How much of that might be 'learned racism' picked up from the ex-Maquis, rather than outright prejudice? Equally, Cardassians are probably the one species where people are right to be apprehensive of them, when past conduct is examined.
Really? I think that Cardassians got the most well-rounded treatment of any species, including the Klingons and Romulans. Despite the incredibly oppressive government, we got MANY undisputed depictions of good people of principle willing to oppose the system.
Clearcut cases:
Tekeny Ghemor (and fellow rebel, killed for his actions--Ari)
Natima Lang (and fellow rebels Hogue and Rekelen)
Gilora Rejal (and while we saw less of her, Ulani Belor seemed decent too)
Joret Dal
Aamin Marritza
Daro (clearly a thinking individual capable of feeing remorse for Cardassia's actions...even a short conversation made that clear)
Debatable:
Damar (though he had to be suitably punished first, by suffering after murdering Ziyal, and then having his family killed)
Tora Ziyal (hybrid--but some of her upbringing was by a slimeball Cardassian...yet she stayed true to who she was)
Kotan Pa'Dar, possibly. Willing to risk everything--throw away power (and likely, in that government, safety) to save his child. One suspects he would willingly accept exile to be with his child. (Debatable, though, since we don't know that much about him.)
Macet. IMHO Macet wanted peace and worked for it despite being constrained to lie about the military buildup by his orders. If you really watch that episode his restraint was incredible despite Picard's rampant and perhaps even deliberately provocative idiocy. This one VERY much depends on how you read the episode in question, though, and can be interpreted either way.
I daresay that even the list of clearcut good guys rivals if not beats the list we know of for Romulans and Klingons both. Might want to take that into consideration before singling the Cardassians out. Frankly, I think if you're going to go down that road with one Trek race, then Klingons have got to be treated as equally untrustworthy. Their "honor" is worth the toilet paper it's written on, and there are many betrayals and senseless, stupid acts to prove that fact. Yet the show treats it as though this is OK, but if Cardassians and Romulans do the same thing, it's BAD BAD BAD.
Yeah...I have strong feelings on the subject. I will call out Cardassian evil unreservedly when it happens. I'm not one of those disgusting apologists for Dukat, or the like. But I also recognize that there is a spectrum of Cardassians that have been portrayed on the show.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-) Proudly F2P.Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
I'm with gulberat on this. Every species in Star Trek has committed its fair share of war crimes. Especially Humans. If you compare the 2409 Cardassians to say... Germans today (or even fifty years ago), okay, they've done some pretty evil things in their past, but they've owned up to it, they regret it, and they just want to start over and move on.
I've tried to treat my Cardassian characters - Mitiani and Sorbin Zain - as complex individuals without falling back on any stereotypes from the shows. They were both born a decade or so after the Dominion War and so they've never experienced the oppressive military regime that characterized their society throughout TNG and much of DS9. Sorbin, rather than the congenial smooth-talker that appeared to the norm, is a socially-awkward loner. And he's a scientist, which was traditionally a woman's field. Mitiani might be more than a little unbalanced. She definitely takes way too much joy in her work. (Her job on the Tiburon is to launch hugely destructive projectiles at enemy targets.) But she's otherwise a warm and caring person and she doesn't have a dishonest bone in her body.
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
Well, finished my story. Just need to proof read before I post.
But since I've written how the lives are lost, in addition to a bit of the after effects (this was a story I wanted to write anyway, so it's considerably longer than my previous LC's), copying it into word has resulted in it being 20 pages long.
There's no limit on how long these things can be, is there?
*******************************************
A Romulan Strike Team, Missing Farmers and an ancient base on a Klingon Border world. But what connects them? Find out in my First Foundary mission: 'The Jeroan Farmer Escapade'
@csrr12905 - good story, and interesting characters. A couple of details threw me though - "molten" Romulan ale? It's already liquid, isn't it? And you've misspelled Ferasan and Ferasa. But otherwise a solid entry.
I probably should have explained that part a little better. I assumed that, at those temperatures and pressures, the ale would be unable to burn or vaporize outright, and instead form a ?supercritical fluid? which would really gum up the EPS grid.
