To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for the Deep Space 9 expansion set.

#2172-Science PADD, Equipment, DS9

"Representative of Personal Access Display Devices designed specifically for scientific analysis functions. Such equipment has been developed by many races."

-Gives all of your MEDICAL-classification personnel the extra skill of SCIENCE where present.

PICTURE: Just a prop shot and, at the same time, a screen shot, but while these are among the dullest pics in the game, this one's kind of fun. First of all, it's great when you can clearly read off them, and "Terrain Analysis 4747" is very clear. It even contains the magic Trek number twice! The little purple topological map is interesting, and the Ops table on which the PADD is set kind of looks like the picture of an Earth-like planet. For equipment, this is superlative: a 3.4.

LORE: The usual boring stuff we get with such equipment. A dull 2.

TREK SENSE: It's the same old thing, isn't it? First, how many Medicals can use the same PADD? If there's more than one PADD per card, why can't you split the card up when the personnel split up? Second, why can't Science personnel make use of it when they would be the ones carrying them? One redeeming feature is that Science and Medical aren't too far from each other skillwise, with Biology and Exobiology often crossing over. The physical and astrophysical sciences still have a use for Medicals, like determining radiation hazards and such. So giving Medicals the Science skill does work. The problems inherent in the card's mechanics does keep it at 1.5 though.

STOCKABILITY: It's the flip-side of the Medical Tricorder. Where that card gave SCIENCE personnel the more useful skill of MEDICAL, this one does the opposite. SCIENCE has gotten more copy in later days, and since MEDICAL has become a common chunk of your skill pool, it may be advantageous to just add to the MEDICALs. Some Classic Equipment could add even more. The Bajorans might be particularly interested, seeing as they have very few SCIENCE personnel compared to MEDICAL. The Dominion just doesn't have enough MEDICAL-classification personnel to make use of it. The same is true of the Ferengi, Romulans and many DQ affiliations. So mileage may vary. As a PADD, it can be downloaded by Paul Porter (but he can't use it directly) and report to the Science Lab (for the Bajorans, for example), and can be used by Jake Sisko to make Mission Reports. It overcomes Executive Authorization as well, and obviously, can be brought on cargo runs, etc. Considering how few affiliations it actually helps, I'm only going to give it a 3.

TOTAL: 9.9 (49.5%) PADDs consistently wind up in the bottom third of equipment cards.

#2186-Search and Rescue, Mission, planet, Federation/Bajoran, DS9

Badlands Region*Class-M Planetoid: Search for officer kidnapped from Deep Space 9 by Maquis.

-Navigation x2 + Honor + OFFICER + CUNNING>35

-Span: 4, 30 points

PICTURE: A lovely bronze planet in the middle of the similarly-colored Badlands. There's nothing like it unless you count Search for Rebels, which is just a mirrored reverse of this card. A pretty 3.5.

LORE: Simple enough, with the Region clearly marked. No big whoop. A 3.

TREK SENSE: A true "DS9" mission, with the station's two collaborating forces being able to attempt it. Indeed the Maquis might have kidnapped one or the other. We have to allow Bajoran and Federation Maquis to attempt it, which is a problem (though they might have turned against their own, their insider knowledge doesn't have an impact on mission requirements). The victim is in the Badlands, which isn't too far away, but the phenomenon is a navigational hazard making the Span a bit longer. The planetoid wouldn't be on the periphery, after all. The Navigation is there for the Search aspect of the mission, though here it would be used on the planet... There's a small problem each time Navigation is meant to represent some kind of planetary tracking or sense of orientation. Honor and Officer seem to be here to motivate the mission in the first place, since you need someone to expressly not give up on the lost officer. Maybe Honor makes an appeal to the Maquis' sense of right and wrong. Maybe an Officer can negotiate terms with more authority. You would have thought Strength would have been a factor here, but it isn't. You get your officer out using Cunning instead. Nothing wrong with that given that you don't really want to hurt the Maquis either. I wish you could download a personnel, retrieve a captive, something, when you complete this mission, but I suppose the victim is in too bad a shape to immediately join the Away Team. 30 points will have to do, a score that shows the officer was important to your personnel, but still only one person. The requirements are a little fuzzy, but this is a fair effort nonetheless at an even 3.

SEEDABILITY: The Badlands are an interesting Region to base your deck around (whether you use them as a springboard for travel to the Delta Quadrant or not). The Region groups all your missions together and is good for skill redundancy. Consider that the universal Study Badlands and unique Verify Evidence also require Navigation x2. Navigation is also the key skill in surviving Navigate Plasma Storms. You came prepared, but your opponent may have a hard time crossing the Region. The Bajoran Interceptors will even save on RANGE here. The Feds have inherently faster ships, though they can't use Verify Evidence. Still, they should have even fewer problems coming up with an OFFICER with Honor. Those are some pretty easy requirements, with CUNNING the only thing you must really accumulate. The planet mission you need for your Badlands deck, it score a 3.8.

TOTAL: 13.3% (66.5%) The Mirrors did better with 14.2 on theirs (but they had a lot more to do there).

#2200-Search for Survivors, Mission, planet, Cardassian/Bajoran, DS9

Dozaria: Investigate possible crash location of Cardassian prisoner transport Ravinok.

-OFFICER x2 + Computer Skill x2 + STRENGTH>30

-Span: 3, 30 points; May seed [universal] [Car] and [universal] [Baj] personnel under here.

PICTURE: Dozaria makes a good-looking desert planet, pocked with large craters, and partially in shadow to highlight (hmm, that's a mixed metaphor if I ever heard one) the mystery. A competent 3.4.

LORE: More competent work. Mission lores are hard to make interesting, but this one doesn't go astray. A 3.

TREK SENSE: Both Bajor and Cardassia would be interested in finding the Ravinok survivors, since there were both Bajorans and Cardassians aboard. The survivors themselves are represented by seeded universals, personnel that don't need to have a history elsewhere (Kai Opaka, for example, couldn't possibly be seeded here because we know where she was for the last few decades). Ziyal is the only unique personnel we know should be found there, and thanks to her own game text, she can. The rescue of these personnel cards (if there are survivors, you're not obligated to seed any) is an extra reward that drives down the mission's points, but since none of these survivors are truly important, 30 is more than enough. Span's fine too, it has to be out of the way, but not too far from shipping lanes. To complete the mission, you need the Strength to bust the survivors out of their Breen labor camp, though 31+ may seem a bit much for Kira and Dukat to have come up with. Computer Skill x2 is there to get clues from the ship's black box, that's ok. I agree that Officer should be part of the equation for Cardassians, to have the clearance to even access the flight recorder, but two? It's meant to represent Kira and Dukat, but the mission won't necessarily be a joint venture, and the Bajorans don't really need an Officer to complete this task. Good thing there's special game text to elevate Trek Sense, because the requirements are a little fuzzy. Verdict: An even 3.

