as a kind of what-if scenario if the Voyager crew went down a more dangerous path. It ultimately ends with the ever present “Voyager-Rest-Button” but this is the best use of it. This is the most bad-ass episode by a long shot, also giving great character interactions, as well as commentary of grief and family.

5. Living Witness

This one is for all of my TNG lovers out there, you will love this one. Living Witness sees the Doctor’s program ending up in an alien museum in the distant future where an exhibit shows the species interactions with the crew of the Voyager. It is up to the Doctor to clear the name of his crew, and himself. This is amazing commentary of how history can be warped by those that recount it. Of course I also enjoy the absolutely savage portrayal of the Voyager crew - you can tell they had a good time with this one. Overall, this is a story you could only see on Voyager and is excellently done.

6. Timeless

This episode is iconic. If you have seen media referencing Voyager, you have most likely seen the image of the Voyager crashing into an ice planet in some amazing for its time CGI (that holds put pretty dang well even today). This is a strong episode for both Chakotay and Kim, two of Voyagers other most under used characters, seeing them try and create a slipstream with the Delta Flyer to get home. While the Delta Flyer is ultimately successful in this, the Voyager and the rest of the crew ends up dead. Chakotay and Kim take it upon themselves to change the events of the accident.

7. Counterpoint

There is a reason that this is Kate Mulgrew’s favorite episode (other then the fact that she gets to kiss an alien). This is Janeway at her absolute best - intelligent, cunning, and a master of her craft. This sees Janeway help a group of telepaths cross a region of space where a xenophobic ruling body does not allow them. After frequent inspections, Janeway takes in a defector from the xenophobic race, who tries to get her to divulge her secrets. She, however, was always one step ahead of him in a brilliant power play that I can only describe as spicy.

8. Someone to Watch Over Me

Someone to Watch Over Me is a story about what it means to be human, a theme often discussed in Star Trek. This sees the Doctor, a hologram, show Seven, a woman rebuilding her sense of self after spending most of her life in the borg collective, teach her what he has learned about relationships. It’s like the blind leading the blind, or in a more Star Trek example, the blind teaching an Andriod how to paint. Throughout their time together, they both seem to teach each other a lot - Seven gains many incites into how to be more human and the Doctor learns what it is like to be in love. A heartwarming episode.

9. Collective

Members of Voyager’s senior staff are abducted by the borg... children. Five who have been separated and awoken from there maturation chamber struggle between being borg and being individuals. This is, however, not a borg story, it is a story about being human. As Seven was saved from the collected, she went through a transformation under the guidance of her friends family and now it is time for her to help these children in the same way.

10. The Void

After becoming trapped in a Void with no way of escape, they soon find that ever ship is out for their own in this region, everyone stealing what they need to survive. It becomes a battle of morals - do you take back from those who have stolen from you and then some? Do you use what has been stolen from others for your personal gain? Where do you draw the line for the sake of survive. The Voyager spearheads a mini federation type alliance of sorts, finding strength in unity and numbers, and, in the end, it is the understanding of others that allows for the Voyager and the members of the alliance to escape

These are not necessarily the best episodes of Voyager, but I think these are episodes that you can watch on their own with no other knowledge of Voyager to really get a feel for the series and the characters. Of course, I would love to know what other episodes you would include. Personally, I would have loved to include episodes like Course: Oblivion, Author Author, and Dark Frontier, but out of context, these episodes will give that Voyager flavor we all know an love.

#Star trek #star trek voyager #long post #netflix

[falkenscreen]

Star Trek: Voyager

Yes this show ended some time ago; that doesn’t mean that it’s not still underrated.

A relative late convert to Star Trek, this author committed to traversing the Delta Quadrant having finished The Original Series, The Next Generation, Discovery & Picard to date. Deep Space Nine is next; like the Doctor I don’t know anything about this ‘Dominion’ but they seem important and we’ll get there.

Having now finished Voyager, here’s the (spoiler-filled) thoughts of someone who came to the bridge afresh and savoured the light-hearted nature of the show. Yes TNG demanded more attention and the episodes herein that do are generally better, but for relaxed, semi-serialised adventure Voyager is a high point.

We’ll start with the negative and get to the fun stuff.

From the get-go there was a jarring disconnect between the premise and goals of the show. If a ship more advanced than any in the region is travelling really fast in one direction they’re not going to keep running into the same people; better begetting a saga poised for episodic rather than serialised fiction. The writers and audience were evidently a little tired at this point of TNG’s slavish devotion to wrapping everything up in 40-odd minutes so wanted to try variations on a theme; it was the right approach for the time accompanied by a smart premise that didn’t match.

And a stellar premise it was only set to be buoyed by the Federation-Marquis dynamic. Also partly squandered, corresponding grounds for strong tension and stories were left by the wayside – characterised by Chakotay’s ill-established, apparently immediate and seemingly endless trust in Janeway; together major failings of the show.

On continuity, and just so it’s out of the way; no they don’t show it but it’s clear the crew just manufactured more photon torpedoes like they did so much else.

Commencing with one of the best episodes, there is rarely a subsequent moment as character-defining as Janeway destroying the array. Don’t get me wrong, Kate Mulgrew is great, but she alike Kirk and Picard are, as fleshed out as they become, for stretches bare variations on a tired theme; young headstrong hotshot dedicates their life to the stars to become a reasoned, seasoned Commander. ‘Tapestry’ did it best and there was no need to explore this further.

Voyager had a general problem with characters that took several seasons to grow; it was a long time before Neelix stopped being grating and his earnestness became endearing. There is too very little you can relay about Tuvak beyond his being a Vulcan and a little sardonic, or Harry besides his yearning for advancement or Chakotay aside his membership of the Marquis and focus on his cultural background.

The stand-out worst episode of the entire show was Chakotay finding out that the Sky Spirits central to his people’s religion were actually from the Delta Quadrant; you can garner Robert Beltran’s clear ambivalence (at best) to such material. This author is aware of the significant tension between the actor and others on set; I can understand the frustration at a lead cast member belittling the series in public but the directions and emphasis the character took in later seasons was something else, as were the music cues whenever his or some others’ cultures came up.

Star Trek, and notably The Original Series, is often (but not always) shrewd for both telling stories addressing the place of culture, religion and community in people’s lives while not overly if at all drawing attention to particular characters’ backgrounds. To Beltran’s credit, he only made the disaffection perceptible on screen in the episodes that were of poor taste, as opposed to the ones that were just bad. There are many lousy episodes of The Original Series but what near always makes it enjoyable is Shatner et al’s absolute commitment to the bit. One of the very worst episodes of Voyager is the one where Harry is lead to believe that he’s actually from a planet in the Delta Quadrant full of attractive women; yet no one in Star Trek ever needs to look bored reading their lines. There are good ones and bad ones and we’re along for the whole ride.

There’s also that one where Tom and the Captain turn into salamanders, start life on a random planet and somehow transform back into their usual selves with these shenanigans never brought up again. Yeah that was awful but it was preceded by a generally decent few acts centred on exceeding warp limits; reputation aside it wasn’t quite down there.

On Alpha Quadrant folks being in the Delta Quadrant, as much as I missed the Klingons they did not need to rock up latently and near the very end; there were plenty of better ways to give B’Elanna an arc. One of the more interesting characters, she offered a variation on Worf’s overwhelming pride as a Klingon, though she barely got enough episodes to shine and these were predominantly featured much later on. And when the show stopped pretending Tom was the cocky pilot we’ve seen dozens of times before he too managed to get a whole lot more interesting.

It would have made a lot more sense for McNeill to just directly continue his character from TNG’s ‘The First Duty;’ alas.

Also welcome were the insights into the Borg; even if they became a lot less eerie it was great to learn that much more about them, though nothing, save the introduction of Seven, bettered the recuperating drones who were the ship’s first Borg encounter. The Borg children were also very funny (the related Voyager pick-ups in Picard were excellent) and should have stayed on the ship longer so Seven could say more things like “fun will now commence;” she can only say “Naomi Wildman” deadpan, as good as it was, so many times.

Heralded by such a superb actress, Seven and the Doctor thrillingly shared dual arcs akin but distinct to Data’s and each other’s, permitting us to relish their gradual growth and revel in their leaps forward. Seven’s narrowing down of eligible crewmen, unlike Chakotay’s later courting, was a particular highlight, as was her month of isolation when the crew were in stasis and the one where the Doctor overtook her node.

The Doctor however emerges the best character, far and above all others save the near as interesting Seven. Picardo’s charisma and stage presence, well-befitting an exaggeratedly humanistic, bombastic piece of programming, only propelled the most relatable arcs in the series; his desire to fit in and, as any, make a contribution. The Doctor’s opening number in ‘Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy,’ but one occasion where Picardo’s vocal abilities were graciously integrated into the series, by this author’s judgement is the funniest sequence in seven seasons.

‘Message in a Bottle’ with the Doctor centre was too among the very best of the series. Mining any opportunity for comedy we can nonetheless be grateful, alike TNG, that they kept the bald jokes to about one per season.

As asides, it was lovely to see Reginald Barclay return and realise his aspirations in one of the best and most heart-warming episodes of the saga, while the singular and very obvious inspiration one episode draws from Predator proved amusing for just being so unabashed.  

‘Scorpion’ was amazing as was anything to do with Species 8472. Captain Proton, acknowledging the entire franchise’s schlocky roots, was a definite recurring highlight, with Mulgrew in one installment clearly having no end of fun alike the cast’s enjoyable turns in late 90’s Los Angeles alongside Sarah Silverman. Speaking of guest stars, seeing The Rock was a nice surprise though with hindsight they may never have cast him given Star Trek shrewdly chose to not have celebrity appearances overshadow the show. But hey, they can’t see the future; at least cleverly opting to obscure Jason Alexander in piles of costuming.

‘Year of Hell’ is good, but the premise befitted an entire season and alike the lacklustre finale nothing really matters (with some well-executed exceptions) if you can just go back in or erase time. There were many, many episodes that shouldn’t have been contained within forty minutes and deserved longer-form devotion, ala ‘30 Days.’ ‘Timeless’was a much better (and unusually technically-focused) variation on the aforementioned themes and it was fun to catch Geordi, as it was Deanna and especially Sulu. ‘The Omega Directive’ was cool; ‘The Thaw’ was great.

The fable-esque nature of the franchise has always been enjoyable and digestible given the show is partially aimed at kids, though there are episodes where it’s just a little too direct, and characters take a little too much pause. ‘Alice,’ the one where Tom almost cheats with his ship as an overly obvious parallel about why you shouldn’t have sex with other people if you have a girlfriend, if a good lesson, in execution was a tad much.

On reflection this author was surprised to discover some of the least generally favoured episodes, among them the Fairhaven double. It may be my great personal affection for Ireland but it makes perfect sense that given the time available this sort of world would be created and characters might pursue holo-relationships, a theme underexplored in Voyager yet still covered to great effect. The established technical deficiencies of holo-technology in such regular use should not come as a surprise when they recur.  

The one where Kes comes back was actually a later highlight; her character was never very well handled and no it wasn’t that blast off into the sunset but sometimes old friends lose their way and it’s the job of old friends to set them on the right path.

Most surprising was the dislike directed at ‘Tuvix.’ The difference between Voyager and much heavier sci-fi is that herein characters make a lot of decisions that are hard, not ones that are difficult. The destruction of the array was devastating but not morally questionable within the confines of the show. As a tangent, you could argue that had Janeway made the decision to return to the Alpha Quadrant at the beginning of the series that it would have been the morally correct decision given that, as we see in ‘Hope and Fear,’ another highlight, the ship would not otherwise have been a factor in much disorder and destruction. The show was not however so expansive philosophically as to greatly tread such ground as the franchise otherwise managed in the likes of ‘City on the Edge of Forever.’

In ‘Tuvix’ Janeway, a figure, like Chakotay, who often shifted characterisation to fit the requirements of any given story, was faced with a difficult decision with no easy moral out nor ethically unquestionable approach. It was a refreshing change and correspondingly dark denouement to boot apparent in the likes of ‘Latent Image,’ another fine instalment with the Doctor.

‘Eye of the Needle,’ the only episode this author has watched twice to date and a deeply empathetic early high point, save ‘Balance of Terror’ is the best treatment of the guarded but necessarily relatable Romulans (I haven’t seen all the movies!). ‘The Void’ bookends the show as a later stand out while the in respects not dissimilar ‘Night’ bears one of the darkest challenges and finest, most resonant endings.

This brings us to the ‘best episode;’ one featured regularly in top ten lists but seemingly not a very favourite.

‘Blink of an Eye’ is everything that is exceptional and aspirational about Star Trek. Stranded in the stratosphere of a planet where time passes with greater rapidity, the curious presence of Voyager in the skies begins to influence the society to the point where the inhabitants develop space travel to face the spectre.

A commentary on the Prime Directive as deft as any and a relatively novel variation on both the time travel and petri dish tropes resplendent throughout sci-fi and Star Trek, the episode is also a fabulous meta-commentary on the place of the franchise in popular culture much less crude than Janeway bemoaning the Doctor’s fleeting interplanetary fans’ obsession with every aspect of his personal life. Incorporating a fair bit more science than is typically par, the astronaut’s moving decision to help them, as with his staring into the heavens as Voyager finally departs, speaks to the selfless ethos and sense of overwhelming curiosity so intrinsic to the most basic lore of Star Trek, the most beloved episodes and all that Gene Roddenberry best achieved.

It’s also an amazing meditation on first contact principles and pitfalls which unlike many episodes doesn’t borrow story bones from TNG.

A more than welcome reprieve from a pandemic, I didn’t spend as long in the Delta Quadrant as the crew but for what I did I was glad to relish with them.

Star Trek: Voyager is now streaming on Netflix

#xl #film/tv #voyager #star trek #star Trek: voyager #gene roddenberry #jeri ryan #kate mulgrew #roxann dawson #robert duncan mcneill #robert beltran #ethan phillips #tim russ #jennifer lien

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek Villains Who Actually Had a Point

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This article contains spoilers for various parts of the Star Trek franchise.

Last fall, airing just a few weeks apart, both Star Trek and Star Wars debuted season premieres of new streaming TV episodes in which the heroes of each show had to fight a giant, legless worm-monster. In Star Trek: Discovery’s “That Hope Is You Part 1,” it was the deadly Tranceworm, while The Mandalorian’s “Chapter 9: The Marshall” had the murderous Krayt Dragon. The differences between the Final Frontier and the Faraway Galaxy could not have been made clearer by these dueling beasts: in Mando, the plot involved killing the monster by blowing up its guts from the inside, while in Disco, Book taught Michael Burnham how to make friends with it.

The Trek universe deals with the concept of evil a little differently than many of its famous genre competitors. There is no Lex Luthor of the Federation. Palpatine doesn’t haunt the planet Vulcan. The Klingons have no concept of “the devil.” (At least in The Original Series.) This isn’t to say Trek doesn’t have some very memorable Big Bads, it’s just that most of the time those villains tend to have some kind of sympathetic backstory. Even in the J.J. Abrams films! 

So, with that in mind, here’s a look at seven Star Trek villains who maybe weren’t all bad, and kind of, even in a twisted way, had a point…

Harry Mudd

In Star Trek: The Original Series, Harry Mudd was presented as a straight-up con-man, a dude who seemed to be okay with profiting from prostitution (in “Mudd’s Women”) and was also down with marooning the entire crew of the Enterprise on a random planet (in “I, Mudd”). He’s not a good person. Not even close. But, he does make a pretty could case against Starfleet’s lack of planning. In the Discovery episode “Choose Your Pain,” Mudd accuses Starfleet of starting the war with the Klingons, and, as a result, putting the larger population of the galaxy at risk. “I sure as hell understand why the Klingons pushed back,” Mudd tells Ash Tyler. “Starfleet arrogance. Have you ever bothered to look out of your spaceships down at the little guys below? If you had, you’d realize that there’s a lot more of us down there than there are you up here, and we’re sick and tired of getting caught in your crossfire.”

Seska

At a glance, Seska seems pretty irredeemable. She joins the idealistic Maquis but is secretly a Cardassian spy. Once in the Delta Quadrant, she tries to screw Voyager as much as possible, mostly by hooking up with the Kazon. That said, Seska is also someone caught up in hopelessly sexist, male-dominated power structures and does what she has to do to gain freedom and power. The Cardassian military isn’t exactly enlightened nor kind, so the fact that Seska was recruited into the Obsidian Order in the first place certainly explains her deceptive conditioning. You could argue that Seska could have become a better person once she had Captain Janeway as an ally, but, the truth is, she was still a spy caught behind enemy lines, but suddenly without a government to report back to. So, Seska did what she had to do to survive, even lying to Chakotay about having his child. The thing is, again, outside of Starfleet, Seska is at the mercy of the sexist machinations of the Kazon, so again, she’s kind of using all the tools at her disposal to gain freedom. Had Voyager not gone to the Delta Quadrant, and Seska’s villainy may have been more clear-cut. But, once the reason for her espionage becomes moot, her situation gets more desperate, and, on some level, more understandable. 

