To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for the Rules of Acquisition expansion set.

PICTURE: The pose is interesting as it has this Ferengi inspecting a mineral, assessing its value. It also hides his face enough that you wouldn't necessarily recognize Armin Shimmerman ("Quark") in the role. I kinda like the furs on the uniform, but the purple-pink sky has to go. A still fun 3.6.

LORE: Universality is acknowledged, and using the name of another Ferengi personnel in the lore helps with the 6th Rule, but the story itself is pretty bland. The extra space could have been used for flavor... ah well. Just your average 3.

TREK SENSE: Letek is described as your typical first officer, so you always have to ask yourselves if every Ferengi first officer could and would have those skills. I think they all work out except Medical, which requires a lot more training than the others. But how is Letek himself represented? The Officer/Command icon combo is pretty natural, of course. In the show, he was one of the bad guys, his crew having stolen an energy converter from the Federation. That accounts for Treachery. Geology is pictured on the card itself: Letek seems interested in ores (and it's a perfectly reasonable skill for exploitative Ferengi to have). The Medical, I can't really find a reason for though (intimate knowledge of Ferengi Whip effects on the nervous system seems kind of a stretch). The dilemma nullification makes sense in that he led the Ferengi Attack pictured. He can't attack himself, you might say. Seriously though, it's sensible that while some Ferengi would attack others, a high up guy like a first officer could exert some authority over these attack parties. Of course, it would have been better if the dilemma couldn't touch Ferengi Away Teams whatsoever, carrying over the normal attack restrictions. After all, if a guy like Letek, who has neither Diplomacy nor Leadership, can stop an attack, why can't DaiMons and Nagi? The low Integrity matches the Treachery, so that's okay. The Cunning's fine though it could have been lower given the characterization of Ferengi back then. And the Strength, when you remember Ferengi Attack, should be that high, yes. A number of poorer elements relegate this Ferengi to 2.5.

STOCKABILITY: Letek's a cool universal personnel on account of his MEDICAL skill. It's fairly rare in the Ferengi Alliance, and it's never been anything but useful to mission attempts (and various other effects, such as running Genetronic Replicator). Geology is more common, but that's as much on attemptable missions (plus Forced-Labor Camp) as it is on personnel. Another requirement found on more than a few Ferengi missions is Treachery, and Letek can add to that as well. It also allows him to discard the also universal Taar for equipment or cards via the 6th Rule of Acquisition. The high STRENGTH is pretty rare for Ferengi, so he'll make a good OFFICER for passing Maglock, but also to populate your assault teams. Another dilemma that Letek can pass is Ferengi Attack as per his special skill. Now, you don't really need that given the amount of Greed in a typical Ferengi Away Team, but it could still protect you from self-seeded Ferengi Attacks meant to be doubled by Taar if those missions were ever thieved. Bah. A whole line of game text to nullify a relatively easy dilemma is kind of a waste (though thematically sound). So basically, some good skills and attributes on a universal, but a lackluster special skill. Still 3.5.

TOTAL: 12.6 (63%) Why no Ferengi Whip download instead?

PICTURE: The expression matches the quote the lore puts in his mouth (which isn't from the show), and the background lines make for a balanced composition. To be fair, 3.5.

LORE: The gem in Lurin's lore is of course the Scooby-Doo quote at the end. Lurin was beaten by the lil' TNG Rascals, and this is a very clever way to get that in. The rest is pretty much standard episode context, but it helps explain the skills, so an inspired 4.7 here.

TREK SENSE: As DaiMon, Lurin will be an Officer with a Command icon and Leadership. Fair enough. A Greedy Ferengi? That's likewise probable ;-). The Transporter Skill might have come in when boarding the Enterprise and beaming its personnel down to Ligos VII where they were put to work in the mines (that accounts for Geology), mines which are really a Forced-Labor Camp (Ligos VII is even mentioned on that card). That last point takes care of the special download, one that fits snugly on this card. Stealing ships and enslaving people might have afforded him a little lower Integrity, though 4 is adequate, but also the skill of Treachery. Where is it? He's smart enough to pull this off, though not so smart that he couldn't be beaten by a bunch of adults in children's clothing. 8 is okay. And the slightly high Strength fits these more militarily-minded TNG Ferengi. I'd say they did a good job, enough for a 3.9.

STOCKABILITY: For your run-of-the-mill mission solving, Lurin's got a number of good skills. He's an OFFICER with Maglock-passing STRENGTH, Geology's on a number of dilemmas, Transporter Skill's a bit rarer, but nonetheless required of missions (like Deliver Supplies) and dilemmas alike. And Leadership's always good too. Greed is not only found on a number of Ferengi missions, but it also allows him to use many Rules of Acquisition as well as Bribery. Speaking of Rules, he's the perfect Ferengi personnel manager to use in combination with the 6th Rule. Though Quark gets mentioned on plenty of personnel, they're usually good ones you wouldn't want to send to the bottom of draw deck as readily. Lurin's mentioned on more universals, which make for cheap card draws and downloads. And then there's the special download. Lurin helps you broaden your choices when making up your spaceline, and has the requisite Geology to boot to help you solve the targeted mission (and good STRENGTH at Ligos VII and Cardassia IV). The personnel/mission management tricks get this guy up to a very good 3.9.

TOTAL: 16 (80%) I'm just waiting for someone to rip his mask off ;-).

PICTURE: The sad face goes back to the tradition of silent clowns and is well captured, but it's the background that wins me over. That Mondrian-type lighting fixture is bold, works with the geometry of Maihar'du's face and is placed so as to make the Hupyrian as tall as he should be. A 4, I think.

LORE: The lore gets poetic about Maihar'du's vow of silence, and his list of functions go from the useful (bodyguard) to the extremely silly (handkerchief valet), all without missing a beat. A strong 4.

TREK SENSE: A bodyguard would indeed be Security-classification, and Maihard'hu's as good as they come. He would have to be to work for the leader of a major power. Giving him a Bodyguards download makes him that prototypical bodyguard. That he can instead download Security Sacrifice just goes to his extreme loyalty (though he should probably only be allowed to save Zek with it, and use it himself for that matter). Be that as it may, he's Zek's pilot, so gets Navigation. x2 is a bit of an exageration though, or maybe I'm prejudiced against bulky Hupyrians. Either way, this wasn't explicitly shown on the show. Nor was Exobiology for that matter, which no doubt relates to his taking care of Zek's general health. Iffy. He did travel with the Scepter of the Grand Nagus, making various people kiss it, or would hand it to Zek on occasion. That makes that piece of equipment an appropriate download (though you have expected it on Grand Nagus Zek). If Integrity is a mark of loyalty, then yes, Maihar'du deserves his 9. If it's a more general measure of ethics, then again, I'll take the 9. When was this character ever mean to another? He seemed genuinely compationate, and even when Zek was being nasty, was, I think, the main reason we forgave the Nagus his transgressions. After all, someone who had Maihar'du as his chief servant couldn't be all bad. It's obvious he's smart, don't let the mutism fool you, and the high Strength, that comes with the profession (and size). Though stretching logic a bit on the standard skills, this is a good representation of Tiny Ron's character. A 3.9, if you'll allow.

