Cerulean Stars: An Asari Security Officer in Commander Sisko's Court

Sadly pretty much everything she could think of was either beyond her ability to actually do, or likely to cause events to deviate so badly from canon, that the things that absolutely needed to happen to keep the galaxy from being overrun, wouldn't.
Raine really has nailed down the problem here because: So much of what Voyager accomplishes relies so heavily on being in the right place at the right time. Even extra supplies, like has been suggested a couple times, will change the schedule of when and where Voyager has to stop to resupply as they cross the delta quadrant.

More supplies means Neelix's suggestions for layovers and supply runs will all be thrown off, and Voyager's entire course and schedule will likely be altered to the point that even if they still reach Borg space at the right time for the Borg to be desperate enough to want help, but doing well enough that one starfleet vessel can still tip the scales? They won't be arriving at the right place and time to meet Seven of Nine.

Not having Seven in the crew basically tosses the whole timeline out the window because her very unique situation is pretty much mandatory to get a Borg drone the crew wants to rehabilitate (because she was originally human and Janeway vibes with her) and who can do the various technobabble miracles Seven produced to let Voyager survive.

Basically, everything Voyager accomplished was so absolutely bugfuck nuts unlikely that there really is no way to reproduce those results on purpose even if you were a self insert who had access to a dvd box set and the memory alpha website the whole time. For Raine, who's working off decades old memories? Best to not touch anything.
 
Raine really has nailed down the problem here because: So much of what Voyager accomplishes relies so heavily on being in the right place at the right time. Even extra supplies, like has been suggested a couple times, will change the schedule of when and where Voyager has to stop to resupply as they cross the delta quadrant.

More supplies means Neelix's suggestions for layovers and supply runs will all be thrown off, and Voyager's entire course and schedule will likely be altered to the point that even if they still reach Borg space at the right time for the Borg to be desperate enough to want help, but doing well enough that one starfleet vessel can still tip the scales? They won't be arriving at the right place and time to meet Seven of Nine.

Not having Seven in the crew basically tosses the whole timeline out the window because her very unique situation is pretty much mandatory to get a Borg drone the crew wants to rehabilitate (because she was originally human and Janeway vibes with her) and who can do the various technobabble miracles Seven produced to let Voyager survive.

Basically, everything Voyager accomplished was so absolutely bugfuck nuts unlikely that there really is no way to reproduce those results on purpose even if you were a self insert who had access to a dvd box set and the memory alpha website the whole time. For Raine, who's working off decades old memories? Best to not touch anything.
Honestly, the biggest problem with this is that she already has. As someone else pointed out, she changed the course of the Maquis when she encouraged them to adopt a more PR friendly name for themselves. It's hard to say just how hard those ripples have hit the Val Jean.
 
It would also mean Species 8472 would have no need to learn how humanity actually thinks, making it much less likely for negotiations to be as successful as canon.
And a highly xenophobic, genocidal empire capable of fully wiping out the Borg one day showing up at the Federations doorstep because you tried to save one ship is the kind of consequence Temporal investigations makes educational slideshows out of.
Even if it takes them centuries to get there from the Quadrant, Raine would still be around to suffer the consequences as well.
Given what Raine remembers the Borg facing when they were fighting Species 8472, she suspects the Federation would last maybe a month on the outside before all that was left of their worlds would be floating rubble.


Raine really has nailed down the problem here because: So much of what Voyager accomplishes relies so heavily on being in the right place at the right time. Even extra supplies, like has been suggested a couple times, will change the schedule of when and where Voyager has to stop to resupply as they cross the delta quadrant.
Yup, but funnily enough she's both right and wrong at the same time.

More supplies means Neelix's suggestions for layovers and supply runs will all be thrown off, and Voyager's entire course and schedule will likely be altered to the point that even if they still reach Borg space at the right time for the Borg to be desperate enough to want help, but doing well enough that one starfleet vessel can still tip the scales? They won't be arriving at the right place and time to meet Seven of Nine.
Given how we learn in Picard that Cube's have Spatial Trajectors for the Queen's use, and that we know Seven's designation had her assigned to Unimatrix 01. I'm personally of the belief that the Borg just moved Seven from Unimatrix 01 to that specific cube to act as a Locutus like interface point.

Mainly because the sheer odds of there being a human on that specific cube otherwise begger belief.
 
"It's no accident your family's getting weaker and D'Ghor's family is getting stronger." He continued shooting Grilka an apologetic look. "Because he's been systematically attacking your family's assets for over five years now."

