Got my first level 100 in #StarTrekTimelines today! #Mirror #Garak #StarTrek #DS9 #DeepSpaceNine #Cardassian
Should I watch deep space nine? Like it looks good but idk if it’s worth like binge watching?
DS9 #11: Devil in the Sky by Greg Cox
Book Jacket’s Summary:
“The Hortas of Janus VI are the greatest miners in the galaxy, capable of burning through solid rock the way humanoids move through air. Recruited to help rebuild Bajor’s devastated mining industry, the Hortas could provide new hope for the planet’s struggling economy.
But when Cardassian raiders abduct the Mother Horta,Commander Sisko finds himself stuck with twenty Horta eggs – and then the eggs begin to hatch…
While Major Kira leads a desperate rescue mission deep into Cardassian space, Commander Sisko faces a ravaging mass of newborn Hortas – uncontrollable, indestructible, and eager to consume Deep Space 9 itself!“
Yeaka’s Notes:
As the title suggests, this story
plays off the TOS episode “The Devil in the Dark,” and you will get more out of
it if you’re familiar with Hortas. It starts as one of DS9’s more fun missions,
involving the use of a mother Horta (and twenty eggs) to help Bajoran mining
efforts, but halfway through, it takes a darker turn into long-standing
Cardassian oppression. Despite only being set around season two before the
series got truly heavy with the Dominion War, this might not be for those that
just want a light Trek read.
It is, however, a good read—it
encompasses all of the main DS9 cast with everyone in character and interacting
interestingly with the others, particularly Jadzia Dax, Bashir, and Kira, who get
stuck on a longer-than-expected away mission together. Bashir decides early on
that Kira has a crush on him and is flustered about that, whereas Kira is
annoyed at Bashir’s antics in general, and Dax enjoys teasing both. Sisko deals
with frustrating Bajoran politics, O’Brien tries to hold the station together
despite a full-on catastrophe, Odo envies the Hortas’ easy shape, Quark
schemes, and, somehow, Jake goes along with kidnapping an infant for Nog to
sell into slavery. That one glaring problem really stood out for me—I’d like to
think that Jake, even with his Ferengi friendship and the infant being an
alien, would never agree to such an obviously unethical act, and it doesn’t
feel like that was properly addressed or dealt with. Shame on him.
Otherwise, the plot unravels well,
a tad predictable at times but still adequately full of twists and turns, and
there are references to other Trek episodes and books all over the place.
There’s definitely some difficulty with Bajoran oppression, stereotypes, and
early Human-Bajoran-Cardassian tensions, but things manage alright in the end.
For Horta fans, this is definitely a must have. For DS9 fans in general, it
works as a decent early episode. Jake fans… no.
Noteworthy moments: (Sorry, I only had a digital copy and therefore have no
page numbers.)
*shoves aside stuff i actually wanted to get done this week* TIME 4 STAR TREK FANTASY AU FANART INSTEAD
Garak disapproves of my messy-ass sewing room~~~
Seriously, folks, this thing is gorgeous. If you find yourself in the position to snap up one of @silasjulian’s collages, DO IT.
The abilities available to a character in Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition are divided into three different categories: At-Will, Encounter, and Daily, indicating how often they can be used by that character. In doing this, the system is able to more easily divide up the strength of any given power, without including some kind of mana or stamina system that every character must draw upon.
New research shows that bioluminescence—a phenomenon in which organisms generate visible light through a chemical reaction—evolved many more times among marine fishes, and likely throughout the entire tree of life, than previously thought. In a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists from the American Museum of Natural History, St. Cloud State University, and the University of Kansas reveal that bioluminescence evolved 27 times in marine ray-finned fishes—and 29 times if sharks and rays are counted. Here are some of these amazing bioluminescent fish:
Anglerfish
This ceratioid anglerfish has a built-in fishing rod, a modified fin spine topped with a lure that pulses with bacterial light. Anglerfishes are the only animals known to light up in two ways: the genus Linophryne has glowing bacteria in the lure and their own chemicals that make light in a complex chin barbel.
Image: © J. Sparks, R. Schelly, D. Roje
Hatchetfish
The deep-sea hatchetfish, which gets its name from the distinct hatchet-like shape of its body, has light-producing organs known as photophores that run along the length of their body and point downward. Hatchetfishes use these structurally complex photophores to mimic any down-welling sunlight and disappear from predators lurking below.
Image: © J. Sparks, R. Schelly, D. Roje
Barbeled dragonfish
This barbeled dragonfish is a small bioluminescent deep-sea fish with a long protrusion attached to its chin, known as a barbel, which is tipped with a light-producing organ called a photophore. It also has large photophores below its eyes used to illuminate prey and potentially communicate, and along the sides of its body for camouflage.
Image: © J. Sparks, R. Schelly, D. Roje
Stoplight loosejaw
A stoplight loosejaw (Malacosteus niger), which is capable of engulfing prey nearly as large as its own body. It has both red and blue/green photophores under its eyes. Its primary prey source, Euphausid shrimp, cannot detect red light. The loosejaw uses this “private” wavelength of light to illuminate and hunt the shrimp.
Image: © Christopher Martinez
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