STOCKABILITY: Maihar'du brings a little cultural diversity to the Ferengi with uncommonly high STRENGTH and INTEGRITY. He'll help in personnel battle through more than just the STRENGTH though. The best Ferengi personnel being CIVILIANs and VIPs with low STRENGTH, Maihar'du can help them survive such encounters by a variety of means. He can download Bodyguards (I love special downloads because you can suspend play and surprise your opponent with them at the start of a battle) to protect them, or pre-arrange your combat pile to make him face the strongest opponent. Being a bodyguard, you might have seeded the incident already (as a Hidden Agenda if you like the surprise option), leaving him open to instead download Security Sacrifice to substitute himself (or another SECURITY, no need to lose him) for another personnel just selected to die. And if your Nagus is present, well, Maihar'du can get him his Scepter just as quickly, protecting Zek, Gint or whoever in personnel battle thanks to the stun effect, but also enabling free card plays and Rule nullifications. Maihar'du also has skills he brings to bear, such as a high level of Navigation, always useful (and not just when your Ferengi are in the Badlands), and the dilemma-friendly Exobiology. I'm not forgetting the equally excellent SECURITY which further allows the Hupyrian to download early via Defend Homeworld and the bodyguard designation which adds A Fast Ship to the dilemmas he helps with. I think I already mentioned the high attributes. In Mirror decks, Maihar'du can work with the Alliance where his high STRENGTH will be more offensive, and can get to the other quadrant thanks to a downloaded Multidimensional Transport Device (or a reported one that can conveniently download HIM). Ferengi are well known for fast and early reporting, so you don't even have to use the aforementioned Defend Homeworld here: he'll download to your Nagus at a Ferengi Conference, or if in hand, reports for free at the Tower of Commerce. A staple of most Ferengi decks at 4.5.

TOTAL: 16.4 (82%) You can be sure he won't boast about it. ;-)

PICTURE: Shows her in such a setting as to let us know she's more than a dabo girl (at her meeting with Benjamin Sisko), but the result is no doubt less attractive than a Quark's pic. Actually, my only real complaint is that the background is muddled, screwing with the overall composition. A 2.9.

LORE: No problems here. A little telegraphic, but it does give us more than the usual information for a secondary character. Plus, being a dabo girl is a help. A 3.3.

TREK SENSE: Mardah's a dabo girl, so a Ferengi employee. As we've seen before, that appears to be enough to be part of that affiliation (as well as her native Bajoran). Indeed, we should probably have a way for Ferengi to "pay" affiliated cards so they work with the affiliation (in lieu of a Treaty card). Just a thought. Anyway, back to our dabo girl: She's young enough to be a student AND involved with a teenager, so Youth is fine. She's in the process of becoming a Science-classification personnel thanks to her studies in entomology, a branch of Biology. Though it all sticks, you have to wonder a little when a student of a field is rated with the same skill(s) as someone with a degree in that field. Attribute-wise, she's a decent girl despite her maligned profession, which accounts for her relatively high Integrity. If she was accepted at a prestigious academy of science, why the low Cunning though? Maybe that marks her as a student when comparing her to other Science personnel. I'll buy it. The Strength is okay too. A 4 on this one.

STOCKABILITY: It's been discussed before that 3-skill personnel are a little harder to justify in in a deck, but there are several things that offset this in Mardah's case. First, she's a dabo girl, which allows you to keep the peace in Quark's Bar, and curb interrupts played by your opponent during your turn, as well as report to Quark's and work with the Dabo incident. As far as skills go, there are plenty of Youth personnel in each of her affiliations, too many for the amount of use it has (Ooby Dooby not withstanding), though Biology is rather rare for the Ferengi (and useful for anyone). SCIENCE is an extra classification anyone would be happy to include, and she's practically Unscientific Method-proof with that low CUNNING. Funnily enough, she's an excellent candidate to go practice her entomology in the Gamma Quadrant. The two mission which require more than one of her skills are Camping Trip and Colony Preparations. On that last mission, she'll also score double points are any downloaded Colony there. Plus, she's easy to report (First Minister Shakaar, Tower of Commerce, Ferengi Conference...) and shares in the many bonuses for Bajoran CIVILIANs. I think it works out to a 3.7.

TOTAL: 13.9 (69.5%) Not a bad grade.

PICTURE: Between the heavy motion blur, the low contrast on the hair and the silly moustache, there's not much to recommend about this peanut-headed Klingon. Maybe the reflective armor? Bah. Just a 1.5.

LORE: From "Apocalypse Rising", Marge... ahhhh, Margh has to be an elite warrior and all that. The lore does a bit better than average by helping the Medical skill along. The rest is basic Klingon stuff, but well done. Special bonus: mention of the High Council! A 3.4.

TREK SENSE: As an elite warrior about to be sworn in to the Order of the Bat'leth, I have no trouble with Margh being a Staff-level Security personnel. Security and soldier is pretty much interchangeable, or at least has been since the Jem'Hadar came on the scene, and he furthermore served as an honor guard. The resumé he's given in the lore certainly explains both Honor and Medical, but what about the rest? Well, as an elite, it's possible he would be highly skilled in various disciplines, but there's really nothing to prove that his skills tend toward Geology and/or Transporter Skill. Geology isn't even properly useable in battle. The big question is: why so low a rating on Integrity? He's got Honor, after all. I'm sure some of those "glorious victories" were attained during the less-than-honorable Klingon-Cardassian/Federation conflict, but he's being rewarded as a veteran here, not just for recent victories. Remember, drunkeness is a temporary condition (I hope!). No issue with Cunning and Strength however. All in all, I gotta wonder at some of the material here. Too much so. A 2.5.

STOCKABILITY: SECURITY/MEDICAL is an excellent (and rare!) dual-classification which'll helps with any number of dilemmas (Archer and Microvirus singlehandedly) and missions, as will most or all of his skills. Honor fits in beautifully in a Klingon deck, Geology is as good for Colony Preparations as it is for dilemmas like Odo's "Cousin", and Transporter Skill is rare but quite useful when you consider the tough dilemmas it countermands and the fact that Klingons might like to board ships using cards that require the skill. Add to that the fact that he reports for free at The Great Hall, bringing his great skill list to bear, and you have a modest winner on your hands (or in your hand, whatever the case may be). A simple and straightforward 3.7.