*makes a few quick edits*
Spelling errors? What spelling errors? :)
Seriously, though- thanks for pointing that out.
@csrr12905 - You know, the idea of a Risian corvette as a scout ship makes a lot of sense! Now if only the Federation could make one that wasn't so ... fluid ... is the only word I can come up with. Anyway, welcome to the LCs and come back to tell more about VA Kendrick!
Well, considering how fragile the Risian Corvettes are, I don't see the Fedration putting them in many situations where they might have to stand and fight, rather than duck out the moment things got a little dangerous.
Thanks! Hopefully, I'll be able to find some time out of my college schedule to enter a few more of the LCs.
Well, that actually comes from a bit of recent history. When patrickngo introduced us to Moab in his story Coolng we see Grantville being attacked by a party of Orion slavers.
As a side note, I *finally* got a copy of the Orion "Book of Deep Knowledge" made by FASA from eBay ... I'm hoping to write a little better about Orions based on that material Just had to vent it out
I daresay that even the list of clearcut good guys rivals if not beats the list we know of for Romulans and Klingons both. Might want to take that into consideration before singling the Cardassians out. Frankly, I think if you're going to go down that road with one Trek race, then Klingons have got to be treated as equally untrustworthy. Their "honor" is worth the toilet paper it's written on, and there are many betrayals and senseless, stupid acts to prove that fact. Yet the show treats it as though this is OK, but if Cardassians and Romulans do the same thing, it's BAD BAD BAD..
I agree, Klingon 'honor' means absolutely nothing, and shifts depending upon who they are dealing with and how the wind is blowing (the Worf/Gowron dynamic, for example...) However, and this is a big however...
Klingons and Romulans have never been portrayed as occupying planets and TRIBBLE women, but Cardassians have been. In the DS-9 episode with Sisko's friend Cal Hudson, it was very clear that the Human prisoner had been abused, even though he claimed to have been well treated.
Yeah...I have strong feelings on the subject. I will call out Cardassian evil unreservedly when it happens. I'm not one of those disgusting apologists for Dukat, or the like. But I also recognize that there is a spectrum of Cardassians that have been portrayed on the show.
I would agree, that there certainly have been some very decent Cardassians. But, in their canonical portrayal, they stooped to lower depths than Klingons or Romulans ever did
As a side note, I *finally* got a copy of the Orion "Book of Deep Knowledge" made by FASA from eBay ... I'm hoping to write a little better about Orions based on that material Just had to vent it out
Awesome :cool:
If we're doing teasers... My entry for this LC (in progress) will show Empress Ch'K'rr at her mercurial best/worst, and it will be very clear why Siri thought that getting the Mu'Naii delegation a diplomatic audience with her might teach them a lesson or two
I'm with gulberat on this. Every species in Star Trek has committed its fair share of war crimes. Especially Humans. If you compare the 2409 Cardassians to say... Germans today (or even fifty years ago), okay, they've done some pretty evil things in their past, but they've owned up to it, they regret it, and they just want to start over and move on.
I've tried to treat my Cardassian characters - Mitiani and Sorbin Zain - as complex individuals without falling back on any stereotypes from the shows. They were both born a decade or so after the Dominion War and so they've never experienced the oppressive military regime that characterized their society throughout TNG and much of DS9. Sorbin, rather than the congenial smooth-talker that appeared to the norm, is a socially-awkward loner. And he's a scientist, which was traditionally a woman's field. Mitiani might be more than a little unbalanced. She definitely takes way too much joy in her work. (Her job on the Tiburon is to launch hugely destructive projectiles at enemy targets.) But she's otherwise a warm and caring person and she doesn't have a dishonest bone in her body.
