Tears of the Prophets

Originally Appeared Here

In the ward room dad's awarded a medal for valor
Suggests they set off for war at some ungodly hour
But he's warned against this path in dangerous visions(1)
Ross thinks the Prophets shouldn't guide his decisions
Seems that they've trapped him
Choose between being emissary or captain
Puts the fleet first when he picks his course of action

With Defiant launching an attack across Cardassian border
I ask to come along as a front line reporter
While Dukat hatches a scheme to release that Kosst Amojan(2)
And when he cracks the artifact, thrown back by the explosion
Tells 'em concern is touching but dispensible
He's off to do something reprehensible
Committing murder random, senseless and incomprehensible

Dad stops in battle, fears something terrible has happened(3)
When the wormhole is closed and the orbs have all blackened
Worf catches Dax's dying words when we return to the station
Behind Dominion lines, Weyoun doesn't share Dukat's elation
Put the prophets to sleep, and they may never awaken
Left the people of Bajor feeling lost and forsaken
And their Emissary's on earth, even his faith is shaken

1. Science fiction anthology edited by Harlan Ellison, the writer behind "The City on the Edge of Forever".
2. Pah-wraith (or group of pah-wraiths) that first appeared possessing Jake Sisko in "The Reckoning"
3. Quote from Obi-Wan Kenobi on the destruction of Alderaan.

Valiant

Originally Appeared Here

Promise I'm not with the press on our way to Ferenginar,
Shenandoah's in distress before we're getting very far
Rescued by a children's crusade(1), straight out of the crib
Watters takes a shine to Nog, likes the cut of his jib
Puts him in charge of engineering, the whole kit and kaboodle
Says they can turn Dominion viterium into a wimpy wet noodle
Plan goes awry, crew is punished for his recklessness
Followed him blindly as he led them past a precipice
Like a previous Valiant, when a magnetic storm carried her(2)
To the edge of the galaxy and over the barrier
And Mitchell and Dehner(3), delusions of godhood, too
Tin-plated dictator overrated(4) what his squad could do
But some say it was his crew that cost him his objective
Like a trial at Tanuga(5), I'll present them both perspectives.

1. Disastrous 13th century crusade to convert Muslims in the Middle East to Christianity
2. Early exploration starship that was lost in 2065. Their disaster recorder was recovered by the Enterprise in the second TOS pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before".
3. In the aforementioned "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Captain Kirk's friend Gary Mitchell acquires god-like powers and turns on the crew.
4. When attempting to provoke the Starfleet crew members in "The Trouble With Tribbles", Korax describes Kirk as "a swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood."
5. In TNG's "A Matter of Perspective", Commander Riker is put on trial and both sides use the holodeck to present their version of events.

In the Pale Moonlight

Originally Appeared Here

Dad's gotta convince the Romulans to enter in the war
Committed to a plan, like he was stepping through that door
When the news comes in they lost the battle for Betazed
Abandon the planet like Sarpeidons and A-to-zed(1)
But other times he finds he's unsure of that position
Make a bribe to Quark, his faith in Rules of Acquisition
Is restored, dad's doubts get ignored
'Cause now there's a senator coming on board
Rod's fraudulent, but show the Romulans
And maintain that it's perfectly cromulent(2)
Like trying to bluff Balok back aboard the Fesarius(3)
But Captain Kirk's associates were never this nefarious

With the truth exposed, so Romulus goes from neutral to opponent

A fair approximation(4), but it only convinced him for a moment

Until it's clear that Garak just wanted him on the station

To plant a bomb on his shuttle, looks like Dominion assassination

Is it abandoning what he stands for, or protecting the Greater Good?(5)

Just like Sandford NWA hiding Under the Hood(6)

One senator, one crook, and unless he's off the mark

Starfleet's struck a bargain would be the envy of Quark

1. Mr. Atoz was a librarian who oversaw the atavachron, used by inhabitants of the planet Sarpeidon to escape an imminent supernova in the episode "All Our Yesterdays".
2. Neologism from The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Iconoclast",  meaning valid or acceptable.
3. From TOS's "The Corbomite Maneuver",  where Captain Kirk successfully bluffs the captain of the Fesarius.
4. Senator Vreenak's description of the replicated Kali-fal, which could also be applied to the holographic simulation.
5. From Hot Fuzz, where the Sandford Neighborhood Watch Association, in hooded cloaks, kills undesirable elements claiming it was for "the greater good".
6. Autobiography of the superhero Nite Owl / Hollis Mason in Watchmen, who was portrayed by Stephen McHattie (Senator Vreenak) in the film version.