TOTAL: 11.1 (55.5%) Gowron doesn't pick them for their looks... or Trek Sense.

PICTURE: Four pieces of a system are visible, and I like how each one is so small. Big planets/stars are well developed in our minds, this system's importance may be just over the horizon. A sensible 3.6.

LORE: Not only is the title pulled from capitalist 20th-21st-century business terminology (classically Ferengi), I love the generic name of the place - "Undercommercialized" system is a hoot! And of course, there's the beautiful usurpation of the old Star Trek by-line: "seek out new life and new civilizations", given the Ferengi slant. An excellent and effective 4.5.

TREK SENSE: Solidly Ferengi, I accept the fact that Non-Aligned personnel are often mercenary in outlook, but Market Research? Should have been Ferengi-only. I have no problem with the universal nature of the mission, and the fact that this is basically unexplored space can be seen from its wide Span. I've always said that Greed was a kind of exploitation skill (ever since universal Planet, in fact), and a double dose is needed here because there is more than one planet. While Stellar Cartography maps the place out, I think Geology might also have been included to supplement your understanding of the system's mineral wealth. Acquisition allows you to better trade with the natives, while Anthropology gives you enough understanding of their culture(s) to properly cheat them out of their money. Cunning helps in this too, of course. Points are a tad high for a universal mission, but given the load of requirements, and the fact that annexing a whole system to your trading territory has to be worth something, makes it sensical enough. A strong 4.

SEEDABILITY: The Ferengi will have little trouble solving this one in multiples, and at 30 points, it's better than your average 25-point universal mission. You'll need high RANGE sure, but that's nothing your Latinum can't buy (in the form of Plasmadyne Relays, for example). The Ferengi have a lot of Greed and Acquisition, and Quark and Leeta are important personnel with the Anthropology. Stellar Cartography can be found easily enough too, and CUNNING is just about the Ferengi's only attribute strength. I think you can cover your Big Picture/Balancing Act bases by including something similar like universal Planet, or whatever else your personnel are good at. The NA icon on there also means you could use these in combination with the Non-Non-Affiliation. There are plenty of Greedy scum in that lot too, and you won't have any more trouble handling the mission, where you might even have seeded a Husnock Outpost. Heck, the NAs even have a couple of relevant mission specialists (Kathleen Tonell and Dr. Farek), which may help your Ferengi too, of course. It's got a lot of requirements, but it's still a good choice for the spaceline. A 3.7.

TOTAL: 15.8 (79%) I'll buy it!

PICTURE: A great one. Morn is effectively backlit, making him very solid in the foreground. The pose is pricelessly funny, and inextricably linked to Quark's Bar. And the whole thing is quite well framed to boot. I'm going to give it a 5. You heard me.

LORE: Though it starts out a bit too telegraphic for my tastes, and asks at least one odd question - will there ever be a Freighter card that Morn can command? - the two other lines are more interesting. Everything helps explain the skills, but not so dryly as to be boring. The word "talkative" should really have been somewhere on the card however. A still good 3.4.

TREK SENSE: Morn's real tie to Quark's Bar appears on the Site card, so you'll have to wait for that review to see me discuss it, but there are plenty of skills to cover here nonetheless. Freighter captains are Civilian merchants, but we've never really heard of his crew, if any, so the Command icon may be suspect. Navigation seems to infer that he piloted his ship all by himself, but I'm sure a captain could have Navigation even if he had a crew. Well... I'm sure he had one, it just never really came up. Being a merchant certainly affords him Acquisition, and in his case, Smuggling too. On a number of occasions while Deep Space 9 was occupied by the Dominion, he smuggled stuff across the front lines (not to mention what he hides in his belly). Having taken part in a heist, I think we can agree on the Greed. Engineer is a skill that's been alluded to on the show, whenever repairs to his ship were mentioned. And Biology? I'm not sure. He knew enough about his own anatomy to secret Gold-Pressed Latinum in his second stomach, I guess, and may have had special medical needs because of the cargo (he lost his hair to latinum poisoning, for example). The latinum being secret, he wouldn't have gone to a doctor for this. And of course, he can regurgitate the Latinum at any time to pay his bar tab or whatever, smoothly explaining the special download. A good guy that DS9 cast members could trust, but with a penchant for illegal dealings, Morn's middling Integrity seems sound. He may not seem very smart because we never hear him speak, but he's clever enough. A 7 in Cunning might have done. And a real beast of a humanoid, the high Strength may suit him, though I'm not really sure. Some deft design, but might exaggerate here and there. A 4 should do.

STOCKABILITY: Morn's one of the better Non-Aligneds, especially if you're using Deep Space 9/Terok Nor. He may report to Quark's Bar where, each turn, he allows you to draw an extra card. A great little engine that can be protected up to a point by waiters, dabo girls and his high STRENGTH. Better yet, he reports and even downloads to Cargo Bay, which isn't too far from Quark's Bar on your station. He'll work very well with the Ferengi, given that he can download Gold-Pressed Latinum in a pinch, whether it's to complete payment on an Equipment card, Bribe your way into a mission, or help Purchase Moon. Acquisition, Smuggling and Greed fit in very well with their skill requirements, while Navigation, Biology and ENGINEER are great in a variety of situations, including many dilemmas and missions. Speaking of dilemmas, he passes Blended as a bonus. A large skill pool, a multi-functional special download and a drawing engine all wrapped into one? That's a cool 4.2.

TOTAL: 16.6 (83%) A high credit margin.

PICTURE: This one's a yuck and a half. The excessive blurriness is only made worse by artificial line definition along the figure's head and arms, and the hand weapon seems dinky and unreal in his hands. All that, plus that terribly boring Enterprise bridge beige background. Ugh. A pretty poor 0.8.

LORE: The last sentence brings a touch of humor to what is mostly workman-like lore. I mean, the opening phrase is as dry and generic as they come, and the second is simply intent on unsubtly explaining the special download. The mention of Lurin has 6th Rule potential. All straight, ok stuff, but thank god for the befuddlement story. Rises to a 3.5 thanks to it.