I'd definitely say you have succeeded in that regard, and indeed, Miss Zain does like to push The Button I would hope that the, pardon the pun, next generation of Cardassians show more of a return to the ancient Hebitian culture (I don't count Meliden in that demographic, simply because she was raised as a Human with no Influences from Cardassians culture)
I've tried to treat my Cardassian characters - Mitiani and Sorbin Zain - as complex individuals without falling back on any stereotypes from the shows. They were both born a decade or so after the Dominion War and so they've never experienced the oppressive military regime that characterized their society throughout TNG and much of DS9. Sorbin, rather than the congenial smooth-talker that appeared to the norm, is a socially-awkward loner. And he's a scientist, which was traditionally a woman's field. Mitiani might be more than a little unbalanced. She definitely takes way too much joy in her work. (Her job on the Tiburon is to launch hugely destructive projectiles at enemy targets.) But she's otherwise a warm and caring person and she doesn't have a dishonest bone in her body.
Don't forget that she also has a HUGE crush on Jesu, bordering on obsession.
Well, finished my story. Just need to proof read before I post.
But since I've written how the lives are lost, in addition to a bit of the after effects (this was a story I wanted to write anyway, so it's considerably longer than my previous LC's), copying it into word has resulted in it being 20 pages long.
There's no limit on how long these things can be, is there?
Not that I've found, and I routinely copy in 30+ page hunks of text from MS Word.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
I agree, Klingon 'honor' means absolutely nothing, and shifts depending upon who they are dealing with and how the wind is blowing (the Worf/Gowron dynamic, for example...) However, and this is a big however...
Klingons and Romulans have never been portrayed as occupying planets and TRIBBLE women, but Cardassians have been. In the DS-9 episode with Sisko's friend Cal Hudson, it was very clear that the Human prisoner had been abused, even though he claimed to have been well treated.
When Klingons and Romulans have done that stuff...it hasn't been onscreen. Both of those species have been highly romanticized. The Cardassians, however, were right next door and we saw the truth unfettered. Remember the occupation of Krios? Or the use of the torturous mind-sifter interrogation device? The Klingons did that, but it was offscreen so that their romanticized image didn't suffer. I tend to think the Klingons are just as bad but for political reasons it was swept under the rug.
That's one reason I like the STO universe: the Feds and Klingons should be at war, if the Federation's principles are to actually mean anything. Not excused for political convenience.
The Cardassians, as was right, were held accountable. The Klingons--weren't. At all.
As far as the Romulans, while I suspect their mnhei'sahe means more than Klingon honor (they at least admit its capricious and contradictory nature), they have engaged in torture (LaForge is one example in the show) and in the game, it is even discovered that some in the Romulan Empire actually deliberately caused the Hobus supernova, which shouldn't count for less just because they murdered their own people and not Feds.
I would agree, that there certainly have been some very decent Cardassians. But, in their canonical portrayal, they stooped to lower depths than Klingons or Romulans ever did
Per the examples above, I think it is demonstrable that the atrocities were better depicted and that the Cardassians were held more accountable for their crimes than any other species, the Klingons and Romulans have a LOT to answer for too, that they have not, because they were romanticized, whereas with the Cardassians we saw the brutal truth firsthand.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-) Proudly F2P.Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
Well, poetic that a story called The Long Road is so long. But there is my story. Hope you enjoy.
I must say, having the Doff roster sure helps in naming backup crew members.
*******************************************
A Romulan Strike Team, Missing Farmers and an ancient base on a Klingon Border world. But what connects them? Find out in my First Foundary mission: 'The Jeroan Farmer Escapade'
When Klingons and Romulans have done that stuff...it hasn't been onscreen. Both of those species have been highly romanticized. The Cardassians, however, were right next door and we saw the truth unfettered. Remember the occupation of Krios? Or the use of the torturous mind-sifter interrogation device? The Klingons did that, but it was offscreen so that their romanticized image didn't suffer. I tend to think the Klingons are just as bad but for political reasons it was swept under the rug.
That's one reason I like the STO universe: the Feds and Klingons should be at war, if the Federation's principles are to actually mean anything. Not excused for political convenience.
The Cardassians, as was right, were held accountable. The Klingons--weren't. At all.
