Pax Federatica

If next week's episode of #StarTrekPicard doesn't cold-open with Elnor and Hugh stepping through piles of green-tinged viscera, I will be disappointed.

And finally, that first Army officer we see in 1947 reminded me of Q in an Army uniform in "Encounter at Farpoint". They're even both sporting berets. He and his Army fellows in this episode certainly live up to Q's put-down of humanity as a "grievously savage child race".

Early in the episopde, Nog notices Gabriel Bell's resemblance to Sisko. I used to think that was just a throwaway gag, but now I realize it's a sly bit of foreshadowing: Sisko as Bell was the result of time travel to Earth's past - just like this episode.

On to "Little Green Men", a momentous episode not only for new Starfleet Academy cadet Nog, but also for his dad Rom, whom it turns out has a remarkable gift: When lives are at stake, he can spout off copious amounts of meaningless technobabble with the best of 'em. Who knew?

And shouldn't both the torpedo casing and the wall it struck have been scorching-hot, from both atmospheric friction and the impact? Quark and Hanok shouldn't even have been able to stay in the mess hall with it, much less been able to try and disarm it.

We hear the torpedo whooshing past the Defiant through the atmosphere, but not the sound of the impact. Nor was there any visible tremor when the torpedo struck - seems to me there should've been one even if the torpedo didn't detonate.

"Starship Down" is basically a submarine movie in space (OK, a gas giant's atmosphere) with a B-plot featuring pre-Zefram Cochrane James Cromwell. Said B-plot is rather forgettable until the point where the torpedo gets lodged in the hull - a curious event in its own right.

#PaxFedDS9Rewatch-along with @MissionLogPod continues tonight with a doubleheader: "Starship Down" and "Little Green Men".

And thank YOU, @SirPatStew, not only for returning Picard to the TV screen but showing us a new side or two of the man, now that he's older and no longer wears the uniform. I cannot wait to see where this leads.https://twitter.com/SirPatStew/status/1230623395106185222 …

Since I actually need DOffs to fill out all my alts' crew rosters (and contribute commons to complete fleet projects), and I still have a decent pile of Zen left after getting the Legendary pack, I guess I'll give this a shot.https://twitter.com/trekonlinegame/status/1230583303805124608 …

Also, now I DEFINITELY want Freecloud in @trekonlinegame - it could be one kickass social/adventure zone.

This morning #StarTrekPicard just found a whole new gear.

Commodore (Rear Admiral, Lower Half) Jomiah Drayton remains as chief of Spec Strat Ops, whose headquarters will be relocated from ESD to an undisclosed location within Beta Quadrant.

The Pax will remain attached to Spec Strat Ops as Starfleet's primary support vessel, along with its allies' counterparts: I.K.S. Hor'tagh (KDF), R.R.W. Verinex (Romulan Republic Navy), D.V. Irla's Shield (Dominion Armada), and C.U.V. Tora Ziyal (Cardassian Union).