SEEDABILITY: This is quite an easy mission, whether you're attempting with Bajorans, Cardassians or a Treaty between the two. OFFICERs are a dime a dozen (for free at Central Command, for example), and often have the Computer Skill required (this can also be brought in early with Isolinear Rods). The STRENGTH requirement is rather easy to get with Cardassians and Bajorans both having a fair amount of the attribute (or easily boostable in that area). Solve it first, and pick up as many matching universals to use on your second mission. Only the limit on seed cards limits the number of personnel you can seed here. Tora Ziyal can be seeded here, and any Cardassian or Bajoran universal. It's definitely a quick way to get all your classifications into play for Senior Staff Meeting or Kurlan Naiskos, and potentially a huge boost to personnel reporting without wasting your card play. This is especially true of a Treaty deck, where getting a number of personnel from both sides en masse would be helpful. A very good mission for all concerned, it gets a 4.

TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) Middle of the road.

#2214-Secret Compartment, Doorway, DS9

-Plays on a ship or facility. (Unique.) If it is controlled by opponent and your Acquisition is present, you may probe:

#[Interrupt], [Doorway]: Alarm. Opponent may capture one of your personnel present (random selection); discard doorway.

#[Event], [Equipment]: Success. Download to here up to two Equipment cards or one "use as Equipment card" artifact (as if earned from a mission attempt); discard doorway.

PICTURE: Though quite simple and almost static (the smoke gives off a little movement), there's something good about every element, from shapes to mood to the subdued metallic color palette. The lockbox inside is a bit discreet for my tastes, but that's appropriate as well. So for a hole in the wall, it still manages a pretty 3.4.

LORE: N/A (score will be adjusted accordingly)

TREK SENSE: While a Secret Compartment such as this one might be found on any ship or facility, they should be exceedingly rare. After all, this is the age of sensors, so it would be difficult to keep something so secret. So for story-telling purposes, if nothing else, the card is unique. It would be far-fetched to use the same plot device twice in 2 or 3 adventures (the segment usually represented by a game). Now, I'm a little uncertain as to Acquisition's role here, since it would seem to equate the skill with criminality (it shouldn't), but let's say that the skill allowed a personnel to find out there was a Compartment in the first place. The skill represents the knowledge of it and that there's something valuable inside. And it's not somewhere you control either, since that would be no more than a safe. No, it's in enemy territory. Perhaps it once belonged to you, but not anymore. Ok, so two things may result from opening the Secret Compartment. In the first scenario, you set off an alarm, leading to the capture of one of your personnel here. It may be the Acquisition personnel with its fingers caught in the cookie jar, or it may be someone else buying time for its escape. Your opponent presumably confiscates the contents of the Compartment, and we never hear of them again. Not a complete picture, of course, since you have to wonder why the entire Away Team isn't in trouble, but I like the probe choices. An alarm would be an Interruption, and the Interrupt icon really is like a little alert flashing light. In the case of the Doorway, we might think of a Compartment not carefully opened, or of the exterior door opening and your personnel being caught. In the second scenario, you succeed and get at what was in the Compartment. Two Equipment cards of an Equipment-like Artifact would be the booty. Not quite what was in the show per se, but it's quite reasonable. Although would anyone really make a big deal out of hiding a Tricorder and Hypospray? The porbe icons are still good, with Equipment being the booty, and Event being the find itself. No room for a more complete picture, but there are few misteps here. A 3.9.

STOCKABILITY: A somewhat convoluted way to get Artifacts, Secret Compartment would have you climb aboard an opponent's ship or facility to do some probing. On top of that, there's a risk of getting a personnel captured by that opponent. Not good. So how can we make this process easier and safer, so that it beats solving a mission for said Artifact? Well, it really depends where you play the card. It's easy to access a Nor, for example, if not through the docking sites, then with Guest Quarters, Promenade Shops, Garak's or Quark's. Indeed, the Ferengi have the Acquisition to make this one of their regular tricks. Elsewhere, you'll need something to turn your Acquisition personnel into an intruder. The Dominion has Invasive Beam-In, the Kazon Boarding Party, the Vidiians Boarding Claw, and the Hirogen have Hirogen Hunt. Note that the DQ guys will need Non-Aligned help for the skill. For anyone else, there's always Open Diplomatic Negotiations. From there, downloading either 2 hand weapons or an Artifact weapon like the Varon-T or Antique Machine Gun could help you mow down the opposition and commandeer the ship or station. Rigging the probe is paramount, so you might need some card manipulators too (Heisenberg Compensators at the very least). If you have a Nor, or played Empok Nor, this could be used as a failsafe cache of weapons in case your opponent takes control of the facility, to help your effort taking it back. Worth the trouble? Since you have to complete missions to win the game, alternate means of acquiring Artifacts (or simple Equipment downloads) shouldn't be this involved. Starry Night is probably a better deal. A 3.

TOTAL: 13.73 (68.67%) Not quite in the hole.

#2227-Security Office, Site, DS9

-Compatible SECURITY-classification personnel and hand weapons may report here. Whenever a personnel battle was just initiated on this station, any player's personnel here, if one has SECURITY, may move there (if possible) and join the battle. Matching SECURITY personnel may file mission reports here.

-Any Nor [Promenade]

PICTURE: Though set shots like this tend to be pretty sterile, the position of the chairs here is exactly the same as in "Crossfire", leading me to believe Odo was digitally removed from the shot, and the back wall composited back in. If so, that's an impressive to go about "sterilizing" a picture. Now, it stands as a somewhat dull, two-tone image, that neverthess subtly hints at the Office's function - the points in the carpet, the bolts on the entranceway, the green bars at the back. Nice work, but being static has its price. Manages a 3.

LORE: N/A (score will be adjusted accordingly)

TREK SENSE: The Security Office on the Promenade is where the Security personnel would work out of. Hand weapons are also stored here for their use (no tricorders and PADDs for THESE guys). And it's also where Security Mission Reports would be Filed. It seemed to be part of Odo's daily routine. It's the other ability that's original however. When a personnel battle erupts on the station, security is immediately alerted. This Office gets the first call, and any Security personnel on duty here may rush off with a party in tow (recruiting from anyone present) and join the battle. Ok, it glosses over the distance issue in glib fashion (all points are equally reachable on the station), and in truth, the Office should be able to call on Security personnel elsewhere on the Nor. Still a cool ability, so I'm going as high as a 4.2.