As far as the Romulans, while I suspect their mnhei'sahe means more than Klingon honor (they at least admit its capricious and contradictory nature), they have engaged in torture (LaForge is one example in the show) and in the game, it is even discovered that some in the Romulan Empire actually deliberately caused the Hobus supernova, which shouldn't count for less just because they murdered their own people and not Feds.
Per the examples above, I think it is demonstrable that the atrocities were better depicted and that the Cardassians were held more accountable for their crimes than any other species, the Klingons and Romulans have a LOT to answer for too, that they have not, because they were romanticized, whereas with the Cardassians we saw the brutal truth firsthand.
I can't think of any example of where Romlans or Klingons were either shown or implied to be rapists, but Cardassians frequently were. For example, O'Brien's line to Kira in Emissary: "You know what they do to their prisoners..." That said it all. The same goes for the abuse Ro suffered as a child. Yes, the Romulans tortured Geordi, but they did so to achieve a tactical objective. Cardassians murdered Ro's father in from of her for the lols... I think this is a subject we are simply going to have to agree to disagree on
I liked the idea of the Federation having peaceful relations with the Klingon Empire, as it showed that even historically implacable enemies can become allies. However, it showed inequality on both sides. Klingons, as discussed simply use 'honour' as a mask for their bullying behaviour (Drex and his boys harassing Morn, for example) equally, Picard was happy to call in favours from Gowron (who I never liked) when he needed something, but would then hide behind the Prime Directive and refuse to help Gowron when asked for assistance...
@grylak - Now THAT was an interest trick to save their collective bacons. Not Gorn bacon though I liked it, although I was challenged to keep up with the many characters. Then again, I was never good at Tom Clancy-level character numbers.
Mine's getting done, but be warned, I've found that there's no way I can do this without unleashing a LOT of background information. I am essentially writing Arkos' origin story, and given that he's a member of a made-up race/society, there may be quite a lot of explaining to do.
Mine's getting done, but be warned, I've found that there's no way I can do this without unleashing a LOT of background information. I am essentially writing Arkos' origin story, and given that he's a member of a made-up race/society, there may be quite a lot of explaining to do.
Awesome, I've loved everything you've written about Arkos and the Korda thus far, so I'm really looking forward to reading this :cool: I'm hoping to have mine done in the next 24 hours or so
Mine's getting done, but be warned, I've found that there's no way I can do this without unleashing a LOT of background information. I am essentially writing Arkos' origin story, and given that he's a member of a made-up race/society, there may be quite a lot of explaining to do.
Excellent. I've been looking forward to learning more about where he came from, and how he found his way into Starfleet.
@grylak - terrific story. You really pulled no punches with this one, and I love that.
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
So, here's my entry, finally. It was a bit of a challenge to write without devolving into a long, long column of backstory, but that was something I just couldn't avoid. I wanted to add more in the end about Arkos' first encounter with Starfleet, but I (1) didn't want to drive myself crazy over this, and (2) felt that this was a very good ending point anyway.
So, here's my entry, finally. It was a bit of a challenge to write without devolving into a long, long column of backstory, but that was something I just couldn't avoid. I wanted to add more in the end about Arkos' first encounter with Starfleet, but I (1) didn't want to drive myself crazy over this, and (2) felt that this was a very good ending point anyway.
So, here's my entry, finally. It was a bit of a challenge to write without devolving into a long, long column of backstory, but that was something I just couldn't avoid. I wanted to add more in the end about Arkos' first encounter with Starfleet, but I (1) didn't want to drive myself crazy over this, and (2) felt that this was a very good ending point anyway.
That was really beautiful.
The backstory passage wasn't overlong, and it felt like a really appropriate way to depict exactly where Arkos came from.
I also very much enjoyed the way you depicted his frustration at not understanding how anything really worked on the shuttle - it really sets up his future career as a Starfleet engineer very well.
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
I thought you chose an appropriate point to end it, too. That worked out very well.
It's a shame no one on Korda was able to adopt a balanced view like what my Alyosha does: recognizing science and faith as complementary.
