Siskoid's Rolodex The Trouble with Tribbles (4)



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To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for the Trouble with Tribbles expansion set.

#1295-Kered, Personnel, Klingon, TOS, AU, universal, TwT
"Klingon soldier reporting to Governor Kor. Stationed on planet Organia in 2267. On Kor's orders, helped round up Organian citizens for execution."
-SECURITY, MEDICAL, Archaeology; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 5, STRENGTH: 8

PICTURE: Sure, the TOS Klingons are often skinny dudes with bad goatees, but the pics can be competent. That's the case here, where the red background matches the standard Klingon palette, without any of the pastel stuff found on some TOS images. An unfortunate movement blur distorts the insignia though. A not-too-bad 3.3.

LORE: Pretty much the whole story, which isn't much, but well stretched into 3 lines of text. Will "Governor Kor" be the OS version of Kor's persona? Leads to dreaming about future cards, and that's a good thing. As for the invented name, I thought I might find that his real name was Derek or something, but my research revealed no such thing (a Decipher employee then?). Oh, and no mention of being universal. Ah well. A 3.1 here as well.

TREK SENSE: A Klingon soldier under Kor, I think the icons and classification are pretty standard. The skills though... Neither Medical nor Archaeology seem to mesh with the Security mindset in the first place, so it's hard to see where they would apply. Since when is Medical needed to carry out executions? Did he torture people? At most, this usually warrants a bit of Biology, but not a full-fledged Med. If he's some kind of field medic, well, we have no evidence of it. Archaeology is even less justified (possibly a relationship with the Organian planet, so giving him a skill that's found on planet missions). Bah. Integrity's fine for this executioner. From the episode, I can certainly believe this stooge would have low Cunning, but from his skills, I cannot. Now, HERE's a Renaissance man! Strength's fine for a Klingon soldier, though he's a bit on the thin side, ain't he? Functional in an OS deck, but they had to cheat to make him that way. No more than a 1.3.

STOCKABILITY: There aren't a whole lot of OS Klingons, so using them either mostly alone or with Feds in an Organian Treaty, would no doubt include Kered. But since he's a support personnel, he'll fit in to any Klingon deck so long as you've got an AU door in play (Classic Film, Delta Quadrant, Mirror universe, whatever). He's a universal with 2 classifications (always good), one of which is the ever necessary (and not all that common for Klingons) MEDICAL. Archaeology isn't much for passing dilemmas though, so you'd have to use the right missions to make him live up to his full potential. Except for STRENGTH, his attributes are pretty lame though. One advantage he does have however, is that OS icon which allows for a number of tricks such as downloading to and staffing OS ships and using Classic Communicators and Agonizers. Among Klingon support personnel, only Divok and Regnor also have MEDICAL, but neither has a second classification. Furthermore, Divok has the not-very-useful Youth tacked on. Kered strikes me as a competent 3.4.

TOTAL: 11.1 (55.5%) We need more OS Klingons to compare him to.

#1305-Kira, Personnel, Cardassian/Bajoran/Federation, TwT
"Ironically, Kira Nerys trained Legate Damar's freedom fighters in Resistance tactics. The Bajoran accepted a Starfleet commission to help ease the racial tensions."
-OFFICER, Leadership, Resistance, SECURITY, Navigation, Honor x2; X=3 vs. [Dom]; Command icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 8+X

PICTURE: Slightly over-exposed, it's still fun to see Kira in a Starfleet uniform. The background offers both her old world (caves) and her new (technology), and seems as mismatched as she is (that's a good thing). Pose isn't too incredible though. A 3.7.

LORE: A card like this is all about context, and the lore does a good job of establishing it. The irony is not lost on us. Also, shortening her name to simply "Kira" works well, since she would be working with people who were not on intimate terms enough to ever call her Nerys. A good 3.6.

TREK SENSE: This version of Kira has been sent to work with the Cardassians, to teach them her Bajoran tricks, wearing a Federation uniform (with accompanying commission) to ease racial enmity between her and the Cardies. A little convoluted, perhaps, but establishes her three affiliation icons well enough. As a commander/colonel, the Officer classification and Command icon suit her, but we have to wonder where the Orb icon went. Sure, she didn't consult an orb during this period, but do those things really wear off? Her slew of skills is similar to her baseline version: She's still a Leader (and part of teaching is leading), she's still a former member of the Resistance (and is teaching that very subject), and she's still wise to Security (and here is clearly a soldier in a guerrila war). Navigation drops to x1 because while it's obvious she didn't lose her piloting skills, they were not in evidence during this storyline. Computer Skill is missing completely, which is harder to swallow because it was useful in contacting the station secretly, etc., but there just wasn't room for it. Honor x2 replaces it, and for Kira to help her old enemy (not just the Cardassians either, but Ziyal's killer, Damar, specifically), she would have needed it. Finally, her old X=3 vs. [Car] switches to [Dom], the enemy of the day. Attributes didn't change, and that's too bad really. It was a good opportunity to give her an expert's Cunning given the cicumstances, perhaps even hightened Integrity to go with her Honor. No big problems, but some questions were raised: a 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: Kira can be useful to three affiliations in varying degrees. To the Bajorans, she's an extra version of the persona, but one that is very close to the original. It might be cool to switch given the existence of a Dominion opponent, but that's far from enough to include her in addition to Kira Nerys. For the Feds and Cardassians though, she's a little better, especially in conjunction with Stolen Attack Ship. She commands this dual-aligned vessel (8-11-11 with Plaque and Log) that has Invasive Transporters and an Energy Dampener. Now, the Feds aren't big fighters (the Empire might be interested though), but the Cardassians could use this to fuel their capture strategies, or just to kick some general butt. She'll report to the ship when needed, or you can download her to your Legate with For Cardassia! (or put her out of play for its points) thanks to that new-found Honor, or you can even download her early via Defend Homeworld (to any planet!). Her skills are pretty useable across the board, with Leadership, SECURITY and Navigation all  being quite commonly required. An "intelligence skill" like Resistance has less chance of being used outside of its native affiliation, but Resistance appears on dilemmas and Brig cards just enough to still be useful to the non-Bajoran player. That special Honor (x2) is useful on a variety of missions, but also means you can play No Way Out upon her death in personnel battle, making her worth 7 points. One note about her persona: While only the Bajorans can use the original, all of them can use Anastasia Komananov, who can be beamed to another ship to Issue Secret Orders with those Invasive Transporters we mentioned (and a Mobile Holo-Emitter of course). Methinks Kira will be working with the Cardassians more often than she'd like. A 4.

TOTAL: 14.8 (74%) Can't thank the DS9 creators enough to have put Kira in that position.

#1315-Korax, Personnel, Klingon, AU, TOS, TwT
"First officer of the IKC Gr'oth under Captain Koloth. Klingon expert on Regulan blood worms and Denebian slime devils. Outspoken critic of Captain Kirk."
-OFFICER, ENGINEER, Physics, Exobiology; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 8

PICTURE: This shot of Korax goading Scotty into a brawl is made more Klingon by the red tints in the background, so it gets elevated to a little better score than it would otherwise have had. A cool enough 3.5.

LORE: Played for laughs, once we get his posting and rank out of the way, it goes right into his insults of Kirk and the Enterprise. The idea that he's an expert on certain animals because he used them as insults is pure tongue-in-cheek fun. A likeable 3.7.