SEEDABILITY: One of the seminal Sites since it allows the reporting (and through Ops, the downloading) of a key classification AND hand weapons. The latter are for free if you have a Weapons Locker here. You probably can't run a Nor deck without the Security Office. Now, the personnel and equipment it reports are unique to it and useful (SECURITY can make use of Process Ore while ENGINEERs go on mission attempts where they're usually more needed, and those with Treachery as useful at nearby Holding Cells), and Filing Mission Reports is always good, with the Office being one of the Filing sites nearest to Docking sites (though Science Lab is THE nearest). It's the other ability that makes the site interesting. Since you must have personnel all over the Nor to make use of various game texts (Ore Processing Unit, Bajoran Shrine and Ops spring to mind), you're vulnerable from attack by intruders, especially those wishing to commandeer the station. If you keep all unnecessary personnel at the Office, they can respond to the battle by joining it, no doubt with some of those shiny hand weapons, hopefully turning the tide. You don't have to wait for an attack either. You can initiate the battle yourself against barmen and tailors getting on your Nor through some backdoor. Now granted, there shouldn't be that many personnel aboard a Nor when there are missions to be completed, but for those times where there are, especially if you feel a commandeering attempt coming on, personnel coming out of the Office will be a useful advantage. A strong 4.2.

TOTAL: 15.2 (76%) It's one of the major sets, after all.

#2239-Seismic Quake, Dilemma, planet, DS9

"While on a scientific mission to planet L-S VI, Dr. Mora Pol's away team experienced a volcanic disturbance. The quake released noxious gases which cut short their research."

-One Away Team member (random selection) is "stopped" if opponent's score is odd, killed otherwise. Cannot get past (shuffle back into seed cards here) unless Geology present.

PICTURE: Certainly manages to give off a shaky feeling, and it works on that basis, though it does get into watercolor territory the deeper you get into the pic. A serviceable 3.5.

LORE: The card has trouble identifying one danger here, mentioning volcanoes, quakes and noxious gases. It's just gonna make Trek Sense harder to figure out! I'd say an ok 3.

TREK SENSE: There's a lot going on here, so the card is more than just out of focus in the Picture category. You need Geology to get past it, i.e. find a way to predict the Quakes, avoid the fumes, etc. But the first Quake hits before you even figure out you'll need this, and your Geologist might fall prey to the Quake/fumes himself, as one personnel is either stopped or killed as the dilemma first hits. The 50/50 chance created by the odd/even thing works... ok, though basing it on opponent's score is a mechanical conceit. I suppose it mirrors Weld's situation, but even when he wasn't killed, he seemed more than a little stopped. They had to bring him back to DS9! Maybe everyone should be stopped. That's closer to what actually would happen after an earthquake. I do like how the dilemma is shuffled into the seeds, a very quaky thing to do. Also, you never know when it'll strike again! Cute, sure, but ultimately doesn't quite work right. A 2.9.

SEEDABILITY: At the very least, this dilemma will filter out a personnel, either by stopping it, or by killing it. An even score on your part will ensure a kill, so you might make sure you're always scoring in 10s (missions worth 30 and 40, for example). Geology is common enough by now that stopping the entire Away Team is unlikely, but it's still possible (especially if Geology has just been weeded out). If it does, not only does it wall things up, but it is reshuffled into the seed cards to be encountered again (to stop or kill again). That's excellent, but there's a price. It'll disrupt any combo you might have built! Plain, simple killers like Armus are good here, no requirements to get in the way. If your opponent seeds Changeling Research, by all means, seed Seismic Quake there. The mission's Geology requirement will probably keep the second part from being triggered, but the stop/kill will be of 2 personnel, not just 1. It's like the dilemma working twice, but no shuffling of your combo. Then again, weeding out 2 personnel increases your chances of hitting Geology personnel... Dilemmas that hit no matter what are always good, and this one has a couple perks. A 4.

TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) Not an earth-shattering score, but a good card nonetheless.

#2251-Selveth, Personnel, DS9

"Female Romulan. Piloted a warbird in the secret Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order operation to destroy Dominion homeworld in 2371. Served under Colonel Lovok."

-ENGINEER, Navigation x2, Stellar Cartography, Geology; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: A bit of a mix, with Selveth's intent expression working well, but the tiny blue Romulan in the background acting as a distraction. The orange backlight isn't bad (nothing is BAD at all), but there's no real gelling. A 3.1 for a generally pleasant card.

LORE: Workmanlike and that's all. We get her gender and species (boring), what episode she was in (would work better with the article "the" before "Dominion"), and her commanding officer (back to boring). Eh... a 2.9.

TREK SENSE: She was on the bridge of Lovok's warbird, piloting the ship into Dominion territory, so why is she an Engineer? We've seen that engineering is a separate section on Romulan ships, just like it is for Starfleet, and her task has traditionally been handed to Officers. I think the change here is only to give the Romulans an Engineer, and that's all. The pilot of the leader of the fleet, she has Navigation x2. I'm not against it, nor am I against the Stellar Cartography which would have helped the fleet get to the Dominion homeworld. The fleet's intent was to destroy that planet, and she had her eyes on the sensors during the bombardment. That's her Geology (I'm also guessing it's the justification for Engineer). Tal Shiar might have been indicated given that all the ships were of that origin, or did they recruit outside the organization (I'd almost say they had to). Staff icon checks out. Integrity has her loyal and courageous to a point. Trustworthy to her superiors, certainly. Cunning is at an acceptable Romulan level. Strength is not (not for a Romulan her age in the military). Classification trouble and an odd detail here and there keep her down. Only 2.3.

STOCKABILITY: The Romulans started with a dearth of strong ENGINEER-classification personnel, and though that's no longer quite true, that classification is still a welcome one here. She came out of the DS9 expansion and it shows. That Navigation x2 not only helps the Romulans get through Badland decks, but also make use of the Wormhole Schematic to speed to the Gamma Quadrant (appropriate!). In addition to Badlands defense, she's also great for Badlands exploitation, having all the skills required of Study Badlands, as well as many Romulan space deck favorites like the Lonka Pulsar. She's an excellent assistant to everyone's boy, Telek R'mor. Oh, and she'll overcome Gravimetric Distortion, The Three Vipers and Navigational Hazards as well. Geology rounds out the skill list, for that planet mission you also probably need to complete. INTEGRITY is Firestorm-proof, but she isn't a personnel battler. Not that that's a major Romulan theme. The specific skill list is a strong one, and no other Romulan has the doubled Navigation. She gets a 3.9.