TREK SENSE: Like they say, he's a Security officer (borne out by the pic, I think), and under orders from a DaiMon, so clearly, a Staff personnel. Leading an Assault Team gives him a perfect excuse to download Prepare Assault Teams, and no need for Leadership since that objective makes him a leader. Lurin's plan was to enslave Starfleet officers to work in his mining operation. Geology and Engineer are good for Morta because he could easily have worked there himself before they tried to get cheaper labor. I'm not sure they can support the Computer Skill though, given that Riker was able to hornswaggle him completely. If you know something about computers, would you really be that taken by Riker's bogus explanations? Maybe x½? Anyway, he's certainly got the low Cunning required to fall for the trick, and I think it also explains the middling Integrity. If you're not smart enough to be truly devious, you'll have a hard time being treacherous. The high Strength (for a Ferengi) fits thanks to his classification and show of force in his image. Very good work, I just don't really buy the Computer Skill. A 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: More hidden than a Hidden Agenda, in a sense, is a special download like his. Well, ok, it's not so hidden when it's printed right on the card, but it can pop up just as quickly in reaction to something that's just happened. Morta can engineer a surprise attack on personnel even if you have no leaders present (he becomes one), downloading an extra hand weapon in the process (+2/+3 STRENGTH). Prepare Assault Teams also includes an extra battling option, namely the chance to split up into more than one Away Team, which could mean two passes at the same battle, though there is an element of risk to the objective. Morta's a pretty good mission solver aside from that, being dual-classed as he is, sporting two of the best classifications in the game. Computer Skill has always been an important skill, and Geology ain't bad either (it's certainly useful for Forced-Labor Camp, Geological Survey, etc.). generally lame attributes, though the STRENGTH isn't bad I guess. Morta's mention of Lurin is also worth mentioning since it allows the DaiMon to trade Morta for Equipment cards, a ship or card draws, all without losing Morta to the discard pile. I have to say he's a winner worth a 4.

TOTAL: 12.1 (60.5%) Redeemed!

PICTURE: Wow, that bird-of-prey is really green, isn't it? Oddly lit, it may set itself apart in that way from its Klingon cousins, but I have to mention excessive blur and what looks like an artificial color wash. A merely ok 2.9.

LORE: I like the name given and its rationale in the lore, as well as the matching commander status accorded to Dukat. The rest explains the bird-of-prey's presence in Cardassian colors and recalls two episodes, but is pretty dry. Names and dates, basically. Enough for a 3.4.

TREK SENSE: First, the affiliation. I'm actually glad they didn't make the ship both Cardassian and Klingon (à la Battle Cruiser, etc.). The reason is that it is clearly commanded by a Cardassian, was renamed by a Cardassian and actually fought the Klingons. Fixed at that point in time, it can't be Klingon. But at the same time, Cardassia renounced Dukat and his cause, so he was more of a Non-Aligned then. I won't split hairs however, since where Dukat is, there lies the true Cardassia ;-). K'Vort class ships are usually outfitted just like this, and attribute-wise, have a point less in Weapons and Shields. What accounts for the Naprem's better stats? Perhaps Dukat's Cardassian crew tweaked its systems a bit? (Note that your basic Galor has 8-7-7 attributes.) The Klingons themselves may have boosted the ship because they were at war with the Cardassians at the time. In fact, it's not surprising that DS9 Klingon ships are tougher than their TNG cousins - they got to battle much more. I would have liked to see a change in staffing for the ship however, to show that because it wasn't a Cardassian design, it was tougher to fly for them. A Command icon instead of Staff would've done the trick. Nothing else to discuss here I don't think. Pretty standard stuff. I'll give a 3.4.

STOCKABILITY: Possibly the most efficient ship in the Cardassian fleet. While the Keldon Advanced also has a Cloaking Device, it'll also come at a high staffing price. The Naprem only requires 1 Staff icon and gives you Galor-level attributes, just as reportable to Docking Ports. With Dukat aboard, you can Log and Plaque this puppy to 10-10-10 pretty easily. Dukat can download there via Ready Room Door, or download the ship with Construct Starship. He also commands 2 other ships, so you can have him jump around if you really want, but this one remains the one with the best staffing-to-power ratio, especially when you consider the cloak. And you ARE using Dukat, aren't you? A cool 4.

TOTAL: 13.7 (68.5%) Its commander is still the #1 Cardassian in the game.

PICTURE: A little blurry, with a terrible black wash to the right. Rubbing his greedy little hands together like that, he could have been a cool - and appropriate - Ferengi card. Only a 2.2 here.

LORE: "Typical" to mean universal is fine by me, and then we get his resumé of past, and hopefully, future business activities. Very Ferengi indeed. A likeable 3.5.

TREK SENSE: As a unique Civilian merchant, we can justify Nava's skills. As a universal, it's hard to believe they would all have this same background. Leaving the universal icon behind then, we get the Acquisition associated with successful businessmen. The gouge-mining rewards him with Geology. And how do you make synthehol? There's no chemistry skill, so Science will have to do. Anthropology may be good to manipulate client societies, whether it's to open up a synthehol market or to take over refineries. Less to the point, but justifyable nonetheless. Gouge-mining, corporate take-overs... I'm not sure his Integrity should be this high. Ask anyone who lost money on Enron. His Cunning is about right for his level of success and onscreen demeanor. And the Strength fits a stocky (and possibly ruthless) Civilian. Universality seems to be this personnel's biggest problem. A 3.9.

STOCKABILITY: A 4-skill universal Ferengi should make it into many decks, especially with a useful classification like SCIENCE, while keeping the CIVILIAN required to download to a Ferengi Conference or report for free to the Tower of Commerce. Geology and Anthropology are uncommon skills that also see plenty of action now and should be useful. The Ferengi even have access to a couple of universal missions that require a SCIENCE/Geology combo. Universal missions, universal personnel, it could get pretty focused. The Acquisition is always important in a Ferengi deck, not only for Rules, but for missions and Establish Trade Route. Guess what? Nava remains the only universal Acquisition personnel they have (there are no NAs with it either). Since its sought after in multiples all the time, especially for ETR, I dare say Nava remains a good personnel for the affiliation. And since he's universal, Lumba can double that Acquisition. A very good 4.

TOTAL: 13.6 (68%) Somewhere around the middle.

PICTURE: The lighting's pretty dark for a TNG Ferengi, but it's always nice to have a character actually DO something other than talking or, at worse, reacting. That said, I find the tribbly background distracting, and the perspective screwy when it comes to the chess set (it almost looks like it's behind Nibor). All of that brings us to a 3.4.

LORE: The best things about the lore here is of course the last two lines about playing chess with Riker. The way we're told he not only lost, but was totally fooled by Riker is understated, funny and doesn't give away much of the plot. I love laughing at stupid Ferengi (almost any TNG specimen). For 6th Rule purposes, the mention of Tog helps. The rest is standard stuff. A good 4.1.

TREK SENSE: What classification would a security guard have other than Security? From there, we get 3 skills that, while possible, aren't quite proven by onscreen evidence. We didn't see very many of Tog's men in "Ménage à Troi", so it seems like everything the crew did, they've assigned to Nibor (Dr. Farek was spoken for). So he's piloting the ship (Navigation), working the communications (Computer Skill) and capturing Betazoid females (Transporter Skill). Except that he really did none of that on the show per se, and with a ship as big as the Krayton, I don't think his duties actually went beyond guard duty. That gets him the Computer Skill for working locks, I guess, but not much more. The middling-high Integrity could be attributed to a certain naiveté on his part, making him less than ruthless. Cunning could have been lower without my objecting, though I guess he knew how to play 3D chess. That has to count for something. Strength is relatively high for a Ferengi, but he was trained in Security. So while I'm fine with the attributes, I don't really believe in the skills. No more than a 1.9.