Charlie Evans

In The Original Series, Kirk loves telling humans with god-like powers where to shove it. In “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” he phasers Gary Mitchell and buries him under a rock. But, in “Charlie X,” when teenager Charlie Evans also gets psionic powers, Kirk does a less-than-a-great job of being a good role model. For most of the episode, Kirk tries to avoid become Charlies’ surrogate parent, and when he does try, it results in an embarrassing overly macho wrestling match featuring those famous pink tights.

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Charlie was a deeply troubled human being, and there was no justification for him harassing the crew and Janice Rand in specific. But, angry, kids like Charlie have to be helped before it gets to this point. Kirk mostly tried to dodge the adult responsibility of teaching Charlie the ropes, and only when some friendly aliens arrived, did everyone breathe a sigh of relief. But, don’t get it twisted, those aliens are basically just social workers, doing the hard work Starfleet is incapable of.

The Borg Queen

Because the origin of the Borg Queen has dubious canonical origins, all we were told in Voyager is that she was assimilated as a child, just like Seven of Nine. As Hugh and Jean-Luc discuss in the Picard episode “The Impossible Box,” basically, everyone assimilated by the Borg, is, on some level, a victim. The Queen was never presented this way in either First Contact or Voyager, but, at one point, writers Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens had pitched a story for Enterprise which would have featured Alice Krige as a Starfleet medical technician who made contact with the Borg.

Because both Alice Krige and Susanna Thompson played the Borg Queen, it’s possible the backstories of each Queen is different and that maybe they aren’t the same character. Either way, assuming the Borg Queen retains some level of autonomy relative to other drones (likely?) then she’s pretty much making the best of a bad situation. In fact, at the point at which you concede the Borg are unstoppable, the Queen’s desire to let Picard retain some degree of his independence as Locutus could scan as a kind of mercy. The Borg Queen actually thinks she and the Borg are making things simpler for everyone. And with both Data and Picard, she tried to make that transition easier and, in her own perverse way, fun too.

Ossyra

Yes, we saw Ossyra feed her nephew to a Trance worm, and we also saw her try to kill literally everyone on the USS Discovery, including Michael Burnham. However, in the middle of all of that, Ossyra did try to actively make peace between the Emerald Chain and the Federation. And, most tellingly, it was her idea. Ossyra also pointed out one of the most hypocritical things about the United Federation of Planets: the fact that Starfleet and its government rely on capitalism without actively acknowledging it. Essentially, Ossyra was saying that the ideals of the Federation are great, but the Federation has all kinds of dirty little secrets it doesn’t want to talk about. In her meeting with Admiral Vance, pretty much everything she said about the Federation was true—and her treaty proposal was fair. 

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The only snag: she wouldn’t turn herself over as a war criminal. Considering the fact that the Federation made Mirror Georgiou into a Section 31 agent, despite her war crimes in another universe, this also seems hypocritical.  Why not just do the same thing with Ossyra? Tell everyone she’s going to prison for war crimes, but make her a Section 31 agent instead? Missed opportunity! 

Khan

Khan was genetically engineered by wacko-a-doodle scientists at the end of the 21st Century. At some point on Earth, he became a “prince” with “power over millions.” But, as Kirk notes in “Space Seed,” there were “no massacres” under Khan’s rule, and described him as the “best of the tyrants.” Kirk’s take on Khan in “Space Seed” is basically that Khan was an ethical megalomaniac. Most of what we see in “Space Seed” backs this up. Khan doesn’t actually want to kill the crew, and stops short of doing it when he thinks he can coerce them instead. His only focus is to gain freedom for himself and his exiled fellow-Augments. In the Kelvin Universe timeline, Khan’s motivations are similar. Into Darkness shows us a version of Khan who, again, is only cooperating with Section 31 because he wants freedom for his people. Sure, he’ll crush some skulls and crash some starships to get to that point, but in his dueling origin stories, Khan is, in both cases interested in freedom for his people, who, are by any definition, totally persecuted by the Federation.

Khan is still a criminal in any century. But, we only really think of him as a villain because he goes insane in between the “Space Seed” and The Wrath of Khan. The Khan of The Wrath is not the same person we met in “Space Seed.” As he tells Chekov, “Admiral Kirk never bothered to check on our progress.” Had Kirk sent a Starfleet ship to drop in on Khan and his “family” every once in awhile this whole thing could have been avoided. In the prime timeline, Khan goes nuts because Ceti Alpha VI explodes and nobody cares. In the Kelvin timeline, Admiral Marcus blackmails him. Considering that Khan is Star Trek’s most famous villain, it’s fascinating that there are a million different ways you can imagine him never getting as bad as he became. In “Space Seed,” he and Kirk basically part as friends. 

Q

In “Encounter at Farpoint,” Q accuses humanity of being “a savage child race.” And walks Jean-Luc Picard through the various atrocities committed by humanity, through the 21st Century. Picard kind of shrugs his shoulders and says, “we are what we are and we’re doing the best that we can.” When we talk about the philosophy of Star Trek, we tend to give more weight to Picard’s argument: the idea that by the 24th century, humanity has become much better, in general than it is now. But, the other side of the argument; that there’s a history of unspeakable violence and cruelty baked into the existence of humanity, is given less weight. We don’t really listen to Q when he’s putting humanity on trial, because we can’t see his point of view.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

But, because Q wasn’t a one-off character, and because he said “the trial never ends” in the TNG finale, he’s actually not really a villain at all. Q exists post-morality, as we can imagine it. His notions of ethics are far more complex (or less complex) than we can perceive. Q is one of those great Star Trek characters who is actually beyond reproach simply because we have no frame of reference for his experiences or point of view. In Voyager, we also learned that even among other members of the Q Continuum, Q was kinder, with a more humanitarian approach to what he might call “lesser” lifeforms. If Q is villainous, it’s because of our definitions of villainy. Of every Star Trek antagonist, Q is the best one, for the simple fact that he’s not a a villain at all. 

Which Star Trek villains do you think had a point? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Star Trek Villains Who Actually Had a Point appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[nonbinaryhatboxghost]

Okay, today has been a quiet Saturday morning so far, I have some time, and I like lists. So here is my random (personal) ranking of Star Trek series and movies, out of what I’ve seen, which is everything but seasons 5-7 of Voyager, all of Enterprise, and all of Picard. I’m only counting shows with three or more seasons because it’s easier. But let the record show that I love Lower Decks so far and The Animated Series is actually a blast.

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT

Series Ranking

The Original Series - As influential of a show as it is, I constantly forget how much damn fun the original Trek is. There is an almost Community-like variance in tone and genre throughout the show. And I’m a sucker for a future that embraces primary colors. It is the Trek show I revisit the most so far, and it remains my favorite.

Deep Space Nine - This one comes close, though. It starts out as a solid spinoff with very well-defined characters, and then becomes a big, sprawling epic that had my eyes welling up by the end. It feels more like a sequel to The Original Series than The Next Generation did to me. It dealt with subject matter both different and darker than was expected for the time. It had characters at odds with each other. Religion was explored in a way that balanced brutal honesty with genuine respect. War and the various traumas it induces were acknowledged. And it had “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”. I only finished this one recently but I look forward to watching it again.

Discovery - I was rooting for this show to be good even as it went through so much behind-the-scenes drama during its first two seasons. Even with all of that going on, the show became a fascinating watch as you saw it change from its arguably-too-dark beginnings as a prequel, to the almost Doctor Who-like second season with its joyful embracing of classic Trek, and finally to its current iteration that at long last gives us a Trek show that’s not bound by prequel limitations. Michael Burnham is such a great character and getting to see her arc alone makes this one of my favorite Trek stories. The queer/nonbinary representation also warms my heart.

Voyager - I’m just starting the fifth season, but the show has settled into an interesting groove with its characters. And Voyager’s characters are so damn good that they counterbalance a lot of the show’s early problems. It takes a while for Voyager to realize that the Kazon do not work very well as villains. But once the show realizes that, it begins an upward trajectory in quality that reminds me of Deep Space Nine after it began doing Dominion plots. And Seven of Nine’s effect on the crew dynamic lives up to the hype. Any scene between her and Janeway demonstrates such a unique relationship between captain and crewmate that an episode plot can be meh and still worth it for a scene with those two. Also, Janeway is the best captain character. No other Trek show (that I’ve seen so far) comes close to showing us the weight of leadership like Voyager, and Mulgrew constantly brings it.

The Next Generation - This is my first Trek show. It’s the one that my dad watched. There are several standout episodes to me, but I find myself less drawn to revisiting TNG than the other Trek shows because ultimately it took me too long to understand and care about its cast of characters. If you were to ask me to describe any character from any other Trek show, I would be able to. Ask me to describe a TNG character and I would likely fail to give any good adjectives for any character besides Data and Worf. As iconic as the show is, and as great as it became, it doesn’t have the same pull on me as other Trek shows. But it was the template for the spinoffs that followed, and the portrayal of Picard’s trauma post-Borg assimilation earns its reputation as an all-timer for me.

Movie Ranking

VI: The Undiscovered Country - I’m surprised this one isn’t talked about as much as other Trek movies. It’s a very frank depiction of prejudices and learning to deal with them. It has one of the best Kirk/Spock scenes ever. Christopher Plummer as a Klingon. The ORIGINAL cast credits sign-off (yes, Avengers: Endgame borrowed from this). A score that carefully balances menace with eventual hope. A fun whodunit structure. I could go on and on. It’s just so damn great, and so far the only successful send-off to a Trek crew in any of the movies.

II: The Wrath of Khan - It’s a classic for a reason. I��ve probably rewatched this more than any other Trek movie. You got your great villain, your classic crew beginning to deal with their mortality, an all-timer death scene, a kickass early James Horner score. What more could you want?

The Motion Picture - This is an interesting one. When I first watched it as a teen, I hated it. I agreed with every critique of it being thinly plotted and having an excessive runtime. When I revisited it in my 20s, it became a favorite. It’s Star Trek’s exploration of existential dread, and the struggle to find agency and identity within that dread. It has possibly Jerry Goldsmith’s greatest score. It is the best that the Enterprise has ever looked. This movie envelopes you with eerie and epic imagery, culminating in a finale with interesting philosophical ramifications and a well-earned return to optimism from its crew. This one is criminally underrated.

First Contact - This one is just rock solid all around. The best-ever TNG villains, further exploration of Picard’s trauma from Borg assimilation, Alfre Woodard, Alice Krige, fun action, the genesis of the Federation. It has the best balance of darkness and fun out of all of the Trek movies. It also has a character actually say the words “star trek” in a way that never ceases to make me smile. I don’t know if it’s a good line, but it’s funny regardless.

Beyond - Like The Motion Picture, I initially disliked this upon first viewing. I was still in the middle of watching The Original Series and was in the wrong mindset for this mashup of TOS and Fast & Furious. But it’s one of the most underrated Treks because it’s a perfect balance of the more kinetic action found in the 2010s with a very well-done breakdown of the inherent point and value of Star Trek: learning to be better and move beyond fighting the same battles among ourselves.

IV: The Voyage Home - This one is such a satisfying culmination of the crew’s arc starting in The Wrath of Khan that the joy of the 1980s material is almost just a bonus to me. Nimoy does a good job of keeping things light without disregarding stakes. He gets the best portrayal of the crew’s camaraderie in this and The Search for Spock. And Spock’s reaction to the concept of “exact change” always makes me laugh.

III: The Search for Spock - I revisited this one recently and it held up better than I expected. Seeing the weight of Spock’s death on Kirk in the beginning hits hard. Christopher Lloyd as the Klingon villain is casually one of the best Trek movie villains. And seeing the crew uniting over trying to bring back Spock gives us some of the best on-screen moments of this cast.

Star Trek - One of the reasons I love Beyond so much is that it retroactively makes this one better. I was crazy for this movie when it came out. I was in high school, Star Trek in general was something I was only really aware of because of my dad. But this is the thing that got me into Trek. And as mixed of a bag as it now plays to me, ‘09 Star Trek being a gateway for me to general Trek, combined with the perfect casting of the crew, the excellent Giacchino score, and the emotion of the opening sequence, thankfully makes this one still a blast to revisit.

Nemesis - I have only seen this twice, and both of those times without having seen TNG in its entirety. This was also the very first Trek movie I ever saw. Nostalgia is a factor for why this is higher than the others on the list. Curiosity is another, as I was unaware of Tom Hardy when I watched this, and have no idea what my opinion will be on rewatch. But what I always remembered of this movie was its ending, which even to a novice like myself when I first saw it had an impact.

Generations - There are quite a few great scenes that Stewart gets in this movie. Malcolm McDowell is also great in it. But the whole plot feels too forced for me to get actually swept up in it. And as fun as it is to see Shatner and Stewart share the screen... it ultimately has no impact and leads to a strangely lame death for Kirk.

Insurrection - The idea of Enterprise going rogue against the Federation for forcibly relocating a population for a natural resource is such a good concept... which makes the goofiness and half-baked writing of this entry all the more confusing. All the elements are there, but it feels like the tone was forced to be lighter than the material warranted. It’s frustrating because Frakes’ directing chops that he showed off on First Contact are still visible here. But for whatever reason, this one just falls apart.

Into Darkness - This one is low on the list mainly because it represents almost all the negative traits of the modern blockbuster to me. Darkness without depth, franchise callbacks without substance, and no character development/change by the end. Another reason why Beyond works better as a sequel to ‘09 Star Trek than this one is that Into Darkness feels more like it’s trying to make Star Trek a bigger movie franchise rather than develop this iteration of the Enterprise crew. Nothing and no one is changed by the end of this story.

V: The Final Frontier - It is the most difficult Trek movie to sit through, and yet I can’t call it a disaster. For all of its misfirings on the comedy front (dancing Uhura, for instance), the camping material with Kirk, Spock and McCoy is genuinely great. The premise of its villain being on a quest to find God is ultimately a misfire, but it leads to a very engagingly ridiculous climax centered around the question “What does God need with a starship?” There are far too many undeveloped ideas in this one, but that scene is worth seeing this movie for. At least, now that we know it didn’t kill the franchise, as so many apparently feared when this came out.

#star trek #kyle rants

[summahsunlight]

This Way Became My Journey, CH.10

A/N: Here is the last chapter for Caretaker. Enjoy!

GIF not my own.

The briefing room seemed strangely empty to Sarah Barrett as she slipped into a chair at the table. The last time she had been in this room the senior staff had been in tack, with the exception of Tuvok. Now, the only ones to adorn the chairs were Tuvok, herself, and a jolted looking Chakotay.

Two hours had passed since Kathryn Janeway had ordered the destruction of the Caretaker's array. No one had seen the Captain since that moment, the only ones going in and out of the Ready Room being her children. And then out of the blue she had ordered Tuvok, Sarah, and Chakotay all into the conference room and said she would be joining them in a few moments. Now the three of them were sitting silently, each lost in their own thoughts. Tuvok was staring emotionless at the ship's schematics screen, Chakotay nervously out the windows, and Sarah's own eyes flicked back forth between the two men.

"We have a problem," Kathryn's voice cut through the silence as she came into the room. All three pairs of eyes focused on her. The bluntness of her statement was not lost on them. "Besides the obvious fact that we are now seventy thousand light years from home, we don't have a senior staff to run this ship. Lieutenant Tuvok and Lieutenant Barrett have done a fine job in the wake of our situation, but it won't last. Eventually, they'll burn themselves out."

Chakotay realized that she was talking to him more than to Tuvok or Sarah.

"Not to mention, there's a matter of a Maquis crew without a ship," Kathryn added. "Now, I could just very well throw you all in the Brig for the next seventy five years, but," her voice dropped slightly, and became softer, "that wouldn't benefit any of us. I'm here to offer the proverbial olive branch."

Tuvok raised an eyebrow and briefly made eye contact with Sarah.

"What do you mean by that?" Chakotay asked her, although he had pretty much surmised what the woman wanted.

"Join my crew," Kathryn replied, not bothering to notice the objective look in Sarah's eyes. "We could use the extra hands around here and…" here she paused again, "I need a new First Officer. I've promoted Mister Tuvok to Lieutenant Commander for his service on your ship and to me; however, I'm going to need him at Tactical."

Chakotay noticed Sarah fidget in her chair and realized that the Captain had not talked to her counselor about anything she may have decided in the past two hours that she had locked herself in her ready room. "Are you offering the job to me, Captain?"