TOTAL: 12.2 (61%) Anything to keep the Romulan players happy. (Well, maybe not "anything".)

#2263-Shakaar Edon, Personnel, Bajoran, DS9

"Leader of Shakaar resistance cell. Farmer. Refused to return soil reclamators to provisional government in 2371. Old friend of Kira Nerys."

-CIVILIAN, SECURITY, Resistance x2, Leadership, Geology; Other Bajorans present are STRENGTH +2; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 8, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 8

PICTURE: Shakaar looks in earnest here, in front of a rock wall. He's a solid, rough guy. Though the rocks are a classic (and boring) Trek set, the shadows create a fair composition here. And you can't mistake this version with the First Minister, even if they're sorta looking in the same direction. A good 3.4.

LORE: The mention of his resistance cell is necessary, but a necessary evil since it puts him at risk from a very specific card. The rest, pretty much in telegraphic style, doesn't really inspire. Even his relationship with Kira seems dull the way it's put. An unenthusiastic 3.

TREK SENSE: The retired Shakaar (Civilian) can't escape his roots in the Resistance, since in many ways he IS the Resistance. The x2 on that "skill" bears scrutiny, since I sometimes wonder how to interpret it. Well, if Resistance represents guerrilla tactics, then Shakaar knows them all! If it represents a web of contacts, Shakaar made such a name for himself, he can now call on any resistance cell's members. If it merely represents membership in a resistance cell, x2 represents leadership of one. Works any way you look at it. Leadership and Security are natural by-products here. No Command icon? That's right, since he's just retired, and it's not like he ever commanded large ships during the Occupation. Geology is his only farmer skill, since he's not yet at the botany phase, just trying to reclaim soil. His special skill represents the inspiration he gives other Bajorans. A hero like that? The Strength bonus no doubt also comes from his tactical skill... an advantage as good as any gun. His Integrity is high since despite going against the government, he's doing what is right. A hero, I said! He was smart and strong enough to survive the Occupation and contribute a great deal to the Cardassians' leaving Bajor. He's still the best as seen in his eponymous episode. A strong showing at 4.5.

STOCKABILITY: One of the strengths of the Bajoran affiliation is that they are greatly boostable, and consequently make able personnel battlers. Shakaar Edon is one of the cornerstones of that strategy. He gives a flat +2 to any present Bajoran's STRENGTH, just like a Phaser, has the Leadership necessary to initiate a battle. Being both SECURITY and Resistance, he's boostable himself through War Room and Li Nalas' Earring, downloads via Defend Homeworld and Homefront as early as you like, use Bodyguards and Captured, can get capture-related cards to the Brig, and report for free and get card draws with Bajoran Resistance Cell. No use to having double Resistance though. His skills also figure on missions and dilemmas aplenty. Great attributes all around too. You can also do a persona switch with First Minister Shakaar, whose reporting ability is probably most useful at the beginning of a game. When you have enough guerillas to go fight the Cardies, switch to Edon and kick some butt. The Nemesis icon problem caused by Silaran Prin isn't much of a factor (you can use it to kill HIM), but I need to mention it. Shakaar Edon remains one of the prime Bajoran boosters and gets my 4.3.

TOTAL: 15.2 (76%) To the Minister's 12.5!

#2275-Sharat, Personnel, Non-Aligned, DS9

"Kellerun ambassador. Helped negotiate cease fire with the T'Lani. Worked on project to eliminate harvester virus and associated technology in 2370."

-VIP, Diplomacy, Exobiology, Treachery, Computer Skill; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 5, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: Sober colors contrast with the gold template, and the composition is interesting, though has a tendency to distract with the way the OMAC-like mohawk (perhaps an obscure comic book reference, sorry) goes out of frame. I do like the bright background, moody and unique, but the stray shoulder on the left should have been digitally removed. A 3.4.

LORE: Tells the story well enough, without revealing anything surprising from his lone episode. Good, but no fireworks, eh? A 3.

TREK SENSE: Sharat is an ambassador of note, so VIP and Diplomacy are certainly indicated. For all his good deeds, however, he was able to mount a multiple murder of scientists and DS9 crew to destroy all harvester knowledge for good. He needed Treachery to carry this out, and Computer Skill would have helped manufacture fake sensor records. The Staff icon seems fair then. His Integrity is set appropriately at 4, the level at which you would commit evil acts in defense of your people. Exobiology does cause a problem though. Is it meant to represent knowledge of the harvester virus? Cuz if it is, he would have to kill himself, so I don't think that's it. Nor is it reasonable for an ambassador to another species to necessarily have biological knowledge of that species. I also find his Cunning to be a bit weak. Sure, his plans were foiled, but they were still rather ingenious. Strength seems fair for his build and actions in the episode, though it may be a bit high for a diplomat. Let down by a couple of elements, the score drops to an average 3.

STOCKABILITY: VIPs are certainly less useful than most other classifications, but with 4 skills, Sharat does ok for himself. The Staff icon is also a small plus. Treachery makes me see him as an easy fit in Romulan and Cardassian decks, for example, or complementary to a Fed deck. The addition of Computer Skill means he can use an Airlock, though you'd have to boost his attributes. CUNNING is paltry and STRENGTH, while above average, isn't great. Diplomacy and Exobiology are good skills, though the former is common on VIPs. Comes off as average: a 3.

TOTAL: 12.4 (62%) Lackluster.

#2287-Skullduggery, Dilemma, space/planet, DS9

"Quark was 'encouraged' to help Rao Vantika commandeer a shipment of deuridium arriving at Deep Space 9."

-One personnel present (random selection) is killed (only "stopped" if that personnel has Treachery OR Acquisition OR Greed OR Smuggling OR INTEGRITY<5). Mission continues.

PICTURE: Quark's skull in a vise is a dark image that lacks color, but it has energy, and is as violent as its game text leads us to believe. I'll say 3.1.

LORE: Short, but the "encouragement" is a fun word choice to feature Decipher's usual dry humor. The title could make a good Voyager episode title ;-). In the final analysis, I gotta say I find the syntax uninspiring. A 3.2.