One wonders if in other enclaves, the Apologists were the ones to become violent instead. Does Arkos really think that only the Chastised are capable of such acts? Knowing how things have played out on other worlds, I would imagine that such capacity is in everyone.
For instance, I would expect that as severely polarized as Korda is depicted as having become, both sides would be lining up to kill someone who expressed views like Alyosha's: one to kill him as an apostate, and the other side to kill him as a "mentally deficient" fool...a social virus or rabid individual that needs to be put down before contaminating the rest. A "reconciler" would not live long, I don't imagine.
I wonder, how will Arkos learn to cope with different beings who have different views? He'll have to in order to go to Starfleet Academy and rank up. At least, one hopes this is the case and that the Federation is not repressive of diverse views. It could be interesting to see how that happens. Have we ever seen his Academy days?
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-) Proudly F2P.Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
The backstory passage wasn't overlong, and it felt like a really appropriate way to depict exactly where Arkos came from.
I also very much enjoyed the way you depicted his frustration at not understanding how anything really worked on the shuttle - it really sets up his future career as a Starfleet engineer very well.
Glad you liked it! Admittedly, I was trying to emphasize Arkos' beginnings as an engineer through his interest in building/assembling things as a child, and the fact that his adoptive uncle was an engineer before his society's collapse. But yes, it was a conscious effort on my part to make the shuttle and it's technology strange, foreign and confusing to Arkos-- he grew up, after all, in a society that was the equivalent of Victorian England, technology-wise.
I thought you chose an appropriate point to end it, too. That worked out very well.
It's a shame no one on Korda was able to adopt a balanced view like what my Alyosha does: recognizing science and faith as complementary.
One wonders if in other enclaves, the Apologists were the ones to become violent instead. Does Arkos really think that only the Chastised are capable of such acts? Knowing how things have played out on other worlds, I would imagine that such capacity is in everyone.
For instance, I would expect that as severely polarized as Korda is depicted as having become, both sides would be lining up to kill someone who expressed views like Alyosha's: one to kill him as an apostate, and the other side to kill him as a "mentally deficient" fool...a social virus or rabid individual that needs to be put down before contaminating the rest. A "reconciler" would not live long, I don't imagine.
I wonder, how will Arkos learn to cope with different beings who have different views? He'll have to in order to go to Starfleet Academy and rank up. At least, one hopes this is the case and that the Federation is not repressive of diverse views. It could be interesting to see how that happens. Have we ever seen his Academy days?
I have not yet written a story about Arkos in the Academy, but I'm tempted. He would definitely have had a problem, initially, with fellow cadets of a religious persuasion, and I think he would have had to learn the hard way that Starfleet emphasizes, and enforces, tolerance and respect for other people's beliefs.
As for the Korda and their polarized society...bear in mind that the entire story was told from the viewpoint of a very biased individual. Arkos would, naturally, see the Apologists only as victims and vilify the Chastised, though as you pointed out, the truth of the matter is probaby much more complicated. I will probably revisit the Korda and their homeworld at some point in a future LC, and if I do, I'll probably explore more viewpoints on the conflict than just Arkos'. Whether or not there will ever be any reconciliation between the Apologists and Chastised is still something I'm debating on, though I would imagine that it would take some sort of drastic, external threat for them to put their differences aside.
(Incidentally, I'm also tempted now to write a full profile of the Korda and their society, just as marcusdkane did with the Pentaxians.)
Glad you all liked it! I'll post some reviews of other people's stories soonish.
ut yes, it was a conscious effort on my part to make the shuttle and it's technology strange, foreign and confusing to Arkos-- he grew up, after all, in a society that was the equivalent of Victorian England, technology-wise.
I'm not sure why I had started picturing something closer to medieval society. I think that species profile would be excellent.
I have not yet written a story about Arkos in the Academy, but I'm tempted. He would definitely have had a problem, initially, with fellow cadets of a religious persuasion, and I think he would have had to learn the hard way that Starfleet emphasizes, and enforces, tolerance and respect for other people's beliefs.
What year did Arkos leave Korda? By "four years ago," did you mean 2405, or something else?