STOCKABILITY: A unique personnel with only 3 skills may not be your idea of a must-have, but Nibor does have a couple of things going for him. One of these is Transporter Skill, which is not only rather rare, but is relatively in demand on the few Ferengi missions we have. You really need someone to stand at the transporter console during Deliver Supplies, Collect Sample or Runabout Search. SECURITY is a good classification, one that is increasingly in demand, and both Navigation and Computer Skill are among the most common skills in the game, both as requirements and on personnel. Note that Navigation isn't THAT common for Ferengi, unusually enough. Another thing that works well for him is the 6th Rule of Acquisition, which allows Tog to get rid of this lukewarm personnel in exchange for 2 equipment, a ship or 3 card draws. Probably included because of the Transporter Skill (though mission specialist Hogan might be easier to get out), at least there's something you can do with Nibor once you're done with him. A 3.4.

TOTAL: 12.8 (64%) More of a pawn than a bishop... although in french, we call bishops fools ("fous").

PICTURE: The card is more silver than gray, which is a positive point about this image that does things fairly well. The background lines make a cleanly central composition, the costume is quite interesting with its black leaves and many broaches (is that a Vulcan design at the top of the cravate?), and the imperious air suits this FCA high-up. As good as a 3.8

LORE: There are some interesting tidbits about how the FCA is organized (with universality thrown in for good measure), then the slimy cola stuff (a very cool Ferengi detail). His "romantic interest" for Lumba is exposed in appropriately lascivious terms. A 3.6 here.

TREK SENSE: An FCA commissioner warrants him FCA, of course, and also VIP. As the Chairman of a major company, he gets Leadership and, most certainly, Greed. Acquisition would have worked too. And Biology? It puts the slime into the cola! It's the one skill that takes off from his universal status a little, because the rest works well as the template for your typical FCA commish. Attributes? You've got middling Integrity for being a greedy magnate, but at the same time allowing himself to be convinced about the cause of female rights. His Cunning could have been lower for being fooled by Quark/Lumba, but he certainly had business acumen. And the low Strength? It's the low point of the card when it comes to Trek Sense because it's way too decrepit. He was short and not a fighter, but not ill or especially old. 2 is too low. In total, I'm fairly pleased and give it a 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: He's an important one because he's a universal source of FCA for the Ferengi. The only other natural FCA personnel is Brunt, and on the chance of losing him, you'll need a backup. In any case, a few uses for FCA actually require more than one FCA, including Espionage Mission and Ferengi Bug. Nilva(s) can help with those, as well as gain an extra Leadership with Defensive Measures (the first is useful for battling while staying safe behind a Bodyguard), can initiate battle against other Ferengi with that card (maybe you want to clear an opposing Quark's Bar), and of course, cheaply enable Writ of Accountability. The card can also download Nilva who in any case, can report for free to the Tower of Commerce, and also download via Lumba's special download (he is Greed x2 in "her" presence) and the 1st Rule. Greed works well with other Rules, as well as with mission requirements, while Biology is just a plain ol' good skill (and rather rare in the Ferengi Alliance). He's a Chairman, so he can pass Executive Authorization. And guess how many universal VIPs the Ferengi have? Only this one, who makes a very cheap (and low-STRENGTH!) target for Vacuum-Dessicated Remains, gaining 3 card draws instead of 2 for a personnel you can have another copy of in play. Just the FCA stuff is strong, but he's got tricks up his sleeve. A good 4.4.

TOTAL: 15.6 (78%) We're in business!

PICTURE: Nog's serious side was an important part of him, and his expression in this pic testifies to it. Even if the sentiment could have been from "Valiant" (the source of the special skill), it's from "The Magnificent Ferengi", a seminal Ferengi episode where Nog was the only seriously competent member of a retrieval team. The image is simple and perhaps a bit underlit. The background isn't revealing, but it's not disruptive either. It goes for a 3.5.

LORE: Fairly telegraphic, the last sentence seems unimportant even if it explains the special skill. Actually, I take it back. It doesn't. As you'll see under the Trek Sense discussion, since he doesn't get the extra Engineer from the Valiant or Waters, that point is moot. I would have liked to see something about the Great River instead. I like the adjectives assigned to him, and being the first Starfleet Ferengi was a must (his relationship with Jake too). Overall, fair to good. A 3.2.

TREK SENSE: Though Nog joined Starfleet (Fed), he always remained a Ferengi, and often went to bat for his father, grandmother and uncle. The dual-classification passes the test mainly through the proof of such an affiliation switch in "The Magnificent Ferengi". As O'Brien's protégé, he was certainly Engineer, and Physics is a related skill. I don't care that much for it, but I can argue against it. He's got Honor and high Integrity because of his uncommon dedication to Federation ideals and loyalty to his friends. He's still a Youth, yes yes. And the Acquisition can be seen in his navigating the Great Material Continuum as ably as he did in "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River". But hey, where's the Navigation??? The extra Engineer isn't meant to represent increased rank on the Valiant (which wouldn't have worked), but rather familiarity with certain engines. He knows the Defiant (and thus any ship of the line) pretty intimately, and has been working on Ferengi engines with his father since he was a kid (presumably). Actually, that one doesn't fly very high, because he never had access to anything but a Ferengi Shuttle, so I don't know about that. The limit on classes works well for a Youth who doesn't have the range of experience of a more mature Engineer. Is Engineer x2 too much for this character in ANY situation. You might argue either way, but the genius engineering gene runs in the family. He was a tough little Ferengi, so the relatively high Strength fits, and so does the high Cunning. Nog gets a 3.9.