TREK SENSE: Criminal shenanigans are no doubt rarer aboard ships, but we've seen enough of them to include this one as a space/planet dilemma. The idea is that a criminal of some kind hassles a personnel for some favor. The included list of survivors have the ability to help him, all others are killed. I don't really care for our criminal selecting at random - it seems like a dumb move. As for the list of survivors (who are still stopped since they're doing something for the criminal), they all make sense. Unethical personnel either give in (low Integrity) or wanted to betray his or her group all along (Treachery) or accept a bribe (Greed). Smuggling and Acquisition are professions that can cater to criminals specifically. I guess only the random selection really hurts the card, though specific survivors that are only stopped might be harder to convince than others. Manages 3.5.

SEEDABILITY: Skullduggery is sure to hit. How badly depends on a random selection. Honorable affiliations like the Klingons and Federation have a better chance of losing a personnel for good. Others (and there are more of those others) are more likely to get a personnel filtered out instead. Either option could happen to any Away Team or crew, of course. Treachery and low INTEGRITY are the easiest way to survive the dilemma (so the Dominion is about half-safe), while the rest are rarer. Ferengi are probably safe from the kill thanks to these, however. A good follow-up for Skullduggery is any dilemma requiring Treachery, possibly, since that skill often accompanies the other requirements. This could be New Essentialists or Dangerous Liaisons, for example. Arms Deal and Chula: The Game might be used effectively to stop the rest of a team. Of course, you're always at the mercy of that random selection. Good thing it always hits, it scores 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.3 (66.5%) Just what it is - a common dilemma making fair use of new DS9 skills.

#2299-Smoke Bomb, Interrupt, DS9

"Small, hand-held device used to create a diversion in combat situations. Used by Deep Space 9 personnel during battle against occupying forces from the Circle."

-Plays at start of personnel battle; any or all of your non-Borg personnel may hide from that battle. OR Plays to "stop" one crew or Away Team where you have personnel present.

PICTURE: Despite the gas coming out of the grenade, this is pretty much a prop shot. A dull gray one, to boot. Maybe more of the effects, than the source of the smoke, next time? A boring 2.

LORE: In general, then a specific example. It's good, though a bit stiff and dry. An average 3.

TREK SENSE: The card features two ways to using the Smoke Bomb. The first is at the start of a personnel battle. Your personnel throw it, and under the cover of smoke, they run away. They don't have to ALL run away (it's good to have a choice), and note that the Borg don't run from battle... But they CAN use Smoke Bomb's second function! Well, we've never seen them do so, but they can assimilate and adapt any strategy, right? That second effect has your personnel throw the Bomb more directly AT opposing personnel, confusing them, choking them, etc., which basically stops them. Heck, you can even stop your own Away Team or crew, they're not immune. Given the way it works as a surprise move, the card is probably better as an Interrupt than as an Equipment card, so that's ok too. Adjusting the score to take into account the less likely effect of this on androids and such, we arrive at a quite sensible 4.5.

STOCKABILITY: This universal stopper can protect your personnel from personnel battle, either in toto, in effect nullifying that battle, or partially, not unlike Bodyguards, but without the requirements. That, in itself, is quite useful, protecting your personnel from assault teams, capture, assimilation, organ harvest, etc. All that is required is to have it in hand when needed. The second effect is more generic, and thus more interesting. The requirement here is to simply have a personnel present where you want to play it, and when played, it stops an entire crew or Away Team. Stop a mission attempt in full swing? (In between dilemmas, obviously, with Anastasia's download, more on it later.) Yep, you can do that either to your opponent, stalling their attempt, or to yourself when you recognize a nasty combo in the making and don't want to lunge into it. Experienced players can use this to good effect, I'm sure. When using intruders, stopping a crew could buy you the time needed to do whatever you're doing there unmolested, whether that's assimilating personnel with downloaded drones (Undetected Beam-In), or successfully probing for Assimilate Starship. Anastasia Komananov can download the card, no doubt to help her survive attack while she's Issuing Secret Orders (she isn't actually an infiltrator, you see). It's harder to get your personnel aboard an opponent's ship, but planet locations should be easy to beam to, wait for the opponent's turn to begin, and throw a Smoke Bomb. Both defensive and offensive, I see it as a 4.4.

TOTAL: 13.9 (69.5%) An underrated card lost in the fog, this one.

#2311-Sorus, Personnel, Romulan, DS9

"Technician who accompanied a Romulan delegation, led by Ruwon and Karina, to Deep Space 9 in 2369."

-ENGINEER, Cybernetics, Computer Skill, Physics, Treachery; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 5, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: An unknown Romulan, he doesn't really draw our attention, but the round door behind him creates a nice arc that helps composition. That alone makes the card succeed on an aesthetic level. On a practical level, wasn't this guy just a bodyguard? A 3.2.

LORE: Dull, dull, dull. Names and dates, and not much else. Like why his skill package would even be needed on that mission. A full line of text remains unused, and what's there is truly lackluster. Even universals routinely get better lore. How about 1.5?

TREK SENSE: Not much to go on, except the mission his delegation was on. We know these guys (from "Visionary") were acting as if they were negotiators, but as a "technician", that's really not Sorus' thing. Their keeping an eye on the Klingons and eventual destruction of DS9 (in one timeline) is probably more up his alley. Ok, so that certainly gives us Treachery. What else? Well, installing spyware might be worth the Computer Skill. Engineer and Physics might certainly come into it as well, depending on the equipment used, or he could be running the Cloaking Device. Cybernetics is a mystery, more or less there as a mirror to Bo'rak's, but what Sorus had to do with androids... They're just trying to get the skill onto another Romulan. Staff icon's fine. Integrity's a bit high for a Treachery personnel, where a 4 would have been enough to keep him loyal to the Star Empire. Cunning fits his skills and species, as does Strength. There's nothing too convincing here when the character was only seen on guard duty. A random collection of Engineer-related skills, basically. I can't go higher than 2.3 on this design.

STOCKABILITY: The Romulans had no good ENGINEER-classification personnel when DS9 came out, and still have relatively few. Sorus isn't quite up to Nevala's standard, but he's still got a lot going for him. Aside from the always-important ENGINEER, Computer Skill and Treachery, though common, are required quite often in Romulan decks. He's got the skill redundancy to succeed. Attributes are high, with INTEGRITY being Firestorm-proof. You'll use him based on Cybernetics, however. If you don't use androids, then it's close to dead weight, especially if also using Telak of the Tal Shiar. If using androids and Cybernetics Expertise, then he can help you report Data and Picard, and any Non-Aligned android you might like to use (the universal Soong-Type, Lore or some other version of Data, most likely). Solid, but doesn't always stand out. A 3.5.

TOTAL: 10.5 (52.5%) On any given day, who even remembers this guy?