It occurred to me that if it was 2405, it would be possible for him to meet Alyosha when Alyosha way outranks him. Which might prevent such a meeting from blowing out of control in a way that could be hurtful to us if we were to co-author: Alyosha being a superior officer might limit the extent of it. A cadet, for instance, might not speak to a commander the same way two captains would speak to each other, even with the same sharp disagreement.
I would not, however, cause Alyosha to put Arkos on report without permission, though. Even though any form of discrimination or bigotry is a huge hot button for Alyosha (one he's even snapped at people in the middle of battle for).
As for the Korda and their polarized society...bear in mind that the entire story was told from the viewpoint of a very biased individual. Arkos would, naturally, see the Apologists only as victims and vilify the Chastised, though as you pointed out, the truth of the matter is probaby much more complicated.
Things do tend to be that way in most circumstances.
I will probably revisit the Korda and their homeworld at some point in a future LC, and if I do, I'll probably explore more viewpoints on the conflict than just Arkos'. Whether or not there will ever be any reconciliation between the Apologists and Chastised is still something I'm debating on, though I would imagine that it would take some sort of drastic, external threat for them to put their differences aside.
Oh...by "reconcilers," I didn't mean that the Apologists and Chastised would reconcile. I was referring to people who would fit neither category, and would thus be reviled by both and possibly killed for it since no one would have them. A society so polarized would be likely to do that to moderate voices, I suspect.
(Incidentally, I'm also tempted now to write a full profile of the Korda and their society, just as marcusdkane did with the Pentaxians.)
That would be very interesting.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-) Proudly F2P.Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
Comments
Really? I think that Cardassians got the most well-rounded treatment of any species, including the Klingons and Romulans. Despite the incredibly oppressive government, we got MANY undisputed depictions of good people of principle willing to oppose the system.
Clearcut cases:
Tekeny Ghemor (and fellow rebel, killed for his actions--Ari)
Natima Lang (and fellow rebels Hogue and Rekelen)
Gilora Rejal (and while we saw less of her, Ulani Belor seemed decent too)
Joret Dal
Aamin Marritza
Daro (clearly a thinking individual capable of feeing remorse for Cardassia's actions...even a short conversation made that clear)
Debatable:
Damar (though he had to be suitably punished first, by suffering after murdering Ziyal, and then having his family killed)
Tora Ziyal (hybrid--but some of her upbringing was by a slimeball Cardassian...yet she stayed true to who she was)
Kotan Pa'Dar, possibly. Willing to risk everything--throw away power (and likely, in that government, safety) to save his child. One suspects he would willingly accept exile to be with his child. (Debatable, though, since we don't know that much about him.)
Macet. IMHO Macet wanted peace and worked for it despite being constrained to lie about the military buildup by his orders. If you really watch that episode his restraint was incredible despite Picard's rampant and perhaps even deliberately provocative idiocy. This one VERY much depends on how you read the episode in question, though, and can be interpreted either way.
I daresay that even the list of clearcut good guys rivals if not beats the list we know of for Romulans and Klingons both. Might want to take that into consideration before singling the Cardassians out. Frankly, I think if you're going to go down that road with one Trek race, then Klingons have got to be treated as equally untrustworthy. Their "honor" is worth the toilet paper it's written on, and there are many betrayals and senseless, stupid acts to prove that fact. Yet the show treats it as though this is OK, but if Cardassians and Romulans do the same thing, it's BAD BAD BAD.
Yeah...I have strong feelings on the subject.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
Proudly F2P. Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
I've tried to treat my Cardassian characters - Mitiani and Sorbin Zain - as complex individuals without falling back on any stereotypes from the shows. They were both born a decade or so after the Dominion War and so they've never experienced the oppressive military regime that characterized their society throughout TNG and much of DS9. Sorbin, rather than the congenial smooth-talker that appeared to the norm, is a socially-awkward loner. And he's a scientist, which was traditionally a woman's field. Mitiani might be more than a little unbalanced. She definitely takes way too much joy in her work. (Her job on the Tiburon is to launch hugely destructive projectiles at enemy targets.) But she's otherwise a warm and caring person and she doesn't have a dishonest bone in her body.
