Star Trek Deep Space Nine Relaunch

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

One of the most popular novel series in the so-called Star Trek Novel Verse. The Deep Space Nine Relaunch (not an official title, but it's known near-universally as such) continues the story arcs of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine beyond the show's conclusion. With a tight continuity and a host of new, complex characters to join the familiar faces, it's one of the largest series currently running within the Star Trek literary lineup.

The books published so far include:

  • Avatar, books one and two
  • Section 31: Abyss
  • Demons of Air and Darkness (also part of the Star Trek: Gateways crossover series)
    • These four were collected in the omnibus "Twist of Faith", along with the novella "Horn and Ivory", which serves as an epilogue to Demons of Air and Darkness).
  • The Mission Gamma miniseries:
    • Twilight
    • This Gray Spirit
    • Cathedral
    • Lesser Evil
  • Rising Son
  • The Left Hand of Destiny, books one and two
  • Unity
  • The Worlds of Deep Space Nine miniseries:
    • Volume One: Andor and Cardassia
    • Volume Two: Trill and Bajor
    • Volume Three: Ferenginar and the Dominion
  • Warpath
  • Fearful Symmetry
  • The Soul Key
  • The Never-Ending Sacrifice

The story arcs from the series proper continue in several novels from Star Trek: Typhon Pact:

Furthermore, Star Trek Deep Space Nine: A Stitch In Time and The Lives of Dax are often considered a part of the relaunch, if unofficially. See also the Terok Nor trilogy, which while a prequel, has heavy ties to the relaunch. One suggested reading list begins with The Lives of Dax (as it contains events that are referenced throughout the rest of the relaunch), and goes into The Left Hand of Destiny (as it actually begins almost directly after the end of the TV series, with Worf and Martok on their way back to Qo'Nos from Deep Space 9 to assume their new positions). From there, proceed as noted above.

Several stories in Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers are crossovers with this series. Its characters also make cameos elsewhere, including in Star Trek: Klingon Empire.