"You mean to tell me D'Ghor has been scheming and plotting like a Romulan p'taq!?" Grilka snarled angrily at him.
Awww, you changed to "like a Romulan" instead of Grilka stopping herself from accusing D'Ghor of acting like Ferengi, only for Quark to finish the sentence "like a Ferengi" with pride.

The ripples with the House of Kor stepping in though, that I hadn't thought of being possible. Quite an ambitious plan for Quark, and much better than the one in canon where he only tries to talk the high council to death with finance. Great chapter, I can't wait to see how Quark's plan unfolds (or doesn't!)
 
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where feet were punishing her for it.
missing word 'her'?

---

Quark is doing what he does best - plotting. Even better, he's talking to other people about it, so it's collaborative plotting!

I like to see Odo thinking about his issues, like this...
(I wonder if the Great Link is unclear about a few... absences. There must have been some curiosity about Odo. And, are there Founders (Orange?) who know how to hide from the senses of other Founders spotting them?)
 
They're intensely xenophobic and the Federation would absolutely poke Fluidic space with a stick. Fluidic Space also isn't a region of space in the Delta Quadrant but a alternate dimension so there's no telling how long it'd take Starfleet and 8472 to interact.

Either way by stopping Voyager you're tossing away a known success for a spin on the roulette wheel while missing out on all the other stuff Voyager brought back from the Delta Quadrant.

*edit*
A more personal reason why you wouldn't want to completely get rid of Voyager is because you'd be completely condemning Seven of Nine to either enslavement by the Borg or death by 8472.

Honestly, the biggest problem with this is that she already has. As someone else pointed out, she changed the course of the Maquis when she encouraged them to adopt a more PR friendly name for themselves. It's hard to say just how hard those ripples have hit the Val Jean.
I think this is really where I would come down if I were Raine. She's already caused changes. Maybe only small ones but she literally went to school with Janeway. That means different class makeup's for her entire schooling, different lab partners, perhaps schedules, perhaps assignments, a thousand and one and more things already changed. So either she could do more to help and time self corrects for the major events, or she doesn't but time doesn't self correct and she's already butterflied away the 'sure thing'.

TLDR It is A or B
A Time is strong enough to self correct for major events so no harm in helping.
B Time isn't strong enough to self correct so her interference by existing has already shifted things irrevocably.
 
TLDR It is A or B
A Time is strong enough to self correct for major events so no harm in helping.
B Time isn't strong enough to self correct so her interference by existing has already shifted things irrevocably.
Is Raine good enough at 'dancing', and can provide enough interaction with 'Voyager' (maybe with Q help?) to ensure necessary 'stations of canon' are visited?
 
TLDR It is A or B
A Time is strong enough to self correct for major events so no harm in helping.
B Time isn't strong enough to self correct so her interference by existing has already shifted things irrevocably.
Oddly for Star Trek it's both A and B.

There are basically three types of events, little events, big events, and lynchpin events.

Little events can be changed to almost no detriment outside of the personal level with time just adjusting around them.

Big events can be changed, but shouldn't, because changing them results in all sorts of problems.

Lynchpin events can be changed, but almost actively resist doing so, a good example of one of these is the Eugenic Wars, which due to the Temporal Wars ended up happening 20 some years later then they originally did without overly effecting the timeline.

Raine's worried about changing the big Voyager events, but she doesn't have a meter telling her when she's getting close to doing so. So she's trying to minimize taking actions which she believes might risk causing those big events to change.
 
So… younger fleet admiral raine brookes ends up time traveling onto the voyager when shes like 700 years old. Then suddenly the crew of the voyager meets young raine on ds9?
 
So… younger fleet admiral raine brookes ends up time traveling onto the voyager when shes like 700 years old. Then suddenly the crew of the voyager meets young raine on ds9?

Frankly I think it qould be cool of the future Fenderation descent into a expansionitat empire that has good intentions and will force them upon you, like the Ahab from Crest of the Stars, and Raine is the ditactor from future Federation that assume emergency powers after the Burn.

I think it would be a bit horryfing for Discovery crew to see the Federation reduce as another power that fight for galatic domination, although they insist they are restoring order, but are unfortunate the best alternative in a sea of bad choices.
 
Oddly for Star Trek it's both A and B.

There are basically three types of events, little events, big events, and lynchpin events.

Little events can be changed to almost no detriment outside of the personal level with time just adjusting around them.

Big events can be changed, but shouldn't, because changing them results in all sorts of problems.

Lynchpin events can be changed, but almost actively resist doing so, a good example of one of these is the Eugenic Wars, which due to the Temporal Wars ended up happening 20 some years later then they originally did without overly effecting the timeline.