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
But since I've written how the lives are lost, in addition to a bit of the after effects (this was a story I wanted to write anyway, so it's considerably longer than my previous LC's), copying it into word has resulted in it being 20 pages long.
There's no limit on how long these things can be, is there?
A Romulan Strike Team, Missing Farmers and an ancient base on a Klingon Border world. But what connects them? Find out in my First Foundary mission: 'The Jeroan Farmer Escapade'
hehehe.
I feel I failed my second one near the ending.
I wanted to go for this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh4WppuMdfk just watch from 5.20 onwards.
*makes a few quick edits*
Spelling errors? What spelling errors? :)
Seriously, though- thanks for pointing that out.
Well, considering how fragile the Risian Corvettes are, I don't see the Fedration putting them in many situations where they might have to stand and fight, rather than duck out the moment things got a little dangerous.
Thanks! Hopefully, I'll be able to find some time out of my college schedule to enter a few more of the LCs.
So will I ...
As a side note, I *finally* got a copy of the Orion "Book of Deep Knowledge" made by FASA from eBay ... I'm hoping to write a little better about Orions based on that material
I agree, Klingon 'honor' means absolutely nothing, and shifts depending upon who they are dealing with and how the wind is blowing (the Worf/Gowron dynamic, for example...) However, and this is a big however...
Klingons and Romulans have never been portrayed as occupying planets and TRIBBLE women, but Cardassians have been. In the DS-9 episode with Sisko's friend Cal Hudson, it was very clear that the Human prisoner had been abused, even though he claimed to have been well treated.
I would agree, that there certainly have been some very decent Cardassians. But, in their canonical portrayal, they stooped to lower depths than Klingons or Romulans ever did
Awesome :cool:
If we're doing teasers... My entry for this LC (in progress) will show Empress Ch'K'rr at her mercurial best/worst, and it will be very clear why Siri thought that getting the Mu'Naii delegation a diplomatic audience with her might teach them a lesson or two
Don't forget that she also has a HUGE crush on Jesu, bordering on obsession.
Not that I've found, and I routinely copy in 30+ page hunks of text from MS Word.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
When Klingons and Romulans have done that stuff...it hasn't been onscreen. Both of those species have been highly romanticized. The Cardassians, however, were right next door and we saw the truth unfettered. Remember the occupation of Krios? Or the use of the torturous mind-sifter interrogation device? The Klingons did that, but it was offscreen so that their romanticized image didn't suffer. I tend to think the Klingons are just as bad but for political reasons it was swept under the rug.
That's one reason I like the STO universe: the Feds and Klingons should be at war, if the Federation's principles are to actually mean anything. Not excused for political convenience.
The Cardassians, as was right, were held accountable. The Klingons--weren't. At all.
As far as the Romulans, while I suspect their mnhei'sahe means more than Klingon honor (they at least admit its capricious and contradictory nature), they have engaged in torture (LaForge is one example in the show) and in the game, it is even discovered that some in the Romulan Empire actually deliberately caused the Hobus supernova, which shouldn't count for less just because they murdered their own people and not Feds.
Per the examples above, I think it is demonstrable that the atrocities were better depicted and that the Cardassians were held more accountable for their crimes than any other species, the Klingons and Romulans have a LOT to answer for too, that they have not, because they were romanticized, whereas with the Cardassians we saw the brutal truth firsthand.
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I must say, having the Doff roster sure helps in naming backup crew members.
A Romulan Strike Team, Missing Farmers and an ancient base on a Klingon Border world. But what connects them? Find out in my First Foundary mission: 'The Jeroan Farmer Escapade'
I liked the idea of the Federation having peaceful relations with the Klingon Empire, as it showed that even historically implacable enemies can become allies. However, it showed inequality on both sides. Klingons, as discussed simply use 'honour' as a mask for their bullying behaviour (Drex and his boys harassing Morn, for example) equally, Picard was happy to call in favours from Gowron (who I never liked) when he needed something, but would then hide behind the Prime Directive and refuse to help Gowron when asked for assistance...