Inquisition

Originally Appeared Here

I'm back with some rhymes, Bashir is seeking warmer climes
Gonna get away to a conference on Casperia Prime
He's stopped in that ambition, an unexpected inquisition(1)
Sloan badgers the crew, tries to force a guilty admission
Says the Dominion had turned him, back during internment
When dad intervenes, Sloan says It's not you concern, man
Super deep cover, Iliana Ghemor,(2)
Sloan wants the doctor kept in jail through the war
Snatched from his cell by Weyoun, says they've been through this before.
But the charade starts to show,
O'Brien's shoulder healed like John Doe(3)
Convinces Section 31 to shut down their holographic tableau
Bashir sees they're unscrupulous,
can't believe Starfleet would stoop to this
Up against Obsidian Order, they may have their usefulness.
It's not all sexy babes and sippin' Saurian brandy(4),
But all that time playing spy might still come in handy.

1. From the famous Monty Python skit, where "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
2. From DS9's "Second Skin", in which Major Kira is told her memories were implanted as part of her cover, and that she was a spy (named Iliana Ghemor) without knowing it, much as Bashir is told by Sloan in this episode.
3. In the TNG episode "Transfigurations", the Zalkonian known as John Doe heals Chief O'Brien's dislocated shoulder with a touch.
4. Alcoholic beverage appearing throughout Star Trek.

Waltz

Originally Appeared Here

A reversal of fortune like my man Martus Mazur (1)
On trial for crimes against people of Bajor
Dad has doubts about Dukat's mental fitness
But agrees to come along and testify as a witness
Under attack and they crash at some gloomy latitude
Saved dad's life, gotta show the Gul some gratitude
Check the transmitter to make sure it stays on
Sees he's been deceived like Iyaaran Liaisons(2)
Dukat wants his judgement in place of the trial he's missing
Gets him going on Bajor and he starts reminiscing
About new-caught, sullen peoples(3) and Cardassian authority
They want to be equals, didn't recognize superiority
Picking up the tempo from a waltz to a flamenco
Firing phasers at ghosts like Alexander Rozhenko(4)
Says he should've laid them to waste like Uxbridge with Husnock(5)
If he had another chance, what would he do, Spock?
"Total complete absolute annihilation"(6)
That's when dad gets the upper hand, takes command of the situation
Dukat effects and escape in a shuttle before the Defiant's retrieval
He's become more charmless than Armus(7), he's only pure evil.

1. From the episode "Rivals", Mazur had a probability-altering device that initially brought him good luck, followed by a run of bad luck.
2. In the TNG episode "Liaisons", one of the Iyaaran ambassadors kept Picard on a hostile planet under false pretenses, claiming his shuttle was damaged.
3. From Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden", justifying imperialism as a duty of the superior colonizers and a benefit to the colonized. This parallels Dukat's attitude toward the occupation of Bajor.
4. Worf's son, who mistook a simulation program for a Jem'Hadar attack in "Sons and Daughters".
5. Kevin Uxbridge was the human identity assumed by an omnipotent Douwd. He destroyed every last member of the Husnock race after their attack on a Federation colony killed Uxbridge's wife.
6. Quote from Spock in the TOS episode "The Alternative Factor", describing what will happen if Lazarus meets his duplicate from the anti-matter universe.
7. Armus was a malevolent entity formed from all of the evil and negative attributes left behind by an unknown race.