Tropes used in Star Trek Deep Space Nine Relaunch include:
  • Abusive Parents: Darok's mother, Most Fearsome Of All Women.
    • Rugal's adoptive parents are Retconned out of being this.
  • Actor Allusion: In Fearful Symmetry, it's revealed that the Obsidian Order maintains a database of alien individuals who resemble living Cardassians. This is so they can replace those people with Order agents if they feel the need. At one point, it's mentioned that Gul Danar has many different matches in the database. Aliens with his appearance have been found across a wide range of species, including human, Klingon and Romulan. This is a reference to Danar's actor, Vaughn Armstrong, who has played no less than twelve supporting characters of nine different species in Star Trek.
    • Zek at one point threatens to send his manservant back to where he found him: unemployed, in Greenland on Versinnia.
  • Actual Pacifist: The Eav'oq, an alien race who are spiritually averse to violence, and particularly to killing. They certainly claim to be total pacifists, and so far their behaviour supports it. They refused to fight and kill even when faced with potential genocide at the hands of the Ascendants.
  • Adventurer Archaeologist: The crew of the Even Odds are often in line with this trope. Technically they're a retrieval squad, but they usually have a genuine archaeologist or two among them. While research is implied to be their primary activity, the resident archaeologists certainly participate in the actual retrievals, which usually involve the sort of excitement you don't find on genuine digs.
    • When Jake joins them, he's actually quite taken with this trope, hoping they're the sort of adventurer archaeologists that put lost items in museums and help people retrieve their cultural artifacts. He becomes steadily more disillusioned as he realizes just how much they're in it purely for the money.
  • Affably Evil: Ethan Locken. For someone who tortures children to death, he's really quite friendly.
  • Air Vent Passageway: Hilariously subverted and lampshaded in Section 31: Abyss. After escaping her cell, Ezri goes up into an air vent, which (contrary to what the holonovels of her youth would have her believe) is very small, dirty, dark, and has creepy things living in it. (She is, however, successful in using the air vents to move through the base and access important rooms).
  • The Alcatraz: Ananke Alpha, the prison in which the Founder Leader is incarcerated. She is in fact its only inmate - the facility was refurbished and upgraded specifically to hold her in isolation, following her trial for war crimes.
  • Alien Arts Are Appreciated
  • All the Myriad Ways: Multiple alternate realities come into play, but tension is retained in that all these realities must work together to keep the multiverse stable, and a problem in one ultimately translates into a problem for all. This is why the multiple Benjamin Siskos serving as their worlds' emissary (Captain Sisko, Fleet Captain Sisko, Admiral Sisko, Colonel Sisko, Ambassador Sisko, Doctor Sisko and Sisko of Borg) are so concerned about the empty emissary position in the Mirror Universe.
  • All Your Powers Combined: Exposing a being to all nine of the Orbs of the Prophets at once has interesting effects. Kira Nerys uses the collective power of the orbs to defeat the Parasite spawnmother.
  • Amplifier Artifact: The Pagh'varam, which translates from Bajoran as the "soul key". Actually a shard from one of the Orbs of the Prophets, the Pagh'varam can be used to focus and amplify baseline psychic energies. Oralian recitation masks, used by an ancient Cardassian/Hebitian religion now seeing a revival, have a similar purpose. Finally, the Eav'oq mind-crystals in Rising Son might also be amplifier artifacts of a sort. This might not be coincidental, as Eav'oq and Bajoran cultures are linked, with Hebitian culture also connected to Bajoran.
  • Ancient Conspiracy: The Kurlans. For millennia, they have slowly infiltrated the galaxy and sought to expand their power, as a means of achieving their ultimate goal: the destruction of Trill. They haven't gotten very far, but they almost manage to launch an attack on Trill in Lesser Evil. It fails, but at least they've finally made their move...
  • And You Were There: During Kira Nerys' vision quest in Warpath, her imaginary troops implicitly correspond to the people she interacts with in the real world. The names are the most prominant clue, being anagrams of the usual characters' names.
  • Angst. If you need angst, you call an Andorian. Nobody does angst like an Andorian.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: "Are you Whole?" for the Andorians. Supposedly asked of the mythical hero Thirishar by all-powerful Uzaveh (AKA Andorian God), the question drives the modern Andorian culture in its entirety. To be truly Whole requires both reassembling in unity the four genders derived from Thirishar (essentially, bonding with three others in an marriage quad) and gaining knowledge of the "missing piece", an elusive aspect of racial knowledge hidden to the Andorian people.
  • Arranged Marriage: The foundation of Andorian culture, a result of their low birth rate and general infertility. Having four sexes and a thin window of opportunity for successful births, they need to get their young adults making babies as soon as possible. Quads are brought together after genetic mapping to determine likely success in breeding. Andorians are taught to revere the four-way marriage bond above all else: One alone cannot be Whole, nor two, nor three.
  • Ascended Extra: Yevir, who actually appeared in an episode of the TV show as a background character. He was unnamed in the episode (and only seen from behind), but Word of God confirmed that Yevir is that man.
  • The Atoner: Garak has become this, in part. After a lifetime defending the Cardassian state and the philosophy that service to it is the citizen's utmost concern, he now faces the reality of where that outlook led. He understands his complicity in the ruin brought to both Cardassia and the wider galaxy, and seems to be seeking a highly personal redemption.
  • Badass Grandpa: Vaughn, and how.
  • Bar Brawl: The Cardassians and Bajorans start one in Quark's, pretty much inevitably, and to the disgust of Kira and Gul Macet.
  • Battle Butler: Darok probably counts. The Gin'tak of House Martok, he's essentially a senior administrative servant, but he accompanies Martok on military campaigns and is still a reasonably good warrior despite his advanced age.
  • Bazaar of the Bizarre: One of these can be found in the Core, at the Matter Consortium. As the POV character observes: Stalls sandwiched between kiosks and store fronts hawked spangled jewelry and object d'art interspersed with much less innocent contraband. One of the people working here is a mad artist named Fazzle, who paws at attractive newcomers, trying to convince them to take part in his artistic endeavours.
  • Because Destiny Says So: The Prophets are in a pickle because Mirror Universe Ben Sisko went and died, in defiance of destiny, yet destiny demands his place be filled, or the fabric of reality risks becoming undone.
  • Berserk Button: All Andorians have one. Shar lunges at his own parent in murderous rage after she tweaks his - manipulating him through his bondmates so as to put a reign on his non-conformist aversion to familial duty. He veers off at the last minute, though - as she knew he would.
    • Iliana Ghemor discovers her Obsidian Order mentor's, and files it away as something interesting. (It then never gets brought up again.)
  • Big Damn Heroes: Taran'atar, often. Although it can be ambiguous as to whose side he is on, at first. The most notable examples of this occur in The Soul Key.
  • Bio Augmentation: Many villains: Gothmara. Ethan Locken. The Kurlan parasites. The Jem'Hadar.
    • Bashir, who is himself a product of genetic tinkering, seems to lampshade this tendency for making biooaugmentation a trait of the bad guys; he points out in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Trill that it seems to correlate with evil an awful lot.
  • Bounty Hunter: A string of them are hired in Warpath. Each is assigned to hunt the same character, who keeps getting the better of her opponents. First a Klingon woman is killed in personal combat with the quarry, then Grauq (a Chalnoth) is blown up aboard his own ship. After this, a Nausicaan mercenary named Savonigar gives it a go.
  • Brainwashed: Iliana Ghemor discovers a means of overriding Jem'Hadar minds so she can hijack their instinctive loyalty to the Founders and turn them to her service.
  • Call Forward: In one of the later books - Warpath - mention is made of the Luna-class starships, which are under construction and won't be launched for several years. This is a Call Forward to Star Trek: Titan; Riker's first command (USS Titan) is Luna-class.
  • Calling Your Attacks: In Demons of Air and Darkness, during Taran'atar's battle with the Hirogen in the Delta Quadrant, the Hirogen asks Taran'atar why he's not pressing his attack. Taran'atar doesn't answer, and finally the Hirogen says that if Taran'atar won't attack, he will - making the Jem'Hadar wonder why the heck he would announce his attack ahead of time.
  • Capital City: The series confirms the names of several: Ashalla (for Bajor), Cardassia City (for Cardassia Prime), Leran Manev (for Trill), and Laibok (for Andor).
  • Character Derailment: Dukat. Posthumously, even. He locks the modified Iliana Ghemor in a cell and rapes her repeatedly for fifteen years as a way of venting his obsession with Kira. Rape was pretty much the only sin Dukat wasn't ever even implied to be guilty of in the series. While he was extremely manipulative to some of his lovers and utilized emotional duress, using actual force would seem to go against his defining character trait: to try and make people love him via his manipulations.
  • Chekhov's Gun: In Section 31: Abyss, the runabout carrying Bashir, Ezri, Ro and Taran'atar is shot down by a Cardassian weapons platform orbiting Locken's occupied world of Sindorin. Later, Locken attempts to fire a missile containing a biogenic weapon at a Romulan world. Unable to break the encryption and abort the missile, Bashir finds it comparatively easy to change the orbit of the weapons platform - and puts it into the path of the missile, destroying both harmlessly.
    • Another Chekhov's Gun in Section 31: Abyss was one that was introduced many (real-life) years prior to the book being published: the mobile environment simulator, or "holoship", from Star Trek: Insurrection.
  • Chessmaster: Garak catches someone on his side attempting to be one, and informs them in no uncertain terms that from now on, he will be the one deciding where the pieces are moved.
  • Cliff Hanger: Several, one of which (Odo and the Dominion) is still unresolved.
  • Cloning Blues: One of Ethan Locken's plans for the bright new Khan-inspired future involves clones of genetically augmented humans. He uses technology left behind by the Dominion, previously used to clone Vorta.
  • Cold Sniper: Savonigar, one of the bounty hunters in Warpath.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Darok. He didn't get to be as old as he is by following other Klingons' exaggerated codes of honour. If kneeing an opponent in the groin works, he'll go for it. Interestingly, while this sort of outlook is usually condemned in Klingon-centred stories (with characters who embrace it typically being villainous), Darok is presented more as the Cool Old Guy or Only Sane Man.
    • The Jem'hadar seem to be this in general, which in fiction is sort of odd for a Proud Warrior Race. It's essentially explained that while they're extremely ready to do anything to obey the will of the Founders, including sacrifice their own lives, that doesn't mean they'll be stupid about it.
  • Compelling Voice: Gothmara, the villain in The Left Hand of Destiny, gives both herself and Morjod this, thanks to her skills at Bio Augmentation. It should be noted, though, that the effect alone is not powerful enough to compel others; it's combined with rhetoric, seduction or other tactics.
  • Contagious AI: The intelligent software that tried to hijack both Cardassian and Borg computer networks in the backstory of Lesser Evil. It deliberately called a Borg ship to an outpost it had infected, precisely to try and spread itself to their Collective. In short, it hoped to assimilate the Borg. The realization of this irony was not to be; Starfleet managed to put a stop to the AI before it reached the main Collective.
  • Continuity Nod: Frequent. A few examples: The Fleet Admiral on Deep Space Nine is L.J. (Leonard James) Akaar, from the original series episode "Friday's Child." Another nod to the non-Deep Space Nine Trek TV shows is the inclusion of the parasites from "Conspiracy". We find out they're Kurlans, of all things (who were established by a throwaway reference in TNG). And that the Kurlans are Trill symbionts. Finally, Ro Laren, formerly "Ensign Ro", finally comes face to face with Picard after betraying him all those years ago.
  • Cool Old Guy: Elias Vaughn. He's 102 years old and still going (relatively) strong, an operative of Starfleet Special Operations who's seen pretty much everything over the course of his career.
  • Cool Ship: The Even Odds, especially due to the mysteries of the Wa, a built-in holodeck that's also possibly a Portal Network. This has yet to be explained, but a return to the ship seems likely now that Taran'atar is flying off to rescue it following a mysterious distress call.
  • Cool Sword: The Sword of Kahless. Always results in Took a Level in Badass for the wielder.
  • Cosmic Keystone: The Pagh'varam, which among its other properties (e.g. Amplifier Artifact) can be used to access other dimensions through the Bajoran Wormhole. This is because it's actually a fragment of one of the Bajoran orbs. The Pagh'varam appeared in the first season of the TV show, but its function as a Cosmic Keystone was only revealed in the Relaunch.
  • Create Your Own Villain: The Trill, with the Kurlan parasites.
  • Creation Myth: An Andorian creation myth referencing the sundering of their race into four genders is essential to the in-depth exploration of their culture. According to the myth, their race was split into four sexes to demonstate their lack of self-knowledge; they were missing a vital aspect of self-awareness that prevented them being Whole. To unite the four genders is to take a step towards reclaiming spiritual perfection - though the "missing piece" is also needed if Andorians are to truly grow as a people.
  • Dead Guy, Junior: Prynn Tenmei is named after her father's former partner in Starfleet Special Operations, who was killed in a transporter accident; T'Prynn, who is a major character in the Star Trek: Vanguard novels.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Vaughn. An example from Demons of Air and Darkness, after he handles a hostage situation by simply shooting the hostage taker, because he realizes his own phaser will fire with this level of radiation but the hostage-taker's won't:

Julian Bashir: Why didn't you say that's what you were planning in the first place?
Elias Vaughn: Because, Doctor, when you become a commander, they take the bone out of your head that makes you explain orders.

