#central command

[master-of-the-game]

Nuances of the relationship between the Obsidian Order and the Central Command.

Fragments under the cut

[jbk405]

Even other Cardassians don’t like Gul Dukat

A Thirty Years Too Late Observation

Gul Dukat is one of the villains of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and has the distinction of being the longest-running of them all.  As a villain -- particularly an Imperialist and Genocidal villain -- he is despised by the primary cast who hate him and what he stands for.  That’s to be expected.  But something I find fascinating is that throughout the series it is revealed that even other Cardassians can’t stand him.

Despite the fact that he’s a Gul -- A high military rank, only below Legate in the Cardassian military hierarchy -- he isn’t respected by any of his former superiors or colleagues.

You get the first inkling in the two-parter “The Maquis” in season two.  He tells protagonist Benjamin Sisko with full sincerity that the Cardassian Central Command isn’t funneling weapons into the Demilitarized Zone, because if they were then he would know about it.  Except that they are, and just never bothered to tell him.  When the plot is discovered the Central Command even tries to blame him for it to cover up their involvement.  And it’s not as though he was an intended scapegoat all along, they just didn’t bother to loop him in beforehand.

In season three’s “Civil Defense”, an old automated defense program is activated from when Dukat was in command of the Terok Nor station years ago.  It turns out that back then his superiors had modified the program without his knowledge specifically to prevent him from being able to escape from the station, as they believed that he would inevitably try to flee from his failures.

In “Defiant”, one of the few episodes where we see Dukat ‘in his element’ in command of Cardassian forces, he is the target of near constant mockery by the Obsidian Order observer who is monitoring the event.  Some of that can be explained by the institutional rivalry between the Obsidian Order and the Central Command (Spies Vs Soldiers), except that she keeps hammering on him, not the military in general.  Even to the point of doing it in front of a Federation officer, when presenting a united front against outsiders is an established part of Cardassian society.

After Cardassia has joined the Dominion and Dukat used the situation to make himself the ruler, Tekeny Ghemor points out that there are several Guls and Legates who could oppose him internally.  Not because they hate the Dominion, but because they resent him being in authority over them.

When you piece all these different points together, you realize that Dukat was held in contempt by the Cardassian military at large.  Different Legates, different branches, all viewed him as incompetent and expendable or not worth involving.  Even at the height of his power and prestige during the Occupation of Bajor they were silently counting down until he screwed up.  It’s so widespread that it honestly makes me wonder how he ever became a Gul in the first place.  If his father hadn’t been executed by the Obsidian Order I’d think it was family connections that got him his position and initially shielded him from repercussions.

[abitunexpected]

I think it's interesting how the cardassian government evolved as a concept in the star trek mythos from the wounded to way of the warrior

in one of the tng episodes (I think chain of command or possibly a later tng cardassian episode) Picard says that the military holds the most power over affairs on Cardassia

however its later stated in DS9, the most specific occurance I can think of is defiant, that while the detapa consul is supposed to have power over the central command and Obsidian order, the two operate independently with the consul having very little influence in the grand scheme of things

in s4 there has been a successful revolution on Cardassia prime subsequent to the fall of the Obsidian order in the gamma quadrant in s3, in return to Grace it is revealed in gul Dukat's rant subsequent to his conversation with the civilian government that they are in fact the detapa consul

I just think it's interesting how the pre s4 ds9 cardassian government changed from a military government with a civilian puppet to the worst kept secret in the alpha quadrant

what's your favourite cardassian government?

Central command

Obsidian order

Detapa consul

Detapa consul post revolution

Dominion (gul Dukat)

Dominion (Legate Demar)

Dominion (Legate Broca)

Dominion (exterminatus)

Garak and Bashir?

dead Demar?

Voting ended onAug 4, 2023

[md93gxv]

[cherrycocaineee]

