December Challenge--Star Trek: DS9--"One Night On Terok Nor..."

[jespah]

I haven't read any of your work before, but I must say that I am very impressed by your story. You write beautifully, and the dialog and situations flow nicely from one set piece to another. I have seen a lot of fan fiction writers who don't do transitions or exposition well - you handle both ideally.

When reading the first part, I was getting a little impatient with all of the talk about comfort and sitting, etc., but in the context of the entire story, it does work. And it makes sense, that this is a rather reluctant patient (kinda makes me wonder why he is a patient at all - Garek as you are writing him seems almost like any human who doesn't believe in psychiatry/head shrinking/insert whatever pejorative you like) so his discomfort level is high and it dovetails directly into the issues he is having.

I also liked how you put together the name, to the slow realization that there was something important there, that the nagging feelings he was getting were his subconscious trying to tell him something.

Thank you for this story. It is quite the read.

This is going to be a difficult vote.

 

[Rush Limborg]

Thanks, jespah!

As far as why Garak agreed to being counseled in the first place...well, remember, this is something of a sequel to "Afterimage", where if it hadn't been for Ezri, Garak's claustrophobia could well have caused him to have a heart attack....

I suppose, reluctant or not, he understood his need for therapy. Still...he's his usual self, struggling to be in control of the narrative, as it were.

Glad you liked it!

 

[Enterprise1981]

I haven't been keeping up with the monthly challenges lately, but I'm still to be reading your stories, Rush. I can totally hear the voices of Garak and Dukat while reading their dialogue. For a while, I was beginning to think there was some measure of truth to one of his stories in "The Wire", but he still did disgrace Dukat even if none of those vivid details were true. And it does provide a defining moment for when he started using the implant, although I'm sure many other detainees died on his watch, so what was different about this one?

Of course, where Garak is concerned, we can't be certain all of it is true. But to him, every version of events is true. Especially the lies.

 

[Rush Limborg]

^Absolutely. Thanks, Enterprise!

As for how this event was different from other failures, as it were...I'd say, the fact that the man dies due to his exerting control over Garak (how humiliating!)--along with Dukat using this failure to effectively blame the end of the Occupation on Garak (at least in part)...things like that caused our tailor to become unable to bear the shame....

 

[Captain2395]

I'm not the biggest fan of Ezri but I think you're use of her character here is very good. I also think you've got Garak down to a tee. I like the interaction with Dukat. One of my favorite scenes from Way of the Warrior is when they are both fighting side by side to defend the Detapa Council. It's unfortunate there weren't more Garak/Dukat scenes on DS9.

Also the line "his heart wasn't in it". Is that a deliberate nod to Star Trek Generations?

 

[Admiral Shran]

Just finished reading - brilliant as always.

Your Ezri is top-notch, as usual, and you definitely have a firm grasp on Garak's character.

The one thing I'll point out that hasn't been talked about yet is that I loved, loved, loved the interactions between Dukat and Garak. Garak's time on Terok Nor under Dukat is something I would really enjoy reading more about - particularly the first meeting of the two after Garak's exile. Your "conversational" style would be ideal to show that scene.

 

[Rush Limborg]

I'm not the biggest fan of Ezri but I think you're use of her character here is very good. I also think you've got Garak down to a tee. I like the interaction with Dukat. One of my favorite scenes from Way of the Warrior is when they are both fighting side by side to defend the Detapa Council. It's unfortunate there weren't more Garak/Dukat scenes on DS9.

Also the line "his heart wasn't in it". Is that a deliberate nod to Star Trek Generations?

^I'd say so. Glad you liked it!

Also, as I said, the climax is a nod to "True Romance". Here's the scene--(WARNING: Language): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqccyUpnZwA

BTW...if you like my interpretation of Ezri--I strongly recommend my other tales! Most of them have Ezri as the central character. (A lot of them are under the "Captain Ezri Dax" label. The other is a DS9 tale entitled "The Cleanest Food To Find.")

Just finished reading - brilliant as always.

Your Ezri is top-notch, as usual, and you definitely have a firm grasp on Garak's character.

The one thing I'll point out that hasn't been talked about yet is that I loved, loved, loved the interactions between Dukat and Garak. Garak's time on Terok Nor under Dukat is something I would really enjoy reading more about - particularly the first meeting of the two after Garak's exile. Your "conversational" style would be ideal to show that scene.

Glad you loved it! I had a lot of fun writing those scenes.

Although...whether I might do such an encounter or not all depends on whether or not TrekLit's already tackled it. (Mind you, I haven't yet read the Garak book A Stitch In Time...though I have it. I read up on Memory Beta....)


Thanks for reading!

 

[Sandoval]

It's very good. A solid, interesting piece of work.

Deserves to win this month's contest in my opinion.

 

[Rush Limborg]

Wow--thank you, Sandoval!

 

[Sandoval]

Wow--thank you, Sandoval!

Call it as I see it.

 

[The Badger]

Another great character piece. Like almost everyone else has said, I could really hear the lines being said, you have a knack for convincing dialogue. And it convincingly gets into Garak's psyche.

Only drawback: counsellors don't have patients, they have clients!

 

[Rush Limborg]

Another great character piece. Like almost everyone else has said, I could really hear the lines being said, you have a knack for convincing dialogue. And it convincingly gets into Garak's psyche.

Thanks, Badger!

Only drawback: counsellors don't have patients, they have clients!

I know...I actually had Garak refer to his Bajoran customer as "a potential client" for Ezri, in reference to that.

But, of course, Deanna Troi kinda established in "Tin Man" that the 24th-Century terminology is "patient", so...I'm kinda standing by that.

 

[Saito S]

I must say, it was indeed a good read. Captured both Garak and Ezri well (and Dukat for that matter; I especially liked their first interaction, and how through all his characteristic grandstanding, Dukat's attempts to dominate the conversations with Garak never really succeeded). Writing pre-existing characters is something I almost never do myself, but you clearly have a good grasp on doing so.

 

[Rush Limborg]

Thanks, Saito!