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Star Trek Lower Decks premiered 5 years ago today, and so did their "23 Weeks of Trek" promotion, which was actually my introduction to Star Trek.
Because of that, I still get nostalgic for this time when I got curious, watched Lower Decks Season 1, and enjoyed it so much I just jumped right into Discovery season 3 and I enjoyed that as well. These were the seasons that needed to convince me to become a lifelong fan and they succeeded.
I wish I had written more DS9 AU fic back in my fic days, but to be honest I didn't have access to these types of inspirational pictures of "Dax" and "Kira" in other realities to spark the flame.
A fanfic for @startrekpotluck 2026: Quark and his various ingenious ways of Increasing Profit!
1k words, rated G, no warnings apply.
Summary: Quark is up to his usual perfectly honest and honorable business practices! Profit! Profit!!!
Cross-posted to Ao3 • more Star Trek on tumblr
Quark happily rubs his hands, looking over the new display of "authentic aldebaran whiskey - the real stuff, no synthenol!"
"What is this?!" Odo's voice rudely interrupts his appreciation for his newest acquisition.
Quark quickly turns around, standing between the signage and his adversary. Odo just looks even more suspicious. Ugh, he shouldn't have acted squirrelly, the mall cop can probably smell his fear! Not that he's afraid, or anything. He's a honest-ish businessman with a great sense for profit, what's there to be afraid of? Still, Odo can probably tell that something's off with the bottled-on-Aldebar whiskey by smelling Quark's unease about this situation. Metaphorically, anyway. Or maybe he really can? Quark isn't entirely sure.
"What is what? Nothing is up, my friend, only the highest and -"
"I've gotten seven complaints about the takeaway grill boxes only being half full today," Odo interrupts him. "Did you run out of grubs, or is this another one of your schemes?"
"Schemes? No, there are no schemes! And how dare you suggest I would run out of anything, I am a perfectly respectable businessman and capable of arranging for new shipments whenever my loyal customers -"
"Get to the point if you don't want to spend the night in a cell."
Wow, he really isn't letting him finish a single sentence today, is he? Alright then. "Saying they are only half full is a gross exaggeration, they are filled only 20% less now," and before that, he had already lowered it another ten percent of the original filling level, which had gone unnoticed - well, looks like he found the limit of where the customers stop being happy with the serving sizes, or gone over it at least now he just has to see where to find that perfect sweet spot of maximum profit without inciting a riot - but of course he's not going to tell Odo any of that.
"...and that is because market research has shown the average serving size needs to be adjusted! It is my right to adjust serving sizes however I see fit, how dare you call it a scheme/, I am -"
"Sounds like a scheme to me!"
"Yes, you can't put less in the same package you've always used, keep the same prize, and expect people not to be pissed when they suddenly don't get the food they paid for."
Quark suppresses a squeak. How did major Kira even show up so quickly? It's kind of flattering to think that they need backup to deal with him, but on the other hand he could do without being cornered by double the security.
"Hello there, major! Thank you for paying a visit to my fine establishment, could I interest you in some-"
"If you want to do both of us a favor, you will properly mark the takeout boxes to show how much's in them so we won't keep getting overrun with complaints," Kira snaps.
Offended, Quark squares his shoulders. "I know you are not familiar with the process of running a business, but -" he is not able to finish that sentence, either.
"Quark. Either put more food in the containers again, or mark them clearly with the lower filling volume." Odo slaps a roll of plain white stickers onto the counter next to him. Some of Quark's own prize-adjustment stickers, actually. (Well, prize-raising stickers might be the more accurate term - unless he starts off a new product with an outrageously high prize for as long as he can get away with it until someone figures out how cheap it can be imported or whatnot...) How did Odo even get them?
"Quark!" Kira sounds rather impatient with him already, honestly, shouldn't these officers of the law show a bit of grace?
"Fine, fine, I will increase the serving sizes again," Quark huffs and puts the stickers back behind the bar where they belong. Honestly, as if he would ever disclose something the customer won't like about the product, right on the packaging! That's economic suicide.