TREK SENSE: He's the first officer of the Gr'oth, which makes him an Officer, but for some reason, he's not a Command personnel. That's possible, but unlikely. Maybe Koloth holds the reigns of power too tightly to let anyone else give orders, or he might have demoted Korax after the brawl, but since none of that is ever mentioned, the Staff icon can't be properly justified. His skills are, as far as I can tell, a follow-through of the joke in the lore. He compared Kirk to some repulsive creatures, so he's somehow an expert in them (Exobiology). Similarly, he evaluated the Enterprise to be garbage, so he could be an Engineer (although opposing him to Scotty this way makes poetic sense). Physics isn't explicitly implied this way, but if you accept him as an Engineer, then Physics is a related skill. There's no proof for any of this, but it can't be disproved either. It's just a fun way to arrive at a skill list. Being pretty nasty and antagonistic, he's got low Integrity. Not very smart to start a fight on a Federation station, his Cunning's low too. The Strength 8 makes him a brawler, while somehow implying the top Strength of 8 for TOS Klingons (they were closer to human then). Though they had to invent most of the information, it's all very entertaining. Is 3.8 too generous?

STOCKABILITY: There aren't enough OS Klingons to really build an exclusive deck around, but if you'd like to primarily focus of them, Korax is their only ENGINEER, their only Physics personnel, and their only Exobiologist. He can share any of those skills with a Classic Communicator, but you can see how the micro-affiliation couldn't survive without support. ENGINEER and Exobiology in particular are too important in multiples to lend them only to a single unique personnel. In a not-purely-OS Klingon deck, he's still downloadable to the IKC Gr'oth, reportable for free to K-7, etc. All his skills can be found on lots of Klingons missions, though of course, none of them are rare in the affiliation. The combination of skills is unique though, and both ENGINEER/Exobiology and ENGINEER/Physics show up on missions. All depends on your deck, I suppose. A 3.3.

TOTAL: 14.3 (71.5%) Scotty would have given less.

#1325-Kras, Personnel, Klingon, AU, TOS, TwT
"Klingon who tried to acquire topaline mining rights on Capella IV. Interfered in Capellan politics by supporting Maab's attempt to overthrow Teer Akaar."
-OFFICER, Acquisition, Geology, Treachery, Navigation; Command icon
-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 8

PICTURE: How come we remember Kor, Koloth and Kang, but not Kras? After all, he starred as the main villain in an episode too ("Friday's Child"). Well, maybe it's the fact they neglected to make him up at all! He could pass as a Gregorian monk, but not as an alien. Kor and Kang had face make-up, and Koloth at least had a styled beard. Ah well. The confused background with its orange tribble isn't helping either (I know it's the feathered shoulder of a Capellan), or maybe it does given the expansion. I'm sorry, but just a 2 for this head shot.

LORE: We get a lot of information on the Capellans, but not that much on Kras himself. The duel with Kirk might have been more interesting than some of the politics here, but the lore's not that bad. A 3.

TREK SENSE: Kras is an agent that seemed to be of the same general rank as Kang and Koloth, so I see him as a Command icon Officer. He's a veritable serpent in Eden, so Treachery also suits him. His attempts to acquire mining rights not only give him the Geology skill, but easily explains his Acquisition too. All that's left then is Navigation, which may be an account of how he got to Capella IV, or his tracking Kirk through the hills. Either way, it works. The Integrity of 4 mirrors that of many infiltrators, and indeed, he was infiltrating Capellan society, sabotaging Federation efforts there (too bad he didn't get a related special skill). He's Cunning, but not smart enough to truly counter Kirk. And as for Strength, it matches Kirk's, and I think we can say they were evenly matched during their duel (strength-wise). A well drawn-up card with no real surprises: a 4.

STOCKABILITY: As has been mentioned before, OS Klingons do not have the skill pool necessary to be run as a discreet micro-affiliation, even with the help of Classic Communicators. Nevertheless, Wyatt Earp is the only other OS personnel with Acquisition. If you'd like the skill around to supplement your Organian Treaty deck, then Kras isn't a bad option. The Klingons as a whole don't have a whole lot of Acquisition, and Kras could help them make use of some Rules, or else complete Tulaberry Wine Negotiations or Deliver Message. Treachery'll fit in some deck archetypes, Geology in most due to its dilemma-busting power (that, and Koth/Forced-Labor Camp includes even more reason to build around the skill). Navigation rounds out the skill box, and it's a skill everyone needs at some point. He can use OS equipment, download to the Gr'oth, the usual perks. I'd say that makes him an easy to use 3.6.

TOTAL: 12.6 (63%) Well below the "big three".

#1335-Lam, Personnel, Dominion, universal, TwT
"Breen soldier. One of Thot Gor's bodyguards. Secretly questions the advisability of the Dominion/Breen Alliance. As cold as a winter on his home planet."
-SECURITY, Anthropology, Computer Skill; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 5, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 9

PICTURE: While the bright Cardassian hood in the background is a bit disconcerting, it's not like the Breen are categorically Dominion either. Lam looks as good as any of his race, and there's a fair amount of detail visible on his uniform. The eyesore in the back takes it down a notch to, say, 3.2.

LORE: A lot of nice things for a universal, and that universality is acknowledged with some subtlety with the phrase "one of...". What's so nice? Well, first off there's the fact that he's a bodyguard, which is useful in the game. Second, there's the matter of his opinions. We don't often get into the heads of background characters like this, especially ones that don't speak any English. And finally, there's the last sentence, both poetic and fun. "As cold as a Breen winter" is an old Star Trek saying. An excellent 4.7.

TREK SENSE: Seeing as he's just a background character, it might be hard to make the skills, but we'll see. First off, as a bodyguard to the Breen general, he's clearly Security and Staff. Thot Gor would no doubt like a high-Strength personnel in that position, so the 9 fits. If we believe the lore, I'd say Lam had some foresight and was right to question the Dominion alliance (and should the allied Breen really be only Dominion since they joined them late in the game?). That makes his Cunning better than your average guard's. 5 sounds about right for the Breen's Integrity. Loyal, but ruthless. But the skills... Well, Anthropology could be explained by his evaluation of the Dominion. Perhaps he came to that conclusion by seeing a clash of cultures. Computer Skill doesn't really need much of an explanation since in the 24th century, most people seem to be fairly adept at it. Guards would no doubt require it to input security codes, etc. A fair effort given what is known about the character: a 3.4.

STOCKABILITY: The Dominion wins by having enough Alpha Quadrant personnel to mount an early offensive while the Founders and Vorta wait their turns in the Gamma Quadrant. What's wrong with that idea is that Alpha Jem'Hadar often require a Vorta to ration their Ketracel-White (well, not that much anymore). The Breen really take off the pressure in those cases. The universal Breen reports directly to the Breen Warship or to your Alpha Quadrant facility (of course), and is perfectly at ease in a Jem'Hadar attack squad with his 9 STRENGTH (11 with Lower Decks, 13 with War Room, etc., etc.). As a support personnel (useable with Dominion War Efforts, no less), he doesn't even really need the Breen Warship and will report even to other quadrants on your Dominion vessel. His 2 skills are useful whether solving missions or passing dilemmas, but that's not all he has going for him. He's one of two Dominion bodyguards that can saveguard your Founder and Vorta VIPs (Amat'igan is unique and native to the GQ though) or help pass A Fast Ship. As a Breen, he can make a Suicidal Attack if captured, use a CRM114 or Kar'Takin, and properly - and cheaply - upkeep the Warship's attributes. Being the only universal in a very small group of personnel ups the ante a bit, and our friend here gets a 3.9.

