Passing Muster

pwgegnre · February 2016

General Vosk addressed the assembled Na’kuhl. "You represent the best of our most elite forces, for a mission that could mean the salvation of our people!"

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highlord83 · February 2016

I find myself having little sympathy for fanatics.

questerius · February 2016

highlord83 wrote: »

I find myself having little sympathy for fanatics.

I find it difficult to sympathize with any (alien) species which was wearing a TRIBBLE uniform when first introduced.

risian4 · February 2016

Look at how they swallowed up the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic!
They’re little more than vassal states now to their Federation kings!

I'm happy now, reading this

schloopdoo · February 2016

Stories that humanize an enemy always make for fascinating reading.

It's starting to sound an awful lot as if players who are having trouble with those destroyers now will have plenty of practice to look forward to in the next reputation grind...:D

sisteric · February 2016

The literary lines drawn to the TRIBBLE Movement is not very subtle. Nor am I happy that the Na'kuhl are depicted in such fanatical light makes them more one dimensional than they really should be. I would like to know more about why they see these strings and what, culturally, drives them to take such dim views of all other races.

noblehouse · February 2016

"he is a grown Na'kuhl" is analogous to, say, "he is a grown Canadian", which is silly. Why Star Trek always carelessly conflates nationality with race despite equal efforts to the contrary is a genuine mystery. And how anybody could think humans control the Federation when the president is a lizard on two legs.... How the so-called "Romulan" Republic or "Klingon" Empire or "Cardassian" Union or "Na'kuhl" whatever, aren't denounced as the actual racists, I have no idea. $:\$

highlord83 · February 2016

noblehouse#4574 wrote: »

"he is a grown Na'kuhl" is analogous to, say, "he is a grown Canadian", which is silly. Why Star Trek always carelessly conflates nationality with race despite equal efforts to the contrary is a genuine mystery. And how anybody could think humans control the Federation when the president is a lizard on two legs.... How the so-called "Romulan" Republic or "Klingon" Empire or "Cardassian" Union or "Na'kuhl" whatever, aren't denounced as the actual racists, I have no idea. $:\$

Star Trek takes "planet of hats" to extremes. One of the worst is actually the humans, always shown as optimistic, forward-thinking, accepting, multifaceted geniuses with a perfect society, no military, and devoted to learning.

It's part of what has always made me call Trek science fantasy, rather than science fiction.

schloopdoo wrote: »

Stories that humanize an enemy always make for fascinating reading.

The Na'huhl at the center of the story here is one of the guys that goes back in time to empower Hitler's regime. He's beyond redemption.

vengefuldjinn · February 2016

highlord83 wrote: »

Star Trek takes "planet of hats" to extremes. One of the worst is actually the humans, always shown as optimistic, forward-thinking, accepting, multifaceted geniuses with a perfect society, no military, and devoted to learning.

Cant say that I agree with you entirely. Two words Section 31, The Federation has it's own xenophobic fanatics too.

I'm sorry, I just re-read your post, "no military"? The Defiant would like a word with you. For a society with no military, they certainly are well armed.

"Geniuses" ? WAT ?! You're obviously not familiar with Voyager, or a character by the name of Janeway...

(I kidd)

dirlettia · February 2016

They watched us become refugees, scattered amongst the stars. They let the Ferengi prey on us. They graciously allowed us to be subjugated by the Klingons and the Cardassians.

So we get them in the KDF soon then as a micro-faction? (and maybe Fed when they add in the cardassians)

antonine3258 · February 2016

Well, this one's kind of depressing. Seems we really just can't help the Na'kuhl properly down through the ages, it seems.

Well written though.

unotetsu · February 2016

Reminds me of a musical...

" It's Sringtime for Vosk-ler and Nakul-any! "

so who is to blame for the Enterprise and the temporal cold war? Get a mirror because you are not going to like who it is.......

Yes, YOU, the player are to blame for all the Temporal Cold War Shenanigans, see episode: STO:Butterfly

vengefuldjinn · February 2016

unotetsu wrote: »

Reminds me of a musical...

" It's Sringtime for Vosk-ler and Nakul-any! "

" We're marching to a faster pace, Look out, here comes the master race...." lol I LOVE Mel Brooks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmYIo7bcUw

velqua · February 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1fMvLbE85E

oldravenman3025 · February 2016

So, this kid is gonna be one of the N@zi Na'kuhl from that Enterprise two-parter "Stormfront", eh?