#2323-Study Badlands, Mission, space, Any crew may attempt, universal, DS9

Badlands Region*Plasma Storms: Chart region of intense plasma activity.

-Navigation x2 + Stellar Cartography x2

-Span: 5, 25 points

PICTURE: Just plasma clouds, but angry-looking, and they're continuous enough that they can be seeded together and look like a true region. Nice bleed and everything. A good 3.5.

LORE: Not sure "Plasma Storms" is really a viable location name, though the Badlands might have such a place that's constantly in upheaval (if Jupiter's eye can rage for centuries on end...). Short, but adequate at an even 3.

TREK SENSE: The Badlands are a region, that's established fact, and it's a region where you or your enemies can effectively hide. I suppose that's the motivation for any crew to Study the Badlands, since Navigation and Stellar Cartography are both means of mapping the area, avoid its storms, etc. There's no actual scientific component here. That's not a flaw, just a particular focus. Because of the navigational dangers, a long Span is indicated (which could have been shortened when the mission was solved, a missed opportunity). The points are ok, since each copy of the card would only provide part of a larger picture of the area. Fine, though not very imaginative. The Maquis might have had a little bonus here, for example. Anyway, a 3.5.

SEEDABILITY: The universal component of the Badlands Region, it may not yield an impressive amount of points, but it brings those easy requirements together in a string. So despite the long Span (Bajorans have helpful Interceptors here), your missions wouldn't be far apart. All other Badlands missions have Navigation x2 as a requirement, so you can also include a planet mission (Search and Rescue) without missing a beat. With Assign Mission Specialists, the Feds can certainly boost those 25 points, as can others. While you're solving missions all in the same Region, Study Badlands can cause problems for your opponent. First of all, it creates a buffer of immense Span perhaps between some vital opposing missions (or to cross because of Cytherians or somesuch). Navigate Plasma Storms can make that region even more troublesome for that opponent, damaging or destroying his or her ships. You, on the other hand, are expected to load up on Navigation for your mission attempts. A simple copy of this mission can also be used to send ships to the Delta Quadrant via Caretaker's Array. Watch out for mission theft, of course (more reason to use NPS). You can build a deck around such a mission, so a strong 3.8.

TOTAL: 13.8 (69%) Not so bad, eh?

#2335-Study Plasma Storm, Mission, space, Cardassian/Bajoran/Dominion, universal, DS9

Plasma storm: Observe violent disturbance and compensate for disruption of computer operations.

-SCIENCE + ENGINEER + Astrophysics + CUNNING>30

-Span: 2, 30 points; Computer Skill required to use any equipment here.

PICTURE: Oooh, all the pretty lights. Always nice to see a phenomenon that "bleeds" all over the template, though - and for a universal mission, that's fine - it's a little generic. I don't think we really have those colors elsewhere exactly, so it's an original in that sense. While misleading (see Trek Sense), a tiny Deep Space 9 in there somewhere would have been super-cool. Ah well. Still a good 3.3.

LORE: A mission in two parts, though the second really isn't a mission objective, but rather a mission consequence (something of a built-in dilemma). Maybe a different syntax could have helped here. As is, still good at 3.2.

TREK SENSE: There's a lot of good stuff here, but one glaring problem. On the show, the Plasma Storm hit DS9, but here, it's its own location. How can that be? If these storms can move about (or pop up at different places), then they should be movable pollution events or something. The affiliations mentioned can all be found in the Bajor region, near the Wormhole/Denorios Belt for whatever reason, but the mission isn't even made part of that region. At least, that would have allowed it to be near DS9, if not right on it. With that Span of 2, it would have fit right in there. But that's it as far as the truly major problems go. Science and Astrophysics cover the study aspect of the requirements, and Engineer helps compensate for the computer disruption. Cunning may be applied to both. It's fun that there's a built-in effect, with actual computer disruptions that require someone trained in the Computer Skill to operate equipment, though Computer Skill should also be part of the requirements, at least, according to the lore. And while you can believe PADDs and Tricorders would be disrupted, what about Bat'leths? Some equipment cards just don't run on computers, even the most basic ones you might expect of Phasers. And how can holograms NOT be disrupted? (The personnel, I mean.) Sets up something it can't really deliver. Points are fine, of course. It all amounts to too many problems to get more than a 2 in the end.

SEEDABILITY: A pretty easy mission for three affiliations that can't really use Assign Mission Specialists to boost those rather dull 30 points, not without Non-Aligned help at least. Still, as a quick universal, it can be of use, and its limit on which affiliations may attempt it may make it less of a theft risk. Since you CAN use more than one, skill redundancy can also come in, and I can easily see a player get his first 60 points with this, and the rest from a bigger planet mission. That said, it may also be interesting to just play one or more of these on the spaceline as pollution, creating pockets where players can't use equipment unless they have Computer Skill present. For example, you only need a couple of Computer Skill personnel (more than one as insurance) to help mount an attack on Computer Skill-less crews that can't benefit from their hand weapons. But do those Away Teams exist? Computer Skill is one of the most common skills! Phaser Burns, Captured and other cards that knock off personnel before a start fights might be of interest, but there may be times when you can't bump each of those personnel off. And by the time you do, you can probably win those fights without the extra help. Keying off a single Computer Skill produces an easily dismissed effect. Solid mission with little payoff. A 3.

TOTAL: 11.5 (57.5%) Doesn't help that I keep mistaking it with Navigate Plasma Storms.

#2347-"Subspace Seaweed", Dilemma, space, DS9

"In 2370, a runabout piloted by Jadzia Dax collided with a protouniverse. The 'subspace seaweed' lodged in the ship's warp nacelle until it was transferred to DS9's science lab."

-Unless 3 Navigation aboard, place on ship. Reduces RANGE by 3 (cumulative). Your Transporter Skill may subsequently beam dilemma to your Science Lab at same location.

PICTURE: Screen shots are frequently dull, but by having a video effects shot in there, we can't say that about Subspace Seaweed. Nice color palette and a nice shot of the runabout nacelle. Unfortunate that reflections come in to mess all of that up. Ends up at 3.1. Still good.

LORE: Well told and pointing directly to elements in the game text. Nothing bad, nothing great. A 3.

TREK SENSE: A tiny little universe (or similar phenomenon) is unseen and unavoided unless there's enough Navigation aboard to notice it in time. If it hits, it destabilizes your warp field, dropping your Range. I'm ok with all that, and though we have no real evidence the effect would be cumulative, I'm not against the idea either. Just like in the show, you can beam the Seaweed to your Science Lab for study. Transporter Skill is needed since it's an odd thing to transport. From there, the Protouniverse card will have tell the rest of the story. Necessarily incomplete then, but 'til we get there, it all works. And it doesn't HAVE to become a Protouniverse if the card is never played - there's plenty of other pollution out there. A 4.5.