TOTAL: 15.2 (76%) Not too lam(e).

#1345-Liam Bilby, Personnel, Non-Aligned, TwT
"Low-ranking Orion Syndicate member. Obeys Raimus, his superior, in order to protect his wife and children. Holds that family is 'the most important thing.'"
-CIVILIAN, Honor, Treachery, Geology, Leadership, Orion Syndicate; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: Though the lighting throws some strange colors onto Bilby, his roguish smile works well for him. The greenish hues in the background are reminiscent of the Orions from TOS, and the linework makes him central to the composition. A pretty good 3.5.

LORE: I like that we get a lot of motivation for him, and even a quote from his sole episode. That goes a long way to make him as human as he was on the show. Still wish there was room to mention his cat though, but that's my own bias as a cat owner. A 3.4.

TREK SENSE: Though low-ranking (Staff icon), he's still in the Orion Syndicate, one of those "membership" skills like Resistance. He still has Leadership because he led a small (even lower ranked) cell of men, and they indeed followed his orders. The odd Honor/Treachery combo is disturbing however. He did what he did to keep his family safe and was generally a likeable and loyal guy, which all points to Honor. But he was a criminal too, which might be Treachery. Actually, it would have been Greed at the most, Treachery's a whole other level of criminal. If there ever was a personnel whose Honor canceled out his Treachery, it would be Bilby. Just look at that relatively high Integrity! Among the skills, that leaves us with Geology, but I'm not entirely certain how it fits in. Was mining part of Farius Prime's economy, or is it a tip of the hat to Nick Tate's other Star Trek character, Dirgo from "Final Mission"? Maybe he made a metallurgical reference in "Honor Among Thieves", I just can't remember. Though duped by O'Brien, I think his Cunning can be evaluated at 7, and the Strength seems fine too. A fair depiction then, but not entirely on the ball. A 3.

STOCKABILITY: You'd think being the lone Orion Syndicate personnel would be useful, but it isn't that much. Orion Syndicate comes up on only two cards - The Art of Diplomacy, which requires one more Treachery than Bilby has, and Orion Syndicate Bomb, which he can nicely pass, but no better than a more useful Transporter Skill personnel. I could see Dr. McCoy download I'm a Doctor, not a Bricklayer, then Bilby in the middle of a mission attempt, but it's not like there are no Geology/TS personnel in existence. The Leadership and Geology are more useful overall, even if he's not your strongest personnel in any battle you initiate. And the Treachery/Honor combo will serve a variety of affiliations, cashing into whatever skill is redundant for them, and whichever is lacking. He's fine, but would really need to be part of something greater, like an Orion Syndicate subgroup. A 3.2 for now.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) More Orion Syndicate stuff (including OS Orion pirates)!

#1355-Lineup, Dilemma, space/planet, TwT
"After a bar fight with Klingons on Station K-7, Captain Kirk ordered a lineup. No crewman claimed responsibility for starting the brawl, butnone pointed the finger at Mr. Scott, either."
-To get past requires four personnel present (random selection) to "form a lineup." All four are "stopped" unless one has INTEGRITY<5 OR INTEGRITY>8.

PICTURE: I'm really glad this brilliant digital effect has been immortalized as a card picture, and such a colorful one too. Kirk's green even sets him apart from his red, gold and blue underlings. Good composition in perspective as well. A neat 4.5.

LORE: The game text is well explained here, and the writing is light and fun. A good 3.5.

TREK SENSE: Much of it plays a bit fast and loose, but the basics are interesting. Apparently, your crew or Away Team has conducted itself in such a way as to deserve discipline. For there to be an actual lineup, you need enough personnel. 4 will do (there might be Ensign Bobs there as well, if on a ship), but it's strange that you couldn't go on unless you could form the Lineup (what, there's a NEED to be disciplined?) What's missing is a commanding officer. They can't just line up by themselves can they? Now, it's the old "we're not going anywhere until I know who started it" game (or "I'll turn the ship around RIGHT NOW!"), even if that's a little silly on any given mission. If time is of the essence, I don't think a captain would slow things down for discipline's sake, not until after the mission. I do like the way it's done though, with the one who started it being able to confess if he has Integrity higher than 8 (or someone taking the fall for a friend) and someone else with Integrity less than 5 pointing the finger at him otherwise. To make this a true dilemma, the Integrity totals are a bit extreme, as I don't think it really requires an Integrity 4 or less personnel to blow the whistle on a crewmate, just as an Integrity 8 personnel might very well confess, but there you have it. Fun stuff, held back by the specifics. A 3.2.

SEEDABILITY: A dilemma that can prove to be a headache, it'll affect "honorable" affiliations more than others. There are just more low INTEGRITY personnel than there are INTEGRITY 9 or 10 personnel, so the Romulans, for example, probably won't have too much trouble. The Borg, with their measly 5s and 7s would definitely feel the effects though. So it all depends on how you encounter Lineup. For one thing, it can't be redshirted, since it requires at least 4 personnel. If you get stopped by that wall, then you can make sure to send down an appropriately low/high INTEGRITY personnel on the next attempt, but the 4 personnel would then be sent headlong into whatever dangers await next. If you send the appropriate personnel down in a larger Away Team or crew, the wrong personnel might be selected and thus filtered out, sending whatever's left (your crew or Away Team minus 4 personnel) might be in even bigger trouble. Basically, you're safe if you have plenty of low INTEGRITY personnel, or lots of high ones with Kukalaka. Otherwise, it could be tough. I'll give this conundrum a 3.9.

TOTAL: 15.1 (75.5%) Lined up for success.

#1365-Live Long and Prosper, Interrupt, TwT
"Traditional Vulcan greeting and farewell gesture. Originated by Surak, the father of Vulcan philosophy, who led Vulcan into its era of peace some 2,000 years ago."
-Saves any Vulcan who was just randomly selected to die. OR Once per turn, returns an opponent's personnel who just died to opponent's hand; draw one card for each of its [skill dot] icons.

PICTURE: A detail from a much larger frame focusing on Solkar's hand. Is there any reason we couldn't have the Vulcan's face in it too? As is, the zoom-in does provide a look at Vulcan fashions, such as a spiral broach that is probably writing, but is also dark and oddly contrasted (for example, it looks like Data's hand). Historically the first such greeting in human history, I guess it beats seeing Spock or Tuvok do it, so I won't say it's not appropriate, it's just not aesthetically pleasing. A 3.

LORE: The mention of Surak is good stuff, though overall, the lore is pretty standard. A 3.1 this time.

TREK SENSE: Totally conceptual since neither of the effects could actually be achieved through a simple greeting. The first effect plays on the greeting's words, saving a Vulcan from death, thereby allowing it to Live Long and Prosper. How this is really achieved, I don't know. Yes, Vulcans are tougher than humans, so there is a basis for the idea. Why just random selections though? (Well, obviously, a Vulcan wouldn't survive a ship's destruction.) The second effect, though it plays on the hand gesture sending a personnel back to hand, makes less sense. An opposing personnel dies (whether your own cards are around or not), you can return it to opponent's hand (what is that? the resurection waiting room?), and you draw cards for each of its skill dot icons. Mechanical in the extreme, I guess it means Live Long(er) and (I'll) Prosper. Surak would not be proud (and not just because pride is an emotion). The slight justification I could give the first effect is worth a 1.