9. Edward Elric - Old Friends

   Soft glowing rays of sunlight slipped through the curtains, touching my cool, pale skin. From downstairs, I could smell the incredible scent of Pinako’s cooking coming from beneath the door as my eyes opened. Winry’s footsteps echoed throughout the hall, each echo getting closer and closer. Within seconds, she was at my door knocking on it then barging in.  “Hinata!” She chirped, happily, “it’s time to wake up!” I pulled my body into the upright position, swinging my legs off my bed and touching the freezing wood with my bare feet. Softly rubbing my eyes, I listened to Winry tell me that she was going to be busy for a while and that there would be visitors coming later today. Normally Pinako and Winry told me who would be stopping by but recently, they’ve been keeping that a secret. I wasn’t sure if to surprise me, not that I had anyone to see anymore, or because they didn’t want me to worry about it. Either or, it was annoying because I didn’t like being kept in the dark. Plus, things between us were already weird for me, I didn’t want it to be weirder.  “Are you even listening, Hinata?” Winry’s voice whined.  I blinked several times, the spots in my eye floating away, before looking at her, “of course, Winry.” The two of us smiled at each other before she left to give me some privacy while I changed. After my shower, I dried and brushed out my long black hair, noticing that it almost reached my butt, then added some chapstick to my pink lips watching myself in the mirror with my grass green eyes. Next, I threw on some fresh clothing; nothing too special, just a light purple, short sleeve, cropped shirt and some black leggings that went to my knees.   As I came down the stairs, I could hear Winry and Pinako speaking to one another while Winry was setting the table for breakfast.  “It’s definitely been a long time, huh?” Winry asked, almost dreamily.  “It sure has,” Pinako whispered, “seeing both of them again.”  “Are you sure it’s a good idea to hide this from Hinata?”  “Her and Ed didn’t exactly leave on good terms. I don’t want to stress her out with a visit from him so suddenly. Maybe the sudden visit will prompt the two of them to remember how good of friends they were.”  “Ed sure has changed a lot, and so has Hinata.” I walked into the kitchen and looked at them. Pinako and Winry greeted me with a warm smile which I returned, despite finding out that they were keeping Edward Elric’s appearance a secret from me. Like Pinako said, Ed and I didn’t leave on good terms. It was complicated really, we were so young that I don’t even think it would be something he would even remember. I wanted to go with him and Alphonse, to train alongside them as Alchemist and help them get their bodies back, however, Ed had told me that I was weak. That there wasn’t anything I could bring to the table, unlike Winry since she was both raised by doctors and completely into automail. The whole argument hurt my feelings and we ended up never speaking again. After Ed and Al left to join the military, I left too, telling Pinako that there was no point in me sticking around since I was useless anyways. Though she tried to talk me out of it, I left anyway.   While travelling, I met an old man named Haru who was incredible when it came to hand-to-hand combat and possessed strong Alchemy. After some begging, Haru eventually took me in and trained me before he passed away. I now had two transmutation circles carved into both my wrists allowing me to use ice and fire alchemy, as well as me being able to do hand-to-hand combat. However, even to this day, Ed’s words whispered to me in the back of my head.  “She’s doing it again,” Winry sighed, dragging me out of my head, “honestly, Hinata, you zone out way too often.”  I giggled softly, “I’m sorry. I was just thinking about Edward and Alphonse returning home.” Both their eyes widened as I shoveled a mouth full of porridge into my mouth. Once I swallowed, I addressed their confusion.  “I overheard the two of you talking when I was coming downstairs.” “You were eavesdropping,” Pinako grumbled, shaking her head while chuckling.  A sweat drop appeared on my forehead as I laughed nervously, wondering how she always knew. The three of us continued eating breakfast while enjoying some small talk about nothing really. Winry, of course, was speaking about upgrading her automail techniques to make stronger limbs. I’ve seen a lot of her sketches and believe wholeheartedly that she would definitely be able to do something like that once she put her mind into it.  When breakfast was over, I started cleaning up the dishes for Pinako so she could relax. Winry was up in her room working. Time passed slowly as I cleaned up, glancing at the clock each minute, before there was barking coming from outside where Pinako and Den sat. I could feel my chest tighten as I heard Winry bouncing down the steps to greet both the Elric brothers, picturing a wrench in her hand as she hit Ed upside the head. Something I had learned from Pinako that she started doing when they visited. I picked up the red and white checkered kitchen towel to dry my hands, not taking my eyes off the freshly wiped down table. From inside the kitchen, I could hear them speaking and even heard another voice I didn’t recognize. For some reason, I started to feel drained.  Thinking I could make it to my room undetected, I moved quickly. Winry, on the other hand, had different plans. Quickly running inside before I reached the steps and snatching up my hand, dragging me outside despite my extreme protest to just go to my room. All of my nerves were shot and I started to feel sick to my stomach, yet Winry kept dragging me out to meet the brothers. Bright rays of sunlight assaulted my eyes as I felt my feet touch the porch. Winry called out to Ed and Al as the spots in my eyes faded away. I was greeted with the sight of Pinako, Den, Al, who was still in his armor, Ed, who wasn’t wearing his automail arm prompting his sudden visit, and a muscular male that I didn’t recognize.  “Ed! Al!” Winry sang, “look who else is here! It’s Hinata!” She had let go of my arm and I saw Ed smile wide. Even Al seemed excited, which I could only tell by him calling for me cheerfully. They both ran towards me, my heart racing as they got closer. Before they could get even closer, I slammed my hands together and touched the ground, shards of ice crystallizing and stopping in front of them making them halt abruptly. Winry and Ed’s eyes widened, but I only turned away and went to my room, locking the door behind me and sliding down. My knees pressed against my chest as I started hearing Ed’s words play over and over in my head. My earlier assumption was correct: Ed didn’t remember the hurtful things he said to me. Hot tears poured from my eyes while I sobbed quietly into my hands.