STOCKABILITY: He'll work fairly well in your Ferengi deck who have a severe lack of Physics personnel (not the most useful skill, but you don't want to get caught with your pants down... umm... or with your bank account empty), he'll be just as good in a Federation deck. But first, how is he in the Ferengi Alliance? He's got the necessary Acquisition to use a few Rules, though he can't 6th Rule or be 6th Ruled despite being part of Quark's extended family (unless Rom gets Reflection Therapy or you count the Mirror universe's Mr. Nog). ENGINEER is a good classification, especially doubled up, which it will be on any Ferengi ship. Honor and Youth aren't as uncommon as you'd think in the affiliation, and they aren't as useful as some other skills, but they're not totally awful. And very good attributes. Now, all of that counts for the Feds too, though the second ENGINEER is only in effect on Defiant-class ships, it's not like you need your arm twisted to use the excellent USS Defiant, do you? The Feds do have a lot more personnel, including a number of ENGINEER x2 personnel, Physics, Honor and Youth. Well, those skills are more useful to them anyway, but yes, many personnel are redundant. I'll tell you where Nog distinguishes himself: he's a Ferengi with Acquisition. This allows your Feds to use some good Rules of Acquisition, including the 34th, more useful 35th, 47th, and in particular, 75th as you send the Defiant into the Gamma Quadrant (perhaps with an added Explore Gamma Quadrant on it). Other Acquisition personnel (NAs mostly) can use all this too, but only Nog allows the Feds to use the Ferengi Rules Equipment card to cycle them Rules (I prefer him to Prot in this regard). How about starting with Feds, and then building a Ferengi Trading Post to allow other personnel to jump in? He can play Tongo and be downloaded, perhaps with Farek or Reyga, by Ferengi Infestation. Other perks include solving Deliver Message (much easier than Secure Homeworld - all you have to do is switch him to Fed mode and you have all you need), pass Oops! and download Equipment by discarding Self-Sealing Stem-Bolts. If Jake Sisko is around, you can switch them for Jake and Nog, which also has Acquisition, but is far from as useful skill-wise. So overall, you've got a fair mission solver with unsteady skills, who'll fit it fine with his "own species", but add a few perks to the Federation. Enough for a 3.8.

TOTAL: 14.4 (72%) Not bad for a fan favorite.

PICTURE: While the image is clear, and the Ferengi is doing something (laughing) instead of just looking on, there are a couple things I don't like about it. One is the background, which is eclectic and garish. Red lights on a brown sugar backing to the left, and some object you can't quite identify on the right. Bleh. I also don't care much for Omag's make-up. The fat jowls look pretty fake. Can't see giving this pic more than a 2.7.

LORE: He's named as an arms dealer, which has some cool functions in the game. The rest is well done too. "Glutton" stands out as an interesting descriptive. His requests to Amarie and fat Ferengi nickname are all in evidence. A nicely done 3.8.

TREK SENSE: As an arms dealer, he uses Smuggling to run armament under the noses of the authorities, and his motivation is Greed. He has Music because he appreciates it, but we don't know if he plays an instrument. Since some cards (mainly dilemmas) refer to Music in the appreciative sense (Ooby Dooby, I Hate You), I guess that passes the test. Since he's a DaiMon, he's an Officer with a Command icon. At his side was Calandra as well as other girls, but since Calandra is a universal that represents all those girls, it doesn't matter who among them he actually downloads, we know he had such girls with him. But Archaeology... What is that for? Patching holes in the Ferengi skill pool just doesn't cut it here. And his knowledge of goings-on at the starship graveyard aren't enough justification. He's got low Integrity because he's involved in illegal activities, low Cunning if we go by his too-loud attitude and folding before Riker's show of force, and middling Strength, which could have been lower given how unfit he was. Overall, some fudging here and there brings the card down to 3.1.

STOCKABILITY: The Ferengi's propensity for quick reporting continues when you turn Omag into an Omag/Calandra combo. His lame attributes jump by +1 in her presence (cumulative), and she brings ultra-useful MEDICAL to the table. She also has the rare Youth and Music to add to Omag's own Music. Now, these aren't the most useful of skills, but Youth protects from Isabella, and both might be found on a dilemma here and there and are quite uncommon for the Ferengi. Aside from Greed (which allows him to help at plenty of missions and use plenty of Rules), Omag has a lot of rarer abilities. Archaeology is the most common of them, yet isn't on many Ferengi. It's on a fair number of their missions though (usually pricy ones). Smuggling is pretty much in the same situation Archaeology is, plus allows you to report the Small Cloaking Device (as would Acquisition, so no biggie), report Omag to Cargo Bay, and enable Bribery to attempt all those Archaeology or Music missions your opponent seeded (even if you lost your Greed to Tsiolkovsky Infection, say). Being an arms dealer is a pretty rare thing too, but allows you to use the 34th Rule for maximum downloads and report the Breenzooka to take shots at landed ships and ground facilities. He's got enough stuff to recommend, even with his odd profile. A 3.9.

TOTAL: 13.5 (67.5%) Hey, should he really be in stasis at Qualor II?

PICTURE: The Orb shares the stage with an similarly-colored object to the right, but it's not a bad image. The hardest thing about these is making them look different from one another, no doubt. Here, we get a more purplish rendition, with rich colors in the background (the Ferengi connection) and some grubby fingers on the box. Nothing really relates to Wisdom, but it at least keeps us interested. A 3.2.

LORE: Fun with the Ferengi! We get a good sense of the journey this Orb took, but unfortunately, not anything about what the Orb does or means (as opposed to other Orbs). Why not talk about its effects on Zek? Focusing on the Ferengi may be kind of fun, but it leaves us with little relevant information. I'll say a 3.3.

TREK SENSE: Like most Orbs (the ones in boxes, at the very least), it can be carried around like Equipment. In the show, when opened in the Bajoran Wormhole (not required here), it allowed the Prophets to transform Zek into a moral creature (represented as +3 Integrity). Well, according to the episode, that was because he was temporally regressed to the state and nature of Ferengi in the far past. Would that work on all species? Obviously not. Humans would be more aggressive in the past, for example. Nothing stops the Prophets from evolving you to a future peaceful state though, so okay. And while I do mention that the Wormhole isn't a requirement, I think they could do this through normal orb experiences with this Orb (that's how it got the name), Quark's actions at the end of the show not withstanding. Less appropriate is that everyone, not just Orb personnel, get the Integrity boost. The one who got the experience might influence the others, but that's a big boost to explain away. If you have someone who has HAD an orb experience (and thus, the Orb icon) present, we may assume they had it with this particular Orb, which has told them something that allows them to report cards for free here (not across the universe, which would have been less acceptable). That's a pretty wide effect, but Wisdom has a way of getting you what you want more quickly, I suppose (if only through the perceptual trick known as patience). Not duplicatable is dead on. You have to make a lot of excuses for it, but they're not great stretches. I'd go as high as a 3.7.