SEEDABILITY: 3 Navigation isn't that hard a requirement seeing as Navigation is one of the most common skills in the game, but skillful or lucky filtering can help. Once it does hit, Subspace Seaweed is an immediate nuisance, and can become even more dangerous. The instant effect is to reduce the ship's RANGE by 3 (if you seed multiple Seaweeds at various missions, this is a cumulative effect that can cripple a ship eventually), making it vulnerable to Abandon Ship. High-span missions could be a good addition to your deck if you're using the dilemma. Your opponent can get rid of it with Transporter Skill IF she has a Nor with a Science Lab on it (not necessarily one of the more common Sites). But there's more than just slowing your opponent down! The Protouniverse interrupt can be dropped on the dilemma, initiating a countdown until the destruction of the ship or Nor (so is shuffling it to the station a good idea?). The card has fairly high requirements, but even if met and Protouniverse nullified, the ship or Nor will still be damaged. Needs some dedication if you want to use it to its maximum, but could distract enough to let you complete some missions while your opponent scrambles. A 4.

TOTAL: 14.6 (73%) Pays to be original.

#2359-Surmak Ren, Personnel, Bajoran, DS9

"Chief administrator of Ilvian Medical Complex. Former Bajoran resistance member. Helped develop an aphasia virus which years later would infect Deep Space 9."

-MEDICAL, SCIENCE, Biology, Resistance; May nullify Aphasia Device where present

-INTEGRITY: 5, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: A good, fairly intense close-up, which is a welcome change of pace. When you get a new affiliation, as we did in DS9 (we got two), there are a lot of one-off characters, and they tend to be standard bust shots. So I do appreciate that Surmak Ren went another way. A for effort, 3.3 for Picture.

LORE: Pretty ordinary until we get to the last phrase, which I like for its syntax. A good way to temporalize his storyline. A 3.2.

TREK SENSE: Surmak Ren was in the Resistance, and that skill sticks to you like glue, because it represents a web of contacts. For that loose organization, he helped create an unusual virus, and the rest of his skills go toward that effort. He was the only one alive to really understand the work, so he can nullify Aphasia Device, the delivery mechanism of said virus. High Cunning is indicated, as is middling Integrity, especially since he refused to help DS9 except under duress. Strength is too high, in my opinion, because he's an old man now. Resistance training or not, he was still a lab jockey back then, and is now a desk hugger. There's no reason for average Strength. A simple, but effective design, he gets a very good 4.

STOCKABILITY: Aphasia Device remains a pretty potent dilemma with its quarantine and fairly heavy cure requirements, but for the Bajorans, Surmak Ren is a simple solution. He's good to bring along on space missions. His dual-classification is likewise excellent for other dilemmas, as is Biology. It's too bad the Bajorans don't have more MEDICAL-related missions, really. Resistance shouldn't be dismissed either, since it allows for some HQ: War Room and Earring of Li Nalas boosts to attributes, overcomes a small number of nasty dilemmas (like Palukoo and No Loose Ends) and plenty more. Since he's effective at space missions, he could stay aboard a ship with a brig and be used to put the screws on captives, for example. No real weaknesses in attributes, but no staffing icon rounds out the package. Overall, I'd say good enough for a 3.6.

TOTAL: 14.1 (70.5%) A old guy, but still has some life in him.

#2371-Survey Star System, Mission, space, Klingon/Cardassian/Bajoran/Ferengi, universal, Gamma quadrant, DS9

Planetary system: Scan uncharted system for inhabited, habitable and resource-rich worlds.

-Navigation + Stellar Cartography + Diplomacy + SCIENCE

-Span: 3, 30 points

PICTURE: A Decipher creation, I think, not from any episode, but a pretty nice one. We see the whole system, the central star doesn't disappoint, and there's even a gas ring to make things a little more interesting. A cool 3.5.

LORE: They describe three kinds of worlds that might be of interest, making this brief text rather efficient. A good 3.5.

TREK SENSE: I suppose this is a preliminary charting of a Gamma Quadrant system, with no actual landing on any planet. If that's so, what's Diplomacy all about? Are we only meeting inhabitants on a viewscreen? And really, are all these systems inhabited with a contactable society? This is Star Trek, so it's more likely than not. Not sure the Klingons and Cardassians really care about making Diplomatic contact though. Is it the Dominion's claim on the region that has to be finagled? In that case, I just don't see Diplomacy helping, not after the Dominion gave its ultimatum. Science and Stellar Cartography are obvious choices for a charting mission, though Geology might have been useful in determining each planet's resource potential. Science is a wider skill that would include charting flora and fauna, I suppose. I'm less enamored of Navigation. Are there gravitational dangers in each of these systems that makes the road dangerous? How hard can it be to simply reach a system? Just point the ship towards a star and go. The attempting affiliations all have something to gain from incursions in the Gamma Quadrant, and have all tried their hands, but I can't believe the Feds aren't in on this. Span's fine, just a touch far so that the mission lies in uncharted territory. Points are ok too, as is the idea that this would be universal. Some disappointments, if nothing major, so a 2.5.

SEEDABILITY: A universal Gamma Quadrant mission for Alpha Quadrant personnel, and it requires only single skills and no attributes. Shouldn't be too hard to come up with those, and, slapping on Explore GQ, win the 35 points. The Klingons can go higher with Assign Mission Specialists, adding another 10 points without much effort, turning expectations on their heads and not going the Honor route. As a universal mission, it's got skill redundancy going for it, though make sure you can travel quickly to the GQ. A fair 3.4.

TOTAL: 12.9 (64.5%) Seen better, seen worse, in my travels through the galaxy.

#2383-Symbiont Diagnosis, Mission, planet, Federation, DS9

Trill: Identify treatment options for ailing Trill host and assess status of symbiont.

-Trill with symbiont + MEDICAL x3 + OFFICER + Diplomacy x2 + Anthropology + CUNNING>45

-Span: 3, 45 points

PICTURE: Trill is a pretty planet, the green skies reflecting in the oceans here. It works though the fx are a bit blurry. That's a more realistic look anyway. A solid 3.2 (hard to do something special with planet missions).

LORE: Though the mission is called Diagnosis, and the lore goes into detail about this check-up, shouldn't it be more about curing the Symbiont of whatever ails it? The hefty mission requirements would seem to say so, but that's absent here. Otherwise reads fine. A 2.5 for being off-message.

