Deep Space Nine Relaunch

[Mark]

I spent a half hour looking up the first of the DS9 relaunch novels and ended up downloading abouut 6 or 8 of them. I'm half excited about this, because I fell in love with the new characters, and some of the new storyline.

Any other fans?

[SolkaTruesilver]

- Avatar: Pretty good
- Lives of Dax: some stories are downright boring, but a few rise the interest
- Abyss: Very good
- Mission Gamma: Gets tiresome eventually, but there are many, many rich plot points and interesting character development happening there, so it's worth at least a read
- Worlds of Trek: Big hit or misses. Too bad they have such insightful revelation about some races (except Andor's, who's relevation of backstory was done mainly in Mission Gamma).

I say I did not regretted the time spent reading them, although a few of them I don't really feel like reading again.

Seeing Nog as the "War-bloodied veteran" who helps the junior guys is funny, specially when Quark tries to "handle" him.
Cmdr Vaugh is a character I like, not too powerful, so he doesn't come out as a Marty Sue
Kira is probably the strongest character of the serie, you can see they put thought into additional character development
Ro is... either a blast, or a wallbanger. She will annoy you or make you clench your fist in joy at her awesomeness.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

I like them. Vaughn is a great character, IMHO. Good setting, here. Although what happens with Ezri... rankles me a lot.

[Mark]

Eh? You mean her getting her own ship?

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Part of it. I don't think everyone needs their own command. Also, other things that I'm not sure how much I can discuss without spoiling you.

[Mark]

I agree about that. I read most of the relaunch series when the first came out, so about ten years or so now, but I remember little about them aside from Cmdr Vaugh, and the Jem'Hadar Odo sent.

I find it unbelievable that Ezri Dax shoots from Ltjg to Captain so quickly, and that she's later given a ship more powerful than the E-E. I mean, I'm all for character growth, but they did a 180 turn, and took her from a so so Counsler to a first rate Command Officer.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Precisely. It just 'snaps' during battle and they're giving her command after simply being a counselor? No, way.

[Mark]

Because she suddenly "remembers" Command from Curzon and Jadzia, she's suddenly hyper qualified. So, in that theory, every Trill should automatically be reinstated at their old rank they had when their previous hosts died, unless they want to completely change tracks.

[Sonic Glitch]

Because she suddenly "remembers" Command from Curzon and Jadzia, she's suddenly hyper qualified. So, in that theory, every Trill should automatically be reinstated at their old rank they had when their previous hosts died, unless they want to completely change tracks.

Well, do we know what happened between the time period of the DS9 relaunch and the Destiney series? (that's the one right? the one before the Typhon Pact). There's what, at least five years of character development missing?

[Mark]

Not as far as I know, but then, I'm working my way through the series. I suppose anything is possible, but that would put Ezri in Command of a ship of the line before her "30th" birthday.......she never struck me as a Jim Kirk calibur officer

[SolkaTruesilver]

Because she suddenly "remembers" Command from Curzon and Jadzia, she's suddenly hyper qualified. So, in that theory, every Trill should automatically be reinstated at their old rank they had when their previous hosts died, unless they want to completely change tracks.

The adrenaline of a Jem'Hadar attack indeed makes her "remember" Command, but it does a lot more. Remember Sarina's words in "Chrysalis"?

The day she realizes that she's more than just the sum of her parts, she's really going to be something

Well, that's pretty much what happens at the start of the Relaunch. Ezri finally finishes her period of adaptation of having a symbiote in her, and stop thinking of herself as just the recipient of the memories of her past hosts. She can finally acts as a whole being, and that includes the ambitions of Ezri pre-joining, plus Jadzia's experience.

And she wasn't appointed CO of anything overnight because of that. She simply requested a transfer in Command, and she became XO of the Defiant, under Vaugh. I don't see how less qualified she was at the time than Major Kira would have been during DS9 season 4.

[Mark]

First Officer of a Starship as one's very first Command assignment? No time spent on the nightwatch? No time as a junior bridge officer? No Command training?

Even Jadzia was rather fast tracked. She was a Science Officer, who was given temp Command of the Defiant.

We don't know where Dax's command experience came from really. I don't remember anything about the character talking about a previous host being a Captain.

And Kira was a career soldier, who while likely was light on ship to ship experience, had seen plenty of action, way more than your average Starfleeter.

[SolkaTruesilver]

And Kira was a career soldier, who while likely was light on ship to ship experience, had seen plenty of action, way more than your average Starfleeter.

Exactly. Kira was a terrorist, a guerilla fighter, a ground trooper, a soil-crawling maggot (no offense to infantrymen present, it's just that I have fun with the terminologies). I don't think there would have been anyone I'd have felt safer to have to protect my back while in a combat zone on the ground, or even within a starship. Hell, she's probably be a pretty decent Marine.

But a Starship Captain she wasn't, and she wasn't remotely close to have any experience about it except flying some shuttles, which is like saying you can captain a Destroyer 'cause you can steer a motorboat. Being a Starship Captain (hell, a STARFLEET SHIP captain) requires more than having ran in the mud and shot/bombed Cardassians. Specially if you happen to operate in a diplomatically volative sector of the galaxy. Or you happen to be in the middle of a major fleet engagement.

[Mikey]

Hmm... I think I'd rather have a blooded ground-pounder in command than a psychoanalyst.

[SolkaTruesilver]

Hmm... I think I'd rather have a blooded ground-pounder in command than a psychoanalyst.

A psychoanalyst who single-handely saved DS9 with brillant ressourcefulness, who succeeded at shooting down a Jem'Hadar fighter with a ship who was adrift?

She didn't get the post in a cracketjack box. She proved to be a good commander in a time of crisis and then requested a tranfer. Starfleet was in dire need of experienced officer to fill the various command posting. Her having been a therapist earlier in her career is irrelevant, as Starfleet command crews origin from all fields, be it Engineering, Science, Starship Operation, Security, Medical, etc...