Kathryn gave him a curt nod of her head. "You were once a Starfleet officer, you're more than qualified to do the job."

He mulled over her offer. In the end, he concluded that he didn't have much of a choice, since he had destroyed his own ship to help save hers. He also knew that for her, a by the book Starfleet officer, it had to be a tough choice to send up the white flag and ask sworn enemies of her beloved Federation to join her crew. But desperate times called for desperate measures and by accepting the job, Chakotay was about to disembark on a journey that was going to show him that Kathryn Janeway was not always a by the book officer. "I'll speak to my crew, but joining your crew sounds a hell of a lot better then sitting in the brig for seventy five years."

For the first time in hours, Kathryn let a smile play on her lips. "Good, now that that is settled. Tom Paris."

"Tom Paris?" Sarah repeated, confused.

"I've decided to give him a field commission of Lieutenant, junior grade," Kathryn replied. "We need a good pilot out here and he's the best one we've got. It seems only fair that I've offered spots in this crew for the Maquis that I offer him one as well."

"Captain, I'll take responsibility for him," Chakotay offered, in a hushed tone. The eyes of the three Starfleet officers snapped up to the man's face. "I…my life belongs to him; it's…a complicated story, perhaps another time."

Kathryn gave him a gentle nod of understanding and turned her blue eyes to Sarah. "I understand you were a full lieutenant, recommended for promotion to lieutenant commander, when you were on the Explorer. Gabriel never told me that."

"My rank was striped before the trial, and let's just say the promotion...was held off," Sarah responded. "I don't see how this is relevant now."

"It's relevant because I'm reinstating you to full lieutenant," Kathryn answered her, firmly.

"Ma'am, can I ask why?"

"Gabriel would tell you its because I like taking risks," Kathryn replied, "however, current circumstances could call upon you to be in command every now and then, in the absence of Mister Tuvok, myself, and Mister Chakotay. Tuvok and I already talked about this, earlier while we were searching for Harry and B'Elanna; we could use another good officer around here. Naturally, you'd be our last resort when it comes to command situations, but your job just got a bit more important now, you're going to need the privileges of a commander to help you through. It also seemed relevant to elevate your rank above the highest rank I'll be given the Maquis, with the exception of Commander Chakotay."

"In other words, making me more of an authority figure in their eyes," Sarah reasoned.

"You could put it that way," Kathryn said. She looked about the room for a brief moment. "I understand that this is going to be difficult, but we have to work together, as senior officers, and set an example for this crew, if we're to survive."

"I'll have to set up a counseling schedule, the first few days are going to be the roughest," Sarah said.

"And I'll start immediately on training the Maquis crewmembers in the latest of Starfleet protocol and tactics," Tuvok responded.

Chakotay was impressed how easily the two officers had put any reservations they may have aside and focused on what was more important; getting this crew home. However, he wasn't a fool, he knew that it was going to take time, precious time, for all of this to work out, if it ever did.

Kathryn nodded her head in approval, expecting nothing less of her officers. Stretching out her hand to Chakotay, she waited for him to take it. "Do we have an agreement?" For a moment the Native American looked into her deep pools of blue irises and then reached out and took her hand, unknowingly vowing to stand by her.

She was about to dismiss them when Sarah spoke up, "Captain, there's another matter we need to talk about."

"Oh? Really?"

"Mister Neelix approached me, he and Kes want to stay on Voyager," Sarah replied.

"You explained to him that this isn't a passenger ship, right?"

"Yes ma'am," Sarah responded, "but he made a compelling argument. He knows this region of space, quite frankly, better than any of us, he offered himself as a guide. Kes has already proven that she is an explorer at heart, I think this crew could benefit greatly from their addition."

Kathryn found her reasons adequate and it warmed her heart that they had made some friends already in this hostile region of space. With a brief nod of her head she informed Sarah to add Neelix and Kes to the crew roster, and then dismissed her officers, ordering all of them to be present on the Bridge in an hour. She had a few wrinkles to smooth out and then it was time to address her crew.

Commander Chakotay, formerly of the Maquis ship Val Jean, strode slowly down the corridor towards the cargo bay where his crew was being held under armed guard. He glanced over his shoulder tentatively.

The two security officers who had escorted him up to the briefing room were still there, but now they were keeping a distance. Chakotay shook his head slightly and kept walking. Why Kathryn Janeway trusted him was beyond his comprehension, the fact that she did, made him realize he had misjudged her from the start. It was clear that this was no ordinary woman in command of the U.S.S Voyager. She had after all held out the proverbial olive branch to him, despite the obvious protest in her counselor's eyes and the stoic expression on Tuvok's face. Janeway saw the need for survival; if they were to survive she needed him. Any other man in his position would probably take advantage of that. He could think of a few other commanders in the Maquis that would have used her…femininity against her. But he couldn't. He may have left Starfleet, became an enemy of the Federation, but he still had honor. This was Kathryn Janeway's ship and she had offered him either the brig for seventy five years or to help them all get home. Personally he didn't want to be forced to live in a tiny cell for the next seven decades.

He stopped just outside of the cargo bay. In his mind he could hear almost all of them, yelling at him that this was ridiculous. They couldn't join Janeway's crew, she had been sent to hunt them down, arrest them. Again he shook his head slightly and entered the room. B'Elanna Torres and Seska were the first to stand up and greet him. B'Elanna was wearing a scowl and watched with intense hatred as the security detail followed Chakotay into the room.

"I'm surprised Janeway hasn't sucked us all out into space yet," the half Klingon woman hissed gesturing towards the cargo bay doors. "What did she want to see you for anyways? To hand you your sentence?"

Chakotay shook his head. "No," he replied calmly, "she had an offer to make."

Seska scoffed. "An offer? What kind of offer? The brig for seventy five years or confinement to this room?"

"She offered for us to join her crew," Chakotay stated, his voice echoing off of the walls.

"She what?" B'Elanna choked. "You're kidding right? Is that her way of saying 'I'm sorry that my holier than thou Starfleet principles stranded you here'? Because if it is, I don't buy it. This is her way to set us all up to fail, so if we do make it home, she can throw it all in our supporters' faces. She hates us Chakotay, she doesn't want this."

He glanced at their angry faces for a moment. "She's doing what she thinks is best for her crew."

"That's just it, it's about her crew, not about us Chakotay," Seska snapped, "Don't think for one second she cares about what happens to you."

"She'll keep us under tight survaliance you know it," B'Elanna retorted. "Personally I'll take the brig."

Chakotay felt angry. He had told Janeway, promised her that he would join her. Clenching his fists to stop an angry outburst, he glared at the group of rebels. "I don't think you understand this isn't a choice. I've already made it, we're joining her crew. I told Captain Janeway that you would all give her your best and that you'd follow her just as loyally as you followed me." Their faces conveyed shock. He didn't care, it was his duty now to not be their friend. "Now," he growled, "the security details will escort you to your quarters, and by the way, you all need to change, you're out of uniform."

As they flied out, B'Elanna muttered, "I hope you're not making a mistake Old Man."

"Me too, B'Elanna," he mumbled, "me too."

Newly commissioned Lieutenant Tom Paris looked about the gathering on the bridge. Starfleet and Maquis crewmen were scattered about the cabin, at various stations, the senior staff, still not complete because they had yet to find a chief engineer or a chief medical officer, were also present. Tom wondered what had prompted Janeway to give him the commission. In her ready room, just a few minutes before she had told him that he had earned it. But had he really? Was it just her need for a good pilot that got him the rank?

He was going to prove to her otherwise if that was the case.

B'Elanna Torres nervously adjusted her issued uniform. Never in her life time after she had dropped out of the Academy had she thought she'd be wearing one of these uniforms again. When Chakotay had announced Janeway's offer, she had scoffed at the idea. But he had turned her objections down, gently, in that damn soft tone of his, and told her that it was better than staying in the brig for the trip home.

She was certain that this merging of two completely different crews was never going to work.

Harry Kim was just grateful to be at his station all in one piece. He hadn't had much time to think about it while they had been battling the Kazon, but now as his fingers brushed the controls, he realized just how close he came to dying on his first mission. But now, the reality of their new situation began to set in, and he longed for home.

Neelix and Kes stood mutely near the command station, each new friend determined to help the crew get through their long journey and by apart of it.

Sarah Barrett and Chakotay stood in the center of the command station, each lost in their own thoughts, wondering if the Captain had made the right decision when it came to destroying the array and stranding them here, essentially merging two crews into one.

The door to the ready room hissed open and all eyes turned towards her. "Captain on the Bridge," Tuvok called out and everyone, with the exception of Neelix and Kes, slid into an at ease position. Kathryn made her way up the steps and glanced around at the gathered officers and crewmen. It was a sight that normally didn't overwhelm her, but perhaps today it did because of what she was about to say.

"At ease," she told them, watching as they all slid into position, and as Paris took his seat.

Making her way through the command station, making sure to make eye contact with each officer as she passed, she wound her way, slowly around Conn. With a deep breath she began to speak to them, hoping that her words didn't sound harsh or cold. "We're alone, in an uncharted part of the galaxy," she started her eyes falling on Kes and Neelix. "We've already made some friends here, and some enemies. We have no idea of the dangers we're going to face, but one thing is clear, both crews are going to have to work together if we're to survive," she said, stepping up to Chakotay. "That's why Commander Chakotay and I have agreed that this should be one crew, a Starfleet crew and as the only Starfleet vessel assigned to the Delta Quadrant we'll continue to follow our directive: to seek out new worlds and to explore space. But our primary goal is clear. Even at maximum speeds it would take 75 years to reach the Federation. But I'm not willing to settle for that. There's another entity like the Caretaker out there somewhere who has the ability to get us there a lot faster. We'll be looking for her, and we'll be looking for wormholes, spatial rifts or new technologies to help us. Somewhere along this journey, we'll find a way back."

With a brief pause and a glance between her new first officer and counselor, Kathryn Janeway set her jaw and looked at Tom Paris, "Mister Paris," she ordered, "Set a course; for home."

Three weeks after Voyager is pulled into the Delta Quadrant...

"Admiral Paris, sir," a young man's voice interrupted the older man's working. "Admiral Patterson is here to see you."

Owen Paris scoffed, looking at the scattered PADDs on his desk. "Did you inform him that I'm not to be disturbed unless it was an emergency? I can't take every call or I'll never get all this work done and be home in time for my wife's dinner party with the Hayes'. Tell him I'll catch up with him tomorrow."

The young aide nervously wrung his hands. "I did tell him that you were busy, sir, he insisted. He told me to inform you that it was about your son."

Thomas. Of course this was about Thomas, Owen thought as he sighed heavily. Erin hadn't been too happy three weeks ago when he had shown up on the Paris' door with the news that after helping the Voyager find the Maquis and getting out of jail on parole, he'd be leaving Federation space, to only heavens knew where. Owen was utterly exhausted by the lashing out Thomas had done since the day he was born. He knew that he hadn't been the best father to his son, he'd pushed him to extremes never realizing that Thomas would push back just as more. Erin was devastated that he was leaving as soon as he could, she blamed Owen. "What did my son do this time? Is he back from the mission yet?"

"The Voyager's mission is what Admiral Patterson would like to talk to you about," the aide replied. "Shall I let him in?"

"Very well," Owen said, pushing the PADD he was working on to the side. "I'm already behind in my work, send him in."

Owen Paris had known Matthew Patterson for quite some time, he had been the one to push Owen to take on a spitfire of a student, one by the name of Kathryn Janeway. Owen could tell that what Patterson had to tell him not was none too pleasant by the way the man was walking with his shoulders slightly slumped. "Matthew, please have a seat," Owen greeted when the Vice Admiral entered his office. "What can I do for you my old friend?"

Patterson didn't sit. "Owen, I wish this was a social call. I'm afraid I'm here on business."

Owen felt his shoulders stiffen. "What kind of business?"

"It's about the Voyager," Patterson said. Owen noticed the man's hands were trembling slightly. "I blame myself Owen."

"Blame yourself for what?"

"We hurried Voyager's final preparations when our agent didn't report in," Patterson began," I let Katie talk me into it, you know her, she's stubborn, she didn't want too much time to pass since we hadn't heard from him. I thought the ship was ready, we all thought the ship was ready. We were wrong."

Owen shook his head. "I'm not sure I'm following you, Matthew."

Patterson's eyes grew sad and tired. "I ordered them to the Badlands, to track Chakotay."

"The Badlands, Matthew no ship can navigate through the plasma storms."

"We believed the Voyager could, she was designed for such places," Patterson replied with a slight raise of his chin.

Owen suddenly felt his heart race, thundering in his chest. "Matthew, what's happened? What happened to Voyager?"

"I want you to know that we're doing everything we can to recover them," Patterson said, fleetingly.

"Recover? My god, Matthew, my son...what the hell happened?"

The other admiral's eyes grew even more sad and tired. "We haven't confirmed reports yet but a Cardassian patrol ship saw them entering the Badlands...and subsequently destroyed by a plasma storm. It will be at least two more weeks before we can modify a ship to search for wreckage," Patterson replied, "If we can believe the Cardassian patrol's story. If this is the case, than all hands are considered lost."

Lost, Thomas...lost. Owen could only hear the pounding of his own heart. Erin would surely blame him now for everything that had befallen their son. And Owen couldn't say that he didn't blame her for doing so. Their son was lost, finally beyond their reach, there would never be reconciliation, never be peace between them again. In that moment Owen forgave his son of all his misgivings and with a heavy heart realized that he only did in the moment when Thomas was dead, not when he was living. It was something that Owen Paris was going to have to take to his grave and beyond, the knowledge that forgiveness was indeed given too late.

Nothing could shatter the spirit of this day, Luke Barrett thought as he held his newborn daughter, absolutely nothing. He only wished that his family were alive to see her. His parents had died untimely deaths due to their jobs with Starfleet, and his sister was walking that path as well, only killing herself with her drug addiction and depression. Luke had cut ties with her after visiting her once in the prison that she was being held in.

The last time he had seen Sarah had been disaster. She was going through severe withdrawal from the drugs, screaming at the nurses at the rehab center just to give her more. Luke had been dismayed at what he saw, gone was the strong young woman that he associated with his little sister, gone was the ambitious young officer who wanted to take the Federation by storm. Well, she had taken them by storm alright, just not the way she had planned. He had been glad that his father wasn't alive anymore to see his darling little girl in that state.

Sarah, not cohesive, had blamed Luke for all her problems, blamed Commander Fletcher, blamed the officer she had been dating for just abandoning her. Luke wasn't sure what she had seen in her seven months studying the Borg, she had not been allowed to talk about it, but their relationship had gone south when she had taken that position. Luke told her she was inviting trouble, death; she thought she was doing some good for the galaxy. It had only driven her to drugs and self destruction.

He looked at his daughter. Her little deep blue eyes were looking at him; Sarah's sapphire eyes. Luke shook his head. If she had chosen differently she could have been apart of his life, but she had chosen darkness. He could not let that darkness around his family, his daughter.

"Have you thought of a name yet, sir," the nurse asked stepping into the room.

"None yet," Luke said with wry smile. "We can't seem to decide."

"You can't seem to decide," his wife, Brenna, called out from the comfort of her bed. "I've given you several suggestions."

"It's alright," the nurse said with a smile, "there is plenty of time to figure out a name. Are you well enough for visitors, ?"

"Visitors?" Luke questioned looking up at the nurse. "What visitors?"

Brenna's family had been away on holiday when she had gone into labor and wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow. He didn't have a family to speak of, with the exception of Sarah, but he had not spoken to her about Brenna's pregnancy. Who could be coming to see them? Luke glanced at his wife, who shrugged her shoulders. She seemed just as confused as he was.

The nurse waited patiently for an answer. When she didn't get one, she prodded, "There is an Admiral here to see you. Mister Barrett I assumed it was a colleague of your late father's."

Luke frowned. He hadn't been in touch with any colleagues of Jason Barrett's since his father had died unexpectedly in a shuttle accident. None of the admirals had contacted him when Sarah had been on trial, they barely looked at him when during that trial. She had disgraced both of them in front of the Federation brass and he wasn't even in Starfleet. "I haven't spoken to any colleagues of my father since his death."

"Shall I send him away?"

"No," Luke said, "no that would be rude. You can send him in."

Brenna sat up and looked at her husband thoughtfully. "Do you think Sarah sent him?"

"She didn't even know you were pregnant, I don't see how she could have sent him."

"Don't you think we should tell her, Luke, she's your sister."

"My sister died when my father did."