STOCKABILITY: The first effect will work well in your Vulcan deck, obviously, with its ability to save one from randomly selected death. This can occur from dilemmas or damage markers, but ship destruction and personnel battle will stay deadly (as will opponent's choice dilemmas). Even if you're not running a Vulcan theme, you might have some key personnel (like just about any Spock) that are Vulcan. In any case, there's a second function if you fail to use the first, or even if you're not interested in the first at all. That effect allows you to be generous and send a just-killed opposing personnel to their hand in exchange for as many card draws as they had skill dots. You can take advantage of a dilemma's kill to increase your hand size suddenly, or you can be more proactive, killing a personnel in battle only to give it a second chance at life, while you reap some benefits. It's fairly balanced in that you can get, say 8 card draws, but have to allow Locutus of Borg to return to play, or you can get just 1 or 2 card draws for the cost of a simple universal mission specialist or support personnel. That may actually be the way to go if you're afraid of Scorched Hand. If you do bump off a big personnel, you don't have to allow it into play necessarily. Combine Vulcan and Klingon practices, and Painstik the victim so that it sits unuseable in your opponent's hand. A fun trick. Added bonus: Solkar downloads the card in a pinch. Not a bad card-drawing mechanism, with some extra pep if you're using Vulcans. A 3.8.

TOTAL: 10.9 (54.5%) Surak would weep if he could. ;-)

#1375-Lt. Bailey, Personnel, Federation, AU, TOS, TwT
"Junior navigator of the starship Enterprise. Rapidly promoted by Captain Kirk. Remained on the Fesarius with Balok as an intercultural 'exchange student.'"
-OFFICER, Navigation, Anthropology, Diplomacy, Stellar Cartography; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: Bailey had to look scared or else it wouldn't be his card. Well, he's more like worried, but I think the close-up still delivers. Pastels in the background are all over the place, but not disturbingly so. A 3.5.

LORE: Some good stuff. We get the usual, such as his post, but also that he was (too) quickly promoted to the bridge by Kirk. And of course, there's his final fate. I don't much care for the words in quotation marks, but it was from the show, so. A better than average 3.3.

TREK SENSE: Too bad that last line didn't inspire a special skill, but I think the standard skills are fine. As a navigator, Navigation is of course a must, but so is Stellar Cartography, especially with the old TOS-style helm station that separated the pilot and navigator positions. And then you have the other half of his character, the one that spends time on the Fesarius. In that role, he needs Anthropology and Diplomacy. What is painfully missing though is Youth - he was quite naive and inexperienced and WAS promoted very quickly. So don't let the Lieutenant rank fool you. His panic under pressure has dropped his Integrity some, and shows a less than good Cunning. Strength should probably be at that level too, since in battle, he would have been just as panicky. The basic framework is fine, but some things are missing, some inexact. A 2.9.

STOCKABILITY: OFFICERs are good but not excellent in an OS deck because OS Equipment doesn't do much with them. The OS Phaser does add SECURITY, so there's that at least. From his skill box proper, we can make out some good skills. Diplomacy and Navigation are relatively common, Stellar Cartography too, but they see plenty of use (he's a Study Badlands kind of guy). Anthropology is less frequently seen, but no less important, especially with Voyager-generation dilemmas (and there's always The Guardian of Forever's card draws). In a strictly OS deck, all his skills occur pretty much with the same frequency: about 3-4 times, with 1 or 2 extra from Mirror personnel. So in a balanced OS deck, Bailey will probably make an appearance. Attributes are lukewarm, but the mix of science and officer skills is pretty good. A 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.2 (66%) Enough to stay on the bridge?

#1385-Lt. Bashir, Personnel, Federation, TOS, TwT
"When a chance encounter with Lt. Watley in 2267 suggested a predestination paradox, Julian Bashir began to believe he was his own great-grandfather."
-MEDICAL, MEDICAL, Exobiology, Biology; SD Classic Medical Tricorder; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 9, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: How geeky! The haircut, the grin, the admiration of TOS props... Not Bashir at his most noble, but it's a comedy episode, and that comes across well. Can't say I care for the rainbow background, but the pic's ok. A fun 3.5.

LORE: Just the one anecdote, but it's a classic moment (no pun intended) for Bashir in "Trials and Tribble-ations". Funny stuff that sadly didn't translate into his skills somehow. A 3.7.

TREK SENSE: And that's what's disappointing about this Bashir - it just doesn't play with what's in the lore enough. Medical, Exobiology and Biology are all standard doctorly skills, and though he made use of them in the episode (Exobiology perhaps only in looking for Tribbles, because he was as mystified as everyone else about the Klingon make-up change), they could have gone another way too. Physics could have worked since he knew what a predestination paradox was. Or some kind of paradoxal special skill should have been in order. As is, we've got the special download of equipment he has in the pic, and not much else. The OS icon on modern personnel still doesn't ring true with me, as it seems to be more about impersonation than about actually belonging to a certain time period. Changes between this and his baseline self (from the same period in his life) are rather minimal. There's the special download of course, but also the loss of one instance of Medical, indicative of the more primitive tools he had at his disposal. Not knowing much about this period in history (at his own admittance) costs him 2 points of Cunning (that, and the fact his engineered mind was as yet undisclosed). That's it. No Integrity or Strength adjustments. Too bad, cuz I would have liked to see him get higher Integrity in this more light-hearted episode that takes place before the secret of his genetic alterations was made public. Ah well. A missed opportunity worth only 2.7.

STOCKABILITY: While as a Secret Agent, Bashir is different enough to make it into a deck with another Bashir (switching when applicable), you won't see Lt. Bashir with Julian Bashir in the same deck any time soon. There's not much difference. Lt. Bashir has 2 less CUNNING and 1 less MEDICAL. In exchange, he gets an OS icon. And of course, the special download changes. It's a good change, because it makes Bashir an even better uber-MEDICAL. He can get back his MED x3 with that Classic Medical Tricorder, or else choose to have Biology x2 or Exobiology x2. With other OS MEDICALs present, you expand that medical skill base even more. Few MEDICAL-related dilemmas are going to stand in your way. And perhaps that would be the best reason to include this Bashir rather than any other MEDICAL x2+ the Federation has access to. The combination of no AU icon, but an OS icon, means he can't report to Sherman's Peak, but it still allows him to use the equipment (including the Communicator) and report aboard OS ships with Crew Reassignment (and sometimes even download there). It also means you can just slip him into any old deck without the need for a AU Door or STP (you'll need one to download the Tricorder though). Same old, same old in a lot of ways, but I respect his place in the game. A 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) Much better than his colleague, Ensign O'Brien.

#1395-Lt. D'Amato, Personnel, Federation, AU, TOS, TwT
"Senior geologist aboard the starship Enterprise. Eager to study a mysterious asteroid discovered in 2268."
-SCIENCE, Geology x2, Archaeology; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: United in color scheme to the point of possibly being boring, D'Amato nonetheless has something going for him - the ore-rich background, perfect for a senior geologist. Nice and clear too. A 3.4.

LORE: The mission from "That Which Survives" is told in broad lines, but I think more could have been done with that blank line, especially given his ultimate fate and/or relationship to Losira. A disappointing 2.9.