EDIT: This blasted overzealous censortron is getting real damned annoying, really damned quick.

johnnymo1 · February 2016

So the way to fix all of this is to travel back in time a few thousand years to before the Tholians were doing much and kill them all, blow up their planet, exterminate all traces of life in their solar system and then grant it to one of the side-kick races of the federation?
I like the dev blog, I like seeing the flip side of the story, I now may feel bad when in a mission I make sure it was a one way journey for these troops being sent to attack the federation and the other factions that seem to have joined them by that time.

captainhunter1 · February 2016

velqua wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1fMvLbE85E

"Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it"

Terrific video. Chaplin was a genius and great humanitarian.

markhawkman · February 2016

sisteric wrote: »

The literary lines drawn to the TRIBBLE Movement is not very subtle. Nor am I happy that the Na'kuhl are depicted in such fanatical light makes them more one dimensional than they really should be. I would like to know more about why they see these strings and what, culturally, drives them to take such dim views of all other races.

Well, think of it.... How did Vosk rise to power in the Na'kuhl? We know from the TV show that he did, the question is how? Apparently, many of the other Na'kuhl agreed with his plans. Leaders may be exceptional people, but they always represent their people in some way.

vengefuldjinn · February 2016

I just got a vision from the prophets, they told me a Na'kuhl lockbox was incoming.

megawolf0 · February 2016

Somehow, I'm glad Archer stopped him. If I could I would've shook Archers hand at a job well done.

vengefuldjinn · February 2016

The thing I'm having trouble wrapping my head around is, why the Na'kuhl would appose a temporal prime directive, something those temporal accords were sorta about.

If successful, wouldn't it have stopped Kal Dano, who would be bound to abide by them, and stop him from traveling back in time with the taux utat, preventing the Tholians from getting the bloody thing in the first place?

Also, why wouldn't Captain Walker and the Pastak try to stop Kal ? I know Kal is from a point later in the timeline, perhaps from a point where the Federation doesn't exist, (was Kal even a part of the Federation?) but wouldn't they at least try to reason with him, knowing what they know?

It just seems to me that by sitting back and doing nothing, the federation may have helped create the time traveling, vengeful Na'kuhl situation in the first place. Maybe that's where the Na'kuhl are coming from when they blame the Federation no?

I'm getting a Janeway sized headache

shadowfirefly00 · February 2016

schloopdoo wrote: »

Stories that humanize an enemy always make for fascinating reading.

Indeed they are, sir. And similarly welcome are bits of lore left on datapads, et cetera that players can find if they look around. Hopefully the writers on the episodes proper build on this and do not make the mistake of 'one-dimensionalizing' the Na'khul.[/quote]

It's starting to sound an awful lot as if players who are having trouble with those destroyers now will have plenty of practice to look forward to in the next reputation grind...:D

And it is entirely possible they will also find their way onto the roster of 'foreign' ships which can be, shall we say, acquired for technical evaluation.

stobg2015 · February 2016

There are a bunch of formatting problems with the text of that blog making it harder to read the dialogue naturally.

It's interesting to see how outsiders view the dealings of the Federation with the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic in the future. You have to stop and wonder how much of that "Federation kings" is propaganda and how much is a measure of truth in that future timeline.

It's also a rather chilling portrayal of an embittered young man falling under the influence of a megalomaniac terrorist, given parallels to current events. Which would have been far more effective if Bragg didn't read so much like a child and the sudden placid acceptance of his father.

"Sure, son, go off on a suicide mission for a madman with my blessing. We'll miss you, son. Here, have a nice big slice of verdrat."

I realize that the blog format doesn't give much room for niceties like characterization and subtlety. I like how you tried to frame the scene in the young man's family life. The dialogue just feels a bit too simplistic and pat for the subject matter. The father's acceptance didn't need to be quite so unconditional and I can't imagine that he would not try a gentle approach to convince his son to change his mind given his obvious opposition to Vosk's ideology.

It also seems odd that both of Bragg's parents have such a balanced view of the Federation and the history of their dealings with the Na'khul hundreds of years later when every other Na'khul we encounter is angry and firmly indoctrinated into the same kind of rhetoric Vosk is blamed for promoting. The father's views are clearly not shared by the majority, but we don't get much sense that he's unusually well-informed and tolerant for a Na'khul.

velqua · February 2016

So this is Braag...and family...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN7r0Rr1Qyc

rattler2 · February 2016

stobg2015 wrote: »

It also seems odd that both of Bragg's parents have such a balanced view of the Federation and the history of their dealings with the Na'khul hundreds of years later when every other Na'khul we encounter is angry and firmly indoctrinated into the same kind of rhetoric Vosk is blamed for promoting. The father's views are clearly not shared by the majority, but we don't get much sense that he's unusually well-informed and tolerant for a Na'khul.

I figure its just like things here. Not everyone believes in an ideology. Operation Valkyrie back in WW2 is a prime example. A plot to kill Hitler... by German Officers. They knew that Hitler was bad news for their country and tried to end it to save Germany. If the plot had succeeded, we may not have had to go inter Berlin at all, let alone end up with the standoff between the Allies and the Soviets and the construction of the Berlin Wall.

Anyways... we know how Vosk's plan works out in the end. Owned by a 22nd Century NX class starship.

psycoticvulcan · February 2016

highlord83 wrote: »

The Na'huhl at the center of the story here is one of the guys that goes back in time to empower Hitler's regime. He's beyond redemption.