Brenna looked at him sadly. The rift between Luke and Sarah had started when she had taken the assignment on the Explorer. It had taken her away from Earth and her family for seven months. She'd been away when her father had died in the shuttle accident, she didn't make it home in time for the memorial. Luke had been furious at her when she finally did show up on Earth, begging him to forgive her not making it back in time. Brenna remembered him slamming the door in her face. They'd heard nothing from her, assuming that she went back to her ship afterwards, until the lawyer had shown up on their doorstep. The drug addiction had been the final straw for Luke, he'd cut all ties with her and it broke Brenna's heart to know her daughter wasn't going to know her aunt.

The door to Brenna's room slid open and a tall, broad shouldered man dressed in the uniform of a Vice Admiral entered. Luke stood and placed his daughter in his wife's arms and turned to greet him. "Admiral Thornton," he said holding out his hand, "it's been a while, sir."

Adam Thorton grasped Luke's hand tightly. "I'm sorry to bother you, Luke, but...I have news."

"News? What kind of news?" Luke asked, crossing his arms over his chest. My god Sarah what have you done now. "Sarah?"

"Yes, Sarah," Thornton replied. He cleared his throat. "How much of her latest assignment did you know about?"

Luke blinked. "Her latest assignment? She's been reassigned, already?"

Thornton nodded his head. "Yes, to the U.S.S Voyager." The Admiral looked at the ground for a moment, before glancing up at Luke and Brenna. "I wish I didn't have to break this news to you on what is to be the most joyous day of your life, the birth of your first child, but I'm afraid the news I bring is not good news. The Voyager has not made contact with Headquarters in three weeks, a Cardassian patrol outside of the Badlands reports seeing it hit by a large plasma storm and destroyed. We fear that all hands have been lost. I'm sorry...Luke...your sister is counted among the missing."

In that instant the most joyous day of his life quickly turned to the worst, the day that Starfleet took away the last of his family. Later, on the name card of his newborn daughter, the nurse finally wrote a name, Sarah Faith Barrett.

Phoebe Janeway awoke to the sound of her vidphone beeping. Grumbling she pushed the quilt off of her body, crawled over her fiancée, David McPherson and went to answer it. It was so damn early in the morning, who the hell was calling her this early on a Sunday morning, after she had spent the night out celebrating David's latest novel. She wasn't surprised that it was her mother. But there was something about the way Gretchen Janeway was looking at her that made Phoebe sober up and quickly. "Mom," she gasped, "what's wrong?"

Tears pooled in Gretchen's eyes. "It's your sister," she said, choking on the words. "Voyager hasn't reported into Starfleet for three weeks."

Kathryn would never go that long without communicating with Starfleet. The ramification of that bit of news started to settle in. Phoebe knew very little about her sister's latest mission, just that it was taking her away from Earth and her children longer than usual since Bryan Dawson's death. But she did know that Kathryn had been assigned to track down a Maquis cell, one that her friend and security officer had infiltrated. Phoebe had been angry that her sister would take such a dangerous mission when she had two small children to think about. Ava was only a year old and had already lost her father, but Kathryn couldn't see beyond the bow of her ship sometimes, Phoebe thought wildly. "What does Starfleet Command think? Is it the Maquis?"

"No," Gretchen said. "The Maquis that Kathryn was sent to find disappeared as well."

"It could have been another cell," Phoebe snapped. "I told her not to go! I told her it was too dangerous!"

"Phoebe, there's more."

The tone of voice her mother was using caused Phoebe to fall back into the chair she was sitting on. More? What more could there possibly be? She had already been informed that her sister and her ship was missing, somewhere in the Badlands, chasing after terrorists. What more could her mother have to tell her? "Oh god, Mom, what's going on?"

The tears were now spilling down her cheeks. "I tried to reason with your sister, she wouldn't listen. I knew that I should have called Gabriel, she might have listened to him, but not me, she always took what I said with a grain of salt."

"Mom, where are the kids?" Phoebe asked, suddenly realizing that her mother's house was too quiet for a woman who was taking care of children.

"Kathryn took them with her."

This news slammed into Phoebe head on. Her heart began to race. How could Kathryn take Ava and Michael with her on such a dangerous mission, was she out of her mind? But, she realized, her sister hadn't been thinking straight from the moment she found out Bryan was dead. From there she had just taken everything one tiny step at a time. She clung to Ava like she was a life preserver and Michael was always kept at a distance, a painful reminder of the life she had lost with her husband. But Phoebe had thought that she had better sense than to bring her children along on a mission that was risky. "Starfleet…they…they let her do that?"

"Admiral Patterson approved of it," Gretchen replied, now sobbing.

Phoebe stood up. "Stay there Mom, I'm coming over."

It would only take her a few moments to get showered and ready. Her mother was emotionally breaking down and needed her. So much for a nice brunch with David. But Phoebe knew that her mother was never going to handle this on her own. Not when she had just lost her daughter and grandchildren in one communication. Phoebe choked a sob as she left a message PADD for David that she would be at her mother's. The time for Phoebe Janeway, the baby sister of Kathryn Janeway, lost somewhere in space, to mourn would be later. Much later.

#star trek voyager #star trek voyager fanfiction #kathryn janeway #chakotay #tom paris #sarah barrett (oc) #harry kim #b'elanna torres #kes #neelix #the doctor (emh) #janeway x chakotay #tom paris x ofc

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Star Trek Has More Wars Than Star Wars: Here Are The Greatest

Here are the greatest wars of Star Trek, which has actually had more wars across its franchise than Star Wars. At its core, Star Trek is about an optimistic future of space exploration and the harmonious co-existence of multiple worlds as embodied by the United Federation of Planets. And yet, Star Trek's history is full of conflict; indeed, after The Original Series in the 1960s, every Star Trek TV series has been embroiled in some form of war.

Predating Star Wars' creation by a decade, Star Trek's central tenet is about seeking out new worlds and new civilizations. But even though Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and the Starship Enterprise of the 23rd-century dealt with all manner of hostile alien lifeforms, actual full-blown wars weren't something depicted until Star Trek: The Next Generation's 24th-century era. By contrast, George Lucas' creation was titled Star Wars but the films really only dealt with three wars: The Clone Wars of the prequels, the conflict between the Empire and the Rebellion in the original trilogy, and the First Order vs. the Resistance in the sequel trilogy. Meanwhile, the five Star Trek spinoff TV series have involved several wars across the various eras of the Federation.

Next: After 13 Years Of Rights Issues, Star Trek Is Whole Again

Indeed, the history of Star Trek was forged through wars: the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s gave rise to the villainous Khan and World War III in the 21st-century devastated humanity before First Contact with the Vulcans opened the door to the establishment of Starfleet. The United Federation of Planets was then founded in 2161, which Star Trek: Enterprise's Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) presided over. But prior to the Federation's formation, the Earth-Romulan War of 2156-2160 led to the creation of the Romulan Neutral Zone and Star Trek: Discovery's Klingon War of 2257 was an outbreak of open hostilities in the middle of a Cold War that lasted over 70 years, which finally ended when the Klingons sued for peace in 2293, as seen in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

While the Star Trek movies set in the Prime and Kelvin timelines had their share of violent conflicts, the greatest wars of Star Trek were depicted across the various TV series from Star Trek: The Next Generation to Star Trek: Discovery. Here are the epic Star Trek wars that cumulatively outnumber those of Star Wars.

The Xindi War on Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Enterprise season 3 saw the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise caught up in a year-long war with the Xindi, which was just part of a larger Temporal Cold War fought across the timestream by different factions. In the Star Trek: Enterprise season 2 finale, the Xindi attacked Earth with a superweapon, which devastated a swath of Earth from Florida to Venezuela and killed seven million people.

Captain Archer led an upgraded Enterprise into the Delphic Expanse to stop the Xindi from launching a second attack; during the course of the war, Archer learned the Xindi were pawns of another race called the Sphere-Builders, who were capable of seeing alternate timelines. The Sphere-Builders were trying to destroy Earth in the 22nd century, fearing a future where the Federation would destroy the Sphere-Builders in the 26th century. Eventually, Archer made peace with the Xindi and convinced them that they were being manipulated by the Sphere-Builders; the Enterprise crew destroyed the Xindi primary weapon before it could attack Earth again and they destroyed the Spheres, banishing the Builders back to their native trans-dimensional realm.

Related: Star Trek's Crazy (& Brilliant) Reason Why So Many Aliens Look Human

The Borg Vs. Species 8472 on Star Trek: Voyager

In 2374, as the U.S.S. Voyager entered Borg space in the Delta Quadrant, they were caught in the middle of the war between the Borg and Species 8472. The two deadly races battled for over 5 months, with the Borg suffering heavy casualties as they encountered the first alien species they could not easily assimilate or defeat. Species 8472 was a highly-advanced biological race that existed in fluidic space. When the Borg discovered a way to access fluidic space, they tried and failed to conquer Species 8472, who then went on the offensive and invaded the Milky Way galaxy. One bio-ship from Species 8472 could destroy 15 Borg Cubes and in one encounter, Species 8472 destroyed 8 Borg planets, 312 ships, and killed 4,000,621 drones.

Fearing this new threat, Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) partnered with the Borg, which brought Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) aboard the U.S.S. Voyager. The Starfleet/Borg alliance developed a biological weapon that forced Species 8472 back to fluidic space, ending the war. Later, Species 8472 determined that humanity was a greater threat than the Borg and created simulations in order to defeat the Federation and human beings. However, Janeway brokered peace with Species 8472, convincing them that the Federation had no designs on invading fluidic space.

The War Against Control on Star Trek: Discovery Season 2

In Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Control, Section 31's threat assessment system, attempted to gain sentience and wipe out all biological life in the galaxy - a goal Control achieved by the 32nd century according to the time-traveling Red Angel, who was revealed to be Dr. Gabrielle Burnham (Sonja Sohn). Much of Star Trek: Discovery season 2 centered on the U.S.S. Discovery's pursuit of the secret of the red signals in space, which ended up providing the means to stop Control. This included freeing Kaminar, the Kelpien homeworld, from dominion by the Ba'ul and Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) acquiring a Klingon time crystal.

It all culminated in the final battle against Control in Star Trek: Discovery's season 2 finale, "Such Sweet Sorrow", where the U.S.S. Discovery and the U.S.S. Enterprise were joined by the Kelpiens and the Klingons to battle Section 31's drone fleet. The climactic battle was the most eye-popping and violent space battle ever depicted in a Star Trek TV series and it ended with the destruction of Control as Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) assumed the identity of the Red Angel and led the Starship Discovery into the 32nd century to prevent Control from ever gaining sentience.

Related: Where Was The Enterprise During Star Trek: Discovery's Klingon War?

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1's Klingon War

The Klingon War against the Federation of 2256-2257 spanned the entirety of Star Trek: Discovery season 1. The war was started by Commander Michael Burnham at the Battle at the Binary Stars, which left her disgraced and imprisoned as Starfleet's first mutineer. Meanwhile, the Klingon Messiah T'Kuvma (Chris Obi) tried to unite all of the Great Houses under his leadership but after Burnham killed him, the warrior race splintered off into opposing factions while continuing the war against the Federation.

The Federation suffered devastating losses during the Klingon War: over 8,000 Starfleet personnel died in the first 6 months of the conflict. Nine months later, twenty percent of Federation space was occupied by the Klingons, including Starfleet's Starbase 1, which saw 80,000 lives lost. When the U.S.S. Discovery returned from its diversion into the Mirror Universe, the Terran Emperor Phillipa Georgiou, posing as her counterpart Captain Philippa Georgiou, attempted to commit genocide on the Klingon homeworld in a bid to end the war before the Klingons could invade Earth. In response, Michael Burnham allied with L'Rell (Mary Elizabeth Chieffo) to stop Georgiou's plan; they installed L'Rell as the new Klingon High Chancellor and ended the war.

The Federation Vs. The Borg on Star Trek: The Next Generation

The Federation's conflict with the Borg was mostly fought in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the subsequent feature film Star Trek: First Contact. In the classic two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds", the Borg Collective mounted their invasion of the Federation, assimilating Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and turning him into Locutus of Borg. It culminated in the Battle of Wolf 359, one of the most destructive engagements of the 24th century: 39 Starfleet ships were lost against one Borg Cube, with over 11,000 people either killed or assimilated. Though the U.S.S. Enterprise-D rescued Picard and destroyed the Borg Cube, it wouldn't be their last encounter with the Borg.

The Battle of Wolf 359 had lasting repercussions: the Defiant-class starships were developed to fight the Borg and Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) lost his wife Jennifer in the conflict. The Borg later attempted to time travel and assimilate 22nd century Earth in Star Trek: First Contact but Picard and his crew foiled them again. However, the Federation never completely defeated the Borg, who will return in Star Trek: Picard, although a faction of the Borg Collective has seemingly been conquered by the Romulans. Still, the Borg remain a hostile threat to the Federation any time they emerge from their home base in the Delta Quadrant.

Related: Star Trek: Picard Theory: The Borg Doomed Romulus

The Dominion War on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

The Dominion War in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the greatest war ever fought in Star Trek. At its peak, the conflict involved every major power in the Alpha Quadrant siding with two opposing factions: the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans vs. the Dominion, Cardassian, and Breen alliance. While the formal hostilities lasted from 2373-2375, the Dominion instigated a Federation-Klingon War, destroyed the Cardassian Obsidian Order and the Romulan Tal'Shiar, and successfully executed a coup on Cardassia prior to the Dominion War, which weakened the Alpha Quadrant before the Changelings and the Jem'Hadar mounted their full-scale invasion from the Gamma Quadrant.

The devastation caused by the Dominion War was staggering: thousands of starships and millions of lives were lost on both sides, with Cardassia suffering the most as the Dominion systematically eliminated the Cardassian population, killing 800 million civilians in the waning days of the war. The Dominion also conquered Betazed, homeworld of Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and the Breen attacked Starfleet Headquarters on Earth. Captain Sisko tricking the Romulans to fight on the Federation's side turned the tide of the war, while Section 31's use of a biogenic virus by secretly causing Odo to infect the Founders accelerated the Federation's ultimate victory. Sisko led the invasion of Cardassia that resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Bajor on Deep Space Nine, formally ending the war and forcing the Dominion to permanently retreat into the Gamma Quadrant.

The Dominion War altered the balance of power in the Alpha Quadrant; the Klingons incurred such loses that it would take them a decade to recover and the Cardassian Union completely collapsed, which left the Federation and Romulans as the strongest powers in the Quadrant - until Shinzon's coup wiped out the Romulan Senate in Star Trek: Nemesis. Thanks to the serialized format of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which boasted 26 episodes per season, the series was able to depict the myriad complexities of the Dominion War from the military, political, and characters' perspectives. All in all, Star Trek fans may not see a war as epic and far-reaching as the Dominion War again.