TREK SENSE: "Support personnel" describes him well, I think. As a Geology expert, I'll easily accept his skill at x2 and the relevant Science classification. Archaeology is related to Geology in that it too can be achieved through digging. Given the nature of his mission, a thematic link is reasonable. But is it enough to satisfy Trek Sense? Not really. It's not impossible though. The Integrity is low for a Fed, possibly the mark of his attraction to Losira and an eagerness that surpassed his sense of duty. He's not very smart though for a scientist with a x2 skill. Sure, he should have known better than to run into an alien woman's arms (especially one with a deadly touch), but Kirk did it all the time (except this time for some reason) and his Cunning is 8. As for Strength, it may be a tad too high. Attributes are all over the map, and the skills can't both be proven. That amounts to a 2.8.

STOCKABILITY: A support personnel with a x2 skill is quite good, especially when he can add skills using both Classic Tricorders. Geology x3 and SCIENCE x2 are within his reach, so no Geology requirement will be beyond him. Archaeology isn't as useful against dilemmas, but it helps with many Federation missions, including the juicy Hunt for DNA Program and the OS-relevant Historical Research (go from reporting for free to Sherman's Peak to passing through The Guardian of Forever and helping to complete that mission). Speaking of Sherman's Peak, as far as Geology goes, it's one of Agricultural Assessment's requirements, with the second, Biology, easily gotten from a Classic Medical Tricorder. Don't wait around for Spock or Chekov when D'Amato can be downloaded/reported through Assign Support Personnel. A side-bonus: his low CUNNING actually helps him survive Unscientific Method. In an OS deck, a good bet. Otherwise, depends on your missions, but could be cool even then. A 3.7.

TOTAL: 12.8 (64%) I'm all for him.

#1405-Lt. Dax, Personnel, Federation, TOS, TwT
"Though Jadzia Dax had never met the handsome Mr. Spock, the Trill fondly recalled her symbiont's encounter with Dr. McCoy: 'He had the hands of a surgeon.'"
-SCIENCE, Archaeology, Astrophysics, Anthropology; SD Classic Tricorder; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 9, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: They did a good job of putting Dax "in context", in particular with the color scheme. Look at those eyes: they're uncommonly blue, just like that wall behind her. It's interesting to note that she fits into the environment better than any other DS9 character when she did live in that time. Oh, and we see the strap of that Tricorder she downloads. A top notch 4.

LORE: Excellent way to make mention of her joined state, and a classic moment in the episode when we discover a new connection between past and present Trek. That, and her attraction to Mr. Spock. Both pretty funny moments given Sisko's reaction at the time. A cute lil' 4.2.

TREK SENSE: Not much effort was put into making some of these OS personae distinctive, so here we basically have what I'd call Jadzia Redux. Her three skills are on the baseline version of her persona, minus the Navigation and Exobiology, and her attributes haven't moved. Waitamminit? No Exobiology? With all that interaction with tribbles? Not the best of choices. Sure, Archaeology and Anthropology would be useful in a mission dealing with the past, that's fine. But Astrophysics? I've always maintained that time travel was more a function of Physics without the Astro. When it comes to attributes, her distractedness during the whole of the episode should have brought down her Integrity a little, and the role of women in the OS period could have done the same with the Strength. She really did get into character after all. And of course, there's the matter of that OS icon, which fits Dax more than her colleagues because she is quite conversant with OS mores and technology. This I'll accept where I sorta grumbled those other times. And the special download is a natural because she did have that piece of equipment with her, and she was quite fond of it. Indeed, the lore on that card mentions Dax. Some odd design choices bring us to a 2.3. And it's not because OS Tricorders can re-establish the missing skills that I'll agree to the changes.

STOCKABILITY: OS SCIENCE personnel are in an excellent position because they can use both the Classic Tricorder AND the Classic Medical Tricorder. This gives them 2 extra skills, and not bad ones either. Dax can thus use the Tricorder to add ENGINEER, another SCIENCE, Physics or Geology, and the Classic Med Tric to regain her lost Exobiology, or add MEDICAL or Biology. And she can download the Classic Tricorder to boot, even bringing in a necessary skill mid-mission attempt. These skills add to her already scientific skill box, with the excellent Astrophysics and Anthropology, and the almost dilemma-less (just Ar-Q-ologist), but mission-friendly Archaeology. Pretty versatile, and you can switch back to Jadzia Dax (DS9) for Navigation x2 and Exobiology in exchange for that OS icon, or with Ezri Dax if you'd rather have OFFICER/Youth/Geology/Diplomacy in there. High attributes are cool, though it makes her prone to Unscientific Method. And once you have that Starship Enterprise in play and in the present timeline, you don't even need an AU Door or STP to download/report the likes of her there. A 3.8 here.

TOTAL: 14.3 (71.5%) One word: Meee-ow.

#1415-Lt. Grant, Personnel, Federation, AU, TOS, universal, TwT
"Typical security officer aboard the starship Enterprise. Eager to join the landing party to Capella IV, which he hopes will be the first of many such assignments."
-SECURITY; May replace your OS personnel present who was just randomly selected to die; Honor; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 5, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: After reacting badly to danger in "Friday's Child", Grant was promptly killed just after this picture was taken. That makes the prototypical redshirt's image very appropriate (not to mention the right color). Some CGI was done to the image as well, since Spock and Kirk used to be part of the shot. Is that why Grant's left arm looks strange? Or why those awful shadows cross his face? An appropriate pic, but ugly out of context. My score: 3.5.

LORE: Very funny! After we're done with the universality stuff, we get his point of view prior to his only mission. What he hopes will never happen, of course, because he was killed within minutes of beaming down. At the same time, the universal redshirt (which may be played by a variety of actors and stuntmen) will have many such assignments throughout the series. It his role to die to show how dangerous these missions are. An excellent 4.1.

TREK SENSE: A universal Security personnel in the Original Series was pretty much a marked man from the start. At least Lt. Grant isn't one of the hapless ones whose deaths had little or no meaning. He actually tried to save his captain's life. That's where Honor comes from, certainly (so why the lukewarm Integrity?), and the special skill too. That skill allows him to take the place of another OS personnel selected to die. It respects the period, but in a mixed crew, wouldn't Grant save Picard too? Maybe his alliegeance is limited to people he knows, and that closed-mindedness might be at the root of the lower Integrity. Still - and the game never went that way - it would have been interesting to see a personnel who would sacrifice itself only for high-ranking personnel. Note that he only throws himself in front of random selection dangers, but more specific deaths are planned to circumvent security. It works. He wasn't very smart, since he could have avoided death if he hadn't reacted so instinctively. Cunning 5 suits him fine. As does the relatively high Strength, since he's in Security. Ok, rather well done at 4.

STOCKABILITY: OS mains tend to be pretty powerful, in our universe and the mirror one. And in an OS-heavy deck, you'll either have fewer personnel in charge of your skill pool, or be basing your strategy on some special skill they have. To keep them safe, stock a few Lt. Grants. Not only is SECURITY a little bit lacking in OS Feds (save for the Mirrors), but he'll have a mission attempt function, and can throw himself in front of any danger that kills with a random selection. Multiple Grants can save multiple personnel, even from the likes of Denevan Neural Parasites, and you can re-stock your OS ship with Grants for your next mission using Crew Reassignment. He can even serve with your non-AU crew if you're using a lot of OS-icon DSNiners. A fine universal that would benefit nevertheless from Lower Decks - his attributes are pretty lame. Born to die, so that others don't have to: a 3.8.

TOTAL: 15.4 (77%) Posthumously, of course.

