Ferengi to the rescue!

[Mike Have-Not]

I have to admit, that while watching "WYLB" on it's first airing, that I half expected a fleet of Ferengi Marauders to show up to break the stalemate between the Allied Fleet and the Dominion blockade around Cardassia.

After all, Rom had just been named Grand Nagus in the previous episode, and he proved himself on numerous occasions to be a Federation sympathizer.

But, I think the way the writers actually resolved the situation was a little better.

It got me to thinking, though, about how the Ferengi military was all but forgotten in the world of DS9...

 

[Kegek]

It's a good point. While Ferengi Marauders appeared frequently on TNG - and even once on VOY - they, and the Ferengi military led by DaiMons who controlled them, never, ever appeared on DS9. Even when their absence was conspicuous - like in 'The Magnificent Ferengi', where a bunch of businessmen in a shuttlecraft attempt a rescue.

Still, it would have been nice to see the Ferengi appear at the turn of the tide. A massive Breen warship hangs overhead and is then blown out of the sky by Rom's flagship... Like the Enterprise-E, one of those nice things you'd want to see that you never did.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

I've always thought that Jake and Nog's mission in "Valiant" should have been followed up on. It certainly would have been a better use for Zek and Brunt than "The Emperor's New Cloak". It might have been interesting to have Brunt be the one that wanted to enter the War while Zek steadfastly refused.

 

[Mike Have-Not]

And I bet the calculations and projections of Bashir and his genetically enhanced misfits never would have foreseen the FERENGI getting involved in the war... Unless they somehow could've guessed that Zek would name Rom as his successor. Seems unlikely...

 

[Timo]

Do the Ferengi really have a military, though?

While they have combat vessels, or at least vessels capable of command, these might be run by corporations that only show token loyalty to the Ferengi government. For them to act jointly against a military threat, the Nagus might have to cought up some serious dough.

For my part, I think the Ferengi contributed more than just warships. They were the only reliable information channel across the wormhole between "Jem'Hadar" and "Sacrifice of Angels"; they maintained contact with Dominion members after the two sides had shut down all official discourse; and, for a suitable price, they no doubt would have contributed to intelligence-gathering operations in the Alpha quadrant after the wormhole was rendered intraversible.

Their neutrality and previous track record may even have allowed them to continue dealing with Cardassia (commercially at least, with specific Cardassian players) after the Union joined the Dominion. Now that would be a coup.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Ezri]

In my judgement, it would be strange to see a Ferengi warship. The point of the Ferengi on DS9 was Quark and his way to make a profit at all cost. Having a warship around Ds9 from time to time would be strange.

 

[Stormrage]

I personally like the evil,greedy ferengis who would betray anyone for some profit over militaristic ferengis. I laughed when I heard Battle of Prexnak. 10 Ferengi ships vs 273 Alien ships.

 

[Mike Have-Not]

Timo said:
Do the Ferengi really have a military, though?

While they have combat vessels, or at least vessels capable of command, these might be run by corporations that only show token loyalty to the Ferengi government. For them to act jointly against a military threat, the Nagus might have to cought up some serious dough.

For my part, I think the Ferengi contributed more than just warships. They were the only reliable information channel across the wormhole between "Jem'Hadar" and "Sacrifice of Angels"; they maintained contact with Dominion members after the two sides had shut down all official discourse; and, for a suitable price, they no doubt would have contributed to intelligence-gathering operations in the Alpha quadrant after the wormhole was rendered intraversible.

Their neutrality and previous track record may even have allowed them to continue dealing with Cardassia (commercially at least, with specific Cardassian players) after the Union joined the Dominion. Now that would be a coup.

Timo Saloniemi

Yes, I think it is HIGHLY likely that the Ferengi have a "privatized" military. Makes perfect sense...

 

[AdmiralGarak]

The Ferengi MUST have a military. Ferenginar is the economic capital of the Quadrant. If they had no standing defense force loyal to the government, then raiding aliens would have already sacked and looted their worlds. There's little reason for them to build thousands of ships like the Ferderation, but they need enough to patrol and defend against marauders and invaders.

 

[Stormrage]

They could be safe because they trade so heavily. They must have links to almost every major species in the galaxy and if something happens to them the trading partners get affected. For example Saudia Arabia and Kuwait. They are a dictatorship that only exists because UK and USA is protecting them.

 

[Braxton]

Seeing the Ferengi enter the war would have been interesting, however I have to say that seeing the Tholians and/or the Gorn (or both) enter the war on the side of the Allies would have been a lot more interesting. Although for them to enter the war something would have to have been done to force them to enter the war. Something like the Dominion attacking Romulus, thus breaking the Non-Aggression Pact they had. For this to be believable, they would have to show that the Dominion had managed to build a massive fleet, this would be a good place to bring in the Breen too by saying they've been working together for over a year, of course drop hints that they've been working on building a massive fleet. They unleash their wrath on the Romulans, the Federation, and the Klingons, with Romulus being reduced to rubble (much worse than the attack on Earth obviously). This causes the Tholians and/or the Gorn to do an about-face and attack the Dominion, fearing that once the 'big 3' are gone, they'd be next.

That's just a dream. Would have been exciting as I'm sure they'd have done it better.

The Ferengi would certainly have been interesting but not really a surprise, especially once Rom became Nagus. Zek would have had to be the one to bring the Ferengi into the war in order for it to be a surprise, Rom would have been a no-brainer had they actually brought them into the war.