Next: Everything Star Trek: Picard Is A Sequel To

source https://screenrant.com/star-trek-wars-greatest-borg-dominion-klingons/

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[startrekreviews]

TNG Novels #47-9: The Q Continuum

TNG #47-9: The Q Continuum trilogy by Greg Cox Book Jacket’s Summary:      “The unpredictable cosmic entity known only as Q has plagued Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise since their very first voyage together. But little is known of Q's mysterious past or that of the unearthly realm from which he hails. Now Picard must learn Q's secrets – or all of reality may perish!      Ever since its discovery, the great galactic barrier has impeded humanity's exploration of the universe beyond the Milky Way. Now a brilliant Federation scientist may have found a way to breach the barrier, and the Enterprise is going to put it to the test. The last thing the crew needs is a visit from an omnipotent troublemaker so, naturally, Q appears.      Q has more in mind than his usual pranks, and while the Enterprise struggles to defeat a powerful inhuman foe, Picard must embark on a fantastic odyssey into the Q Continuum itself, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance.” Yeaka’s Notes:     I read this trilogy individually, but as you couldn’t really read them without each other, I’m reviewing them all in one. And frankly, I think they could’ve all been condensed into one book anyway.     Long story short, all three of these carry the continuing, singular plot of the Enterprise (mid-DS9/VOY era) carrying a Betazoid scientist to the barrier that surrounds the edge of the galaxy, where he intends to open up a wormhole to the other side. When they arrive, Q, as well as Q’s wife and baby from Voyager, tell them not to. Picard asks why. Q won’t tell him why. If Q had, this series would’ve been about 600 pages shorter. Instead, Q takes Picard away to show him the long, drawn out story of how teenage-Q royally messed up (including a depressing, detailed tale of mass slaughter) and breaching the barrier will only make it worse. Meanwhile, the visiting scientist is a gratingly terrible father, Beverly, Deanna, Geordi, and Data pick up loose ends, a few other OCs and minor characters try to survive, and Riker tries to keep the Calamarain (TNG: “Deja Q”) from killing them all.     This is a well-written adventure. Some of the OCs are enjoyable, while others are appropriately awful. Q is as sometimes-likeable, sometimes-irritating as ever, and all the worse for having three consecutive books worth. If you’re a Q/Picard fan, this is a must have. There’s a ridiculous amount of references touching on everything from Kirk to Janeway, books, shows, and movies alike, including the history of the godlike being Kirk faced down in The Final Frontier. During those and several thrilling moments, this is a great ride—while during other moments, particularly those with Q needlessly adding a couple hundred pages, it’s almost unbearable.     So... pretty much Q. Noteworthy moments: (below cut)

Q-Space: Ch1/p3 Picard and Troi are relieved Lwaxana isn’t on Betazed to gree them 

p5 Troi recalls crashing the Enterprise D on Veridian III (TNG: Generations); Troi can sense Data’s emotions during a meeting

p8 Troi thinks: “Worf married a Trill, she remembered with only the slightest twinge of jealousy. Then she took her own advice and put that reaction behind her. I wish him only the best, she thought.”

p21 Barclay messes up and a scientist goes off on him

Ch3/p39 Picard notes Sisko punched Q in the face and Q didn’t return to bother him, thus maybe Picard should try it; Picard wonders if Sisko would trade the Jem’Hadar for Q

Ch5/p57 Data puzzles to Geordi over Spot only eating from round plates now

Ch5/p54 Q’s lover and baby show up

Ch7/p92 Beverly tells the female Q about the Traveler choosing Wesley, Deanna mentions Ian, the Q’s impressed

p108 Female Q comes to Beverly about the weight of motherhood

Ch11/p160 Picard sees Q as a teenager, Q hints that Riker was born because of a Q

Ch12/p189 Riker mentally helps Deanna through a crisis

Ch14/p212 Picard witnesses a Q date

p228 Q and Picard visit the Guardian of Forever

Ch20/p266 Organians aren’t allowed in the Q Continuum

p269 Someone else suggests testing lesser species to young Q

Q-Zone: Ch5/p116 EMH

Q-Strike: Ch4/p42 Quinn (VOY: “Death Wish”)

p45 Ruk (TOS: “What Are Little Girls Made Of”)

p47 Sargon, Thalassa, and Henoch (TOS: “Return to Tomorrow”)

p52 Bajor watching a phenomenon

p54 Organians

p70 Q killed the dinosaurs (Picard does not accept it)

Ch5/p77 The “god” from the center of the universe in The Final Frontier

p79 The creation of the galactic barrier

Ch5/p83 Q is officially assigned to oversee Earth

Ch11/p164 Q to Picard: “You’re the one who specialize in triumphing against over-whelming odds. Have Data whip up some technobabble. Tell Counselor Troi to get in touch with her feelings. Let Riker punch someone.”

#tng #novels #yeakas #jean-luc picard #q #q2 #female q #william riker #deanna troi #beverly crusher #geordi la forge #data #reginald barclay #sonya gomez #daniel stutter #emergency medical hologram #guardian of forever #calamarain #betazoids #qs #quinn #new aliens

[ploppythespaceship]

Discovery Season 4 Thoughts

Overall I’m mixed. I liked a lot of the setup in the beginning, but felt the season lost a lot of steam as it went along, to the point where the last few episodes were a slog. It also followed a similar mystery box format as the previous season, and just like last time gave an answer that was... fine, but not really spectacular, which weakened the entire story that was depending on it.

Spoilers under the cut.

What I Liked

I loved those moments near the beginning of the season when the show delves into the politics of this distant Federation. It got lost somewhat as the season went on, but the few times they did really lean into it were excellent.

I love President Rillak. She’s so well-conceived and well-written to fit this perfect politician role. Even when you disagree with her, you understand her motivations, and seeing her clash with Michael was incredibly interesting. And the small detail of her being a mix of Human, Bajoran, and Cardassian is such a quietly simple way to show both how far the universe has come, and how many different perspectives can be combined into a single character.

There are a lot of tiny references to the franchise’s history that I love. From Archer Space Station to the USS Janeway to recognizable species being visible in the background -- there are all these nice little moments like that.

I had my concerns about Michael finally having the captain’s seat and what that would mean for the future of her character, who has basically always been defined by her relationship with the officer above her. But I think this is the best she’s ever been. She’s a great character who can easily hold her own with the iconic captains of Treks past, and I think detaching her from her forced Spock connection really lets her shine on her own terms. (Sometimes it bothers me that she’s always the one who gets to do everything, rather than delegating tasks more often, but this is an issue shared by several captains in the franchise, so I can’t be too harsh about it.)

I also really came to like Culber, and I think giving him the counselor role was a great move. He deserves the Most Improved award. In season 1 he was basically just a cardboard cutout in the shape of a doctor, but now he’s a fully realized character with so much warmth and life. He could get overly sappy/emotional at times, but that just felt like part of his personality and it didn’t bother me as much as it did with other characters.

Another standout character this season is Book, who gets such a heartbreaking arc to work through. David Ajala did an incredible job with great material. And the rising tension between him and Michael was heartbreaking while still making perfect sense for both characters.

I liked Tilly’s development of going to teach at the Academy, and her acknowledging that her goals have changed since coming to the future. It’s a good character beat for her... though I do miss her presence on the show.

I wasn’t sure about Ni’Var last season, but I’ve come around to the idea now. It’s a really fresh take on a well worn planet, and seeing how Romulan and Vulcan culture has recombined is honestly fascinating. I also like the continued inclusion of the Qowat Milat.

Speaking of Ni’Var, Saru’s growing relationship with T’Rina was adorable and wholesome. 10/10, would like more.

The gradual development of Zora as the computer’s AI was very interesting, and something that didn’t feel rushed. I like that they spent over a full season building up to this, and are taking the development of a new life form seriously. Zora’s connection with Gray was also very cute.

I love that every character has a personal transporter, because they can just dramatically appear in random scenes when they need to make an impression. It’s hilarious and cracks me up every time.

What I Didn’t Like

I still hate the spore drive. Having a ship that can instantaneously travel anywhere in the galaxy is so OP and so ridiculously out of place even in this high tech future. It just clashes with everything else in the universe. And I think it’s just something I’m going to be stuck with, a carryover issue from the show’s first few seasons that will never go away.

My biggest complain this season is that there are just too many characters -- eight main cast members, plus a lot more recurring cast. And while other shows like DS9 have managed to develop that many characters before, it just doesn’t work when combined with Discovery’s smaller episode count and greater focus on serialized plot. We wind up with the plot and development being spread too thin across too many people, leaving several of the main cast with hardly anything to do. I’d rather they trimmed down some of the cast and kept a tighter focus on a smaller number of people, giving each person more to do and contribute.

On a similar note, we still have the issue of most of the bridge crew being characters that we barely know. They’ve done a better job of fleshing out Detmer, but everyone else is just a blank slate. They take up so much screen time and occasionally get these big emotional scenes, but I don’t know their name, or anything about them. And some of these guys have been around for four seasons. If you’re not going to properly develop these characters and let the audience get to know them, just don’t include them, or leave them as proper background characters whose only role is to spout the exposition dialogue. I’d gladly have cut a few of them in order to give the rest of the cast more to do.

I really, really hated Tarka. He started out as the cocky genius that couldn’t be bothered to think of anyone else, and he somehow only got worse as the season progressed. Every attempt to make him more sympathetic just made him seem worse and worse. And the fact that they spent so much time trying to flesh him out, instead of letting some of the main cast do something, was incredibly frustrating.

(Frankly, I think Stamets should have taken his place in the plot. It would have been much more surprising and much more impactful, and a lot of the ground work was already laid -- he had his beef with Michael left over from last season, he had a growing relationship with Book this season, and he had firsthand knowledge of how devastating the DMA could be. His choosing to take drastic action to destroy the DMA thinking it will protect his family seems perfectly in character to me. You’d have to rewrite the later episodes to accommodate that, but I still think it would be far more interesting.)

The second half of the season had so much filler. The stakes should have ratcheted way up, but instead everything slowed down as Discovery chased Book and Tarka around, and then figured out how to enter the DMA. It was just padding, at a point in the story that really didn’t need it. Then the finale was extremely rushed, absolutely flying through the communication with the 10-C. I think they should have cut the gambling episode entirely -- by far the most egregious of the filler content -- then spread the rest of the storyline more evenly across the remaining episodes.

I also think Michael’s conflict with Book was resolved far too quickly in the end. I don’t mind their emotional reunion -- she’s just happy he’s alive and willing to ignore everything for the moment -- but once that’s passed, they still need to reconcile with the fact that he betrayed her trust. And that moment just never happens.

While there wasn’t really anything wrong with the 10-C, I think it was a letdown simply because of how much the season built up to who they could be. It reached a point where nothing could have really satisfied it, and having such a predictable resolution really softened the ending. The entire season feels weaker as a result.

In previous seasons I thought complaints that Discovery was too emotional were dumb, but this season I honestly felt it. On the one hand, I love that this show treats its characters like people, and acknowledges that things will affect them. Actions have consequences, and those consequences are often the mental health of the characters. On the other hand, it’s not always woven into the plot very well, and it feels like the plot keeps grinding to a halt so everyone can awkwardly talk about their feelings. Characters will stop in the middle of the action to have a monologue about their backstories, and it never feels natural. I just don’t think they hit the right balance this season, and the end result feels like it’s trying way too hard.

I think I noted this last season, but because the cast is largely so talented, the few actors who aren’t carrying their end really stick out. The worst offenders are Tig Notaro, Anthony Rapp, and Ian Alexander. Notaro just sucks all around and I’m not entirely sure how she got cast. Rapp is strangely very good at the emotional scenes, but terrible at regular dialogue -- he has an odd cadence to his speech that often makes him difficult to listen to. And Alexander overemotes every line to the point of discomfort (which is a shame because otherwise I think Gray would be one of my favorite characters).

As much as I liked where they took Tilly’s character arc, something was very off about her this season. My best guess is that the writers know people relate to her for being awkward and quirky, and they leaned into that way too hard. And while I’m sure many people still find her relatable, it was just too much for me. When she’s actually contributing to the plot she’s great, and still one of the best characters, but whenever she has one of her Awkward Tilly moments the secondhand embarrassment is so bad, I can barely even watch.

As much as I’ve come to appreciate Culber, he and Stamets have so little chemistry. I just don’t feel the connection between them, and it’s kind of depressing.

#personal #star trek #discovery #star trek discovery #star trek discovery spoilers #discovery spoilers

[jbk405]

Why Discovery feels like Star Trek

It’s very difficult to describe the indescribable aspects of a TV series that make it “feel” like itself.  That’s part of the reason that we use such a vague term as “feel” in the first place.  But I’m going to give it my best effort.

First, I have to admit that on most of its bulletpoints, Star Trek: Discovery doesn’t match what a Star Trek series is “supposed” to be.

It’s the first story that doesn’t revolve around the commander of their mission.  Even the ‘09 film focused its plot around getting Kirk into the role of Captain, even though it made no sense (Don’t even get me started on him being promoted to Captain at the end of the film).

Its lead character is a pariah who’s been forced out of Starfleet and is reviled by the rest of the crew for acts that we see.  Even VOY had its convict as only a supporting character and had him “redeemed” in the pilot, and it infamously dropped the inter-personal conflicts that were supposed to arise from Starfleet/Maquis tension.

Lastly, it’s the first Star Trek series to revolve directly around the Federation at War.  Even DS9 -- which spent it’s final two seasons featuring a five-sided conflict which spanned the Quadrant -- spent five seasons building that up, and used the conflict to explore the social and political climate and events which permeated the galaxy before it ever got to the explosions.

However, despite all of these divergences from past productions, it still feels like Star Trek.  Whatever “it” is, Discovery has it.  Because...

It has the Roddenberry Optimism that people try to say it’s missing, despite being more actionized than what came before.  This was best encapsulated in the scene where Michael is exploring the Unidentified Object before everything goes to shit: She is in awe.  She stares at the space around her, and the mysterious object before her, and all she wants to do is learn what it is.  She wants to understand.  She’s not hoping to get a reward or promotion or prize for being The First, her desire is knowledge for the sake of knowledge.  That one scene held the very concept of Star Trek in a nutshell: She is, quite literally, boldly going to seek out a new civilization.

Beyond that one scene, there was the introduction where she and Captain Georgiou were saving the aliens from extinction.  They discussed the Prime Directive, the need to not contaminate the culture of the aliens they were helping, but their resulting decision wasn’t to just let them all die.  They made the decision to help without being discovered so that the aliens could continue to develop on their own.  As Kirk and Co. so often did in TOS, they remembered the point of the Prime Directive: To protect less-advanced species from us, not from natural phenomena beyond their control.

Outside of any one specific scene, the show has also shown that it is not scared of the continuity and history of Star Trek.  Throughout the first three episodes they include enough references to past continuity that you know the writers/directors/production designers/etc. have watched every bit of Trek media there is, and read the books, and played the games as well.  And I don’t mean that they’ve proved that they’re “real” fans or anything shallow like that, I mean that they’re not ashamed to be a fan.

For example, they reference the Black Fleet in the very first episode, a concept of the Klingon afterlife introduced in a TOS novel published in 1984 but which never made it on-screen.  The context of the speech is self-explanatory enough that you don’t miss out on understanding this series if you haven’t read that novel -- heck, I haven't read that novel -- but it helps enmesh the show into the greater community for those who do know all those tiny details.  Like when Picard gushes over meeting Sarek and Spock, or when Sisko breaks the Temporal Prime Directive to shake Kirk’s hand, it says that the producers get it.  They’re not defensively trying to say that they’re not like the nerd Trek that losers watch, they’re saying that they love the established universe just as much as the TNG-era loved TOS.

And yes, Michael is scarred by the death’s of her parents and has a very un-Federation hate for the Klingons, but that’s no different than Worf’s grudge against the Romulans (Speaking of, there are huge parallels between Michael and Worf.  Enough for a whole other post).  Or even Lieutenant Stiles from “Balance of Terror” and his grudge against the Romulans.  Or even James Kirk himself, whose beef with the Klingons over the death of his son was a major theme of The Undiscovered Country.

Yes, Starfleet is engaging in a front-line war instead of resolving the situation diplomatically, but that’s no different than “Errand of Mercy”, the very first introduction of the Klingons, where war also broke out between the two powers.  It’s no different than the ongoing border conflict the Federation had with the Cardassians, which ran for years and wasn’t completely resolved even with a treaty.

And yes, with the close of episode three we’re getting very strong “Captain Lorca is eeeeeeeviiiiiiillllllll” hints by the show, but Starfleet officials running unethical experiments has been a worn out concept from the very beginning.

All of the story developments that people decry as being unlike Star Trek have been there all along, from the original series to the TNG era.  The idea of a Starfleet that always manages to avoid violence is an idealized Starrfleet that has never actually existed.  And it’s not just a fan idealization, it’s an idealization in-universe as well.  Seasons one and two of TNG had Picard constantly talking about how advanced they were, how they were ready to handle whatever was out there, but then when they came face-to-face with the Borg they were completely unprepared and had to fall back on violence when they had no viable means of communication or negotiation.  Afterwards they began a fleet-wide armament and combat preparation as well when they saw that they weren’t as advanced as they thought they were.

Everything that we’re getting in this show is exactly what we’ve been getting all along: People who don’t want to fight, and who aren’t violent or bad people, but who are nonetheless human and carry the experiences of their lives with them, and who will use violence in their defense and the defense of their loved ones.  Just like Captains James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko, Kathryn Janeway, and god-help-me even Jonathan Archer.

Star Trek: Discovery is Star Trek.

#Star Trek #Star Trek: Discovery #Feels like Star Trek #TOS #TNG #DS9 #VOY #ENT

[tomfooleryprime]

Starfleet’s moral relativism problem: is it ever okay to condemn another culture?

Central to all of Star Trek has always been the Prime Directive – that set of rules that governs our intrepid space explorers from Captain Kirk to Captain Janeway and everyone in between. Poor Captain Archer existed in a time before, and I’ve often pitied him for having to shoulder the burden of having to make some really questionable ethical decisions without having a Prime Directive to shift the blame to when it turned out his decisions really sucked.

At its core, the Prime Directive dictates that Starfleet cannot interfere with the internal affairs or development of alien civilizations. Some of the best Star Trek episodes involved our heroes clashing with the ethics of a rigid application of this doctrine, but there was always one implication of the Prime Directive that bothered me – the idea that we shouldn’t judge other cultures through the lens of our own because who’s to say what’s right and what’s wrong?

