Thing 4; also, Episode III link and quick movie reviews

[selenak]

Episode III pictures to admire here! They're not really spoilery, except for the two obvious things (i.e. shock, horror, Padme is pregnant and at some point, Anakin and Obi-Wan fight). Prequel fangirl that I am, they made me squee. .

ETA: ide_cyan just told me they're all gone, and there is a cease and desist order at the site. Sigh.

Yesterday, I watched three historical TV movies. The one about Jeanne de la Motte and the so-called necklace affair had high-class actors (Hilary Swank, Jonathan Pryce, Joely Richardson, Adrian Brody), but tried a little too hard to make Jeanne a victim instead of just a clever con woman. When the voice-over introduction said that her father was in the RESISTANCE (using that term and meaning, as the film later stated, pushing for reforms in pre-revolutionary France), I groaned and gave up hopes on historical accuracy. Actually, a lot of the later stuff was more accurate, but still.

Attila the Hun and Druids both tried to do the "history as told by the story of two men" thing. Attila did it better. (Though again, when early on the child said "my name is Attila", my admittedly very rusty knowledge of that period of history made me say "no, it's not, it's a name you get later in life".) Mostly because both Flavius Aetius and Attila were presented as layered, ruthless, likeable and ultimately tragic. Druids at best was trashy fun. Mind you, I have a soft spot for both Christopher Lambert and Klaus Maria Brandauer, but they were both way too old for their respective roles (and Brandauer had the wrong figure to boot - Caesar was thin and wiry). And the script... let's just say that Vercingetorix as a male Jeanne d'Arc doesn't really work for me.

Now, on to the fourth Garak and Bashir episode. This one can be read by season 4-stuck andrastewhite and deborah_judge again, since it takes its twist in season 3's The Die is Cast. Also spoilers for The Wire from season 2. Some obscure spoilers for later seasons, in an AUish kind of way.



There weren't many visitors that were granted immediate access to the head of the Obsidian Order, and certainly no one who wasn't Cardassian. Still, his faithful housekeeper Mila did not blink when she was confronted with the human young man who gave her a nervous, charming smile.

"He's been expecting you," she said simply, and invited him in. "I'll prepare some Tarkelian tea, yes?" she added, and withdrew.

Julian Bashir wasn't surprised to discover that the house on Cardassia Prime resembled Tain's retirement home on the Aeroth Colony; friendly, bright colours and furniture that spoke of a comfortable living but no too suspicious wealth. The only difference he could detect were some drawings that looked vaguely Bajoran.

"Do you like them?" asked the new head of the Obsidian Order. "I hoped you would, Doctor. I missed our discussions about art, you know."

Bashir looked at his host. Garak hadn't changed since the day he left DS9 with no luggage but some Delvian chocolates. Same civilian clothing, decidedly nothing military about him, same black hair almost at shoulder length, same amused expression as if he knew the universe was a joke, but decided to play along anyway.

"I missed them, too," Bashir answered, which was true. "Frankly, Garak, I missed you."

He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw something flickering in Garak's eyes.

"That's… very flattering, Doctor," Garak said, and made a motion inviting Bashir to sit down on one of the chairs standing there. They were made of triangular forms, which given the Cardassian fondness for this particular geometrical structure wasn't surprising. "Given the manner of my departure, I didn't think you would."

Mila returned with the tea and an actual human-style tea pot and cups. It reminded Bashir of the occasional afternoon with the O'Briens, when Keiko had brought out the Japanese dishes she explained couldn't be matched by any recycled items. Not that he had seen Miles and his family in recent years. O'Brien had made his disapproval for Bashir's choices more than clear.

After she had poured in tea for both of them and had left again, Bashir said:

"What, because you took your chance and returned to your people? I never expected you to do anything else. I have to admit I was shocked about what your fleet did to the Founders, but that was Tain's decision, wasn't it? And you explained Cardassian hierarchy to me well enough for me to understand that he would have killed you if you had gone up against him."

He sipped something of the tea, which was just right, with the sweetness balanced perfectly by the intense flavour of the Tarkelian leaves.

"Kira and the others are another matter, of course," he added quietly. "They might agree that the Dominion would have invaded the Alpha Quadrant otherwise, but they'll never be able to forget that stopping it cost Odo's life."

Garak said, full of sincere regret: "I would have saved him if I could have. But after Tain had found out that his original Romulan ally had actually been a Founder, he wasn't taking any more chances. He ordered Odo's execution on the spot, before he even had his first conversation with me."

They sat in silence for a while, while Garak drank his tea as well. When he had finished, Bashir took the pot and refilled his cup, with the careful, elegant movements he had practised for quite some time.

"You're quite good at that," Garak said.

"Mrs O'Brien taught me," Bashir replied. "Before she and the Chief left the station, of course."

"Did they really?" Garak said, eyes widened in what was surely faked surprise. Given how the Order prided itself on thoroughness, Bashir was quite certain Garak had known about this already.