#1425-Lt. Nagata, Personnel, Federation, universal, AU, TOS, TwT
"Starship Enterprise engineering assistant. Discovered 'Ensign' O'Brien incompetently performing a maintenance task."
-ENGINEER, Computer Skill, Geology, Honor, Youth; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: This actor is a DS9 plant to the OS environment, and well, kinda looks it. The background has an OS look though, even if it was also manufacted in the 1990s. A standard bust shot, all in all, and an ok one, though the Enterprise insignia isn't visible on his shirt (aww). A 3.1 should cover it.

LORE: There's a lot of cheeky fun in how we're told he met O'Brien, from the "Ensign" in quotation marks to remarks on his incompetence. That stuff raises the score to a 3.5.

TREK SENSE: Well, we really don't know a whole lot about this character. From his remarks and shirt color, we get that he is an Engineer (confirmed by the lore) and that he was probably adept at Computer Skill (he remarked on O'Brien's work on the ship's computer systems). Not ratting out fellow shipmates about a job badly done gets him Honor, but that Honor may be misplaced because such a thing could compromise ship operations. He wouldn't have made such a mistake if not for Youth. That fits his profile despite the slightly advanced rank of Lieutenant (Youth would typically be Ensigns). That rank may mean he's going up quickly, so a good Cunning despite his mistake makes sense. And I think the Integrity works too: Honor mitigated by lack of foresight. Geology is quite unproven, and not that likely for an assistant engineer, even if it's not impossible. No problems with the icons or Strength. Sensible with nonetheless one black mark. A 3.6 or thereabouts.

STOCKABILITY: Nagata is a middle-ground OS Fed, not quite as powerful as the mains, but not in the same boat as the support personnel. Or is he? 4 skills is generally better than 2, even if having 2 brings support personnel status to bear. But Youth isn't much of a skill, all things considered. Honor's ok, Computer Skill is common if quite useful, and Geology is a bit rarer/better. Of course, ENGINEER is excellent. But this is the Feds we're talking about. They have an incredible amount of personnel to choose from. If playing with the OS theme exclusively, then yes, his skills get rarer, especially the Geology, but not overly so. He's an OS backup worth maybe 3.2.

TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) Like I said: middle-ground.

#1435-Lt. Sisko, Personnel, Federation, TOS, TwT
"Benjamin Sisko posed as a 23rd-century Starfleet lieutenant to thwart Barry Waddle's plot to kill Captain Kirk. Couldn't resist talking to the legendary captain."
-OFFICER, Leadership, ENGINEER, Diplomacy, Navigation; May report where Captain Kirk is present (for free); Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 8

PICTURE: The image is treated in Original Series fashion, and that means sacrificing some things. For example, I could have done without Sisko's pink forehead. Something else that could have been digitally fixed is the red light behind him to the left. It looks like a big welt on his cheek. That said, these are minor points. The card clocks in at 3.3.

LORE: The first sentence is just episode context. The second is more fun, and explains the special skill. Nothing too great, but better than average at 3.3 (again).

TREK SENSE: Now, seeing as the DSNiners were't really from this time, and many of them had trouble with the equipment, I don't think an OS icon works very well (on any of them save Dax). I will accept, however, Sisko's drop from Command icon to Staff icon. See, he may have commanded his own crew, but on the Enterprise, he would have been no more than a staffer in the eyes of the rest of the crew. Of course, it also implies that he can staff an OS ship, which, like the equipment, isn't that obvious, though he did some sensor reconfigurations on the Enterprise (Engineer). Coordinating his staff through this affair definitely gets him the Leadership, though of course, he has it from the root version of his persona. In fact, all his standard skills are from that version. Makes sense since both cards were pulled from the same time in his life. Honor's missing, but that, along with the lost Integrity point, is due to his minor temporal prime directive violation, i.e. indulging himself by meeting Captain Kirk. I wish Sisko had actually used all the skills shown here in the episode, but they'll do. His special skill is from the aforementioned meeting with Kirk, though it makes it easy for Sisko to just show up in the past without an appropriate time-travel device in play. I wouldn't say this was the best Trek Sense effort, but the problems are relatively minor. How about a 3.5?

STOCKABILITY: Certinainly, he'll be useful in the TwT sealed deck experience, but what about the larger environment? In an OS deck, he should be fairly easy to report. Use the Starship Enterprise to get Captain Kirk early through Ready Room Door or its download, and then Lt. Sisko can report to his location for free, no matter where he is (other TL, other quadrant, on a planet, whatever). The same trick, minus it being free, can be done with Professor Sisko. You could switch versions of the Sisko persona at that time to The Emissary for more free plays (especially under Treaty with the Bajorans). If that were it, it wouldn't be enough to recommend, but he's got a number of good skills, even if they ARE kinda common in the Federation. Still, ENGINEER is always excellent, and the three others aren't bad either. The OS icon has to come into play too, as it allows Sisko to share the special Equipment used by this micro-affiliation. An OFFICER can use the Classic Phaser to add SECURITY, and the Communicator to share his skills. Outside an OS deck, I should think you could find those skills and more (seeing as the special skill could be meaningless) on other personnel (including Benjamin Sisko). If it weren't for the Federation's personnel surplus, he's be more useful. As is, it all depends on the cards you use with him. 3.5 and that's about it.

TOTAL: 13.6 (68%) Note that Captain Kirk's expression during the moment pictured can be found on his own card. Of course, you don't know if he's looking at Sisko or Moreau... it's the same footage.

#1445-Lt. Sulu, Personnel, Federation, AU, TOS, TwT
"Originally assigned to the starship Enterprise as senior physicist, Hikaru Sulu quickly transfered to the helm. Hobbies include botany, fencing, and antique firearms."
-OFFICER, Physics, Navigation, Biology, SCIENCE; If on Starship Enterprise, it is WEAPONS +2; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: Sulu wasn't in "The Trouble with Tribbles", so they had to go elsewhere for the pic. While I wish they hadn't limited themselves like this for the other mains, it's not like they found a really interesting image of Sulu either. He's at his post, the subdued background doesn't distract from the subject matter, and everything's in sharp focus. It's just that "The Corbomite Maneuver" isn't much of a Sulu episode, it's just his first time at the helm. I see the logic, but would have hoped for a bare-chested swashbuckler instead ;-). Still a good 3.5.

LORE: They haven't forgotten his origins as senior physicist, but more importantly, his many, many hobbies, which was a fun element on the show. A colorful 3.8.

TREK SENSE: As the Enterprise's helmsman, he's an Officer with Navigation. I was thinking Nav x2, but his legendary status may just be an echo I have from reading too many Star Trek novels. At this point in his career, he probably hadn't done anything too cool with his piloting skills. Is that behind his special skill though? While the helmsman did shoot phasers in the original series, is the Weapons boost more of a maneuverability bonus? I agree the Range boost would go to Chekov since he plotted courses (Range is a function of warp travel, not combat piloting.) Since he used to be a physicist, Physics and Science remain part of the package. Biology is for his interest in botany. Antique firearms should have given him Archaeology, but there's just no room. Maybe they should've done a separate "Sulu, Senior Physicist" card to liberate some space in the skill box, eh? There's just no way to represent a character with such diverse expertise in a normal-sized box. My only problem with the attributes is that the Strength might be a bit low. While he was a wuss most of the time on the show (Kirk had to look good), the one fencing incident and later movie appearances ("Don't call me Tiny") point to a well-trained combatant. An understandably incomplete 2.5.