Raine's worried about changing the big Voyager events, but she doesn't have a meter telling her when she's getting close to doing so. So she's trying to minimize taking actions which she believes might risk causing those big events to change.
Speaking of that, how do you interpret Khan? Newer Trek acts like he was a huge monster while the TOS episode that actually introduced him had the bridge crew reviewing historical records and explicitly admiring him for being the only one of the expansionist dictators of the period who didn't commit or tolerate atrocities of any kind.
 
Chapter 79 - The House of Quark Part 8
Chapter 79

Stardate 48278.6 - April 12, 2371 - 16:32:00​


Receiving a priority call from Commander Sisko requesting Raine immediately make her way to the infirmary certainly hadn't been on the list of things she had expected to have happened today, but it had, so rush there she would.

Coming to a quick stop as she entered the treatment room, Raine was not entirely surprised to see a worried looking Sisko already standing there given it had sounded like he was in the turbolift when he had messaged her, the very unhappy looking Jadzia laying on the biobed next to him however was more then a little surprising.

"I told you Benjamin, I'm fine." Jadzia told him in a put upon tone before grimacing slightly and giving the man an acknowledging tilt of her head that suggested his worry might have at least a little merit to it. "Mostly."

"Did something happen?" Raine inquired in concern as she walked over, looking around as she did for any sign of Doctor Bashir and only spying a closed operating bay door to suggest where he might be.

"I guess you could say that." Jadzia offered with an almost embarrassed look as Commander Sisko gave Raine a nod of acknowledgement that the Asari returned in kind.

"You know how you suggested we get checked by Specialist Na'Tal? Well, I did."

"Oh no." Raine muttered, not liking where this was going in the slightest. "How bad was it?"

"Not that." Jadzia objected with an amused shake of her head as she pulled herself up. "The telepathic archive remnants were fine, better than fine even since there was a beneficial integration of them with my base personality."

Raine blinked at that, trying to think back to which archetype Jadzia had ended up possessed by and only coming up with a vague recollection of the Trill being rather carefree and distracted while the rest of them were falling apart.

"As I was telling Benjamin." Jadzia continued with a look over to the now glaring man. "While Na'Tal was checking me, she discovered traces of a decaying memory block."

Something about that was familiar to Raine, and she racked her memory till it hit her, the serial killer host, whose name the Asari absolutely could not for the life of her remember.

"A memory block that may be killing her." Sisko added in, clearly unhappy with the way Jadzia was skirting around the actual issue.

"It may be killing more than me." The trill joked with a somewhat awkward laugh that had Raine narrowing her eyes at the woman.

"Explain." Raine ordered, having a general suspicion now but wanting confirmation nonetheless.

"Na'Tal poked the mental block." Jadzia explained with a sigh. "Shortly after which I apparently tried to kill her."

"Apparently?" Raine repeated, not liking the way that suggested the Trill couldn't recall taking the action.

"The last thing I remember before waking up here with a headache was her poking the block." Jadzia confirmed, giving the pair a mild grimace as she refused to meet their eyes.

"Specialist Na'Tal knocked her out with a nerve pinch." Sisko added in as Jadzia looked over to him. "And was in the middle of contacting Doctor Bashir when Jadzia started seizing."

Which Raine knew would have been more than enough cause for Bashir to authorize an emergency site to site transport for Jadzia to the infirmary.

"I take it Na'Tal is talking about what she knows of the cause with Doctor Bashir?" Raine inquired with a glance at the still closed operating bay.

"Good guess." Jadzia confirmed with a wan smile as she turned a worried look over to the door. "I said it was okay to talk about everything in front of others, but she insisted on only talking about it with Bashir."

"It likely means she believes it has the potential to be a sensitive issue on multiple fronts." Raine explained, wondering as she did if Na'Tal had been able to recall enough from the Asari's less controlled mind-melds all those years back to connect the dots.

Sisko turned away from the biobed with a tenseness in his shoulders and a less than pleased look on his face.

"I wanted you here both in case it happens again, and because you're probably the second most experienced person on the station when it comes to these sorts of issues."

"I'm really not." Raine admitted to the pair with a cringe, really wishing as she did that the Academy's psionic based classes hadn't fallen so far out of favor since the 23rd century.

"I could tell you what a psionic based memory block is, and explain in excruciating detail why you'd have to be pretty high on the sociopath scale to want to put one on someone. But removing them for anyone but yourself is the equivalent of delicate mental surgery, and I'm something like a decades worth of dedicated training away from being anything but a liability in that sort of circumstance."

"High on the sociopath scale?" Sisko asked with a confused look on his face as Jadzia turned back in interest.