The Na'Kuhl didn't empower the TRIBBLE, they just exploited them to build the temporal conduit. Remember, Vosk kept refusing to actually deliver the advanced technology he'd promised because he didn't trust his "allies".

sador · February 2016

sisteric wrote: »

The literary lines drawn to the TRIBBLE Movement is not very subtle. Nor am I happy that the Na'kuhl are depicted in such fanatical light makes them more one dimensional than they really should be. I would like to know more about why they see these strings and what, culturally, drives them to take such dim views of all other races.

Here's the thing, this particular story isn't the place for such navel gazing. Some people really are as bad as their press and reputations suggestion.

In this case, Vosk and his sycophants are the literal 30th century equivalent to the National Socialist German Na'Khul Workers' Party, they have used propaganda and misinformation to stir up a frenzy of hatred and distrust for any who are not Na'khul to further their ends of...stuff. They cannot in any meaningful or morally acceptable way be redeemed or explained. They are as they appear, evil, racist extremists who will kill anyone they deem to be unacceptable in their world view.

Insofar as the "planet of hats" approach to story telling goes regarding the alien races in Star Trek; each "race" on Star Trek is less an actual people with their own history and culture and more a device or analogue to something more contemporary. In TOS for example, the Klingons weren't a "Proud, Honor bound Warriors with a strong religion focusing on the worship of the demigod Kah'less.", they were a stand in for the Soviet Union. That's why most aliens in Star Trek are presented as a monoculture. It's taken 50 years of story telling and revision to move the Klingons from Space Soviets to Proud Warrior Guy's with a Rich Culture. You can't expect a "throw away" one off group from a single episode, who were presented as Space TRIBBLE in that episode, to appear as any other than Space TRIBBLE in a story that takes place that day before they left to go be in the one episode where they appeared.

thetanine · February 2016

pwgegnre wrote: »

General Vosk addressed the assembled Na’kuhl. "You represent the best of our most elite forces, for a mission that could mean the salvation of our people!"

Check out our latest blog by Jaddua Ross!

HE GEM OH KNEE! I love that word. Thank You!

thetanine · February 2016

sador wrote: »

sisteric wrote: »

The literary lines drawn to the TRIBBLE Movement is not very subtle. Nor am I happy that the Na'kuhl are depicted in such fanatical light makes them more one dimensional than they really should be. I would like to know more about why they see these strings and what, culturally, drives them to take such dim views of all other races.

Here's the thing, this particular story isn't the place for such navel gazing. Some people really are as bad as their press and reputations suggestion.

In this case, Vosk and his sycophants are the literal 30th century equivalent to the National Socialist German Na'Khul Workers' Party, they have used propaganda and misinformation to stir up a frenzy of hatred and distrust for any who are not Na'khul to further their ends of...stuff. They cannot in any meaningful or morally acceptable way be redeemed or explained. They are as they appear, evil, racist extremists who will kill anyone they deem to be unacceptable in their world view.

Insofar as the "planet of hats" approach to story telling goes regarding the alien races in Star Trek; each "race" on Star Trek is less an actual people with their own history and culture and more a device or analogue to something more contemporary. In TOS for example, the Klingons weren't a "Proud, Honor bound Warriors with a strong religion focusing on the worship of the demigod Kah'less.", they were a stand in for the Soviet Union. That's why most aliens in Star Trek are presented as a monoculture. It's taken 50 years of story telling and revision to move the Klingons from Space Soviets to Proud Warrior Guy's with a Rich Culture. You can't expect a "throw away" one off group from a single episode, who were presented as Space TRIBBLE in that episode, to appear as any other than Space TRIBBLE in a story that takes place that day before they left to go be in the one episode where they appeared.

You said all that and did not make the connection of the Na'Khul to Middle Eastern Terrorist ISIL/ISUL who are chopping the heads off of Christians every chance they get. Just like Hitler's quest to kill all Jews.

thetanine · February 2016

velqua wrote: »

So this is Braag...and family...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN7r0Rr1Qyc

Yes, the Hitler Youth of Germany. How sad. Terribly sad.

kelettes · February 2016

I agree that the extinguishment of the Na'kuhl star was a tragedy, and since we don't know the history that leads up to Vosk's travel back to WWII, I'm okay...-ish, if they blame the Federation in the far future for it's treatment of the refugees.

But:

The Na'kuhl in the present slapping a helping hand doesn't sit well with me. For stars' sake, Kal Dano made that device in the future to save his world, and he already paid the price!

Plus, it was the Tholians who were messing with it.

Can't we just drill through their thick skull, get them to see that we know what a terrible blow it was, and move forward together? The Republic found a new homeworld, I'm sure we could spare a few scouts / survey ships to help the Na'kuhl.

We are all supposed to be exploring anyway ^^

Passing Muster

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