Shanking someone in the knee... Quality :cool:
Awesome, I've loved everything you've written about Arkos and the Korda thus far, so I'm really looking forward to reading this :cool: I'm hoping to have mine done in the next 24 hours or so
I look forward to your comments. :cool:
Excellent. I've been looking forward to learning more about where he came from, and how he found his way into Starfleet.
@grylak - terrific story. You really pulled no punches with this one, and I love that.
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
I think it was perfect :cool:
That was really beautiful.
The backstory passage wasn't overlong, and it felt like a really appropriate way to depict exactly where Arkos came from.
I also very much enjoyed the way you depicted his frustration at not understanding how anything really worked on the shuttle - it really sets up his future career as a Starfleet engineer very well.
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
It's a shame no one on Korda was able to adopt a balanced view like what my Alyosha does: recognizing science and faith as complementary.
One wonders if in other enclaves, the Apologists were the ones to become violent instead. Does Arkos really think that only the Chastised are capable of such acts? Knowing how things have played out on other worlds, I would imagine that such capacity is in everyone.
For instance, I would expect that as severely polarized as Korda is depicted as having become, both sides would be lining up to kill someone who expressed views like Alyosha's: one to kill him as an apostate, and the other side to kill him as a "mentally deficient" fool...a social virus or rabid individual that needs to be put down before contaminating the rest.
I wonder, how will Arkos learn to cope with different beings who have different views? He'll have to in order to go to Starfleet Academy and rank up. At least, one hopes this is the case and that the Federation is not repressive of diverse views. It could be interesting to see how that happens. Have we ever seen his Academy days?
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Thanks!
Glad you liked it! Admittedly, I was trying to emphasize Arkos' beginnings as an engineer through his interest in building/assembling things as a child, and the fact that his adoptive uncle was an engineer before his society's collapse. But yes, it was a conscious effort on my part to make the shuttle and it's technology strange, foreign and confusing to Arkos-- he grew up, after all, in a society that was the equivalent of Victorian England, technology-wise.
I have not yet written a story about Arkos in the Academy, but I'm tempted. He would definitely have had a problem, initially, with fellow cadets of a religious persuasion, and I think he would have had to learn the hard way that Starfleet emphasizes, and enforces, tolerance and respect for other people's beliefs.
As for the Korda and their polarized society...bear in mind that the entire story was told from the viewpoint of a very biased individual. Arkos would, naturally, see the Apologists only as victims and vilify the Chastised, though as you pointed out, the truth of the matter is probaby much more complicated. I will probably revisit the Korda and their homeworld at some point in a future LC, and if I do, I'll probably explore more viewpoints on the conflict than just Arkos'. Whether or not there will ever be any reconciliation between the Apologists and Chastised is still something I'm debating on, though I would imagine that it would take some sort of drastic, external threat for them to put their differences aside.
(Incidentally, I'm also tempted now to write a full profile of the Korda and their society, just as marcusdkane did with the Pentaxians.)
Glad you all liked it! I'll post some reviews of other people's stories soonish.
I'm not sure why I had started picturing something closer to medieval society. I think that species profile would be excellent.
What year did Arkos leave Korda? By "four years ago," did you mean 2405, or something else?
It occurred to me that if it was 2405, it would be possible for him to meet Alyosha when Alyosha way outranks him. Which might prevent such a meeting from blowing out of control in a way that could be hurtful to us if we were to co-author: Alyosha being a superior officer might limit the extent of it. A cadet, for instance, might not speak to a commander the same way two captains would speak to each other, even with the same sharp disagreement.
I would not, however, cause Alyosha to put Arkos on report without permission, though.
Things do tend to be that way in most circumstances.
Oh...by "reconcilers," I didn't mean that the Apologists and Chastised would reconcile. I was referring to people who would fit neither category, and would thus be reviled by both and possibly killed for it since no one would have them. A society so polarized would be likely to do that to moderate voices, I suspect.
That would be very interesting.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
Proudly F2P. Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.