STOCKABILITY: In an OS deck, every main counts, and Sulu's OFFICER/SCIENCE combo is excellent. With Spock and Chekov, you get just enough redundancy to plan your missions around the same skills. Physics is better on mission attempts than at facing dilemmas, but there's still a need for it. Navigation and Biology, on the other hand, are useful in all cases. Good skills with fair attributes. As for the special skill, he's a great addition to your Starship Enterprise. The ship's not as weak as its attributes first lead you to believe, not with matching commander bonuses and such boosts as those afforded by Sulu, Chekov and Scotty. +2 WEAPONS is a great tactical advantage when your matching commander can initiate battle against non-Federation ships. No reason why the Starship Enterprise couldn't play marauder for a day. Note that there's also a CF Starship Enterprise, which Lt. Sulu can also readily boost, and you can get him on that ship using his CF self, Captain Sulu, and turning back the clock with a persona switch. A must for Enterprise-related strategies, he lands a flat 4.

TOTAL: 13.8 (69%) A favorite, so I would have liked a better showing.

#1455-Lt. Uhura, Personnel, Federation, AU, TOS, TwT
"Dedicated communications officer of the starship Enterprise. Opened hailing frequencies countless times. In Swahili, her name means 'freedom'."
-OFFICER, Youth, Computer Skill, Music, ENGINEER, Navigation; SD Hail; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 4

PICTURE: Though Decipher limited itself to images from Tribble episodes for their main OS personnel, Uhura didn't get jipped. She's beautiful in her pic and Chekov was digitally removed from the frame for good measure. Her black collar adds movement, and she has an appropriate African look between the earrings and Egyptian eye make-up. A good composition in the background keeps our attention on her, but the color palette is a little homogenous. A good 3.7 despite not being at her station, which is really how we know her. (Then again, she escapes the cliché.)

LORE: Not bad, not bad. I like that she's "dedicated", as you'd almost have to be to do such a boring job ;-). The second sentence testifies to the monotony and takes a good-natured jab at her lowly role in the show. The meaning of her Swahili name is a great detail I'm glad they included. Thumbs up: 4.1.

TREK SENSE: OS communications officers are like TNG Ops officers - they're in the Officer classification, but wear engineering colors. Still, their position on the bridge and only tengential connection to engineering matters makes this appropriate. Uhura has Engineer anyway, and we have seen her poking around under her console. Communications itself seems to be Computer Skill-driven, operating the switchboard if you will. We've seen her at least once piloting the ship (Navigation), taking over for O'Riley in "The Naked Time". She's a great improvisational singer, accounting for Music. Now, I think they're always a bit quick to stick Youth on young, beautiful women even when they aren't that young (a Lieutenant here), but with Uhura, they're at least consistent. The special download couldn't be more perfect for a Com officer, and Uhura in particular. Women were usually portrayed as damsels in distress in TOS, so the Strength is fairly low (but can account for her showing some chutzpah in "Mirror, Mirror"), and the Integrity isn't that high (she's dedicated, but not always courageous). Cunning's about right - she's smart, but rarely has a flash of insight. Uhura often seems like a background character on the show, but they've allowed her to do a lot of things, and that shows in this large skill list. No major problems, I'm going with a 4.5.

STOCKABILITY: With such a large skill list, Uhura can plus a great many holes in your OS deck, AND share those skills via Classic Communicator. Among the most useful are Computer Skill, ENGINEER and Navigation, all very common (of course, less so in the OS subset), but all very frequently required of cards. OFFICER isn't bad either, not as good as ENGINEER certainly, but better than CIVILIAN. Youth and Music aren't as good, even if they have a better chance of being used in a Fed deck (Risa Shore Leave, Camping Trip and Study Plasma Streamer come to mind). Being together on the same card means she's a null when it comes to Ooby Dooby. Thankfully, she has a good special download. Hail stops a passing ship in its tracks. Now, with Captain Kirk aboard too, it's a good way to ambush that vessel. Cross over to the other universe, and it'll allow the evil James Tiberius Kirk to kill a crew member with his Tantalus Field. Got intruders aboard (or decided to beam down to a planet to battle an Away Team)? Suddenly switch her to Commander Uhura and capture all the males there. Youch! Great switcheroo! Kirk and Uhura on a Stolen Attack Ship with Invasive Transporters could do a LOT of damage and kickstart a Federation capture deck very quickly. So despite a less-than-essential skill list (but not a bad one), she gets her licks in. 3.9 I'd say.

TOTAL: 16.2 (81%) Best OS personnel yet.

#1465-Lt. Watley, Personnel, Federation, AU, TOS, TwT
"Dierdre Watley recently transferred from the Lexington to the starship Enterprise. Plays flute and piccolo. Julian Bashir speculated that she was his great-grandmother."
-SCIENCE, MEDICAL, Youth, Music, Stellar Cartography; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 4

PICTURE: First of all, I though Watley, on the show, looked very much like a TOS character. Hair, make-up, costume, casting, acting, all very well done. Her pic suffers from the blocky gray background, though again, it's a period piece. The white light panel is of interest however, and makes the image more dynamic. Watley still has to carry the picture, and she scores a 3.4.

LORE: A mix of invented and established facts, the lore doesn't forget to mention the scene in which Bashir believed he could become his own great-grandfather. Inventions include her first name (it's the actress' real name, cute) and her musical instrument, basically there to justify her skill list. A note about how she narrowly avoided death by transferring from the Lexington (it would have been destroyed a few months later in "The Ultimate Computer") could have been a nice wink at continuity, but I don't hold it against the card, which gets a good 3.5.

TREK SENSE: She was a young woman, and in this game, that means Youth. Fair enough. The lore tells us she plays the flute, so that's Music. Manufactured, but ok. She wears a blue uniform, so she's either in the sciences or medical. Had she been Medical, she might have known Bashir wasn't an Enterprise doctor, and she certainly wouldn't have said she would swing by sickbay later for a check-up if she already worked there. So she's Science. Gotta give her a department, and they chose Stellar Cartography. There's no problem with that, nor is it particularly inspired. The Medical is something I object to however. While not impossible as a Science specialty, it has nothing to do with Stellar Cartography. The Encyclopedia mentions her as a medical/sciences specialist, but I take that to mean she was wearing blue, and they didn't really know which, not that she's somehow attached to both departments. As for attributes, I see nothing wrong. She's a good OS girl, but not one above flirting while on the job (Integrity 7); she's a capable Science officer who made it to Lieutenant, but led an unremarkable career (Cunning 7); and Strength is at a youthful and healthy 4. Not without its problem areas, she gets no more than a 3.1 here.

STOCKABILITY: Though it first looks like Watley offers a large skill list, that's not necessarily true. Youth and Music just don't have the same utility as the others, you see, and she's not the only one with them or anything. What is useful though, is the combination SCIENCE/MEDICAL, two great classifications, and she can tend more toward one or the other using either Classic Tricorder to add skills (or both!). Put Youth and Music out of your mind, and think of those two slots as the Tricorder enhancements. Stellar Cartography isn't a bad skill either, especially when encountering dilemmas. A minor OS personnel, but thanks to a dual-classification and good working knowledge of Classic Equipment cards, one you'll want in your OS deck. As much as 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.5 (67.5%) Didn't she also play Joval? Mmmmm... Jamaharon.

#1475-Lucsly, Personnel, Federation, TwT
"Agent of the Department of Temporal Investigations. Calculates dates over a century old to the exact dayn of the week. Hates predestination paradoxes."
-SCIENCE, Computer Skill, MEDICAL, Law; SD Temporal Investigations; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 4

PICTURE: Good expression, and his gray existence shows up in the textured grays from his uniform and background. The linework on both actually matches in spots. A pretty good 3.4.