This philosophy of moral relativism argues that there are no universal moral standards – sentient beings are completely at the mercy of their own societies to impart a code of moral behavior and whatever it comes up with is “good enough.” There may be common themes among many societies in terms of morals – most seem to agree it is wrong to commit murder, for instance – but ultimately, what is “right” according one society is not guaranteed to be “right” for another. And let’s be honest with ourselves – even with the topic of murder, we still fiercely debate exceptions to the “no murder” rule such as war, capital punishment, or self-defense, not to mention we have heated arguments over what even constitutes murder when we discuss issues of abortion or animal agriculture.

Our own society provides an incredible patchwork of thorny moral and ethical issues that we still have yet to decide upon. We debate things like abortion, torture, slavery, free speech, and more. We probe these issues by asking ourselves questions like, “At what point does life truly begin?” and “Is torture ever justified?” We explore them by posing philosophical experiments like the Trolley Problem and asking ourselves whether it is morally acceptable to kill one person to save the lives of two or more others.

But at the end of the day, might (in terms of numbers) makes right in moral relativism. While I don’t subscribe to that theory, there are times when our beloved Star Trek characters do under the guise of defending the Prime Directive. On the surface, it sounds very peaceful and anti-colonialist. After centuries of watching many empires from the Romans to the British set fire to cultural diversity – and given arguments that many Western nations continue to do this today, just without being quite as invadey – this sounds like a nice change of pace. Live and let live. But this also creates a mind-boggling acceptance of suffering, genocide, exploitation, and oppression within Starfleet.

One of the first chronological examples of the faults of moral relativism is found in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode, “Cogenitor.” Archer and his crew meet an affable, three-gendered species called the Vissians, but we quickly learn that only two of the society’s genders have any real rights. The third gender is referred to as a “cogenitor,” and Trip Tucker ends up on Captain Archer’s shit list for teaching it how to read and putting ideas in its head. When the cogenitor later begs for asylum, Archer refuses. It gets worse – the cogenitor is sent back to the people who basically treat it as chattel and commits suicide, and Archer points out that Tucker’s interference led to its death and will mean the Vissian couple will probably never get to have a child. No winners in this ethical dilemma of an episode, only losers. Until you remember none of this would have happened in the first place if the Vissians had just treated the cogenitors like people.

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, “Angel One,” we encounter the cringe worthy society of Angel I, a planet of misandric women who oppress men. We all got a few giggles at the ladies of Enterprise-D being suddenly held in higher regard than their male counterparts, but things get very dark when Beata, the Elected One of Angel I, decides some dudes need to die for spreading heretical teachings that imply men are equal to women. We get a sort of cop out solution in which Beata has a change of heart and decides to banish rather than execute these “heretics” after Riker makes an impassioned speech about basic rights, but Riker was more than willing to let things go bad if need be, because, “The Prime Directive” and “Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s wrong.” In another Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, “Symbiosis,” we’re introduced to the Ornarans and Brekkians and we find out that after an ancient plague, the Brekkians started peddling an expensive and addictive drug to the Ornarans and calling it a “treatment.” There’s no plague anymore – the Brekkians just control the Ornarans through their drug addiction. Dr. Crusher finds a way to synthesize this drug and offers to help wean the Ornarans off their addiction, but what does Captain Picard do? He tells her to mind her own damn business because it’s not the Federation’s place to tell the Brekkians that it’s wrong to deceive and enslave the Ornarans through an addictive drug. And this is the most uncomfortable part of moral relativism – who gets to draw the line and where do we draw it? On one end of the spectrum, we have moral relativism which claims anything goes – societies should be able to torture animals, employ the slave labor of children, and oppress women as they see fit – just as long as enough people agree it isn’t wrong to do so. At the other end of the spectrum sits moral absolutism, a theoretical construct that would result in a perfectly unified, homogenous culture, but one that would also strip away many facets of culture that lead to human diversity.

If Star Trek is supposed to serve as a guide for how we might become a more progressive society, it does a terrible job a lot of the time. Now, there are many instances of our protagonists saying “to hell with the Prime Directive!” and taking what most of us would agree is the more morally praiseworthy route. But there’s no rhyme or reason to it. Just look at how they treat the Borg. Why is it okay to let some societies oppress men or drug another species into submission but it’s not okay to let the Borg assimilate the galaxy in their ultimate quest for perfection?

I’m going to guess the answer is that until the Borg decided to stick nanoprobes in a Federation citizen, the cheerful little robots simply weren’t the Federation’s problem. We might argue that the Prime Directive certainly has provisions for self-defense — how ridiculous would it be to consent to being annihilated or assimilated just because the Federation is afraid of offending another culture and refuses to draw a line in the sand where right stops and wrong starts? The slope gets slippery here though.

We could say this mirrors the concept of large Western nations trying to police the rest of the world and impose their customs on other societies - but how many of us watched documentaries about the Holocaust in school and wondered why the hell previous generations allowed shit to get that bad? How many of us continue to stand by while people in Iraq and Syria live under the threat of the Islamic State? I doubt most people even realize what’s going on in the Philippines or Venezuela right now because hey, “Not my country, not my problem.”

It is a huge gray area for what constitutes forcing certain customs on unwilling societies and trying to genuinely help people, but if we can’t agree that Nazi extermination camps and religiously motivated beheadings are bad and need to stop (even when they aren’t happening to us personally), I’ll be surprised if we ever make to the 24th century. It makes me wonder how exactly Earth “solved its problems” and created a utopian society in the first place with this attitude of moral relativism.

Let’s face it – we have no shortage of modern travesties that sound ridiculous in the context of this philosophical approach. The Chechen Republic has been reportedly rounding up gay men and torturing them in recent months, and moral relativism would have us shrug and say, “But their culture says homosexuality is a sin.”

Bacha bazi, a practice where adolescent boys are groomed for sexual relationships with older men, remains pervasive in many Pashtun societies. Moral relativism would tell us that we shouldn’t condemn predatory pedophilia because to do so would mean unfairly imposing our Western beliefs on their culture.

I could keep going on, but this post is already long enough. The bottom line is, all too often, Star Trek lazily glosses over a lot of moral and ethical dilemmas by using the argument, “Who are we to judge?” June is Pride Month, and in honor of LGBT individuals all over the globe who all too often have less rights than their cisgender heterosexual counterparts, maybe we should avoid looking to the “progressive” future of Star Trek and instead ask the question, “Who are we to not judge?”

While I can’t resolve one of the greatest philosophical questions ever devised, someone once gave me a great piece of advice that I think applies to this idea of moral relativism: no person’s belief is inherently worthy of respect, but every person is.

#star trek #star trek ethics #ethics #morality #relative morality #prime directive #prime directive problems #star trek enterprise #star trek the original series #star trek ii: the wrath of khan #star trek the next generation #pride month

[fbismostunwanted1158]

Are you still taking second person prompts? I just saw you might still be taking second person prompts. If you are...everyone on Voyager remarks upon your resemblance to Captain Janeway and you know it's affecting your romantic prospects on board so you decide to secretly offer yourself to Chakotay as an intimate physical substitute. You dim the lights and tell him to pretend--you don't mind.

Okay, anon. This morphed into something crazy. And AWESOME. Thank you! I hope you’re not disappointed. NSFW. Obviously. It’s me…

 Try as you might, there’s nothing you can do. Your eyes,hair, skin, build, everything; they’re also hers. Crew members gawk, jokes aretossed around the mess hall, and Tom Paris gives you a mock salute from time totime. You got into a heated argument with Harry the other day and actual fearregistered in his eyes.  

The latest hilarity to ensue must be the greatest so far onthis seemingly endless journey home. You decided last week that you werecutting your hair, that was it, you’d had enough. Then, what happened? Youcaught sight of the Captain in the mess and there it was. Your new hairstyle.Right there. Staring back at you. She nods her head in a friendly gesture andyou return it, quickly ducking the several sneering snickers directed towardyou.

“Nice haircut, Beth.” Theirlaughter sours the tea and toast you gather from the replicator. You toss itviolently straight into the recycler and strained silence falls over the room.Embarrassed beyond belief, you about face and march straight back through the doors.

Rolling your eyes in exasperation as another ensign winks inyour direction, you continue down the hall; your dour mood weighting itself inthe stomp of your boots down the corridor. Instead of smiles, the faces ofthose that meet you avoid your heated glare and find something interesting onthe bulkheads to focus on.

You turn the corner and run directly into a solid chest. Ittakes you by surprise and knocks you straight to the ground. Bracing yourselfagainst Starfleet issue carpet, you bat at the hands that attempt to right you.

“I don’t. Need. Help,”you cough against the recycled air slowly returning to your stricken lungs.Warm firm hands grasp you anyway and pull you effortlessly to your feet.Growling in frustration, you look up to give this man handler a piece of yourmind and—

“Commander! I-I-uhm…,”he smiles brightly, nearly blinding you. Damn it, he’s beautiful. The sparklein his dark eyes takes your breath once more and concern settles into hiseyebrows.

“Are you alright, Neilson?” Holy shit, he knows who you are? Of course, he knows who you are. He’sthe First Officer! Ah! He asked you a question! SPEAK! UGH!  

“Y-yes, sir. I am so sor–,” he moves his hands up from yourelbows and brings them to rest on your shoulders.

“Nothing to apologize for. Are you alright? You look a bitpale.”

“Ah,” you chuckle, “Artificial lighting. I’ll be fine. Justoff to Engineering to repair a few relays.”

“Didn’t you just come from a full shift, Lieutenant?”

“W-well, yes. There is still so much to–,” he shakes hishead and smiles.

“No more work for the evening. You look like you could usesome rest,” there’s something in his expression that you’ve never seen beforeand his intense inspection of your face is causing a blush to tint your cheeks.Yet again, you’ve never really spent thatmuch time staring at the Commander’s face. Okay, yes you have.

He suddenly breaks eye contact, removing his hands from youand putting them behind his back. The unease is palpable. He clears his throatand you both speak at the same time.

“Have you—“ “’I’m so—“

He laughs. Actually laughs. It’s wonderful. It comes fromsomewhere deep in his chest and rises to caress your ears with its gentle lilt.There’s no stopping the smile that forces its way on your mouth.

“It’s alright. There’s no need to apologize. I was justabout to ask you if you’ve had dinner.”

He waits patiently for your response, which is seriouslylacking at this point in time. Your brain stumbles to form a complete sentenceand something ridiculous slips out.

“I…uhh…erm…just came—I can’t go in there again.”

“Where?”

“The…mess, sir.”

“Why is that?”

“This…,” a deep sigh leaves you as you gesture to your newhairstyle. His gaze returns and sweeps over you. He grins deviously and appearsto be holding back his comments. After careful deliberation, he speaks.

“There is a remarkable resemblance,” his eyes return toyours briefly before closely examining your face, “Facial structure, skin tone,eye color, build; you could definitely fool some. Yet, your hair is a shade ortwo darker, she has at least three inches on you, “he pauses, taking in abreath, “And you have freckles. So does the Captain, but yours are morepronounced. How do you do that with the absence of sunlight?”

The scrutiny that your melanin deposits are under is quiteunsettling. Your blush reaches a whole new level. Freckles? Really? And he’stelling me I’m short? Am I dreaming? Is this even real?

“I apologize. I’ve made you uncomfortable. Don’t let anyonedictate your actions. People will take a chance to find anything to entertainthemselves,” he moves around you and returns to his intended path, “Let me knowif there’s any more trouble.” Oh, God. He’sleaving? Wait.

“Wait,” theCommander halts and turns at your call.

“Yes?”

“O-our last shore leave.” Jesus, what are you doing?

“Two weeks ago. Yes, what about it?”

“Th-at’s how. I, uh. My freckles. Been this way since I waslittle. I’m out in the sun for a second and they just…,” the courage to finishthis stupid thought evaporates from you. Why?Why couldn’t you have just let him go?

He processes what you’ve said; smile returning to soften hisfeatures. Your insides melt instantly and he steps back to where you’re rootedto the deck.

“Would you be comfortable accompanying me to my quarters fordinner? No one there to bother you. I have a vegetable vindaloo programmed thatI have been looking forward to all day. I’m sure there’s enough for two.”

That sounds amazing. You’ve heard wonderful things about theCommander’s cooking. But, his quarters?! You can’t even call him by his firstname; let alone having any businessin his quarters! Everything in you is screaming against the answer about toleave your mouth, yet you let curiosity get the best of your logic.

“That sounds…perfect. If you wouldn’t mind any company,”relief floods his body and his arm makes a sweeping gesture for you to proceedhim down the hallway. Complying happily, you instantly feel the heat radiatingfrom his body beside you. Close besideyou. Why does he need to walk nearly on top of you? The width of thecorridor is more than accommodating; you wouldn’t have the broad protection ofhis proximity leave you for anything.

The absence of conversation on the way to his quarters issurprisingly comfortable. You haven’t felt this calm around a member of theopposite sex in long time. In fact, this is the first social call you’ve beenon in a while. It feels nice, easy, warm—no.This is the Commander.

He keys in the code to open his door and you are envelopedin the dark heady scent of him. The tingle of the spice and sandalwood travelsstraight to the molten heat of your belly. And to think he’s going to serve youvindaloo.

“Would you like a drink? I have some cider, some wine fromour last shore leave.”

“That wine is amazing!I really loved that little–.”

“The little vineyard by the cove. Yes, it was beautiful. Ithought I caught you there,” he reaches for the bottle and retrieves twoglasses from his table. Two glasses. He only has two. Oh, God. They’re for him and—

“If I recall,” he hands you a healthy glass, “you were therefor quite a while. Alone. No one else wanted to come along?”

You take a large drink of the bold sweet alcohol, girdingyourself to make it through the night with some of your dignity left intact. Heleaves the question to hang in the air; reaching for the replicator panel, theCommander drinks from his own glass, tapping away at the controls.

“You…noticed that I was by myself?”

“Who wouldn’t notice an attractive young woman sitting nearthe beach with nothing but a padd to keep her company?”

Attractive. Jesus. Didit just get warmer in here? What in the hell is going on? Taking another swig,you press on. Give it all you’ve got.

“How do you know I wasn’t waiting for someone?”

“No one ever showed up. I can’t believe that any man in hisright mind would stand you up,” he turns to pierce you with a heated gaze. Theroom begins to shrink around you; breathing is becoming an issue.  

“Commander? I—maybe this wasn’t such a great idea,” you setthe glass half empty on the table and start for the door. Just before you reachthe sensor, he blocks your path. A look of disappointment on his face.

“I apologize. I was out of line. Forgive me. Please, call meChakotay when we’re off duty. This ship is too far from Federation space for usto not have a life outside of ship’s business,” his last statement seems to bedirected more to himself than you.  

Instinct tells you to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder,reassure him that his small talk is not the cause of your hesitancy. You tampdown that inner voice and find that you’ve both opted to stare openly into thedepths of one another’s eyes.

Warm fingers brush the hair from your face, his rough palmcoming to rest against your face. You let your eyes slip closed; so slowly youbreathe, in fear that any harsh movement will startle the moment. Soft lipsquest against yours, unsure in their pressure; your mouth opens to welcome himand his movements gain purpose.

Tongues snake together, lazily tracing, acquainting theother of preferences. He draws your bottom lip between his teeth and his handspull you closer at the moan you let escape into his hot mouth. The lower halfof your body molds to his and you feel an impressive erection resting againstyour belly.

Liquid heat pools in your panties and your hands travel downto tangle in the short hair at the nape of his neck. He hums and leans back,just enough to press his forehead against yours, watching you lick your wetswollen lips. Breaths mingle, chests heave, time stops.

“Tell me to stop. I need–,” your finger traces around tosettle over his lips, silencing him.

“I-If I tell you to stop…I’d regret it for the rest of mylife.”

He kisses your finger and brings your hand to rest over hisheart; nuzzling his face into your neck, breathing deeply.

“Mmmm…are you still hungry,” his deep mumble against yousends shivers across your body. A large hand slips down your back and massagesboldly at your ass. You groan, leaning into his accommodating embrace.

“Not for curry…”

“Perhaps I could interest you in some dessert,” the handgroping your ass slides between your legs to brush against your center. Thiscauses you to step wider and give him better access.  

“Oh, God. Yes…please…”the throaty whine that leaves your throat is so ridiculous, you feel likeyou’re in a damn holonovel. This is wrong. Sowrong. But, shit. That pressurehe’s putting on your clit is exquisite.  

“Spirits, you’re beautiful, Elizabeth. Absolutely breathtaking,” he captures your mouth and proceeds toturn you to a quivering mess in his arms. You’re grasping at his biceps to keepfrom dropping to the floor and he hauls you against his chest in one deftmovement.

No one ever calls you ‘Elizabeth’, except for your mother.The way that it rolls from his tongue, swimming on the rich honey of his voice;it melts you, warming your everywhere.