    • Taran'atar is this, too. A notable example from Section 31: Abyss is when Ro asks him if there are any other Jem'Hadar around (the bad guys). Taran'atar says that as loudly as Ro speaks, if there were any, she'd be dead by now.
  • Depopulation Bomb: The Trill homeworld is hit by a series of pulses harmless to the vast majority, but deadly to Joined Trills, who form a priviliged minority. Many of the Joined are killed, with the average citizen completely unaffected.
  • Determinator: Rugal Pa'Dar, and how. Especially how he manages to escape from Ogyas III. A happy ending has scarcely been more well-earned.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: In Fearful Symmetry, Corbin Entek's speech to Iliana Ghemor during the early part of her Obsidian Order training could have come out of Yoda's mouth in The Empire Strikes Back. Pretty chilling coming from a bad guy.

Corbin Entek: These raw emotions that drive you, shame, guilt, anger - they empower you, but you must never allow them to dictate your actions, to shape your thinking, to cloud your judgment. Once you let that happen, you're lost, and you may never find your way back.

  • Doorstopper: One of the frequently-cited complaints about Mission Gamma, Book One: Twilight.
  • Double Consciousness: Rugal Pa'Dar; he's a Cardassian who is Bajoran who is a Cardassian who is part of the Federation. After being raised on Bajor, he's returned to his original home on Cardassia in his mid-teens (as seen in the TV episode "Cardassians"). While insisting at first he's still Bajoran, he comes to accept his Cardassian identity too, and ends up taking on a third when he joins the Federation. In the end, he's just concerned with being himself - whatever that may be.
  • Dressing as the Enemy: In The Never-Ending Sacrifice, Rugal Pa'Dar wears a Romulan uniform briefly, sneaking past the Romulan encampment while deserting from the Cardassian army. It works because everything's somewhat obscured anyway, on account of the blizzards.
  • Driven to Suicide: Thriss.
  • Dying Alone: Darok. Interestingly, and unlike most examples of the trope, this isn't presented as a sad thing. He's quite content as he dies.
  • Dying Race: These books established the Andorians as this - their complex four-sex biology is failing them and their window of fertility has dropped to only four or five years. Unless their genome can be repaired, they face extinction within fifteen generations. Note that events in later books - Star Trek: Destiny most notably - make the problem even worse.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Rugal Pa'Dar might be one of the most triumphant examples of this in Trek fiction.
  • Empire with a Dark Secret: Trill, Federal Republic with a Dark Secret. The generational conspiracy among the Trill government is revealed to be more extensive than merely lying about the number of Trills suitable for Joining. It also involves a cover-up of a shameful time in the Trill's history, records of which were destroyed.
  • Evil Matriarch: Geleth Pa'Dar in The Never-Ending Sacrifice. A product of the traditional Cardassia, where life was a struggle for survival on a starving planet, she is utterly ruthless and quite unrepentant about it. At one point, she suggests with total ease and in full seriousness that her son should have her grandson killed. Said grandson, Rugal, ends up in an ongoing battle of wills with Geleth after coming to live in the family home. Finally, she dies of old age - after sharing her secrets with Rugal on her deathbed. Said secrets involve, among other things, casually having an innocent man arrested and executed on false charges.
  • Evil Twin: Not actual twins, but Skrain Dukat and Akellan Macet are almost identical, meaning Macet has to deal with a lot of grief. As a good and decent man, he's bothered when people mistake him for his power-mad cousin. Behind the scenes, this is a bit of a pseudo-casting gag, as Mark Alaimo played both characters.
  • Excalibur: The Sword of Kahless is the Klingon equivalent. This is played up as part of the whole "Martok is King Arthur" theme in The Left Hand of Destiny.
  • Face Death with Dignity: Taulin Cyl.
  • Face Heel Turn: Taran'atar.
  • Famous, Famous, Fictional: From Twilight: "He had learned all he could about Earth's eminent explorers - Leif Eriksson, Ferdinand Magellan, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Neil Armstrong, Jonathan Archer..."
  • Fantastic Caste System: The Yrythny are divided between the Houseborn and the Wanderers. Yrythny breed by laying eggs in the water, which develop as tadpoles before coming ashore later in childhood. Those young which come ashore at the same House at which they were laid are Houseborn, and make up the ruling caste. "Wanderers" are considered inferior on account of having gotten "lost". Tensions between the castes are high, and a full-blown revolutionary war was seemingly brewing among the Wanderers as of This Gray Spirit.
  • Fantastic Slurs: "Scrit", an unpleasant slang term for Cardassian orphans.
  • Fantastic Racism: Between Bajorans and Cardassians in particular, but it crops up elsewhere.
  • Fictional Currency: Klon Peag, used widely in the Gamma Quadrant. Three hundred and fifty klon peags are roughly equivalent to eighty or ninety bars of gold-pressed latinum.
  • Fictional Holiday: The Spring Water Festival on Andor, a religious holiday celebrating the Water Guardian, which is associated with one of the four Andorian sexes. Shar and Prynn’s visit to Andor in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Volume One coincides with the festival.
  • Fictional Political Party: The Parliament Andoria is split between the Visionists (who are conservative and somewhat isolationist), and the strongly pro-Federation Modern Progessive party (liberal).
  • Finders, Rulers: Unofficially, the Sword of Kahless. Whatever the law says, anyone holding the sword will more or less find themselves ruler of the Klingon Empire. Fortunately, rightful leader Martok has it, a result of the Battle of Boreth in The Left Hand of Destiny.
  • Foreshadowing: In Demons of Air and Darkness, Gaila casually speculates to Quark that his brother Rom will probably be deposed before too long. A full 13 books and short stories later, Ferenginar is highlighted in Satisfaction is Not Guaranteed, and indeed the plot revolves around a conspiracy to depose Rom.
  • Fourth Date Marriage: Jake Sisko and Korena.
  • Gender Equals Breed: Rom and Leeta's daughter Bena. It seems very odd that Ferengi and Bajorans can breed, even given Trek's tendency for casual interspecies reproduction. However, the pregnancy is very difficult (indeed, near-fatal for Leeta).
    • Though part of this was addressed way back in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Most humanoid species in the galaxy are very, very distantly related because they all share a genetic ancestor in the "Seeders".
  • Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: The Kurlans are one of several examples.
  • Genius Bruiser: Taran'atar. Kira Nerys is used to seeing him in the holosuite, spending his spare time training himself for battle. Usually this consists of fighting hideous and powerful opponents; but on one occasion she finds him studying advanced mathematics - at a level far beyond her comprehension.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: Nog refers to another character as a "cold-hearted Moogi-jokk". Seeing as we know that "Moogi" means "mother", we can work out what he's saying.
  • Giant Spider: The Cheka are essentially a race of giant spiders; they even spin webs. Then there's the Comes-in-the-night-kills-many, a semi-sentient monstrous creature that resembles a giant spider wielding clubs. It is, however, also extinct; the Jem'Hadar wiped them out when they threatened a Dominion farming colony.
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: The Ascendants, a race of religious crusaders who are characterized by deep-set, fiercely glowing eyes. Their gods are also said to possess "eyes of fire".
  • A God Am I: Surprisingly avoided, despite the series continuing the Dominion arc from the TV show. While the Founders of the Dominion usually encourage their subjects and servants to view them as gods, the relaunch reveals that they do not in fact see themselves in such terms. Indeed, they have their own god in the form of the Progenitor, and are humbly worshipful in their own unique way. The Founder leader bluntly admits to Jem'Hadar character Taran'atar that she and the other Founders are not divine, because the only true god is the Progenitor. Taran'atar is horrified to hear a Founder dismiss her own divinity.
  • God Is Dead: The Progenitor, the giant changeling or changeling-equivalent worshipped by the Founders. The star it's orbiting was destroyed by the Ascendants, who triggered an artificial and completely unnatural nova. The Progenitor was caught by surprise, and expired. The Founders' response to the death of their god was to dissolve the Great Link; they blame themselves, having lured the Progenitor back only to get it killed.
  • Godwin's Law: When Garak is appointed the Cardassian ambassador to the Federation, he's set up in ambassadorial headquarters in Paris... in what was the Nazi occupation headquarters during World War II. Garak observes that he finds the studied insult Actually Pretty Funny.
  • Gone Horribly Wrong: Trill experiments on Kurl. An attempt to render symbionts immune to a disease ravaging their population merely transformed the test subjects into insane mutants, who completely dominated their hosts.
  • Good Shepherd: Opaka Sulan. Surprisingly, Yevir has his moments, particularly in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Cardassia.
  • Gotta Kill Them All: Iliana Ghemor is on a mission to kill every version of Kira Nerys in the multiverse .