"With the Cardassian Empire stretching out in the Gamma Quadrant, Miles felt DS9 wasn't a safe place for his family anymore. Jake's back on Earth, too, with his grandfather."

Garak clicked his tongue.

"Paranoia is such a nasty habit."

"Isn't it," Bashir said drily, and Garak laughed.

"That's why you're here," he said, sounding glad and relieved at the same time. "You really haven't changed, Doctor. It is something of a relief, to tell you the truth. I do like my universe to have some constants. No doubt when you're eighty you'll still try to play secret agent, investigating potential villains in their lair."

"No, Garak," Bashir murmured, leaning back in his chair, tea cup in his hands, and feeling the triangular shape pressing into his back, "I stopped thinking of you as a potential villain quite some time ago."

"So why did you come?" Garak asked, after he had joined Bashir in sipping some more tea. His voice definitely had a teasing undertone now.

Bashir held out his right hand over the short table between them. After a moment of hesitation, Garak took it. With his fingers touching Garak's wrist, Bashir could feel his pulse.

"Because I want you to forgive me," he said, as Garak had done, once upon a time. Garak recognised the quote immediately. He did not move, but the pulse under Bashir's fingertips quickened, which meant the poison would reach his heart even faster.

"I finally learned your lesson," Bashir said. "Section 31 recruited me after your people wiped out the Maquis with the biogenetic weapons left by the Founders. Your people, Garak, not Tain's. He was already dead by then. That was when I finally understood, and I promised to do whatever it takes to stop you."

He knew he would die as well, and that was only fitting. There was nothing left of Julian Bashir now. Jules might have died when his parents took him to be redesigned in the image they craved, but Julian died when watching the incoming Maquis die of the Quickening because they had refused to leave the Demilitarised Zone. Julian had died when trying to find a cure, and failing, and knowing that he could have stopped this from ever happening if he hadn't saved Garak's life after the implant had failed. What was left walking and talking and taking death back to death's favourite blue-eyed boy wasn't Julian Bashir; it was his ghost.

The poison was designed to paralyse Garak's nervous system as quickly as possible, so he wouldn't be able to cry out. Or speak, for that matter. Nonetheless Bashir couldn't keep himself from repeating:

"I want you to forgive me. I need to know that someone forgives me."

Garak's hand grasped his and did not let go. It might have been a death reflex; Bashir couldn't tell. He only knew that he wouldn't have withdrawn even if he could have. So he kept sitting with Garak long after Garak's body has slackened, and the tea had irrevocably grown cold.
****

And now I must be off and ponder Sabine's suggestions which are almost as mean...

Comments

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

All pictures gone! The evil Lucas empire strike again. There's a cease and desist order instead.

Did you save any of them?

If not -- DON'T GO TO THE SITE, as it'll erase your computer cache, from which you might still retrieve pictures and save them.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Alas. No, I didn't download any, since I had little time yesterday evening. I just copied the URL.

How do I retrieve pictures from my computer cache?

[iamsab.livejournal.com]

Try going to the site when you're offline, and see if your browser prompts you to "retrive cached version"? Alternately, try and poke around under "Tools" to find your browser cache, and see if it'll let you open a cached page. To be safe, do it when you're offline.

Sad I missed 'em!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Alak, alas. My browser does not comply and tells me, off-line, the site is not there. Next time, no matter how late it is, I'm going to download illegal pics at once, I tell you.

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's usually best... Sometimes they show up on Usenet afterwards, but I can't access alt.binaries.starwars right now.

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't going to the site when offline load an error page in place of the original, if the prompt fails to work?

[selenak.livejournal.com]

That's what happened when I tried it...

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

My usual strategy, but this would only work with IE, I think, since configurations vary with OSes and browsers, is to find the C:\\...\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\ directory, look for the URL & related files there, and copy them into a different folder for safeguard.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

With his fingers touching Garak's wrist, Bashir could feel his pulse.

Ever the doctor, Julian.


That was when I finally understood, and I promised to do whatever it takes to stop you.

Yes, that's exactly right.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Here's what I was thinking. I rewatched Inter Arma.. because I had the vague idea of Julian asking Garak to help him find Sloan (and incriminate Ross) and saving Cretak. Which, you know, would have made for a perfectly good story and would have shown the two of them working together, with perhaps the dilemma of your WIP - i.e. once they have Sloan, what if they need information and only torture...

Then I suddenly thought: Wait. How about an AU in which Julian actually works for Section 31 and takes down Garak? But why would he... ah. The Die is Cast. "But Caeser didn't figure it out till the last act." And what if the whole enterprise had succeeded, and Garak would have remained with Tain, then... ouch.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I must watch Inter Arma... again soon: it's coming up in my season 7 DVD watch, but I might break my 'no sneaking ahead' rule and stick it in the player later today... Doesn't have quite enough Garak, I think.

I would like to see how the dilemma over whether or not to torture Sloan plays out both before and after Bashir has himself been interrogated.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Doesn't have quite enough Garak, I think.