His powerful body rotates and he sets you firmly on thetable, standing between your legs. After taking another thorough inventory ofyour teeth, his fingers work at the fasteners of your jacket and turtleneck.Some sense seeps back into the foreground of your consciousness.

“Mmmm…w-wait,” hisface raises from your jaw and his hands rest over your clothed breasts, “I need to know one thing.”

“Anything,” hekisses your nose; regarding you with tender eyes, his hands rub soothingly upand down your arms, “What is it?”

“Is it—Is it because I look like her,” the question leaves you in a rush, you’re suddenly breathless.His hands cup your face, his expression takes on an air of seriousness.

“No. Initially—yes,” you attempt to hide and his fingers onyour chin bring you back to him, “The more I watched you, the further in love Ifell. Now, I see you. Your humor,talent, dazzling smile, the way you smell your tea before you take each drink,”you both chuckle at your idiosyncrasy.

“I’ve done that for a long time. Who knows why–,” his lipsseal yours, swallowing the rest of your babbling.

“I’ve wanted to taste you for weeks,” he runs his tonguealong your jaw and down the muscles of your neck. It’s provocative and you letthe whimper flow from you, grasping at his head, pulling him closer.

Now you’re down to your bra, bare from the waste up; hefeels you shiver against the cool air of his cabin. As he strokes your back togenerate warmth, he calls to the computer to change the temperature of theroom. As stupid as it sounds, this is the most anyone has done for you in months, maybe even a year. The caringgesture swells inside your chest and morphs into pure passion.

No longer an innocent bystander, you take action, threadingyour fingers through his hair and you change the angle of his head and open hismouth to you. Sucking greedily at his lips, gnashing teeth, he snarls andgrowls against you; the fabric of your bra is ripped away and your nipplesharden at the sudden temperature change.

He cups each breast, weighing it as he breaks away to starehungrily at them. You’ve been told before that you’re a ‘bit larger’ thanaverage. Judging by the dark sparkle in his eyes, he is thinking the samething. Throwing caution to the wind, you firmly guide his face to your chestand he takes the hint, closing his mouth greedily over a waiting nipple.

The fire he’s blazing across you burns straight through toyour already throbbing cunt. You haven’t been this wet in your life; this man is intoxicating,overloading every one of your senses. Watching him is just as erotic as thesensations he’s creating; his other hand fondles your unattended breast,readying it for his mouth.  

You sigh, low and long, your head thrown back as you leavehim to his work. Running your fingernails over his scalp, massaging at the hardmuscles of his neck and shoulders. He is wearing entirely too many layers. Youbring your hands around and press against him. His mouth pops off your tit witha wet smack and he looks right at you.

“I need you naked.Now.”

He drops a kiss to each of your breasts and one to your lipsbefore pulling your legs around his hips, working his hands under your ass. Youget the hint and settle against him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders,tucking your face into the warmth of his neck.

The heat in your belly makes it’s way to your heart; you snuggleimpossibly closer into him. His hold on you makes you feel safe, protected,loved. He lays you gently onto his bed; your arms recline over your head as hewatches you concentrate on his body.

He is lean, long, hard; the muscles of his chest and abdomenripple under soft caramel skin as he unfastens his trousers and pushes themslowly down his thighs. You rub your thighs together anxiously at the sight ofhis erection twitching under the thin material of his briefs.

Answering your prayers, he hooks his thumbs under theelastic of his waist band and releases himself with a hiss. Your hands travelover your breasts and tickle your belly as you reach for your own pants. Hethumbs the glistening head of his cock; your hips raise to let your pants andunderwear down your legs.

He pulls them off the rest of the way, depositing your bootsand socks on the floor, kissing his way up the arch of your foot. His tonguetickles your ankle, tracing up your leg, running flat and slow along your innerthigh. He opens your legs to him and breathes hot air over the tight wetness ofyour sex.

“Gods,” he runshis finger through your lips, opening you, “Sowet.”

Your hands grasp at his hair and he grunts, swirling histongue over your swollen clit. His hands massage your thighs and ass as he sucksand nips at your cunt. You feel him press a finger into you, a fresh rush ofwetness lubricates him as he pumps into you slowly.

“So tight. Mmm…that’sit. Ride. Take me.”

You rock against his thrusts, pulling his head up your body;he nuzzles your breasts before claiming your mouth. He’s wet and slippery withyou and you taste it on his tongue. Adding a second finger, his thumb rubsdelicately around your clit.

You shudder and shake; he’s nibbling on your neck, lickingyour collar bone, feasting on your breasts. It feels like he’s everywhere withthe masterful way he works your body. It sings as you writhe under him; yourmuscles ripple tightly with the return of his fingers deep inside you.

Gasping and clawing at his back, your orgasm tears throughyou; the surprising force of it taking your breath away. You open your eyes tosee him watching your pleasure play across your face; his fingers continue tomove carefully inside you, riding out your aftershocks.

“You’re amazing,” yourlips slowly war with his, tongues tangling, his hand roams your torso. You bitehis lip, pulling it into your mouth and he ruts his erection against your slickthrobbing slit.

“Oh, yes. Please.”

“Tell me. Tell me whatyou want,” he pants into your mouth; hand guiding his cock over your clit.You press down into him, hooking your legs around his thighs. He groans deeply,mouth to your ear, his cock nudging at your entrance.

“Is this what youwant,” you feel him push into you slowly, cunt rippling deliciously aroundthe hard and heavy cock. A moan leaves you in a rush, your legs are beingpressed back as he sinks into you down to the hilt.

“Alright,” hemurmurs in question; you adjust to his size, nodding in affirmation.

“How do you like it?” Experimentalthrusts cause your toes to curl, heels urging him at the firm globes of hisass.    

“H-ha-rd. Deep. Uhng.Yes. Oh! God! Chakotay,” finally, his name falls from your lips and itcalls his attention to your face. He grins, kissing you passionately whilefucking you into the mattress.

It’s the best sex of your life; every nerve ending isfiring, electricity skittering across your goose flesh, bursting in a searingthrob in your cunt.

Chakotay’s tongue slides along your own in counterpoint tothe steady pounding his hips are giving you. You revel in the feeling of hisbody covering you, protecting you, warming you, loving you. Hanging on to the sweaty softness of his shoulderblades, the thoughts running through your mind send you into a second series ofspasms.

He grunts hotly against your ear as your inner muscles milkhis cock for all it’s worth; drawing him deeper, waiting for him to fill you.The rhythm of his thrusts stutter and he cradles your body as he spurts, thewarmth spreading beyond your womb right to your soul.

You cling to him, something welling up inside you,threatening to break. Tears burn at the back of your eyes and a sob bursts fromyour chest. Immediately, his eyes are on you, examining, he pulls out and youwhine at the loss of contact.

“Are you hurt? What’s wrong,” hands brush the hair from yourface, firm fingers under your chin bring you to brown eyes filled with worry.He rolls to lay beside you, taking stock of your body, running hands over you.

“Shhh,” he hushes, “Breathe. Deep breaths.” Tears begin anewas he gently traces your features, pulling you to rest on his chest. Warm handsmassage at your lower back, soothing you with the thunder of his heartbeatbeneath your ear.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I,” he kisses the top of your head,his tone anxious.

“N-no. I just–,” you gasp in for air, “I…ha-ven’t b-beenthis close to an-nyone in a long ti-me,” he hums and it reverberates throughyour whole body.

“In my lifetime, I’ve had my share of sex,” you huff out alaugh and he chuckles in response, “There are few instances where my spirit hasfelt a connection.”

He pauses and combs through your hair; you can feel hishesitancy.

“I felt it too,” yourwhisper flows over his broad chest. He holds you tighter and your stomach rumblespainfully.

“I felt that. I doremember promising you some dinner,” laughter erupts from the both of you andhe brings you to sit up with him. You lay in the embrace of his arm, staring upinto his shining eyes. He kisses you once more and moves to get up.

“Stay right here. I’ll bring you a bowl,” his shapely assdisappears out the door and you snuggle deeper into his sheets, inhaling hisscent.

“What are you doingtomorrow night,” the deep voice calls from the other room.

“Nothing special,” you reply. He rounds the corner, twobowls of vindaloo, completely nude. He is the picture of perfection.

“Dinner again?”

“Certainly,” the bowl is deposited in your waiting hands,“As long as I can have dessert first.”

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 5 Easter Eggs & References

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for Season 3, Episode 5.

Because everything in the 32nd century is brand-new for the Star Trek canon, it would make sense that the writers of Star Trek: Discovery could get away with not really referencing anything from the existing canon. To put it another way, how much do you really know about the year 1090 off the top of your head? The gap between Discovery’s point of origin in 2258 and 3188-3189 is huge. And yet, nerdy Star Trek Easter eggs and HUGE call-backs to some of the most beloved ships and characters ever, endure. 

From a surprise cameo from a famous film director, to a lesson in Mirror Universe history, and yes, the appearance of Captain Janeway’s beloved starship, here are all the Easter eggs we caught in the latest Star Trek: Discovery episode, “Die Trying.” 

“Federation and Starfleet Headquarters”

Saru notes that the ship is en route to “Federation and Starfleet Headquarters,” and then points out that these are “separate entities that now must abide together.” Although sometimes used interchangeably, this distinction is relevant. Starfleet actually predates the Federation and is an exploratory organization, analogous with what might happen if NASA and the Navy were combined in space. The United Federation of Planets, on the other hand, is the government. Starfleet and the Federation are not the same things, except now, as Saru points out, in the 32nd Century, they kind of are.

New Constitution

Owo sees what she describes as a “new Constitution.” This can only refer to what she infers is an upgraded version of a Constitution-class starship. The NCC-1701 Enterprise was one of 12 Constitution-class ships in service in Joann Owosekun’s time. 

USS Voyager and USS Nog

The crew very prominently sees and talks about the USS Voyager NCC-74656-J. Owo and Tilly confirm that the “J” constitutes 11 “generations of evolution.” It is unclear if this means that this is literally the same Voyager from the 24th Century, or if the “J” means that this is the 11th ship to carry the name, “Voyager.” Elsewhere in the Starfleet Headquarters, barely visible is the USS Nog. Clearly, this was named for the Ferengi Nog from Deep Space Nine. Played by the late Aron Eisenberg, Nog was the first Ferengi in Starfleet. 

New Starfleet uses the TNG coloring 

Admiral Charles Vance and the rest of the 32nd Century Starfleet seem to use the color-coded system from the TNG era. Command officers still appear to sport red, while stripes of gold and blue are visible on other uniforms. 

Kaminar Joined the Federation

Saru is thrilled to learn that Kaminar became a Federation planet sometime after Discovery jumped into the future. Because we never heard from Kelpiens in the 23rd or 24th century, it seems likely they joined the Federation at some point after that. In the Short Treks episode “The Brightest Star,” we learned the Prime Georgiou rescued Saru from Kaminar, but that Saru couldn’t return there because of issues with the Prime Directive. In Discovery Season 2, the ship returned to Kaminar in “The Sound of Thunder,” but Kaminar definitely didn’t enter the Federation at that point.

Sigma Draconis System References “Spock’s Brain”

One unnamed officer tells Admiral Vance that the “Emerald Chain” — an alliance of Andorians and Orions — is up to no-good in the “Sigma Draconis” system. This is the same star system from the TOS episode “Spock’s Brain.” Let’s hope that Spock’s brain hasn’t been stolen — again.

The size of the Federation

For the first time ever, the size of the Federation has been firmly established, not just now, but also, prior to the current timeline. Vance tells Saru and Burnham that there are “38 member worlds” in the Federation right now, but that because of bad communications, it’s possible that there may be more. Vance also says this number is “down from 350 at its peak.” We knew there were a lot of planets in the Federation in TNG, but we really had no idea exactly how many.

Starfleet Federation combo

As mentioned by Saru in the opening monologue, Vance doubles-down on the idea that “Where we sit now represents not only the headquarters of Starfleet Command by also the entire civilian government of the United Federation of Planets.” It’s unclear at this point if there are civilian government officials still operating, or if Vance is saying that he is basically Starfleet and the Federation at the same time. He also says that everything has “been that way since the Burn.”

Zero records of Discovery is basically Spock’s fault

Vance says “our records show Discovery was destroyed in 2258.” Saru implies the files would have been erased by Starfleet for safety reasons. But, the truth is, Spock is the one who erased the stuff about the Spore Drive. We saw Spock take these steps in “Such Sweet Sorrow Part 2.”

A War to Uphold the Temporal Accords

Admiral Vance’s “quick history lesson” mentions that the Federation spent most of the 30th Century fighting “a war to uphold the temporal accords” which he says is an “interstellar treaty outlawing time travel.” This references the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise, and basically establishes that the “Temporal Wars” alluded to by Book in “That Hope Is You Part 1” are the same Temporal Wars that Daniels pulled Captain Archer into. It also seems that the Temporal Wars may have continued in the relative “present” beyond what we saw Daniels doing in Enterprise.

The Discovery crew drops references for their entire story

As the crew is getting debriefed by the new Starfleet, several characters, including Culber, Reno and Tilly tease-out plotpoint from previous seasons.

Culber:  “I was emotionally dead, and I was murdered”

Culber was killed in the Season 1 episode “Despite Yourself,” when the Discovery jumped to the Mirror Universe. He was then brought back to life in the Season 2 episode “Saints of Imperfection.” He was in a terrible mood about being brought back to life which is why he jokes here that “I was emotionally dead.” The fact that he and his “murderer are good now,” references a confrontation he had with Ash Tyler in “If Memory Serves.”

Reno: “Commander Burnham fell out of the sky, with Captain Pike”

This references the Season 2 debut, “Brother,” in which Burnham and Pike rescued Reno from the USS Hiawatha, which had been crashed into an asteroid. 

Tilly: “After I got my hair blown out and became a Terran Captain/Dominatrix”

Tilly is talking about the episodes in which she had to impersonate the Captain of the Terran ISS Discovery, her Mirror Universe counterpart nicknamed “Killy.” This started in the episode “Despite Yourself” and went through “What’s Past Is Prologue.” When Tilly had to dye her hair and straighten it in “Despite Yourself,” she noted that her mother would have approved. 

David Cronenberg 

During Georgiou’s debrief, a mysterious man with glasses sits-in and asks her all sorts of pointed questions. This character has not yet been named, but he is played by legendary film director David Cronenberg. Among other films, sci-fi fans probably know Cronenberg best for directing The Fly and Scanners. Is this new character a representative of the future version of Section 31?

Georgiou’s Mirror Universe History 

Cronenberg’s character notes that the present is Georgiou’s “second universe, your third timeline.” This means that Georgiou has existed in the Mirror Universe version of 2257, the Prime Universe version of 2257-2258, and now, the Prime Universe version of 3188. 

April 5: Bizzaro First Contact Day

Cronenberg’s man with glasses also mentions April 5, 2063. In the Prime Universe, this is First Contact Day but in the Mirror Universe, it’s the day that humans killed the Vulcans who landed on Earth. This event is depicted in the opening scenes of the Star Trek: Enterprise episodes “In a Mirror, Darkly Part 1 and Part 2.” To date, those are the only episodes of Trek canon that take place entirely in the Mirror Universe. 

The Terran Empire’s Demise

When Georgiou and Cronenberg talk about the Terran Empire versus the Federation, he points out that the Federation “endures, unlike the Terran Empire that fell centuries ago.” We have no idea how this guy has access to so much history about a parallel universe, but the collapse of the Terran Empire references the Deep Space Nine episodes that take place in the Mirror Universe, starting with “Crossover.” In that episode, we learned that after Kirk asked Mirror Spock to make the Empire nicer in the TOS episode “Mirror, Mirror,” Mirror Spock basically did just that. But, his actions eventually led to the downfall of the Terran Empire. As far as we know, in canon, the most “recent” crossover to the Mirror Universe would have happened during Deep Space Nine, which is why Cronenberg says there hasn’t been a crossing between the two realities in “500 years.”

Ion storm

Speaking of the TOS episode “Mirror, Mirror,” while trying to help the Federation seed ship, the USS Discovery encounters an ion storm. Though this plot device has been used a lot in Trek, it was notably the reason why Kirk, Uhura, Scotty and Bones accidentally beamed to the Terran ISS Enterprise in “Mirror, Mirror.”

Burnham in command 

Oddly, though Burnham is the main character of the show, we really haven’t seen her in command of the USS Discovery. Other than her brief attempt at mutiny on the USS Shenzhou, and her command of the ISS Shenzhou, this is the only real time she’s been in legit command of a starship during the entire run of the series. 

Barzan Joined the Federation 

Nhan hails from a race of aliens called the Barzan. In the TNG episode “The Price,” the Barzan were trying to sell rights to a wormhole in their space. At that time, the Barzan were not a member of the Federation. Their planet was also super-reliant on other planets for assistance, which is why Nhan later says that her people are known for “poverty.” 