“I don’t fault you for not seeing the big picture, Captain. After what was done to me, it took me a while to understand what I needed to do so that I could be whole again. But when I meet the Prophets, they’ll see inside me, just as they did with your Emissary. They’ll understand what I need to get my life back. And I’ll use the Soul Key to find every other Kira that has laid claim to a piece of my soul”.

  • Government Conspiracy: Trill. While never particularly sinister conspiracies, Trill has so many that eventually they can't suppress all the secrets anymore, there's a general uprising, much political embarrassment and almost a conflict with Bajor as a result. A large part of the problem is a multi-generational cover-up of an ancient Trill genocide on Kurl.
    • Krax, on Ferenginar, and Mev Jartek, on Cardassia, both run conspiracies within their new, progressive governments aimed at making those governments look good in the eyes of the public, but using questionable methods. Their bosses, Grand Nagus Rom and Castellan Alon Ghemor, don't know about the plans, and wouldn't support their underlings if they did. In the case of the Cardassian example, Garak knows (of course), but doesn't support it.
  • Greed: An ongoing arc involves the Ferengi civilization attempting to redefine their greed (greed being a virtue in their culture), having began to realize that the rest of the galaxy view them as untrustworthy and comically obsessive. Grand Nagus Rom is trying to encourage his people to become considerably less self-serving, to make a profit without exploiting aliens. He argues that no race can afford to go it alone anymore, including the Ferengi. They have to make their greed a functioning part of the galactic community, not simply its exploiter.
  • Green-Skinned Space Babe: Trier, though she’s a bit of a subversion in that she’s not just a pretty face - she’s a ruthless businesswoman too, and possibly the first female employee Quark truly respects.
  • Grievous Bottley Harm: Thriss freaks out in Quark's Bar and attacks Anichent with a broken bottle.
  • Gunship Rescue: The Defiant in The Soul Key.
  • Happily Married: Phillipa Matthias and her Bajoran husband.
  • Heaven: The Nausicaan variety is mentioned, when Savonigar, a Nausicaan bounty hunter, dies:

"His tegol, free at last from the prison of his flesh, soared with the Wind, to the Heart of the Sky, where his ancestors awaited his arrival".

  • Heel Face Turn: Taran'atar. On a lesser note, Captain Solok is surprisingly gracious when he crops up at a key moment in Lesser Evil, even though Kira uses a reminder of his humiliation in Take Me Out to the Holosuite in order to get him there. Finally, Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire reveals that Raiq and some of the other Ascendants now live and study on Bajor.
  • Heroic BSOD: In Fearful Symmetry, Iliana Ghemor suffers one of these after her fiancé, Ataan, dies in a bombing on Bajor (which was, ironically, committed by Kira and the Shakaar cell). She begins to hate everything about the way she'd lived her life prior to the bombing and, piling together everything in her room that wasn't property of the art school she was attending, proceeds to set her possessions on fire).
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Amng others, Sirella in The Left Hand of Destiny.
  • Heroic Vow: Used satirically in flashbacks with Dukat, who likes (liked) making "heroic" vows (not understanding he's in no way a hero). Fellow Cardassian Ataan makes a few too, and there it's simply tragic; he's a good man, but is in over his head and clearly doesn't qualify as a hero.
  • Hidden Elf Village: The Eav'oq city on Idran VIII, hidden within subspace to protect the Eav'oq survivors from the Ascendant's genocidal rampage.
  • Hive Queen: The Parasite Spawnmother.
  • Hold Your Hippogriffs: Many. Among the examples are the following sayings:
    • "She played me like a Syn Lara" (Trill)
    • "Fell on him like Honge on fresh meat" (Cardassian)
    • "That sinoraptor's already jumped the fence" (Bajoran).
    • Then there's the Andorian saying "absence makes the heart forget".
  • Holier Than Thou: Vedek Yevir, who has ambitions to be kai. At first he looks like a retread of Kai Winn in some regards (tensions with Kira included). However...he got better later on, particuarly in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Cardassia, where he has a Crowning Moment of Awesome, and one befitting a religious minister (he talks a 14-year old would-be suicide bomber into standing down). He might well be worthy of the kai position after all.
    • Even before that, he sincerely tries to help Kasidy Yates (obviously because she's the Emissary's wife, but not for personal aggrandizement), and he is shown to be a kind and caring man in many other respects. He even goes through a fair bit of personal hardship to broker a spiritual peace with Cardassia, because he believes that not finding a way to forgive the Cardassians and become closer to them would poison Bajor's soul in the long run. He and Kira, for all the bad blood between them, are actually Not So Different... their backgrounds are actually remarkably similar and so are their ultimate goals and hopes for Bajor, the only difference is that Sisko did something Yevir interpreted as telling him to become a Vedek, while Sisko kept Kira at his side.
  • Horse of a Different Colour: The Pylchyk, a Bajoran draft animal. Ancient Bajorans also apparently used zhom, a dog-like creature, as mounts. The Ascendants may have ridden giant lizard-like animals.
  • How Do You Say...?: Played with in The Left Hand Of Destiny. Martok searches for the correct word with which to describe Morjod's strength of character. The word he's looking for is apparently in a more obscure or perhaps obsolete dialect of his own language. Possibly significant, given the story's themes and their implications for Klingon society.
  • Humans Through Alien Eyes: At times. Among the more notable examples is Taran'atar's visit to the nursery in Twilight, as he tries to comprehend the behaviour of the human children. Confronted with typical child-like irrationality, he wonders if they are defective. Also, he is intrigued and somewhat discomforted by their complete lack of fear, in stark contrast to the attendant adults. When one small boy brushes up against him, disrupting his invisibility shroud and exposing his presence, he is even somewhat humiliated. In all, he leaves considerably more confused than enlightened.
  • The Hunter: Gard, whose role in Trill society consists of hunting down Joined Trill who have suffered a corruptive joining, and thus become dangerously unhinged. Such a being is almost always a Complete Monster.
  • Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: The Hunters of Tosk show up in Rising Son, and slay the helpful Tosk just as he's helping the heroes make an essential discovery.
  • Hypocrite: Brunt accuses Quark of being a hypocrite; after his big speech in the penultimate episode about how the old Ferenginar will live on in his bar, he’s quickly integrated into the new Ferengi system, however reluctantly. He works for the government (thanks to Rom bailing him out with an ambassadorship), which means he pays taxes. And he has a female deputy manager. Quark himself admits that his vision of holding out was a little foolish.
  • I Have You Now, My Pretty: The criminal Jaid, in Warpath, when he finds Prynn Tenmei.
  • Infant Immortality: Averted on several occasions, including most notably in Abyss, where Ro and Taran'atar find a clearing in the forest that Ethan Locken has been using to torture and murder Ingavi children.
  • Informed Attribute: Vaughn is supposed to be 101 years old. And while Star Trek medical technology has certainly lengthened human lifespans, there's almost nothing about him other than his stated age that says he's that old. From his twenty-something daughter to his rank to his behaviors, he seems far more like Picard's contemporary as opposed to a man who's fairly easily old enough to be his grandfather.
  • Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: Elias Vaughn's childhood history on Berengaria VII; he was apparently mauled by a dragon at one point. It was established as early as the Original Series of Star Trek that Berengaria VII is home to dragons, and Vaughn had previously been said to originate there. Eventually, the two bits of trivia made an inevitable linkage. Since Vaughn is the sort of character with a highly adventurous background, it's no surprise he apparently had dragon bites where other children had bruised knees.
  • Interspecies Romance: Many. Among the more notable examples: Dax and Bashir (Trill/human), Phillipa Matthias and her husband (human/Bajoran), Prynn and Shar (human/Andorian), for a time Ro and Quark (Bajoran/Ferengi). Also, Pifko Gaber (who resembles a dog with green fur and spikes on his back) mentions a sister who once dated a humanoid.
  • Ironic Echo: In Warpath:

"You have no idea who you're dealing with".

  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Theno, who is also a Deadpan Snarker.
  • Jerkass: Yevir can definitely be this at times.
  • Journey to the Center of the Mind: The Annuated of the Trill symbionts, their eldest and wisest members, take Dax on one of these after she pesters them for information. One of them essentially "pulls" her into its mind telepathically, so she can search through its memories.
  • Kaleidoscope Eyes: The Kressari are given these. On screen, the Kressari makeup gave them very stiff, inflexible faces. The relaunch books give them colour-changing eyes as the primary means of expressing themselves. The colour shifts according to mood.
  • King Arthur: The Left Hand of Destiny turned the ongoing Klingon saga into this, in part. Martok is Arthur. Worf is Lancelot, Emperor Kahless is Merlin, Alexander is Percival, Ezri Dax is the Lady in the Lake, Morjod is (obviously, Meaningful Name) Mordred, Gothmara is Morgan Le Fay. Martok's father, Urthog, is another obvious Arthurian homage. And the Sword of Kahless is of course Excalibur.
  • Lady of War: Sirella (Martok's wife). She holds herself with grace and dignity at all times, while retaining the fierce and violent aspect of a Klingon noble. Other characters comment on this all the time. In fact, Sirella goes out of her way to be a Lady of War, and is visably unhappy when she admits that the villain's Compelling Voice caued her to momentarily lose her composure.
  • Legacy Character: Gard. Every host of the Gard symbiont fulfils the exact same function in Trill society, in contrast to every other Joined Trill.
  • Les Yay: There are plenty of hints that Kira (and by extension Iliana) are bisexual. Kira's loss of Dakahna Vaas is treated more like she's lost a lover than a close friend, and Iliana ultimately has an I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy reaction towards sending the mirror universe Vaas off with Ataan... to both of them. As well, when Iliana muses that she can never return Shing-kur's feelings for her, it's because she feels all such emotions have been driven out of her by her captivity, not because Shing-kur's female (or biologically incompatible, for that matter).
  • Lighter and Softer: Oddly for the series that had such a reputation for darkness among Star Trek series, the DS9 relaunch is this among the post-series EU. Sure, lots of bad things still happen... some really awful, tragic things, actually... but considering that the Next Generation and Voyager relaunches seem absolutely fixated on character suffering and death and killing off entire planetary populations with a numbing regularity, the DS9 relaunch both keeps the tone of its own show much better and is like a breath of fresh air amidst the other depressing, pessimistic relaunches.
  • Literal-Minded: Srral.
  • Living Labyrinth: The Cathedral/Anathema.
  • Living Memory: The psychic bundles of memory and personality stored in the Trill Annuated. The eldest of the symbionts, the Annuated also act as vast "libraries" of personal experience.
  • Loads and Loads of Characters: The series features every major and recurring character from the television show who wasn't killed off in the finale (and even a couple that were; Weyoun rarely stays dead for long). There are also a number of new characters created for the series. The cast is therefore considerable in size. This is particularly apparent in Unity, where a concluding chapter essentially consists of a long list of notable characters in attendance at a major ceremony.
  • Lovable Coward: Darok is the Klingon Empire's Lovable Coward:

"He had formulated an interesting theory that day: Fighting to win is not dishonorable even if you occasionally do dishonorable things along the way to victory. Darok had tested his theory on many occasions since that day and every experiment had confirmed his initial impulse. As he shot the third Hur'q through the head (he had shot the first one in the knee and the second in the groin) he formulated a corollary: namely, there is no dishonorable way to kill monsters. The only thing that matters is that they die".

  • Manchurian Agent: Later in the series, Taran’atar is this for Iliana Ghemor.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Vaugn accuses Sisko of this at one point, and the accused can't really say much in his defense.
  • Mask of Power: The belief system of the Oralian Way, a Cardassian religion dating back to the Hebitians (a race of Precursors), involves ceremonial masks. These channel a being's spiritual power so as to allow them to become closer to the gods, augmenting their spiritual energies and focusing their mind for prayer. In Astraea, leader of the faith, the mask helps her serve as a vessel for Oralius, the guiding spirit. The "original" masks upon which the modern Oralian examples are based later showed up in Star Trek: The Lost Era.
  • Mathematician's Answer: From Section 31: Abyss, while Ro and Taran'atar are on a mission together:

Ro: Can you see anything?
Taran'atar: Yes.
Ro: What?
Taran'atar: I see rain.
Ro: And what else?
Taran'atar: Trees. Many trees. Also undergrowth. More importantly, I see no Jem'Hadar. Otherwise, if you mean, "Can you see anything useful?" then the answer is no.