LORE: All the X-Files jokes were in Dulmer's lore, but Lucsly still has the anagram name (Lucsly=Scully). The date calculation thing is great moment from the show, and of course, there's his hate of predestination paradoxes. Fun without referring constantly to an in-joke. A 3.8.

TREK SENSE: There IS an in-joke in the game text however. That would be the Medical, which relates to Agent Scully being a doctor. After all, what proof is there that Lucsly ever had this skill? Exactly, none. Temporal Investigations acting as a kind of physics police, Lucsly can be shown to have both Science and Law. For Computer Skill, we might remember his calculating dates at computer-like speeds. It's not the same, but it might spring from there. He also carried a PADD. Besides, it's the easiest skill to "prove" in a 24th-century setting. No Security, which might have been appropriate, but let's not forget that as Dulmer's partner, he really shouldn't duplicate too much of that personnel's skill base. The download is for the service he works with, pretty natural, and would basically allow him to grab his partner or otherwise investigate AU stuff. The Staff icon makes sense given his apparent rank, coming to DS9 in a shuttle, etc. Attributes feature Integrity that's a bit better than Dulmer's (NOT on board about meeting Kirk has he the chance), one point less in Cunning (that one I'm not so sure about - even if he had to have Orbs explained to him, he still had that lightning calculator thing going for him), and one less point in Strength (looked like more of a weakling, and no Security training). Reads fine, though not everything is proven onscreen. A 3.4 should do.

STOCKABILITY: A Federation personnel needs some oomph to get included in a deck, simply because the affiliation has so many. Lucsly does have some oomph thankfully. He's got two very good classifications, the rare skill of Law, and the common-but-useful Computer Skill. Most of it can be used in inumerable situations, while you'll be happy to have Law when you finally encounter a need for it. Downloading Temporal Investigations is better than having to play the event, and can get Dulmer into play (you've already got Lucsly, presumably) and/or allow for card draws. That's all fine and dandy, but your opponent has to play AU cards to enable any of this, and that's not always going to happen. Using DQ Voyager cards, for example, won't yield a lot of AU icons. In a sense, it's then good that you can leave the card in Q's Tent until needed (suspends play to suddenly enable your card draws), but at the same time, it isn't encouraging for using the personnel who downloads it. So a good skill list - can't say the same for the attributes - with an iffy special download... Hits something around 3.4.

TOTAL: 14 (70%) Mostly 3.4s.

#1485-Lumba, Personnel, Ferengi, TwT
"In a ploy to convince Nilva to support Grand Nagus Zek's reinstatement, Quark was altered to appear female."
-CIVILIAN, Acquisition, Biology; SD Nilva; Doubles first-listed skill of each [universal] [Ferengi] male present; May nullify gender-related dilemmas where present
-INTEGRITY: 5, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 2

PICTURE: Ugh. Ferengi females aren't too appetizing to begin with, but Lumba is the worst! And Quark's such a comparatively handsome male too... Seriously folks, the prosthetic suit's failings show up here, making Quark a pinhead with a huge body. One of the gaudiest outfits ever put to video tape doesn't help things either. All of those a problems with the television production, of course, and I do think Decipher chose a fun pose. The lights behind his head do create an odd effect, like he's coming out of warp or something, but it's nothing major. Recuperates some points that way, so it's a 2.7.

LORE: Just the facts m'am... sir... m'am... aw forget it. We don't know HOW this plan would accomplish the listed goal, so I can't recommend this brief note. Also, I object to the idea that he was only made to APPEAR female, when in actuality, he was surgically made female enough to feel the hormonal changes. 2.1 then.

TREK SENSE: Lumba (let's call him/her that for the duration, ok?) is still the Civilian Quark was, and shows the same business acumen while "in character" as part of a women-in-business liberation front. Biology shows up because Quark just got through learning about the female anatomy and physiology (first-hand). Fair enough. None of Quark's other skills come into play very much, not even Greed since he's helping the Nagus for free (money-wise anyway). They needed room for the other stuff, but it does short-change Lumba a little bit. Since they used this ploy to attract Nilva to the station, that personnel can be downloaded here. The skill-doubling effect is a bit of a cheat. I mean, sure, Nilva, the requisite universal Ferengi male, saw his Greed double when Lumba convinced him that females gaining profit could double the customer base, but not all male universals have Greed as their first listed skill (and note that Dr. Farek does, but isn't considered Ferengi enough for this card). There's Frool, and I guess Nava's Acquisition, but Prak's Navigation? Mordoc's Astrophysics? Problems aplenty with more than half the possible personnel. The gender-related dilemma nullification thing works better though. Women won't fall for him because he doesn't appear to be male, and he won't let males get too close because he doesn't go that way. Indeed, he'll interpose himself between any other personnel so that he bears the brunt (pun not intended) of the romantic flirtations, possibly distracting any lustful character at the mission site. Fine. He/she's pretty hard to ignore. For Matriarchal Society, consider that he 1) appears female and 2) is pushing a wymin's lib agenda, so he may well count as two. Because Lumba is helping "the cause", she's got better Integrity than Quark's low X (2), but the hormones put her all over the map mood-wise, so not so good as his high X (7). Cunning's the same, which I'll of course buy, though I wouldn't have minded a point lower to deal with the situation's confusion. And as for Strength, THAT takes a 1-point dive, and not because of some kind of "weaker gender" notion. It's just hard to fight in heels, is all ;-). Some rough spots, but the old girl's got a lot of good in her. A 3.6.

STOCKABILITY: Only two regular skills, but they're good ones, with Acquisition being as useful as ever in a Ferengi deck, and Biology taking care of a number of dilemmas. But Lumba has to stand on his/her ("hir"?) special skills to score high. Starting from the bottom, we have to consider that the Ferengi are somewhat handicapped when it comes to gender equity. Decipher's done a good job of making dabo girls valuable personnel, and there's always Pel and Ishka, but the range of skills and especially classifications isn't as wide as for males. The Ferengi are obvious targets for female-targeting dilemmas because weeding these out early in a combo can mean disaster later on. With Lumba around, this won't happen. The early Romance and Love Interest dilemmas up front fly to the discard pile, and Matriachal Society will do the same later on. As for doubling the first-listed skill of universal Ferengi males, it'll help mission specialist and Lower Decks strategies, but there aren't a whole lot of these guys (of course, there are as many as you want, being universal and all). It doesn't matter because some of these become real dilemma busters with the added skills. Consider Dr. Borts' MEDICAL x2 (Genetronic Replicator anyone?), Mordoc's Astrophysics, Taar's Diplomacy or Qol's Exobiology. Letek's new Treachery x2 protects him from Sabotaged Negotiations and can be used with The Art of Diplomacy (the hand weapon download). Doubling Greed and Acquisition can only help mission attempts, and so on. Nilva is one personnel that can be targeted by this ability, and Lumba can conveniently download him. This is better than just getting a free personnel into play (one with 4 skills no less), because he has FCA. Grab Quark early with his Isolinear Rods, switch him for Lumba as soon as possible, and get an early shot at Nilva and Writ of Accountability. And being very different from the main version of Quark, stocking both becomes a real option. Use Quark for most of your needs and switch to Lumba when you need to pass a gender-related dilemma (a Scan card will reveal which, and Quark helps counter Scanner Interference) or are present with lots of universals. Will spring for a 4.

TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) Comes through in the end.

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