(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Star Trek open thread: Rewriting the history of the Occupation of Bajor [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-07-26 Although it ended before 9/11, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has turned out to be remarkably prescient about our post-9/11 world. There are obvious examples of prescience and not so obvious examples. In an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that reran Sunday on the Heroes & Icons digital TV channel, “Indiscretion,” Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) of the Cardassian military tags along with Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) of the Bajoran militia on a special mission to figure out what happened to the Ravinok, a Cardassian ship transporting Bajoran prisoners. Dukat mentions the Central Command’s theory that the Ravinok was destroyed as the Bajoran prisoners tried to escape. Kira, on the other hand, thinks the problem might have been with the ship’s navigation system, or maybe the ship encountered a subspace anomaly. As the wreckage hasn’t been found, there’s nothing to prove or disprove any of these theories. At this point in the series, Bajorans have been free from their Cardassian oppressors for only four years. The 50-year ordeal was, for the Bajorans, an unpleasant experience, to put it very mildly. Just in case this needs to be said, Star Trek is fictional. However, some of the things that happen in Star Trek, like the Occupation of Bajor and the Dominion War, are better documented and more thoroughly commented upon than some real-life wars and struggles. As for spoilers, let’s limit this thread to Deep Space Nine, which ended production in 1999. The particular episode we’re focusing on first aired on October 23, 1995. If I’ve cued the video up correctly, it starts at 1:14. In the previous minute of this 5-minute clip, there’s a little bit of the B-plot, something about Sisko and his girlfriend. Then “the Cardassian representative” beams aboard, and of course that’s Gul Dukat, much to Major Kira’s dismay. Then they fly a Federation shuttlecraft to meet up with a Bajoran who has what he believes to be a piece from the hull of the Ravinok. Well, maybe it’s not a hull piece, but I might be giving that more thought than the writers did. What I want to talk about today is the shuttlecraft conversation between Kira and Dukat. x YouTube Video Here’s a transcript of the relevant dialogue. Dukat is inquiring about Lorit Akrem, the Bajoran man whom Kira hopes to find alive. Realistically, though, the poor fellow’s most likely dead and there’s no hope of even finding his body for burial. DUKAT: So who was he [Lorit Akrem]? A family member? A compatriot? A lover? KIRA: Lorit recruited me into the Shakaar resistance cell. DUKAT: Ah. The infamous Shakaar resistance. We never could eliminate that little group of yours. And it was not from lack of trying, I assure you. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, major, but I’ve always admired you. You are the embodiment of the new Bajor. A Bajoran born out of the ashes of the Occupation, a Bajoran tempered with Cardassian steel. KIRA: Captain Sisko’s right, you are in love with the sound of your own voice. DUKAT: I know you find this hard to accept, but I believe that in some ways the Occupation actually helped Bajor. KIRA: Which part? The massacres or the strip mining? DUKAT: I have no desire to debate the merits of the Occupation with you. I’m even willing to admit that perhaps we were a little harsh in our methods. But the fact is, the Bajoran people are stronger now than they have been in centuries. When we arrived, you were a weak, contemplative race, choking on your isolation. And now you have a new confidence, a whole new sense of purpose, not to mention a key role in the future of this entire quadrant. KIRA: All of which Bajor achieved in spite of the Cardassians, not because of them. DUKAT: Think what you must, but I believe the time will come when Cardassia and Bajor will grow to be not only allies... but also... close friends. KIRA: Cardassia and Bajor, maybe. You and me? I doubt it. DUKAT: All I ask is that you have an open mind. KIRA: All right, Dukat, that’s enough. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to spend the next six hours in silent meditation. DUKAT: Is that a request, or an order? KIRA: Whatever it takes [to shut you up]. DUKAT: Well, in that case, as much as it pains me [I’ll be quiet for now]. KIRA: We both might survive this trip after all. Gul Dukat still thinks he has a chance to bed Kira. Though he does have a long list of Bajoran women he’s been with, Kira Nerys won’t be one of them — that was something actor Nana Visitor was quite adamant about when the writers proposed a very strange left turn. I imagine Visitor asked: “Hey, writers, have you been reading what you’ve been writing?” However, as a direct result of the events of this episode, Kira will wind up in a strange sort of co-parenting situation with Dukat, which of course he will try to use to his advantage. So, yeah, the Ravinok, a ship crewed by eighteen Cardassians and carrying thirty-two Bajoran prisoners to a labor camp, that’s just one little example of all the suffering visited on the Bajorans by the Cardassians. The massacres had been mentioned in previous episodes of this show, as well as the public executions of Bajorans who didn’t even go through a Cardassian-style trial. More than ten million Bajorans died during the Occupation, and Sisko estimates Dukat is personally responsible for five million deaths. As for the strip mining, there isn’t much about it in the show, and I don’t really know anything about strip mining in real life. But from what I’ve read, it sure sounds like arduous, back-breaking and soul-crushing work. The open thread question: What does Dukat’s claim that about the Occupation of Bajor remind you of? [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/26/2183090/-Star-Trek-open-thread-Rewriting-the-history-of-the-Occupation-of-Bajor Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/