  • Meaningful Funeral: Thriss, at Tower Hill on Andor in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Volume One. Very moving, particularly when Thia starts singing. Note that the entire plot of the story revolves around a character returning home so the funeral can be held in accordance with their people's custom.
    • Though not quite a funeral, a meaningful death rite occurs when Martok acts out the Klingon dying roar for Pharh and announces that the battle they're fighting will be in his honor, to insure his right to enter Sto-Vo-Kor. Made all the more meaningful for the fact that he doesn't extend the same to Morjod.
  • Meaningful Name: Morjod; think Mordred from King Arthur. To a lesser extent, possibly Pifko Gaber (as in "gabber"; he never stops talking). And in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Andor, Prynn and Thirishar discuss the significance of their respective names, and their parents' inspiration.
  • Military Brat: Prynn Tenmei.
  • The Mole: Taran'atar, though he's being brainwashed.
  • Mood Whiplash: Cathedral appears to be ending on a high note - the missing orbs of the Prophets have been returned, Cardassia and Bajor seem on the road to making peace, and Bajor is about to join the Federation. Then Bajoran First Minister Shakaar Edon is assassinated - and by a member of the allied Trill delegation.
  • Multicultural Alien Planet: The Andorians and Bajorans, at least, demonstrate significant cultural differences depending on which region of their planets they originate on. In Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Andor, the differences between Northern and Southern clans (to oversimplify a bit) are an important aspect of the plot. They aren't too different, but it's something (and see Planet of Hats, below).
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Private Memh, after firing the biogenic weapons on Kurl, killing millions of Kurlans trying to break the planet's quarantine. She eventually kills herself, and the Memh symbiont never takes another host, out of lingering shame.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Savonigar, a Nausicaan mercenary, is unusual for his race in being eerily calm and completely stoic on all occasions. His departure from the excitable Nausicaan stereotype is noted by Savonigar himself. He also reflects on how he cooly eliminated his enemies through careful planning, where most of his peers chose the far less effective approach of losing their temper and attacking in haste.
    • Almost all Cardassians in the novels, much as they did in the show, go on and on about how family is the most important thing to any Cardassian. However, Garak's memoirs reveal that practically every Cardassian is taken from their parents at a fairly young age and sent to government-run boarding school, where for years they are largely stripped of identity as they're molded into what the State wants them to be. By the time most of them return home as adults, those from politically powerful families will see their parents more as a political alliance than anything else, while those from less powerful families will see their parents as nice people they used to know and are still fairly attached to, but have far less investment in. The only way to go home early is to flunk out... meaning that those Cardassians with the strongest attachment left to their family would actually be the failures.
  • Nakama: The core crew of the Even Odds seem to count.
  • Near-Death Experience: Kira in Warpath. Dax in Twilight.
  • Never Speak Ill of the Dead: The unformed Founder girl in Lesser Evil informs Nog and Sam Bowers that she mourns for a cadre of Jem'Hadar, or at least most of them: "I miss First, I miss Second, I miss Fourth...I do not miss Third". Upon this last comment, Nog mutters "yeah, good riddance". Bowers elbows him, even though the Founder evidently won't mind, given that she's just stated she didn't like the Third.
  • New Era Speech: Morjod gives one after his destruction of The Great Hall on Qo'noS.
  • No Hero to His Valet: Pharh is more or less a willing servant and battlefield shield to Martok, and while he likes the Klingon hero he certainly doesn't relate to him with the awe many others show.
  • Occupiers Out of Our Country!: The True Way movement on Cardassia manipulates young Cardassians into this sort of campaign, equating the Federation and Bajoran aid movements with cultural imperialism and an attempt to complete the destruction of Cardassian culture.
  • Oh Crap: Fleet Admiral Akaar, and the reader if sufficiently versed in Star Trek: The Next Generation history, upon The Reveal: Shakaar had traces of Trill DNA in his wound. The fatal one...in his neck.
  • Omniscient Council of Vagueness: "The Gentlemen", who operate on Cardassia and are seemingly dedicated to making the new, progressive democratic government look good. Their methods of doing so, on the other hand, are neither progressive, democratic or good.
  • One Steve Limit: Averted with the Cardassians, particularly in The Never-Ending Sacrifice. The minor character Martus Lok shares a family name with established Cardassian Pythas Lok, but is likely not at all related. Also, Mikor Khevet shares his first name with one of Dukat's sons.
  • One-Winged Angel: Morjod...slightly too late to be of any real use. He transforms into a Hur'q at the end of his final battle with Martok, in book two of The Left Hand of Destiny. The transformation is not only less than helpful by this point, it's also against his will, the result of Gothmara's experimentation. Martok's execution of Morjod is more a mercy kill. In all, it's a very disturbing example, and the forced transformation represents Gothmara's crossing the Moral Event Horizon.
  • Organic Technology: The Breen, as well as the Azziz in The Lives of Dax (which is often counted as an unofficial part of the relaunch).
  • Our Mermaids Are Different: Twilight introduces the Alonis, a race of aquatic beings with fish-like rear ends and quasi-humanoid (but still scaly) upper bodies. They went on to feature in Star Trek: The Lost Era, A Singular Destiny, and elsewhere.
  • Overly Long Name: The D'Naali characters have these. The Andorians often have them too, and combined with their fondness for lisping sounds can be quite a mouthful.
  • Papa Wolf: Elias Vaughn in Warpath after he thinks Taran'atar has killed his (adult) child.
  • Pardon My Klingon: Many examples. As well as the obvious Klingon curses, we have the untranslated obscenity Frinx (an all-purpose Ferengi sexual euphemism), and the Bajoran curses Pavrak and Kosst (a rather clever one, as the "Kosst Amojan" was established earlier in canon as the Bajoran version of Satan). Then there's Nog referring to another character as a "cold-hearted Moogi-Jokk"; see Getting Crap Past the Radar.
  • Place Beyond Time: As usual when the non-linear Wormhole Aliens are involved, there are several visits to a Place Beyond Time.
  • Planet Looters: The L’Dira, in “The Lives of Dax”, who raid pre-Federation Trill to acquire a resource on which they’ve become dependent.
  • Planet of Hats: Played with, particularly in the Worlds of Deep Space Nine books. The Cardassians, Andorians, Trill, Bajorans, Ferengi and Dominion are explored in some depth, and their internal political and cultural differences drive the plot. At the same time, though, we still get a clear sense of what traits and beliefs hold each culture together and render it distinct. Essentially, the hat is still there, but there are many varieties of it, some pushing the boundaries.
  • Portal Network: The Iconian Gateways, which are up for auction by a race called the Petraw. The Petraw eventually throw the entire network open as a demonstration. Worlds across the galaxy are suddenly connected, leading to countless wars, accidents, medical crises and natural disasters.
  • Properly Paranoid: Quark is terrified of Garak, especially when Malic blackmails Quark by threatening to expose an illegal, real-estate-for-food scheme that Quark's been running on Cardassia. Ro acknowledges that Quark's paranoia is justified, saying that she knows Garak's reputation and that "I honestly don't think we'd ever find your body".
  • Prophecy Twist: The Second Coming of Kahless, long predicted in Klingon religious tradition, was intended as metaphorical, not literal. Thus, the clone of Kahless (created in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation) is not in fact the "true" second coming, despite Lady Lukara assuring Martok he is a genuine reincarnation. The actual second Kahless is Martok himself. The prophecy of the Second Coming is thus truly fulfilled during the Battle of Boreth, when Martok uses the Sword of Kahless to rally the Klingons to his banner and confront the corruption at the heart of their culture.