"Increase it back to how it was before!" Kira tries to make sure he won't weasle his way out of their demands.
"Yes, yes." back to the previous ten-percent decrease, anyway. He might have done so anyway - he'll have to wait a while and then lower the amount in slower increments next time to really figure out at what point people will start noticing. And maybe the next shipment of takeout containers can be just a small, unnoticeable bit smaller, as well...
Quark hopes Kira and Odo won't ask how long he plans to keep the increased amount of product for. It looks like he gets his wish this time - after another jab from Kira and a suspicious look at the whiskey shelf from Odo, they make their way out of the bar (& grill, & gaming house & holosuite arcade, can't forget the full title with all the perks of the establishment), leaving Quark to slump against the bar for a moment before he gets back to work, shouting at Rom not to laze about when there are customers at a table ready to be served or talked into getting another drink!
Now, he just has to see about hiding the paperwork that shows where the cheap cardassian whiskey mix has been shipped around the galaxy to be bottled and labeled on a lesser known moon technically in the Aldebara system... It's not illegal to label them as aldebaran, he checked, but he's pretty sure that wouldn't stop Kira nor Odo from kicking up a stink about it if they figured it out!
StarTrekPotluck2026 - Day 7, Serving 2: @lilolilyr takes us along for a lesson in economics and customer scamming service at Quark's ✨
Have a glass of the exquisite Authentic Aldebaran Whiskey and adelicious takeaway grill box, guaranteed to contain only the freshest grub this side of the wormhole (don't worry about the portion size)! 🥃🥡
Dr. Mae Jemison, MD, the first black woman in space and first actual astronaut to appear on a Star Trek show, one of the very few people on this planet of whom two pictures can be posted depicting them doing their job on a spaceship with entirely different contexts.
seven developed this program specifically to practise social interactions for b'elanna and tom's baby shower but she was like i also have to add a teeny little sideplot where i flirt with the captain. for research purposes.
continuing with my lower decks watch, i keep loving it more and more! i'm almost by the end of season 3 and i don't want to end </3 also big fan of these two... can i get a thousand more scenes with them
Well, I’ll stop working in this drawing and I’ll show you my MUPirate Janeway. It’s a redo of another drawing I wasn’t happy with. This drawing took me forever to finish, well, not exactly to finish because I would like to add MU Seven behind Janeway.
I hope that you’ll like it and Do not use it without permission and do not repost it, we have a nice reblog button that loves to be clicked on.Â
"Captain Burnham has my favorite development arc because we get to see her come full circle. When we start discovery she is presented as near perfect: The Human that graduated from the Vulcan Science Academy. She is so poised and well put together that it even ruffles the feathers of others. She is the first officer and on the fast track to Captain and being mentored by one of the greats. Everything should be aces for Burnham but then she has her tragic fall from grace. But even in her guilt and grief she maintains her poise, and as we watch her move from one situation to the next you come away from them realizing that she is right but most importantly, her thought process is sound. I was always amazed at the people that criticized this character as a "mary sue" when in reality she was just a highly intelligent, high functioning person who was incredibly competent. To me she is EXACTLY what we want of a Starfleet Officer. She is trained and disciplined and doesn't need hand holding. I think we were all a little spoiled by some of what we saw in previous shows, and expected more of the same here. And while there is plenty of handholding on Discovery, it DOESN'T happen with Burnham. She has to learn her lessons the hard way, often alone and often on the fly. The fact that she does so seemed to irritate people even more. Burnham to me is the perfect example of what I called Paragon Competence during the show's run. She was just like the other captains in that she didn't let fear overwhelm her nor did she shy from a challenge. But another area where she excelled was that she was public with her pain and suffering and showed her crew how to use it and move through it and come out the other side all the better for the experience.
Too many times we are told we have to suffer in silence or suffer alone, but Burnham and Discovery exemplified sharing and working through your trauma with your team, your family. I think that Discovery was ahead of its time when it comes to the message it tried to convey, and that is in no small part thanks to excellent characters like Michael."
~THRACIAN /@perryfr/ TheEmissary064
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