"A mental block…" Raine began, trailing off with a frown as a thought occurred to her. "Did either of you take Psionics 101 at the academy?"

Both Sisko and Jadzia shook their heads in the negative.

"Okay well." Raine continued with a grimace, knowing she'd have to add at least a little context for this to make sense. "One of the first things they teach is that most people, no matter the biological race, are a little bit psychic."

That was a very simplified version of the theory mind you, and it had had several holes poked in it over the centuries. With the most recent of those being a paper by Deanna Troi that detailed her experiences sensing the emotions of Soong type androids with emotion chips.

"Because of this there exists an effect not unlike the immune system where a person's mind actively works to eject or destroy foreign energies."

Not very effectively outside of certain types of extreme circumstances, but it was a generally good thing that it existed since it allowed people to naturally recover from various telepathic based effects.

"Oh that's bad." Jadzia muttered, seemingly following her explanation to its logical conclusion.

"Yup." Raine confirmed with a nod. "From the moment a telepath puts a memory block in someone's head, that person's own mind works to tear it down. And that can lead to all sorts of nasty side effects since the block when weakened that way doesn't usually come down in a uniform manner."

"A succinct enough explanation." Na'Tal stated as she walked out of the operating theater with a worried looking Doctor Bashir following in her footsteps. "Though it underplays the severity of this particular situation given a joined Trill's unique circumstances."

"If you would, Doctor." She said, motioning to the man to explain.

"The seizure was caused by Jadzia momentarily rejecting the Dax symbiont." Bashir explained as he walked over to the biobed the rapidly paling Jadzia was laying on and began to check the data on its display.

"That…" Jadzia began in a small voice, only to trail off completely as she clutched her arms protectively around her abdomen. "Is the Dax symbiont in danger?"

"If Specialist Na'Tal is correct about the cause, you're both in danger." Bashir confirmed with a less than happy glance over his shoulder at the serene looking vulcan woman.

"From what I was able to discern during my brief contact." Na'Tal offered as she gazed over at Jadzia with a look that Raine knew was the closest the Vulcan woman tended to get to pity. "One of your people put a memory block on the Dax symbiont locking away an entire host. When I probed the block, this host's personality came to the fore, at which point Jadzia's mind found it so antithetical to her normal self that it reactively rejected its joining with the Dax symbiont as a method of protection."

"Are you sure it was a Trill that did it?" Jadzia inquired, her body language suggesting to Raine an almost desperate disbelief at the idea.

"All minds are unique." Na'Tal acknowledge with a tilt of her head. "But they are unique in distinctive ways. And the mind that placed the memory block on Dax was very clearly that of a Trill."

"So then I'll have to go back to Trill and hope they can do something." Jadzia murmured, slumping her shoulders despondently at the thought.

"No." Na'Tal stated simply. "Though it will take some time, with your doctor's help I should be able to safely remove the block without risk to you or the symbiont."

"If you wish." She continued with an expectant look that suggested to Raine that the Vulcan woman highly suspected Jadzia's eventual answer to the question she was about to ask would be yes. "I can also teach you proper mental techniques to safely suppress the personality in question."

"I'd also like your permission to investigate how you ended up with that memory block in the first place." Raine put forward, never having liked the way that was covered up originally given how it ended up propping up the problematic portions of Trill culture. "Because telepathic memory manipulation of another sentient being is illegal in the Federation for a number of really good reasons."

And that wasn't even her exaggerating, there were just straight up very few good reasons for a telepath to go around manipulating another person's memory. And of those cases where the reasons were good, there was a required paperwork trail a mile long to guarantee the person in question was having it done of their own free will.

"I am relieved to see you remembered at least one of the topics from my telepathic ethics course." Na'Tal offered with an acknowledging tilt of her head that somehow left Raine feeling a tiny bit ashamed about her recent choices in life.

"I'd be rather interested in finding that out myself, Commander." Sisko added in, his tone enough to tell the Asari this was one of those rare things he was going to want daily updates on.

"I suppose you probably should." Jadzia reluctantly agreed, her tone suggesting she had at least some suspicion of what portions of Trill culture the issue likely connected back to, even if it was clear she didn't know the exact details.

"Will you be needing a continued security presence during the treatment?" Raine inquired, vague memories of just how bad that particular host could be driving her towards an extra level of caution.

"Will we?" Na'Tal repeated, looking to Jadzia with a single raised eyebrow.

"It might be for the best." The Trill admitted with a sigh after silently considering the question for a moment.

"Then I'll assign Ensign Sular." Raine told them with a nod of agreement, knowing the young Vulcan woman would be circumspect enough to at least meet Na'Tal's minimum level of standards.

