Feb 9, 2021
One of the great privileges of living on DS9 is talking to the pilots who stop here.
I’ve never met a pilot that didn’t have some crazy story about a hole in spacetime or the strangest thing they’ve ever had to dodge or the time an alien graciously let them sleep in the highest nest or the hottest cave. Pilots usually have a nice laugh, too, whether rich or quiet, musical or scratchy. I think it’s their sheer experience. Pilots gain a willingness to laugh at themselves, and to laugh with the universe, like they’re part of a giant cosmic joke.
Only twice I’ve heard a pilot tell a story without laughing. One was a Vulcan, but he raised his eyebrow, which is basically a laugh for Vulcans. The other had just escaped a Dominion prison camp.