STOCKABILITY: Orb Artifacts that require an [Orb] icon are great, because you need that icon anyway if you're going to use HQ: Return Orb to Bajor, peek at cards with Orb Experience, or even acquire the artifact at Orb Negociations. So as long as you're using such personnel, right? Like any Orb, it also gets you card draws and points with Return Orb and boosts the power of your Bajoran Shrine. Unique to the Orb of Wisdom? Free plays at your Orb/Orb-icon personnel's location. No, you don't have to leave the Orb at a facility, though that would allow for the maximum number of free ships and personnel (especially on a Nor). On a ship, you can get free Events at the location, from Drought Trees on the planet below to Implants on your crew. You could also use the ability to shed cheap pollution in your wake (Tachyon Fields, Subspace Warp Rifts...). Make it a ship with a built-in reporting mechanism, or play something like Home Away From Home, Assign Support Personnel or Crew Reassignment on it, and you suddenly have access to personnel, shuttles and/or equipment. You may be tempted to bring it on missions for the rarely-given INTEGRITY boost as well. +3 would be a great help to attribute totals, especially for the morally impaired affiliations. Not every affiliation has access to the Orb icon, of course, but Barry Waddle can possibly fill that spot for you, or someone brought in with Temporal Micro-Wormhole, especially in the DQ. Dangerous if you lose the personnel. Maybe Orb Experience is for you. Mostly useful for free plays that enhance a number of strategies (hey, The Emissary has everything you need to report free Bajorans anywhere!). It's a 4.7.

TOTAL: 14.9 (74.5%) Orbs generally do well.

PICTURE: While the bomb generally looks cool, Decipher's closing in on it makes the image sadly blurry. Too bad, because the colors were interesting and the composition fairly dynamic for a static shot. In the final analysis, fails the test. Only 2.7.

LORE: If you're gonna put the words "Orion Syndicate" in the title and game text, don't give me no jive about it being a simple "typical explosive device". Aside from that weak element, I think they do a good job of explaining both the concept and its game text. 2.9 then.

TREK SENSE: First of all, the Bomb managed to pretty much destroy the runabout on the show, so "damages" might be true of bigger starships, but should have been more for smaller vessels. That's a problem we'll always have with the nature of ships in this game. Now, either you beam the Bomb away with Transporter Skill (Odo doesn't have the skill, so he failed) or there is no Bomb 'cuz you're part of the Orion Syndicate. (Either that, or you know how to disarm it because you're a member of the organization, but that seems less likely.) Maybe those are the only ways to deal with this type of explosive. Simple and to the point, I give it a high 4.1.

SEEDABILITY: The latter-day proliferation of Transporter Skill makes this dilemma less and less powerful, but some players/affiliations might still be caught with their pants down. You don't really have to worry about Orion Syndicate since it appears on exactly one personnel: Liam Bilby. The Bajorans only have 3 Transporter Skill personnel, so they might be vulnerable. The Borg have 3 as well, the Cardassians 7, the Dominion plenty at 9, the Feds have 18 (5 are DQ, and some are, of course, versions of the same persona), the Ferengi clock in at 4, the Hirogen at 2, the Klingons at 11, the Romulans at 6, and the Vidiians at 3. Of course, some are universal and could count as many more. And there's Non-Aligned help too, from 8 personnel, only one of which is DQ. That said, ship-damaging dilemmas with rarer requirements could actually do damage (unlike their ancestors in Premiere), especially with an attendant Battle Bridge side-deck to deal out damage markers. Orion Syndicate Bomb remains a key reason to stock Transporter Skill, so I guess it's still a hot commodity... and a 4 here.

TOTAL: 13.7 (68.5%) Got itself out of that early gutter.

PICTURE: One of many Ferengi roles for Max Grodenchik, Par Lenor is stuck in a dull TNG beige'n'gray background, but the lurking pose helps a lot. The smile seems strangely out of place though. I'll spring for a 3, but no more.

LORE: An "emissary", but that won't help him ;-). Seriously though, his role in the episode is well explained, if in convoluted fashion. Well, his plan was convoluted, so it fits. Another 3.

TREK SENSE: As a diplomatic envoy, he would be VIP and have Diplomacy. The mark on his forehead seems to make him enough of a leader to have a Command icon, even if he only really led Qol (so no Leadership, I agree). Greed is a common Ferengi trait, but I'd say Lenor showed it in his coveting of the empath, Kamala. He wanted her enough to sabotage his own shuttle to get at her, something he did with his knowledge of Engineering. Why Astrophysics though? Looks like they were just trying to fill some skill holes in the affiliation again. I might have opted for Treachery myself given his duplicitous nature. And while they could have followed the lore's lead by giving him a download of Bribery, it didn't work on Briam, so no real need for it. Along with the Treachery, I would have lowered his Integrity. As for Cunning, it's hard to believe a TNG Ferengi would have one this high, but his plan was pretty clever. Strength is semi-high for a Ferengi, and he did have a physical altercation with Ambassador Briam, so it works fairly well. Overall, he could have been better: 2.9 on this one.

STOCKABILITY: The odd skill mix is the main reason for using Par Lenor in your deck. With VIP, he reports for free to the Tower of Commerce and/or download to hand thanks to the 1st Rule of Acquisition. From there, he can help you both on planets and in space with a variety of excellent skills, many of which don't show up often on Ferengi VIPs. Greed, of course, is quite common, and helps with skill redundancy. Diplomacy is always good, whether you're crossing a Q-Net or facing Shaka. ENGINEER is even better, being one of the most frequently required skills in the game. And Astrophysics is an uncommon skill  that nonetheless shows up on a number of dilemmas, as well as such key missions as Purchase Moon. Good attributes too, all things considered. He can even be cycled back into the draw deck for Equipment and ship downloads or card draws using Qol and the 6th Rule. A mission-solving 4.

TOTAL: 12.9 (64.5%) The usual TNG lows, but not a write-off.

PICTURE: Very blurry, but I still admire its fierceness. The angles, the clenched teeth, the blue lightning, it all speaks of Romulan passion here. The blur becomes movement, or a harsh wind. I find myself giving the card a 3.8 despite its technical flaws.

LORE: The first sentence makes him matching commander of the ship with the shortest title in the game, which is good (but see below). The other two tell us his story, and the use of quotation marks gives the whole thing a decidedly Romulan bent. Racism isn't cool, but the way it's presented here is well done. Gotta say, though, that he died because of this refusal, so its mention here puts the character on his last legs. His name is worth mentioning because though it wasn't mentioned on the show, it was in the script. But was it really his name? It sounds like a similar Klingon insult, and given his acting like a jerk toward Worf, maybe it was a descriptive more than a name. Something to think about. Some good work overall, so a 3.6.

TREK SENSE: To begin with, there's no onscreen proof that Patahk commanded the Pi. It could be, and a scout ship isn't much more than a shuttle when it comes to these things, so he needn't have been a captain of any sort. We'll believe the lore because we have to, and that will take care of the Command icon and Officer classification. And of the special skill? Not quite. See, while associating him with both the Pi and Bochra makes sense in the context of their episode together, boosting the Pi's stats when all the ship did was get blown up by its own people so it wouldn't be discovered is making something out of nothing. Unsatisfactory, let's say. Navigation is a natural Officer skill, but Bochra has it, so I wonder why we needed the duplication on such a small scout vessel crew. Nav and Stellar Cartography, in any case, allowed the Pi to get to the other side of the Neutral Zone to spy on the Federation. Physics might be there because of the planet's unusual atmospheric traits. Trying to cut through that interference would have taken skill. I think Patahk is missing Treachery though, since he was on an espionage mission and was pretty nasty with Worf. Or perhaps some kind of Romulan brand of Honor that precluded the pollution of his body (dying for his ideals, we could say). The middling Integrity kind of speaks to this, but not as eloquently as a skill might have. The high Cunning and Strength are Romulan traits, fair enough. The Strength's a little lower because he did end up dying in Sickbay. A wrong turn from the beginning makes me go with a 2.4 here.