"If that is all." Bashir interjected, tossing the three non-Trill people in the room a less than pleased glare. "My patient could use some actual rest."


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Author's Notes: This one got away from me a bit. But given it would be happening during the time period where Quark and Grilka are passed out asleep it's a workable departure.
 
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I'd honestly forgotten about the serial killer. That said, I doubt the Trill will be willing to admit they did anything wrong, much less not do it again. If I'm wrong though, then future Dax hosts should really be trained in suppressing personalities before being allowed to bond, which I expect would be extremely controversial for Trills.
 
"Yup." Raine confirmed with a nod. "From the moment a telepath puts a memory block in someone's head, that person's own mind works to tear it down. And that can lead to all sorts of nasty side effects since the block when weakened that way doesn't usually come down in a uniform manner."

"A succinct enough explanation." Na'Tal stated as she walked out of the operating theater with a worried looking Doctor Bashir following in her footsteps. "Though it underplays the severity of this particular situation given a joined Trill's unique circumstances."
This makes me wonder, doesn't Star Fleet have somebody to follow up with crews reporting psychic domination? Seems like something you'd have to have a Designated Nag harangue stubborn Captains that no it's not fine get checked up idiots.
 
Receiving a priority call from Jadzia to meet her in the infirmary certainly hadn't been on the list of things Raine had expected to have happened today, but here she was rushing to the Trill woman's quarters.

Walking into the treatment room, Raine was surprised to see a worried looking Sisko already there, the man standing next to a biobed with a very unhappy looking Jadzia laying on it.

Why is Raine rushing to Jadzia's quarters when she's supposed to be rushing to the infirmary... where she ends up next sentence?

Even in the loosest of fashions, I wouldn't describe a patient staying in the sickbay as her quarters.
 
I'd honestly forgotten about the serial killer. That said, I doubt the Trill will be willing to admit they did anything wrong, much less not do it again. If I'm wrong though, then future Dax hosts should really be trained in suppressing personalities before being allowed to bond, which I expect would be extremely controversial for Trills.
Raine's going to try and force it, because gaslighting your entire culture to such an extreme detriment that you end up with an almost culture wide tiger parenting situation really isn't cool in her mind.


This makes me wonder, doesn't Star Fleet have somebody to follow up with crews reporting psychic domination? Seems like something you'd have to have a Designated Nag harangue stubborn Captains that no it's not fine get checked up idiots.
The senior Counselor and Doctor both have the ability to relieve people they suspect of being compromised from duty.

However it's not an ability they use lightly, and they can't actually order an officer to be checked by a telepath outside of some very specific circumstances where it's clear they are mentally compromised by a telepathic effect.


Why is Raine rushing to Jadzia's quarters when she's supposed to be rushing to the infirmary... where she ends up next sentence?

Even in the loosest of fashions, I wouldn't describe a patient staying in the sickbay as her quarters.
Woops, thanks, got a bit left from one of the earlier drafts in there, should make more sense now. :oops:
 
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I was about to make a comment along the lines of "welp, looks like Joran will be coming out of the bottle early in this timeline!" And then I went to look up exactly how early, and... 🤣
The Search, Part I3x01
The Search, Part II3x02
The House of Quark3x03
Equilibrium3x04
 
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I was about to make a comment along the lines of "welp, looks like Joran will be coming out of the bottle early in this timeline!" And then I went to look up exactly how early, and... 🤣
The Search, Part I3x01
The Search, Part II3x02
The House of Quark3x03
Equilibrium3x04
Technically? There's a good chance the events of The House of Quark and Equilibrium overlap at least a little bit when you take into account it's very much not an overnight trip to the Klingon Homeworld and back. :whistle:

On top of that, they're only 14 days away from Voyager arriving.

Though it's still better then season 2 where I had 2 episodes supposedly happening on the same day. 😅
 
Raine's going to try and force it, because gaslighting your entire culture to such an extreme detriment that you end up with an almost culture wide tiger parenting situation really isn't cool in her mind.
Might just be me, but whenever I see the term 'tiger parent' my mind turns to the (D&D flavour of) rakshasa, with their tiger-heads on humanoid bodies...

If those turned-up in a Trek setting...
 
Might just be me, but whenever I see the term 'tiger parent' my mind turns to the (D&D flavour of) rakshasa, with their tiger-heads on humanoid bodies...

If those turned-up in a Trek setting...
Honestly they wouldn't be weird at all by trek standards. Actual magic, psionics, tech so advanced it might as well be magic, shapeshifters and cat people are all not just normal but common in trek.
 
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