 Hours passed and the sun was now sitting over the house creating the afternoon heat I was so use to. I had finally stopped crying, tear streaks stained my flushed cheeks, but still remained in front of the door. I hadn’t realized how out of it I was until I heard a quiet tap on the door, noticing that I hadn’t even heard the footsteps approaching. My breath hitched in my throat as I listened.  “Hinata,” Al said, his voice quiet and sweet, “it’s Alphonse. Can I come in?”  Al and I have always gotten along, and even during my fight with his brother, he defended me. Slowly, I climbed to my feet and turned the doorknob, the soft breeze from the hall running into my room as I opened the door. Al stood there with a plate in his hand, the plate holding a single slice of apple pie with a dollop of whipped cream on top just how I liked it. Opening the door wider, I stepped to the side and he came in. The cinnamon aroma piggybacking onto the breeze and entering my nose making my mouth water. With Al inside, I closed the door and sat back down in front of it, him joining me.  “Granny said to give this to you,” he finally said, “thought it might make you feel better.”  “Thank you,” I whispered, taking the plate in my hands, feeling the heat radiating off the bottom.  We were quiet for a moment, but it wasn’t an awkward silence, it was comforting. I decided to ask him about the man I had seen earlier.  “Who was that other guy with you?” I asked, turning my green eyes to meet his glowing pink sockets.  “Oh, that’s Major Armstrong,” he answered, “Ed kind of works with him.”  “You don’t?”  “Not as a state alchemist. I couldn’t become one because they had to do a physical, but you know.” The physical would reveal that Al wasn’t exactly 100% Al, just a soul bound to a suit of armor. Nodding my head, I turned my attention back to the melting cream on the apple pie. Setting it on the ground, I wrapped my arms around my legs. “You’re still mad at Ed, huh?” Al asked. “I’m not mad,” I said, shaking my head, “but I’m not going to pretend it never happened either.” “Are you going to speak to Ed about it?” “How? We both know Ed isn’t one to sit and talk about something, he’s not in tune with female emotions.” “Brother’s changed a whole lot since the last time you’ve seen him. If anything, he’s become quite emotional as well.”  A soft laugh erupted from Al’s metal suit making me smile. For a while Al and I conversated with one another. Him telling me stories of their travels, the search for the philosopher stone, and more; then I told him about Haku and my training, explaining how I learned Alchemy and the different Alchemy I could do. Though eventually he had to go downstairs to see Pinako and Winry, telling me to come join them when I was ready. When he was gone, I sat on my bed with the pie before eating it. My mind was racing with different ideas of what to do. Should I go out there and see Ed, talk to him about the things he said to me or do I just sit in my room until he leaves? I stared at the empty plate in my hand.  “Guess I’ve got to go down there anyway.”  Putting on my slippers, I walked out of my room and headed to the kitchen. All except for Ed, who was standing, were sitting around the table. Den was holding a bouquet of white flowers in his mouth and I knew that Ed was heading to his mother’s grave. When I walked in, everyone looked at me. I placed my plate in the sink.  “Hinata,” Pinako called, “come over here and meet Major Armstrong.”  Deciding it was better not to argue, I walked over to everyone. Major Armstrong held out his hand, a bright smile appeared on his face. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Hinata,” he said, “I’m Alex Louis Armstrong.” “It’s nice to meet you as well, Major,” I greeted kindly. I decided to join them, even if I didn’t talk. Just seemed like the right thing to do. Soon though, Ed was leaving to go to the graveyard. Waving goodbye, he headed for the kitchen door before stopping suddenly, his gloved hand releasing the door as he turned towards me.  “Hinata, why don’t you come with me?” He asked, a small, hopeful smile on his face. “O-okay,” I said, standing up and following him out the house, Den following close behind. Even though I wasn’t looking at them, I could feel the others smiling in satisfaction. Ed opened the door for me and we started off towards his mother’s tombstone. It would be a lengthy walk and because neither of us were talking to one another, it was quiet too. Like this morning, the time seemed to pass at a snail's pace. I noticed that Ed was stealing glances at me the entire time, fiddling with the hem of his red coat sleeve. I raised my eyebrow curiously before turning to face him completely. His cheeks flared up, turning a light pink.  “How long are you going to be here for?” I finally broke our silence because it was becoming too awkward.  “Winry said my automail should be fixed in three day,” he stated, “so I assume in three days.”  “You aren’t going to stay longer?”  “I can’t. Al and I are still…”  “Searching for the philosopher stone, I know.”  I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was disappointed, part of me was hoping that Ed and Al would stay a little while longer. I’d missed them, despite us leaving on bad terms.  “You know,” Ed continued, “when I told Winry and Granny that I was coming home, I was kind of hoping you’d be here. The last few times I’d come, you hadn’t been. They said you left after that day.”  I nodded, “I did. I didn’t want to be a burden on Pinako and Winry like I was on you.”  As the words left my lips, I stared at the gravel beneath my feet. I hadn’t noticed that Ed had stopped walking until he grabbed my arm making me face him. Hot wind caught in both our hairs, brushing my own locks against my face.  “I never thought of you as a burden.” “Considering the other things you said to me before you left, I didn’t think you needed to.”  “Hinata, I shouldn’t have said those things and I should have apologized a lot sooner.” I just stared at him, unsure of what to do or even say. Instead, I just retracted my hand and looked away. Soon the two of us continued walking towards his mom’s grave, making small talk. When we got to the tombstone, I read Trisha Elric’s name on the large stone head piece. Trisha and I hadn’t known each other, she passed before I had the chance to meet her, and honestly, it made me sad because the way everyone spoke about her made her seem like she was the most amazing woman ever.   Ed kneeled down and removed the old crumbling flowers from the grave, and replaced them with the fresh ones that Den had carried all the way here. I knew Ed wasn’t religious, so I wasn’t expecting him to pray, so I went ahead and did so silently. It just felt like the right thing to do. As I was finishing up my prayer, I heard Ed sniffle causing me to open my eyes and look at him.  “Do you know why I said those things to you, Hinata?” He inquired, his voice low and quiet. I just watched him, the only thing I could even think to do. Ed only stood up, not wanting to face me and let me see the tears streaming against his face. I felt a small lump form in my throat as Ed started speaking again, answering his own question since I was unable to.  “I know it was harsh, I know that when I said it there was a possibility that you would never forgive me afterwards. But I couldn’t lose you too.” “What do you mean?” I croaked, ready to let tears spill from my own eyes once more. “I already lost my mom,” he whispered, choking back his sobs, “I lost Al when we decided to dude that stupid human transmutation. If I’d taken you with me, I was afraid I’d lose you. All the things I’ve seen so far in the last few years, they’re dangerous. I’ve almost been killed several times and I didn’t want you to get hurt. So when I showed up here and you thought I’d just forgotten, I didn’t. I had just hoped that you’d understand once you saw me that it was dangerous.”   I had seen him. He was missing half of his metal arm when he had arrived, and he was covered in bruises and scratches. Of course, even before he and Al left, I knew it was going to be dangerous. If I was being completely honest, I didn’t even want them to go, afraid that one day Pinako, Winry, and I would get the word that Edward and Alphonse were no longer with us. That I had lost two of my bestest friends. Taking a deep breath, I walked over to Ed and placed my hand on his shoulder.  “Well, I don’t need to be protected anymore,” I muttered, “even though your words hurt me a lot, and even though I’m still having a hard time getting them out of my head, they’ve helped me a lot. With those words, I was able to find my way to Haru and was trained. I’m more than capable of protecting myself now.”  “If you’re going to ask to come along now, my an-” “I’m not asking your permission, Ed,” I snapped, annoyed, “I’m going. Obviously you and Al need my help. After all, six eyes are better than four.”  Ed and I looked at one another, my hand sliding off of his shoulder as I smiled up at him. He was a bit taller than me, something he always appreciated. Ed wiped away his stray tears then returned my smile.  “You’ve definitely gotten bolder than when we were kids.” “And you’ve definitely become much more intune with your emotions.” The two of us shared a laugh before heading home. All the way home, Ed and I laughed and chatted up about things that have happened to them as they were gone. He told me about all the colorful characters in his life, including who he called a “pain in his ass”: Roy Mustang. When Ed and I got back to Pinako’s home, everyone was standing outside even Winry who had just moved her work outdoors. Den barked and took off running towards Pinako. Ed smiled wide before taking off towards our friends and family. I stopped in my tracks, staring at the sight before me, noticing all of them at once. Though I didn’t know Major Armstrong very well, just talking to him for a few minutes made me feel nice. And as I watched them, I smiled to myself.  This was nice. Being around all these people.  It felt nice to not be alone anymore.

[altumvidetur]

Miles: Ma'am, when you're with the Central Command, try to be diplomatic.

Olivier: I am always diplomatic.

(later)

Olivier *to the Central Command*: This is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard and I resent the implication!

[merisarkar]

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