One Garak scene is never enough, but I still love the episode.*g* also, I really regret that we never got a Garak vs Sloan match on the show. I mean, turning up in Bashir's quarters in the middle of the night, telling him to get going? That's Garak's stick, and Sloan is moving on to his territory!

Okay, on a more serious note:

I would like to see how the dilemma over whether or not to torture Sloan plays out both before and after Bashir has himself been interrogated.

Do you mean by the Romulans or the original interrogation when Sloan showed up the first time?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I mean, turning up in Bashir's quarters in the middle of the night, telling him to get going? That's Garak's stick, and Sloan is moving on to his territory!

Did you ever see the episode of Spooks with Alexander Siddig, where he turns up in Our Spy Hero's bedroom in the middle of the night, telling him to get going?!


I would like to see how the dilemma over whether or not to torture Sloan plays out both before and after Bashir has himself been interrogated.

Do you mean by the Romulans or the original interrogation when Sloan showed up the first time?

By the Romulans.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Did you ever see the episode of Spooks with Alexander Siddig, where he turns up in Our Spy Hero's bedroom in the middle of the night, telling him to get going?!

Alas, no - Spooks never made it to Germany. So I take it the scriptwriter was a DS9 fan, or did Sid adlib? *g*

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Sid was *great* in this episode - I wish he got more parts!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

The only other part I've seen him in was Faisal in A Dangerous Man, and he was terrific in that one, too, but that was pre-DS9. Has the curse of Star Trek typecasting struck again?

Otoh, I hear he's in that movie about the crusades?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I get the impression he has difficult getting cast as anything other than Stock Arab Character. In Spooks his character is Moroccan (I think). And has an excellent story.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I get the impression he has difficult getting cast as anything other than Stock Arab Character.

Yikes. What a waste. Note to self: must attempt to get Spooks!

[kathyh]

So, the next story is going to be a happy one is it?? I have to say I loved that one, it may actually be my favourite of the four so far.

What was left walking and talking and taking death back to death's favourite blue-eyed boy wasn't Julian Bashir; it was his ghost.

Great line.

And the script... let's just say that Vercingetorix as a male Jeanne d'Arc doesn't really work for me.

I'm afraid I've been ruined for that period of history. My first response to the name Vercingetorix now is which Asterix character was he.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Well, you see, I had this plan, and then...

Great line.

Bashir (and myself) are quoting E.E. Cummings' line about Billy the Kid here, which I recall a lot of fanfic did use for Spike ("So how do you like your blue-eyed boy, Mr. Death?"), and I must confess I'm also paying homage to one of my favourite writers, Lion Feuchtwanger. In his last novel, Jefta and his Daughter, he ends:

"The man Jefta isn't there anymore. Who gets annointed by the priest isn't the man Jefta anymore. The spirit is gone, life has gone, no oil, wine and spice can return it. It is not the man Jefta, it is Jefta's fame who sits on the chair of stone."

(Jefta, of course, had killed his daughter.)

I'm afraid I've been ruined for that period of history. My first response to the name Vercingetorix now is which Asterix character was he.

He. The Asterix comics do include the occasional flashback to Vercingetorix and his surrender at Alesia, which always shows him throwing his sword on the ground and hitting Caesar's toe. Druids didn't exactly help with showing the Gauls constantly celebrating, drinking and eating.*g*

[deborah-judge.livejournal.com]

Oh, beautiful. And another very plausibe AU. It really struck me how Garak left Bashir for Tain with so few second thoughts, and how little Bashir mattered in the face of the Garak/Tain dynamic. But of course that wouldn't last forever. Your story gives Bashir the place in that dynamic that he deserves. And so, of course, it destroys him as well.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Thank you. In a series of five AUs, one which demanded to be written was what would have happened if Tain's plan in The Die is Cast would have succeeded and Garak had remained on Cardassia. Granted, that in itself would not have necessarily led to poor Julian's destruction, but that's why I am an angst addict...

Ouch.

[andraste]

You know, I'm almost glad I can't read the other yet, if they're all this painful. I have only a vague idea of what's being alluded to (the bioweapon, etc.) but poor, poor Julian. As much in need of forgiveness as Garak used to be, but unable to forgive Garak in return.

Re: Ouch.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Well, let's just say I bet Una (altariel1) is wondering by now whether she asked me for Five Ways To Torture Garak and Bashir. (Though the last one doesn't. It's nice, I promise. With a twist.)

In this case, though, I blame the scriptwriters for the entire Julius Caesar discussion in Improbable Cause. I mean, come on. "I knew that Brutus was going to kill Caesar, but Caesar didn't figure it out until the actual act!" "But don't you see, Garak, that's the tragedy..." Plus you have to wonder what would have happened if Tain's plan had actually succeeded and Garak had remained on Cardassia.

Also there's the section 31 storyline in the later seasons, but that's another chapter.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I bet Una is wondering by now whether she asked me for Five Ways To Torture Garak and Bashir.

It tends to go with the territory, and these are particularly exquisite, I think.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

*curties*

Thank you, and yes, there is that if one writes about these two...