Airam’s funeral 

Nhan tells Burnham that she’ll never forget Airam’s funeral and what Burnham said. This references the Discovery Season 2 episode “The Red Angel,” which began with the entire crew honoring Airam’s sacrifice in the previous episode, “Project Daedalus.”

Federation Starchart References a Ton of Known Star Trek Planets

A huge holographic star chart at Starfleet Command contains the names of a bunch of planets from the entirety of Trek canon. Some of the names are mirrored, which makes it tricky to read them all, but here are the ones we caught

Ankari Homeworld: This alien species comes from the Voyager episodes “Equinox Parts 1 and 2.”

Cardassia Prime: The homeworld of the Cardassians, primarily from Deep Space Nine.

Thalos: While it’s tempting to read this as a misspelling of “Talos,” from TOS, it’s not. Several planets in the Thalos system were referenced in both TNG and DS9.

Halee: Historically this is a Klingon planet in the Beta Quadrant. It’s been referenced in Discovery and TNG, starting with the TNG episode “Heart of Glory.”

We Don’t Have Five-Year Missions Anymore 

Vance tells Burnham and Saru that Starfleet doesn’t “have five-year missions anymore.” This of course, references The Original Series, in which the Enterprise was on a 5-year-mission of exploration. Sura and Burnham are super-familiar with this policy, mostly because Pike was on a five-year mission on the Enterprise before he became temporary captain of the Discovery. Saru tells Vance that he feels like the DISCO crew come from a “revered time,” which seems to imply Saru has been reading a bunch of history while Burnham was on this mission. In this sense, Saru is aware that contemporary Starfleet must be huge fans of the exploits of the 23rd Century Starfleet. Basically, Saru gambles that the new Starfleet is filled with people who are, in a sense, classic Star Trek fans. He’s not wrong.

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Star Trek: Discovery airs new episodes on Thursdays on CBS All Access.

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[voyagerafod]

Star Trek Voyager: A Fire of Devotion: Part 4 of 4: Hotter Than Hell: Chapter Twelve

Janeway struggled to her feet, still feeling dazed from when she and the others had all slammed against the wall. She was grateful that the Cyberman ship’s inertial dampeners, or whatever their equivalent was, hadn’t failed or she and the others would be so much splattered mess. She looked around. Tom had already gotten up and was frantically trying to hail Voyager, even though he had to know it was no use. Vorik was helping Gilmore to her feet, while Lydia Anderson was checking the back of Jaffen’s head for injuries.     “Report,” she said.     “We’re near Earth,” Tom said, sounding dejected. “Just not our Earth.”     “Can we contact them?” she asked. A part of her hoped that perhaps the Earth of this reality, the one where the Cybermen had originated, would have something they could use to re-open the rift just long enough to get home. At least the fact that Voyager hadn’t replied when Tom tried to contact them meant that, presumably, the rest of her crew had made it home.     Tom glared at the image of the planet on the main monitor.     “No,” he said. “I was able to tap into the satellite network. The Earth of this universe is still in the early 21st century, though unlike us they didn’t have a Eugenics War. This Earth is more advanced in their 2014 than we were in ours, but not enough to do any good. They don’t even seem to have noticed us yet near as I can tell.”

    Tears began forming in Tom’s eyes. He punched the navigation console. “Dammit, dammit, dammit!”

    Janeway wished she had the words to help Tom, but she just didn’t. He had every right to be upset after all. Being separated from people you loved by over seventy thousand light years was one thing, but now there was an entire universe and hundreds of years separating him from his wife and newborn daughter, a child he’d spent mere days with.     She looked back at the others. She could see sadness beginning to take hold over Anderson and Gilmore already. Jaffen seemed fine, if a bit dizzy. Vorik was as implacably Vulcan as usual.

    Will we forget them too? she thought. Like we forgot about the Cybermen when they came to our universe? Or is it different for us now that we’re in their realm?

    “So. What do we do now, Kathy?” Jaffen said.     Janeway took a deep breath. She felt deep down like what she was about to say was a lie, but she needed to say something to give her people hope. Her crew, anyway. Jaffen would be happy wherever they were so long as he was with her. That was something she was glad for at least.

    “The barrier between our worlds has been breached more than once,” she said. “It can be done again. I don’t know how long it will take, but we will find a way. I’ve gotten my people home before, I can do it again. Hell, if we’re lucky, it won’t take us seven years this time.” She added a smile to that last line, surprising herself at how genuine it felt. This speech was as much for her as it was for the others.     “There is a man here, a time traveler, who helped Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise defeat the Borg/Cyberman alliance ten years ago,” she said, though Tom and Jaffen already knew that part. “If we can find him, I imagine he could get us home to our universe.”     “How do we find him though?” Marla Gilmore said.     “She’s right,” Tom said, slumped in his chair. “You heard what Seven said about him. He goes all over time and space, seemingly at random, in a ship smaller than one of our class 2 shuttles.”     Janeway thought about it for a moment. Tom was right about that, but she remembered something else from that briefing; about the kind of man the time traveler was. Everyone looked at her, patiently waiting for what she would say next.     “We make an impression,” she said. “Vorik, Gilmore, let’s get this ship in the best shape we can. Tom, go over this ship’s records. I want to know where the major hubs for information and trade are in this universe.”

    “Ma’am?” Tom said.     “It’s simple. We fix this ship up, we go around looking for sentients in need, and we help them,” Janeway said, now feeling genuinely hopeful instead of just trying to project it. This plan she was formulating had so many ways it could go wrong, but it was the best she had.

    Besides, she thought, is this really that much more difficult than some of the crap we went through in our own reality?

    Vorik raised an eyebrow. “With all due respect, I fail to see how that helps us return to our reality, Captain.”

    “This time traveler,” Janeway said, “this man who simply calls himself The Doctor, has been an enemy of the Cybermen for centuries. Sooner or later, word is going to get to him about a ship belonging to one of his oldest and most dangerous enemies going around doing good in the galaxy.”

    “And if I were in his place,” Anderson said, “that sure as hell would get my attention.”     “Exactly,” Janeway said.     Jaffen walked over to Janeway and casually put an arm around her waist.     “I gotta say,” he said, smiling, “I like this plan.”     “Can’t hurt to try, I suppose,” Tom said, sighing.     Janeway looked up at the monitor. It was almost eerie how the Earth here looked just like the one she called home. She wondered for a moment if maybe it would be so bad to settle here if The Doctor never came.

    No, she thought. I’m not ready to give up yet. Either we get to go back to our home, or we die here as heroes.

---

    B’Elanna Torres cradled her daughter in her arms as she looked at the picture of Tom on the table in Admiral Paris’ home. Physical pictures weren’t the norm amongst the people of the Federation anymore, not with digital photo frames that could easily hold hundreds, even thousands of pictures instead of just one having been available to humanity even in the time before Zefram Cochrane’s first warp flight. The practice had never gone away completely though, and with the fear that the Voyager crewmembers who were trapped on the Cyberman ship when it got pulled through the rift would be forgotten an ever-present reality, they went from a mere act of sentimentality to a necessity. The new project that Admiral Paris, Reg Barclay, Lewis Zimmerman, and others had started on Jupiter Station required physical copies of photos of the lost crew, any information they had on them written down on real paper. The computer records of them were not lost completely but were spotty, incomplete, and easy to miss unless you knew what to look for. Or even that there was something to look for.

    “Thank you for letting me stay here, Admiral,” B’Elanna said.     “Please,” the Admiral said. “No need to be so formal. I’m off-duty, and you’re my daughter-in-law. Call me Owen. Besides, you don’t exactly have a place of your own right now.”

    “That’s certainly true,” B’Elanna said. “I don’t even have a ship anymore.”     Owen Paris sighed. “You heard about that, huh?”     “I figured R&D would want a look at all that Delta Quadrant tech we brought back with us,” B’Elanna said, shifting on the couch slowly so as not to jostle the baby too much. “I don’t understand why they had to hide Voyager away though.”

    “That was Nechayev’s idea,” Owen said, sighing. “She has this idea in her head that the new technologies inside Voyager would be a prime target for the Federation’s enemies. She’s not one hundred percent wrong, I’m sure the Romulans would love to have a look at that slipstream drive, even if it is burned out. But Elena is, well, Elena. Just keeping Voyager in the Sol system isn’t secure enough for her, she has to move it to one of her,” Owen groaned before completing the sentence. “Black Sites as she calls them. I don’t know if she doesn’t know the history behind that phrase or just doesn’t care.”     B’Elanna nodded. “I knew that there was a chance, even with the pardon, that I might not get to serve on Voyager again, but that doesn’t make the mental image of a bunch of Intelligence types pawing at her warp drive any easier to stomach.”     “With your credentials, record, and reputation,” Owen said, “I don’t doubt that once your maternity leave is up that you’ll be in anything less than high demand. There are a lot of captains in Starfleet who would kill to have an engineer with your skills on their team.”

    “I don’t know,” B’Elanna said. “I might just try to join the team at Jupiter trying to figure out how to get Tom back from the other universe. If I didn’t have Miral, I’d be feeling so helpless right now.”     “I can see about that,” Owen said, surprising B’Elanna who just assumed that he would be against it, perhaps arguing that she was too close, too emotionally invested. “Fact is, having people there who have more cause to care than anyone about the people we lost in that rift is probably the best way to ensure that they aren’t forgotten. If my own science training wasn’t a few years out of date since becoming an Admiral I’d be there myself.”

    “Maybe we’ll go to Jupiter together then,” B’Elanna said. “It would certainly make it easier for you to spend time with your granddaughter.”     “Speaking of,” Owen said, motioning towards Miral, “May I? I haven’t actually had the chance to hold her since you got to San Francisco.”     “Of course,” B’Elanna said.

---

    Harry Kim stood outside the airlock to the U.S.S. Delaware, reluctant to go inside. He reached into his pocket and fiddled once again with the folded up paper photo he had of his best friend, what was his name? The one who was in another universe now, or something like that. Why was it so hard for him to remember the name of his own best friend?     “You understand, Lieutenant,” Lieutenant Ayala said coming up behind him “that the ship can’t take off from starbase with you standing in the connector.”     “Right, sorry,” Harry said. “I guess it just doesn’t entirely feel real. I guess I just assumed I’d be going back to Voyager once I returned to duty.”

    “I did too,” Ayala said. “But I guess R&D had other plans. The jerks.”     Harry chuckled. “Yeah. Jerks.” He took a deep breath. “Okay, Let’s do this. At least I’ll have somebody from the old crew here. That should make it easier to adjust.”     “More than one somebody,” Ayala said. “Didn’t you hear? Todd Mulcahey and Susan Brooks got assigned to the Delaware as well.”     “I didn’t know that actually,” Harry said. “I’ll make sure to say hello after I report to the Captain.” The two men made their way through the open airlock onto the Nova-class ship. Harry had to admit it was a bit odd being on one of this class again, considering his last experience with one was the Equinox, but he didn’t want to dwell on it. He felt something in his pocket, not sure how it got there, but he figured he’d take it out later, once the Delaware was out of the Sol system.

    He went through the open airlock first, Ayala close behind. The two quickly made their way to the nearest turbolift and rode it to the bridge, only to find it almost unoccupied. The only person there was a short haired red-headed human woman. Only when she turned around and Harry saw the four pips on her collar did he realize that this was his new commanding officer, Captain Kilkenny.     “Ah,” she said, smiling. “Lieutenant Kim. Lieutenant Ayala. You’re early. I would’ve arranged for you to meet the rest of the senior staff if I’d known. Welcome aboard.”     “Captain,” Harry said, standing at attention. “I look forward to serving with you.”     “And I look forward to hearing some of your war stories,” the Captain said, practically radiating enthusiasm. “I mean, you two served aboard Voyager. You’re practically legends, and here I am, the one who’s going to be giving you orders.”     Harry blushed. He looked over at Ayala, impressed at the man’s ability to maintain his composure. Harry turned back to face the Captain, but something behind him caught his eye, something sitting on one of the arms of the captain’s chair.

Is that a plush cat? He thought.     The Captain realized he was looking at something behind her and turned around.     “Oh, I see you’ve spotted Desmond,” she said.     “Desmond?” Ayala said.

“My kitty,” Captain Kilkenny said casually, as though it should’ve been painfully obvious to him and Harry. “He’s been with me since my first assignment; the Kilimanjaro.” She sighed. “She probably would’ve been my first command if we hadn’t lost her to a Dominion sneak attack during the war. Could’ve been worse though. Out of 900 crew members 893 made it out alive.     “But enough about old war wounds,” she said, her smile suddenly coming back. “Command has cleared us for departure at 0900 hours.” She checked the PADD in her hand. “Both of your quarters are on Deck 3. Feel free to get some rest before we head out.”     “Aye, sir,” Harry said.     “Aye, Captain,” Ayala said.

---

    “A pleasure to finally meet you in person, Doctor,” Bruce Maddox said, extending his hand to The Doctor.     “Likewise, Commander,” The Doctor said, accepting the handshake offer politely.     “I was sorry to hear about what Starfleet Command decided to do with Voyager,” Maddox said. “Any plans, since you’re losing your sickbay?”

    The Doctor looked around, his gaze falling on the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance.     “Not really. I have been offered a teaching position at Starfleet Medical,” he said. “I may take it, but not this semester. Some of my Voyager crewmates have invited me to meet their families. I think they feel they owe me since I treated them during our time together, as if I ever would’ve not. I imagine their spouses, children, and what not wish to thank me for making sure their loved ones made it home. I appreciate the sentiment, but because of it I can’t help but think about all the people on Voyager I couldn’t save.”

    “I don’t think you need me to tell you even the best doctors Starfleet has can’t save everyone,” Maddox said.

    “I’m well aware of that,” The Doctor, “but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.”

    Maddox nodded, and turned to look at the bridge as well.     “I imagine that seeing the faces of your crewmates’ families might help. It won’t make the guilt go away, unless you decide to remove it from your program. But if Commander Data can learn to live with the downsides of having emotions, I doubt you will have any problems.”

    “I suppose you’re right,” The Doctor said. “In that case I probably should go then. My first invitation just for today is meet with Lieutenant Carey and his family. Perhaps I’ll see you some other time.”     “I wouldn’t mind that,” Maddox said. “I can read the Voyager logs anytime I like, but hearing about it from someone who was there is an experience no report can properly convey. If possible, I can even arrange for you and Data to meet. He’s mentioned that he finds your story inspiring.”

    The Doctor smiled. “I would very much love to meet with him. I’ll get in touch once I know I have some time to spare, and we’ll see what we can do.”

---

    Seven of Nine pulled her robe tight around her as the air grew colder. She looked at the night sky on the Ktarian homeworld and was amazed at how many stars you could see, even this close to a major metropolitan area. She watched as off in the distance at the spaceport the ship that had brought her and her family here, the Starfleet passenger courier Lois McKendrick, took off.     Naomi was on the other side of the city, spending time with her father and his parents. Icheb had, mere months after arriving in the Alpha Quadrant, earned early entry into Starfleet Academy. Samantha had fallen asleep on a small couch in the room they were sharing while they were here, until their leave was over. Or so she’d thought until she heard Sam walk up to her. She didn’t turn to look as Sam slipped her arms around Seven’s waist and rested her chin on Seven’s shoulder.     “Trouble sleeping?” Sam said.     “Not tired yet,” Seven said. “Just... thinking.”     “Still hoping we’ll see them again?”     Seven didn’t need to ask to which ‘them’ Sam was referring.     “The barrier between the universes has been breached before,” she said. “At least twice, and that’s just what I know of. Who’s to say-”     “It’s okay, babe,” Sam said. “I think we’ll see them again too. If I know Captain Janeway as well as I think I do, she’s probably already got a plan in motion.”

    Seven chuckled. “Probably an ill-advised plan with a low probability of success.”     “Yeah, well, those have worked out for her pretty well so far,” Sam said before kissing the back of Seven’s neck. “Now, if you aren’t going to come to bed, at least close the balcony doors. Ktarian cold winds can sneak up on you. And don’t forget we’re meeting my sister tomorrow.”

    “Okay,” Seven said, watching Sam as she went back inside. Seven turned and looked up at the stars one last time before doing so herself. Even if her crewmates never did return from the other universe, even if they hadn’t survived the breach, she would make sure that they wouldn’t be forgotten.

~The End~

Dedicated to my Dad, an OG Trekkie, for introducing me to Roddenberry’s vision.

My biggest regret was that he didn’t get to see how this story ended.

#a fire of devotion #Part 4 #chapter twelve #the end #star trek voyager #fan fiction #sam7