Statistical Probabilities

Originally Appeared Here

Getting away from their home facility
Helping out computing statistical probability
They interrupt a meeting, say hello to my dad
Saying listen, there it goes again
Buzzing like a Scalosian(1)
Why don't you fix it dear fellow before I go mad
Show infinite diversity in infinite combination
All cancels out like a path integration(2)
Bashir checks the analysis, can't find any faults
Dad says the job was well done
Forecast the future like Seldon(3)
Now they're spinning like a spaceship to the Blue Danube Waltz(4)
Further analysis borders on treasonous
Preventing loss of life, that's what the reason is
But Bashir gets released, it doesn't go as they planned
Says we can change the course of history(5)
Everyday people like you and me
Even against the odds, it's worth making a stand.

1. From TOS's "Wink of an Eye", the Scalosians experienced time at a much slower rate than the Enterprise crew. They were heard only as a buzzing similar to insects until they accelerated Captain Kirk into their time frame.
2. Richard Feynman developed the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, where quantum amplitudes are computed by integrating over all possible paths. Paths far from that of minimal action typically cancel out and the system approaches the classical trajectory.
3. In Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, Hari Seldon developed the science of psychohistory for the probabilistic prediction of future events.
4. "An der schönen blauen Donau", a waltz by Johann Strauss II commonly known as "The Blue Danube" in English and appearing in this episode, was famously used to score the space station docking sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey
5. From Afrika Bambaataa's "Renegades of Funk", the third verse begins 'Now renegades are people with their own philosophy / They change the course of history /Everyday people like you and me'

Favor the Bold / Sacrifice of Angels

Originally Appeared Here

Martok and Starfleet spring a trap on the Dominion
If only small victories could bring them away from oblivion
Nevermind a Vorta with a background in creative genetics(1)
Editing my verses with no sense of aesthetics
Fortune favors the bold, dad urges the admirals to battle
Itching like Autry to get back in the saddle(2)
Even as the man who made our minefield solution
Lies locked in Odo's office awaiting execution
Dukat boasts about Cardassian capacity for conversation
Somehow overlooks dad's tenacity in retaking the station

Coming into Quark's, that's where Damar busted me
Ordered all of our resistance taken away into custody
Meantime the Defiant's charging into the blockade
Incoming like a light brigade(3) into the fray unafraid
Now Dukat's wishing the Defiant can make it there for the occasion
Goes right into the wormhole to head off the invasion

Dad explains they're of Bajor, they should act like it mattered
Oh, they blow with their winds and Dominion was scattered(4)
Weigh the price to beat the changelings and I guess it isn't so bad
Never find rest on Bajor, will dad always be a nomad?(5,6)

1. In the episode "In the Cards", Weyoun informs Nog he has a background in creative genetics.
2. Cowboy entertainer Gene Autry's signature song was "Back in the Saddle Again"
3. Before entering the battle, Miles O'Brien and Julian Bashir quote from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade"
4. "He blew with His winds, and they were scattered" was a famous phrase from the aftermath of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, which was broken up by a violent storm.
5. With the previous line, may refer to the space probe Nomad from the TOS episode "The Changeling"
6. The acrostic refers to the secret message the resistance cell was able to send to warn Captain Sisko, via Jake's courier Morn.

Rocks and Shoals

Originally Appeared Here

They managed the destruction of the ketracel facility
But it cost the stolen ship all its warp capability
Facing off against a Jem'Hadar threat
Suspicions between Cardassian and cadet
Garak's impressed, says there may be hope for you yet
While I'm in position that makes my dad nervous
Reporting from the frontlines to Federation News Service
But where I am back on the station
They won't let me call it occupation
Weyoun says the words I choose have negative connotations
Kira tries to play along and let the past be bygone
Until Yassim's suicidal protest, she's Quang Duc in Saigon(1)
Upset by the things that she ignored before,
'Cause Bajor can't afford a war
Gonna Kick that Vorta's ass and send 'em off to Vorta Vor(2)
Meantime behind the lines my dad's crew is stranded
Communications destroyed when the ship crash landed
But Keevan says he's got a plan
He's selling out Remata'Klan
Dad stops the Jem'Hadar but not before they shot a man
Then their superior comes strolling in, saving his own hide
They're heading back for home with him along for the ride

1. Thich Quang Duc was a Buddhist monk who burned himself to death in a Saigon intersection to protest the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government.
2. Idyllic location in Romulan mythology, more akin to the Garden of Eden than heaven or an afterlife.