  • Punny Name: Gard. In fact, the pun has two meanings and a twist. Hiziki Gard first appears as a Trill security officer, and jokingly comments on the coincidental translation of his phonetic name. Later, we learn that Gard is a unique symbiont whose hosts all serve the same role in Trill society - that of keeping watch for "corrupted" joinings and dealing with the Complete Monster that results. Therefore, he is a "guard" of sorts for Trill society as well as using the cover of a literal security guard.
  • Puppeteer Parasite: The Kurlans.
  • Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: How do you try to force the previous (and extremely fan-beloved) Big Bad across the Moral Event Horizon while at the same time attempting to generate sympathy and connection for the new Big Bad? Simple! Just have the old Big Bad lock up the new Big Bad and rape her! Repeatedly! For fifteen years!
  • Really Seven Hundred Years Old: The Trill symbionts were already established as a long-lived race, but the relaunch expands on their life-cycle considerably. The Annuated of the symbionts, their eldest egg-layers, are thousands of years old. Even the relatively young Caretaker symbionts like Memh are over six thousand. Dax, at slightly over 300, is essentially still a baby. When Memh and Dax meet, Dax is surprised to learn that six thousand-year old memories she accessed from the Annuated feature the same symbiont she's currently communicating with.
  • The Remnant: Kitana'klan's little fleet, which is still fighting the Dominion War three months after the official surrender of Dominion forces. Ashamed of their race's failure to take the Alpha Quadrant, these rogue Jem'hadar are determined to renew the conflict even against the will of the Founders. Three months after the war's conclusion, they attack Deep Space Nine, destroying the starship Aldebaran with all hands and damaging the starship Defiant. They are in turn attacked by the loyal Jem'Hadar Taran'atar, who was en route to Deep Space Nine as an envoy on the orders of Odo. He defends the station with his own warship, and eventually foils a secondary plot by Kitana'klan to destoy the reactor core.
  • Retcon: The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finale insisted that the Weyoun clone killed on Cardassia was in fact the character's last, and thus he couldn't return. Despite this being stated quite clearly - the intent was obviously to establish that this time, he was staying dead - he eventually shows up in the relaunch, freshly cloned again. His ninth, to be exact. It therefore "turns out" that Weyoun's genetic profile was on file in the Gamma Quadrant. To be fair, that would seem to make perfect sense, so his return isn't at all implausible. Still, it clearly defies the intent of the series finale, and the statements made by the Founder leader. When confronted with the little matter of "they said it was your last clone that died on Cardassia!", Weyoun Nine cheerfully dismisses the whole issue. Of course he's back.
    • The Never-Ending Sacrifice makes a few retcons to Rugal's home situation on Bajor, trying to make it seem like his adoptive parents were clearly far more tolerant than they were and removing all questions of whether they had been a fitting home environment for him. The episode "Cardassians" clearly shows that Rugal's Bajoran parents were outspoken anti-Cardassian bigots who were deliberately raising him to hate Cardassians and "consider [himself] Bajoran". The book has it that they're actually trying to protect him from such attitudes in other Bajorans.
  • The Reveal: There have been a couple of instances in which the relaunch novels have taken advantage of the medium - the fact that they're print and not film - to do things the TV series couldn't have done. Among these are a couple of prominent reveals. In Abyss, Locken brings a Jem'Hadar guard with him to confront Bashir; later, when he orders the Jem'Hadar to kill Bashir, it turns out the Jem'Hadar in question is Taran'atar, who naturally has no intention of carrying out that order. And in Demons of Air and Darkness, Quark brings a Dabo girl with him to a negotiation, but it turns out that it's Ro, and she's really there to be his backup if people start shooting.
    • The Reveal is also played with in Warpath; it briefly looks as if the mysterious villain behind the plots of several preceding books is simply Mirror Universe Intendant Kira - quite disappointing. It's a red herring. The real villain is someone far more intriguing.
  • Rule of Cool: An interstellar portal (which could have led to anywhere in the galaxy) just happens to lead to a Malon garbage scow that has been taken over by a Hirogen hunter. Why? So that Taran'atar, the Jem'Hadar character, can fight with him, of course!
    • Averted (to the point of blatantly teasing the reader) when the Delta Quadrant is brought up and the officer communicating with the characters says "Let me see if I can get you some backup"... only to then come back and say that Voyager is much too far away to get there in time to help.
  • Rule of Three: The number three appears to have considerable significance for the cultures involved with the Wormhole Aliens; the Eav'oq, the Bajorans, and the Ascendants (who themselves make three, obviously). Connected to this, we have the trio of the Voice, the Hand and the Fire. Further, there are nine orbs (three times three), and nine Emissaries. The Wormhole Aliens certainly like the number three, though for what reason (other than this trope, of course) is as yet unclear. Finally, the Hebitians, a race of Precursors on Cardassia, also demonstrate a great love of the number. This may not be coincidental; frequent hints that Hebitian culture is connected to that of the Bajorans suggest we have a whole interconnected spiritual community valuing the rule of three.
  • Running Gag: Quark is particularly fond of wearing a certain cologne when trying to impress Ro - but it's the most revolting thing anyone's ever smelled. Quark doesn't catch on to that for awhile, though: Whenever he asks someone what they think of it, they say honestly "I've never smelled anything like it", and Quark misinterprets it as a compliment.
  • Sand Worm: The Flayers of Harkoum. They're carnivores and are known to eat humanoids. Crossing the desert they live in is suicide if you're travelling on foot.
  • Save Both Worlds: In the Mirror Universe arc. What happens in the Mirror Universe matters because it has a knock on effect for every universe, including of course the "prime" reality.
  • Scary Dogmatic Aliens: The Ascendants. They're alien crusaders who destroy any race that "worships falsely". Their ultimate goal is to reunite with their gods and test their worth before the Eyes of Fire.
  • Science Is Bad: The Andorian population are up in arms over the nature of the research rumoured to be undertaken by the Science Academy; the re-engineering of the Andorian genome. In an attempt to solve the Andorian fertility problems and genetic crisis, the possibility of re-engineering four-gendered Andorians as two-gendered beings is being discussed. Such a project would tear the traditional Andorian culture to tatters, and the idea is condemned by many.
    • The Cheka's approach to many branches of science justifies this trope, seeing as it seems to involve experiments on Yrythny prisoners.
  • Self-Destruct Mechanism: The Obsidian Order prison facility in Warpath has one of these. A character asks, "who puts a self-destruct in a prison?". The plain, simple answer, naturally, is "the Obsidian Order".
  • Sequel Hook: Brunt and Gaila forming an alliance at the end of Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Ferenginar. It has since been followed up on in the Star Trek: Seven Deadly Sins anthology.
  • Servant Race: The Himh workers, who are definitely this and not a Slave Race. They are free to leave Himh society if they choose.
  • Shadow Archetype: Of a non-evil variety, Dez is one to Benjamin Sisko. While Sisko commanded absolute loyalty from his crew by showing them just how much they could count on him, Dez's crew clearly believes he could get them killed on almost every mission and doesn't have a lot of confidence in him. Sisko was forthright and honest in almost all aspects of his life, Dez can't seem to keep himself from obfuscating and shading the truth. Sisko lives by a strong sense of morals and an ethical code, Dez justifies whatever he does to make money. The contrast between the man who was Jake's father and the man who wants to be his father just grow the longer Jake stays with Dez.
  • Shapeshifters Do It for a Change: Wex, who is actually Odo disguised as a Trelian female, does not do a particularly great job at hiding her attraction to Kira.
  • Shout-Out: To Farscape, several times. One example is a ship named the Zelbinion.
  • Skewed Priorities: The Ferengi, all the time. In The Left Hand of Destiny, Pharh is horrified to have stood up to Klingon warriors - he reflects that he could have been seriously injured, or even robbed. Then there's Zek:

Gaila: It’s why he’s destroying your legacy at the same time as he’s ruining your retirement”.
Zek: “How dare he! Nobody ruins my retirement and gets away with it!”.

  • Smug Snake: Shakaar seems to become one, scuttling the peace talks with Cardassia purely to Kick the Dog and rubbing Kira's Attainder in her face just to hurt her. He's actually been taken over by an evil alien parasite.
  • Space Station: Of course.
  • Spirit World: The Vinculum, an extradimensional plane or otherwise unexplained parallel realm where the Cardassian Fates seem to "live". It shows up in a short story from the anthology Prophecy and Change, which otherwise focuses on tales from the timeframe of the TV show, not the relaunch.
  • Split Personality: Iliana Ghemor, who was implanted with the memories and personality of Kira Nerys as part of an undercover operation. Now, she has both her original memories and Kira's, and considers herself the rightful inheritor to the real Kira's life. Because Kira set the bomb which killed Iliana's bethrothed during the Occupation of Bajor, she also has a split perspective on his death - as both the guilty party and a victim.
  • Star-Killing: The Ascendants are revealed to have a weapon capable of destroying stars. An artificial supernova in Dominion space is revealed to be the work of Ascendant forces, part of their ongoing effort to destroy all who worship falsely.
  • Starfish Language: The D'Naali can communicate naturally over subspace frequencies. Then there's the Vahni Vahltupali, who flash patterns of colour across their skin, and have no non-visual forms of communication. They can even "sing" visually.
  • Start of Darkness: One half of the flipbook-style novel Fearful Symmetry presents the back story of the current Big Bad.
  • Stay in the Kitchen: The Ferengi are having civil unrest over this very issue, with many of the population eager to expand their business operations to include females, and many others disgusted at the rapid breakdown of tradition. Many families continue to consider it morally inappropriate for females to leave the home.
  • Storming the Castle: The Ascendants, in Kira's comatose dream vision (see Warpath). The keep under attack is symbolic of the shared Bajoran/Eav'oq faith, soon to be stormed by Ascendant crusaders seeking the celestial temple.
  • Survival Mantra: Gard, and "we're not going to die in the dark". The "we're" is significant - it shows that the symbiosis between his host and symbiont is dissolving. He recovers, though.
  • Taking the Bullet: Pharh, for Martok.
  • Tempting Fate: The last sentence of Chapter 19 of the second Avatar book is told from Kira's perspective: Life was good, maybe as good as it got. Then, in the very-brief Chapter 20, we find out she's been Attainted - cast out from the Bajoran faith - for uploading the Ohalu text to the comnet in defiance of Vedek Yevir.
  • Terminally Dependent Society: The L’Dira in The Lives of Dax, whose technology requires a resource their own world has run out of; now, they're wretched Planet Looters.
  • Thrown Out the Airlock: Ke Hovath is coerced into cooperating with his captor when she threatens to do this to his wife.
  • Time Skip: The relaunch continues, more or less, in Star Trek: Typhon Pact, which is set five years after the latest books. One of the plot threads in Typhon Pact: Paths of Disharmony explores how Shar and the Andorians are doing in the aftermath of Star Trek: Destiny, and the Borg attack on Andor. Also, Rough Beasts of Empire deals with Sisko's increasingly problematic family life, as well as revealing what Kira and Vaughn are up to. Finally, Zero Sum Game catches up with Bashir.
  • Turn the Other Cheek: Kotan Pa'Dar tries this in The Never-Ending Sacrifice, attempting to end the feud between his family and Dukat's even as Dukat tries to escalate it yet again. This is quite impressive considering all that Kotan's suffered due to the other man's enmity. Typically, Dukat just sneers at the effort.
  • The Unchosen One: Mirror Iliana Ghemor is not the emissary, but she'll do. She agrees to take the position not Because Destiny Says So but because it's for the best.
  • Unstoppable Rage: The Andorians, at times. In Unity, Shar enters a state of Unstoppable Rage when battling a Kurlan-possessed woman aboard Deep Space Nine. In an earlier book, Twilight, he enters one while incapacitated by injury and takes it out on the ground by slamming his fist against it repeatedly (and causing himself further injury).
  • Unwitting Pawn: The crew of the Besinian ship in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Bajor, Mazagalanthi, Telal and Fellen, Jaid in Warpath, and in fact most other people influenced by Iliana Ghemor.
  • Unusual Euphemism: Nog utters the appalling Ferengi curse-word "charity!", before offering a humble apology.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Iliana Ghemor in The Soul Key, upon finally reaching the Celestial Temple and meeting the Prophets.
  • Waking Up Elsewhere: Ke Hovath in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Bajor, who wakes up a captive of a mysterious antagonist after his village is destroyed.
  • War Is Glorious: The events of The Left Hand of Destiny finally cause several of the Klingon characters to start questioning this. It's unfortunate it took them that long - the clone of emperor Kahless spent most of the duology prior to this trying to point out how "his" teachings had been misinterpreted.
  • Warrior Poet: The Katai, an elite band of warrior-scholars on the Klingon monastery world of Boreth, are a whole official organization of these. Okay, so it's not a large organization, but still...WarriorPoet is practically their job description.
  • Was Once a Man: The Hur'q. Revived from preserved remains, the extinct race known as Hur'q have been reborn to fight for Gothmara and Morjod. In fact, Gothmara has used Klingon hosts to create the new and improved Hur'q, mutating them into the monstrous creatures using augmented DNA recovered from those first preserved specimens.
  • We Can Rule Together: In Abyss, Ethan Locken pulls this on Bashir, who thinks it's completely ludicrous. He lampshades the trope by accusing Locken of sounding just like the villain in every piece of over-the-top entertainment ever made.
  • Weapon of Mass Destruction: Locken's bioweapon-laden missiles. Also, in a crossover story with the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, someone tries to turn abandoned station Empok Nor into a mobile weapons platform. It would have been powerful enough to lay waste to entire star systems had it been completed.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Despite Dez's insistence to himself that he made his peace with his father's absenteeism and disinterest long ago, it's clear from how he desperately wants to "get it right" by being a surrogate father to Jake that he's still carrying a lot of it around.
  • Wham! Line: Odo to Laas, following the dissolution of the Great Link: "As of this moment, you and I are the Dominion".
  • While You Were in Diapers: Kain, a Ferengi politician, has this retort when criticized by a colleague: "You watch it, boy. I was cheating Yridians when your mother was too young to chew food".
  • Working Title: Warpath's working title was The Hunt For Taran'atar.
  • Worthy Opponent: The bounty hunter Savonigar cheerfully hails Iliana Ghemor (Mirror Universe version) as a noble adversary after she defeats him. She returns the acknowledgement, before offering her bested foe a mercy kill. He gratefully accepts.
    • Note that, of the three bounty hunters she faces, Savonigar is the only one Ghemor gives this consideration to.
  • Wretched Hive: The planet Harkoum, or at least its shabby spaceports.
  • Writer on Board: The writer of The Never-Ending Sacrifice pretty clearly didn't agree with the outcome of the episode it was based on, "Cardassians", and makes sure to have several of the characters from the episode show up largely just to lambast themselves and apologize to Rugal.
  • Zerg Rush: The Rintanna, after they’ve deceived their enemies with their camouflage talents.
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