TREK SENSE: It seems like your symbiont (as represented by your Trill host) is having some kind of trouble, so you fly it to Trill to have a look at it. The flaw here is that the Trill in question doesn't suffer in any way, and though you might say it only becomes sick when you commit to the mission, abandoning it doesn't do anything to the Trill either. Maybe the Trill itself should have been behind the scenes, Symbiont Bob if you will, but that would probably have been less satisfying. It's also a little strange that you would have to bring all the Medical, etc. Why go to Trill if you already had the expertise? Well, there are those mud baths, but still, why not make use of the native expertise? Then again, on the show, our heroes found out there were more potential hosts than was reported. So is the mission also to blow the lid off that little scandal, however inadvertently? Would seem so, especially with Officer, your own Medical experts, and an ungodly amount of Cunning in there. Officer, for example, would give you access to various information from across the Federation. In that case, Diplomacy is as much to deal with the hospitial staff as it is with the excentric Guardians. Anthropology gives you the knowledge of Trill society necessary to come to the right conclusion, etc. Span looks ok, but the points would be high if we were saving a single personnel. The big reveal is perhaps more worthy, but if we're gonna hush it all up anyway, 45 is still too high. Something of a mess, really, though a title change would have made a lot of difference. A 2.8.

SEEDABILITY: 45 points seems like awsome booty, especially with the Feds having access to enough mission specialists to bring this up to 60 (In the Zone not withstanding), but it's not the Hunt for DNA Program it sets out to be. It's much harder than Hunt (especially the CUNNING requirement) and worth 10 points less. Furthermore, the requirement of a Trill host pretty much limits us to using a unique personnel, which doesn't leave much room for backup personnel in case he or she dies. At least, the short list consisting of the Dax persona, Captain Dax and Kareel Odan has been supplemented by 2E's Curzon Odo and Lenara Kahn, though one of these isn't Federation. Still, that's a bit better. So if there's something that holds this card back, it's the level of difficulty. A 3.4.

TOTAL: 11.9 (59.5%) Definitely not a Hunt for DNA Program.

#2395-System 5 Disruptors, Event, DS9

"The Groumall was jury-rigged with large planetary disruptors salvaged from the destroyed outpost on Korma. The upgrade required emptying the cargo bay, which cost Dukat his profits."

-Plays on your freighter, transport or merchant vessel. Ship is WEAPONS +4, but is SHIELDS -1 and no longer qualifies as a freighter, transport or merchant vessel.

PICTURE: Doesn't work. Sorry. The emphasis is all on the bird-of-prey's tractor beam, and the disruptor fire looks way too much like a torpedo. Weird set-up, cramped, and you don't get a clear sense of the action. A 2 for all the nice models.

LORE: Tells the story well enough, with respect to the game text, but without hammering the points home too hard. A 3.2.

TREK SENSE: This card helps you modify a ship with a large cargo bay and little offensive ability into an improvised warship with some teeth. You sacrifice that cargo space (meaning the ship is no longer a freighter or listed equivalent) for the rather large Disruptor. This boosts your Weapons significantly, but also costs you a point in Shields, since you now have an open door on the ship, and possibly some maneuverability problems. I love this design. It does pretty much what it did on the show. There were other ways to go, such as actually giving it planetary defense capability and making it an Equipment card, but this direction is good too, and more in keeping with its function in "Blaze of Glory". A 4.6.

STOCKABILITY: There is call for freighters, merchant vessels and transports for cargo runs, but these ships have notoriously little battle ability. Some are easy pickings for bigger, badder ships, while others are only covered in the SHIELDS area, and have no WEAPONS to retaliate with. Enter System 5 Disruptors, which'll give those vessels an immense +4 boost to WEAPONS, though at the cost of a point in SHIELDS. Of course, you have to do this after your cargo run, because the ship also loses its status as a freighter. So what's the point? I'd much rather have the ship keep making cargo runs myself! Well, freighters are often easier to staff, and might even download with Hidden Fighter (like the Zibalian Transport or the Baxial). Best use though is in combination with a matching commander's mercantile vessel. The Groumall, for example, downloads this card, putting the ship's stats at 7-8-6. Add Dukat and Captain's Log/Plaque, and you have 9-11-9, all staffed and ready to go with that single personnel. You're looking for already high attributes and the possibility of boosting them further, especially to balance out the SHIELDS penalty. As a general rule though, when you use a freighter et al., it's to make use of that aspect of the ship (cargo runs, Deliver Supplies, etc.), but if you want it because of its matching commander, or for free reporting at Docking Ports, and what you do with it later isn't related to merchant business, by all means, boost its WEAPONS. It helps you have Security Briefing out, since the event plays free there. Manages 3.4.

TOTAL: 13.2 (66%) Features good story-telling, if little else.

#2408-T'Kar, Personnel, Klingon, DS9

"Klingon mercenary used by Verad. Helped capture Jadzia in an attempt to steal the Dax symbiont."

-SECURITY, Navigation x2, ENGINEER, Treachery; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 3, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 9

PICTURE: Tuvok as a Klingon, eh? Well, it's an ok pic, well supported by an intriguingly composed background. Not very revealing of his character, however. A 3.2.

LORE: Tells the story, but doesn't go beyond that. The room to spare makes him dull. Only 2.8.

TREK SENSE: As a mercenary, a thug-for-hire or soldier of fortune if you will, he's Security. Fair enough, but if he's for hire, why isn't he Non-Aligned? Working for money doesn't sound very honorable, and in fact, he's a pretty nasty guy, so Treachery and low Integrity are also indicated. His other skills are based on the idea that Verad needed someone to take him to DS9 during a plasma storm. That would require very strong Navigational skills, yes, so certainly a Staff icon. Not sure about the Engineer. It's ok, but not as sound an extrapolation as the rest. Cunning could have been lower, but it's ok. Strength is high on account of his job and species (hey, they did manage to hijack the station). A number of mistakes and questions keep him at 2.5.

STOCKABILITY: SECURITY/ENGINEER is a good combination, and the Navigation x2 is excellent against/for Badlands decks as well as a number of dilemmas. Not for Klingon Honor decks exactly, he could nonetheless work well in strategies using the various missions from the Deep Space 9 expansions. Good STRENGTH for battling, though the other attributes go from bad to lackluster. His useful skill combination allows him to hit 3.4.

TOTAL: 11.9 (59.5%) Tim Russ is bound to do better later (and already did with Mr. Tuvok).

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