STOCKABILITY: Even if Patahk enters the affiliation relatively late in the game, he fits snuggly into established strategies. Look at that skill list, for example. Romulans are well-known for their space decks, and all three skills can help there again and again, as much with mission as with dilemmas. The Rommies lack good OFFICERs, so he's more than just redundant. The Romulans also have a huge complement of ships with matching commanders, so his ability to command the Pi works in his favor here. While most Romulan ships require 3 staffing icons, he gets away with none. Scouts can be carried aboard a D'deridex using Launch Portal (even download there), and download through Scout Encounter with a minimal crew (you'll have to use Ready Room Door to get the unique Patahk there however) or with Hidden Fighter if you want to play the landing game. With Plaque and Log, this is an 11-6-6 ship. Add Bochra to the equation (reports aboard easily enough to a mother ship through Assign Support Personnel), and it's a super-fast 13-8-8 that can hold its own better than other scouts in battle, and gets you to that far mission on the spaceline. Good in both mission solving and battle, he hits a 4.

TOTAL: 13.8 (69%) Much better than Bochra, in any case.

PICTURE: The turtle ship, as I call it (which goes against its game design). You don't really know if it's coming or going (answer: going), and there's a lot of blur, but the pic's fairly dynamic thanks to a slightly askew angle. I don't dislike it, but the technical problems keep it at my stated average: 3.

LORE: The lore makes mention of the use of the same model as the Shuttle, just photographed at a different size, a trick also pulled by various Klingon and Bajoran vessels. It's more than slightly ridiculous from an engineering and physics standpoint, but I think attracting attention to it diffuses the situation in a cheeky way. Good overall, though I was a little surprised at the very generic title, I'm handing over a 3.3.

TREK SENSE: Smaller (one staff icon) ships built on speed for maximum territorial coverage, it has a high Range compared to its other attributes. It's just not big enough to be very tough or carry a lot of firepower. It's not even big enough to carry shuttles even if it has a Tractor Beam. No problems here other than its routine nature, it still manages a 4.

STOCKABILITY: In a sense, the Cardassian answer to the K'Vort, it's an easily staffed universal ship with high RANGE for getting to battle spots in a jiffy. What, you say? Its WEAPONS and SHIELDS are paltry? Granted, but that's why you use a Battle Bridge side-deck full of Strafing Runs to enhance your firepower. A Hideki-class vessel adds +5 to your Attack total, so if it's attacking by itself, it's as if it had WEAPONS 10! With the SHIELDS drain, of course, the ship might not even survive a counter-attack, but these are cheap and could be swarmed with. It's important to well balance your side-deck though, because Strafing Run's damage marker only carries a -20% Hull reduction, so a direct hit with 4 of these won't destroy a ship. You'll need to throw other stuff in. Forget the aramada for a second, and use a Patrol Ship as a support craft in your battle, and you can use the Strafing Run bonus even if it's your Galor that's doing most of the damage. You might still prefer the Military Freighter though, since it's very similar, but the extra point of RANGE and the possibility of an extra +1 in Attacks (as opposed to the straight, but permanent +4 of System 5 Disruptors) might lead you to use the Patrol Ship instead. A better than average 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.8 (69%) A little surprise.

PICTURE: While there might have been something to be done with her standing right in the middle of that wall partition, the rest of the background just sits there, slightly off-balance. Pel herself is a bright spot in the middle of the card, as a female. It's the big reveal scene, I guess that's appropriate. It's just so boring. A 2.7.

LORE: Being a waiter helps (note: not a waitress, since she did the job as a male). It seems like her true gender could have been incorporated into a full sentence though. The rest does a good job of telling us her story, and the romantic interest even gets a modifier in "briefly". An okay 3.2.

TREK SENSE: Pel's age is in doubt. I'm wondering about it because she was originally referred to as a young waiter. Did she only appear to be a Youth because she had a higher-pitched voice and smaller (female) build? That might explain the skill's absence here. You buying it? As a waiter, she's a Civilian, certainly, and a business-savvy one at that, thus: Acquisition. Negotiating with the Dosi earns her Diplomacy, and since she was looking into tulaberry futures, she gets Biology. They're a bit quick to hand her that skill based on that, but she did "discover" those sand peas and introduce them in the bar. And I guess the instant plastic surgery might relate to it. Good enough. The confusion about her gender allows her to avoid gender-related selections, but I'm not sure that works entirely. Yes, it may keep males away from her and her away from other females, but she DID fall in love in "Rules of Acquisition", and it did interfere with her performance (as Brief Romance might). She seemed comfortable in the Ferengi shuttle, so the Staff icon tends to stick. A "good woman", her Integrity's on the high end of selfish behavior. Being not unlike Ishka in the business department, she gets high Cunning. And as a small-statured Ferengi female with no combat training, the Strength is way low. Everything checks out, but some questions linger. That's a 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: A waiter that reports for free to Quark's Bar (or to the Cargo Bay) and works in tandem with the 211th Rule, Pel's Acquisition allows her to use a lot more Rules (34th, 35th, 47th and 75th), as well as other cards like Gold-Pressed Latinum (one for one trades for Equipment cards), Small Cloaking Device (reporting free to her side), Secret Compartment, Ferengi Conference and Ferengi Credit Exchange. It's a very useful skill for the Ferengi, and even if it's rather common, it shows up again and again on Ferengi missions. Diplomacy and Biology are good skills in any affiliation, really not a waste of space, especially Biology, which isn't very common on Ferengi, but oh so necessary when going through dilemmas. Speaking of dilemmas, Pel is immune to a number of them including Female's Love Interest, Brief Romance, Strange Bedfellows, Kidnappers, Parallel Romance (thanks Decipher!), Talosian Cage and Distraction, so you won't lose her to one of those. Ferengi females are even kind of rare, though she'll fit in well with your dabo girls (211th Rule again). If also using Quark (and why wouldn't you?), they can solve Tulaberry Wine Negotiations together without any help. It's a great 45-point mission, 55 if you play the 75th Rule (it's in the Gamma Quadrant). Quark's trusty side-kick (sorry Rom) gets an excellent 4.2 as a result of it all.

TOTAL: 13.9 (69.5%) Follows Ishka score-wise.

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