DS9 Season 10, ep 10x20 - "In the Stars" (part 1 of 3)

[Wally]

lvsxy808 wrote:

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I've been very nervous that any revelations in PoN might completely ruin my stories. I think I've been lucky so far (and no, I still haven't read it yet). I definitely used aspects of RBoE and ZSG to inform my stories, and in other cases willfully ignored a couple of minor details because they did contradict what I wanted to do.

Timing-wise, this season has taken a year, as ST seasons usually do. But since I made the existing novels into two seasons (as opposed to the one year that they supposedly took in the original story) we are three years after the end of the war. That places us just at the beginning of the Time to series, one year before Nemesis, and two years before Destiny. Dax gets command of the Aventine immediately before Destiny.

And that's an interesting question about Taran'atar. To my knowledge the novels haven't come back to him except for a passing mention in ZSG, so it's definitely an open question. I did write a line for Vaughn when I was adapting Warpath, along the lines of "Jem’Hadar don’t get weaker with age. They just get stronger, and faster, and smarter." But that doesn't rule out something interesting and unexpected happening. I was trying to play with that a little bit with the L'Haan-katra thread earlier in my season - not in physical terms but mental ones, as if to say, maybe this is just what happens when a Jem'Hadar gets as old as you, he starts to lose his mind.

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So far it looks like PoN, hasn't explicitly contradicted anything, with the possible exception of the new DS9 crew revealed. Most you can guess, but there are a few entirely new faces.

But mostly, details are mentioned off handed that can be taken many ways. Take for instance Taran'atar (no real spoiler here, since it is so vague). He is mentioned only once and the way it comes off, he could have either gone his own way and left, or died in a blaze of glory or whatever. Many options to choose from.

So, timing wise it sounds like we are still 1 year away from Dax transfering to Aventine as 2nd officer I take? Personally, I'm a little anxious for this. More than most any of the main characters, she feels like a fifth wheel at the moment.
I truly am excited for when the time comes an Vaugh takes command and Ro is the XO. Ro really has been put through the ringer lately. I think only someone with Vaughn's influence could let that happen, what with her history and if her addiction becomes publicly known. Starfleet might have something to say about that.

About Taran'atar. It really is uncharted territory. He is the oldest Jem'Hadar, supposedly by far. And he has broken free of his genetic programming. There is no precedent for this in his species. I doubt the Founders when making the Jem'Hadar bothered to plot out their full life cycle, only focusing on them being lethal and obedient as soon as possible. Maybe he can become even faster, stronger, more lethal- maybe even develop new abilities.
It would also be interesting to see his abilities decline, and be forced to rely on his experience. He can become the Vaughn of the Jem'Hadar, so to speak. Or he could simply start having the Jem'Hadar version of Alzheimer's or the like. So many possibilties. It's untapped potential, like what could have happened with Kes on Voyager.

[Ln X]

Wally wrote:

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I truly am excited for when the time comes an Vaugh takes command and Ro is the XO.

So what happened to Kira (in the latest DS9R stories)? Did she die or what? What about Odo, he is still running the Dominion?

[lvsxy808]

Wally wrote:

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So, timing wise it sounds like we are still 1 year away from Dax transfering to Aventine as 2nd officer I take? Personally, I'm a little anxious for this. More than most any of the main characters, she feels like a fifth wheel at the moment.

Yeah, I get that. It's not time for her to go to the Aventine yet, but she can't just hang about on DS9 forever twiddling her thumbs. But at least she knows it. I don't mind when characters acknowledge their own story problems. I would have liked Voyager a lot more if Chakotay had actually said "Hey, you know what? I guess I am a useless seatwarmer. Maybe I should do something about that."

Wally wrote:

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It would also be interesting to see his abilities decline, and be forced to rely on his experience. He can become the Vaughn of the Jem'Hadar, so to speak.

I thought that was a nice counterpoint in Warpath that could have been explicated a little more - the oldest Jem'Hadar versus the oldest human. Who wins? They would probably have a strange respect for each other in that way.

Ln X wrote:

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So what happened to Kira (in the latest DS9R stories)? Did she die or what? What about Odo, he is still running the Dominion?

Again, not got Plagues of Night yet (it's on order though), but I've read Rough Beasts and that says that Kira resigned from Starfleet and joined the church. The specific circumstances were not revealed at the time. And I don't remember any exposition regarding Odo and/or the Dominion at all, but based on some people's assumptions about the cover of the next book Raise the Dawn, some news may be coming on that point.

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[Ln X]

lvsxy808 wrote:

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Again, not got Plagues of Night yet (it's on order though), but I've read Rough Beasts and that says that Kira resigned from Starfleet and joined the church. The specific circumstances were not revealed at the time. And I don't remember any exposition regarding Odo and/or the Dominion at all, but based on some people's assumptions about the cover of the next book Raise the Dawn, some news may be coming on that point.

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Saw the cover for Raise the Dawn. No more DS9 station?
Anyway, so Kira becomes a monk or does she spend the rest of her days in a monastery?

[lvsxy808]

She apparently joins as one of the lower ranks - ranjen, prylar, not sure of the difference really - but by the time of RBoE has already become a full vedek. When Sisko questions the speed of such a progression, she says that she thinks the Assembly took her time as the friend and assistant of the Emissary into account as "time already served."

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[Ln X]

lvsxy808 wrote:

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She apparently joins as one of the lower ranks - ranjen, prylar, not sure of the difference really - but by the time of RBoE has already become a full vedek. When Sisko questions the speed of such a progression, she says that she thinks the Assembly took her time as the friend and assistant of the Emissary into account as "time already served."

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A vedek? I know Kira is religious, but it struck me that she fancied a family some time. I'm thinking of that time when she was babysitting the O'Brien's son and she said something about wanting a child of her own.

[lvsxy808]

Well, Bajoran religious figures aren't required to be celibate or unmarried or even particularly restrained. We know Opaka had a family, and Bareil was certainly sexually active. The one doesn't necessarily preclude the other. I just think Kira has other things on her mind right now.

What I found unusual about that development was that I was under the impression that Vedek was a title like Bishop - a senior priest who actually led a congregation. Bareil and Winn both referred to their Orders, as if referring to different denominations that had different interpretations of the prophecies within the larger church. That doesn't strike me as the kind of thing Kira would be interested in. As religious as she is, she doesn't actively preach, she just believes. I can't really see her at the front of the shrine actually leading the service.

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[Ln X]

lvsxy808 wrote:

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Well, Bajoran religious figures aren't required to be celibate or unmarried or even particularly restrained.

As religious as she is, she doesn't actively preach, she just believes. I can't really see her at the front of the shrine actually leading the service.

On second thoughts Kira becoming involved in one of Bajor's religious orders makes sense. But you are right about your last point. From her discussion with Kai Winn (where Winn admitted she had a vision from the Pah Wraiths) I thought Kira was deeply spiritual but reluctant to tell others how to believe in the Prophets. So Kira being a vedek? Being a vedek implies a position of power and I personally thought Kira was a rather humble person and quite selfless. Kira and politics do not mix!

[Ln X]

lvsxy808 wrote:

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Well, Bajoran religious figures aren't required to be celibate or unmarried or even particularly restrained. We know Opaka had a family, and Bareil was certainly sexually active.

Crikey! I sort of forget Opaka had a family!