Help creating a backstory

[Colt Ward]

One of my favorite Star Trek characters is Garek the tailor (heh) from DS9.  Another topic got me thinking about him, and to a lesser extent DS9, and it occurred to me . . . DS9, like Babylon 5, should have a lot of character types we would see in the main city of worlds like Galatea, Solaris VII, Outreach, Herotitus, Antallos, and Tortuga.  To a lesser extent we might see them on worlds like Arc Royal, Nosiel, Northwind, Astrokasy, Westerhande, Fletcher, Oberon, and other minor merc/pirate worlds.

Unlike DS9's Garak, a BT version would be harder to pin with connections to a Great House intel operation- but what one in your opinion might be best for imitating the link to the Obsidian Order?  Garak was (supposedly) involved in spying, assassination, COIN and interrogation as a operative before his exile.  What other character traits/behaviors might carry over from the DS9 version?

[Natasha Kerensky]

Maskirovka.  I think it and the Capellan Confederation (especially circa 4th Succession War) are closest in feel to the Obsidian Order and Cardassian Union.  Both the Cardassians and Capellans had very authoritarian and underdog governments that produced ruthless and feared intelligence services.  And both have suffered setbacks that would make a Garak-like figure question his loyalties.  And the crazy Cappies seem most likely to produce an antagonist that would force a Garak-like character into exile.  (A bad exchange with Max or Romano during one of their less-than-lucid episodes is really all that’s needed to force a “Garak” into exile on Solaris VII or wherever.)

Of course, this is all relative.  Nearly all the major governments in the BT universe are authoritarian to one degree or another, and intelligence services are by necessity ruthless to one degree or another.  Era might be more important as probably any major BT state could believably create Garek-like character if that particular state has created nutty leadership, betrayed it ideals, suffered a major defeat, or failed in some other way that forces a “Garak” into exile.

FWIW...

[Colt Ward]

Well, he was Exiled . . . and I do not see Romano letting someone run off to another world, otherwise the Cappies were my first inclination . . . League with the (shocking!) factionalism of SAFE came to mind.  ROM is also a interesting source since it would be hard for any House to research the past of a man like him.

[Natasha Kerensky]

Well, he was Exiled . . . and I do not see Romano letting someone run off to another world

It’s all in the timing.  Garak was a very careful and very capable agent, and his Maskirovka equivalent presumably would be, too.  The story can’t be that Romano ordered his death right then and there in her throne room after he delivered a bad report.  Escaping that is not believable.  But could he activate one of his half-dozen covers and board the next dropship out of system on a warning from a trusted informant or his own intuition after a bad meeting and colleagues start treating him differently?  Sure, why not...

League with the (shocking!) factionalism of SAFE came to mind.  ROM is also a interesting

SAFE is consistently portrayed as the least capable of he major intel agencies and the FWL is arguably the least authoritarian of the major Spheroid governments.  ROM has religious overtones.  Anything could work, but I think these don’t match the Cardassians and Obsidian Order as well as other BT factions if you’re trying to align with the Garak of DS9.

A bigger question is what does BT Garak do as his cover?  Tailor doesn’t seem to fit the BT universe...

My 2 cents...  It’s certainly a good idea, regardless.  The layered and opaque Garak of DS9 certainly fits the intended gray morality of the original BT universe.

[Black_Knyght]

Maskirovka, definitely!

Especially if you factor in that it WASN'T the Cardassian leadership that exiled him, but the leader of the Obsidian Order. AND it was more of a personal matter between the two of them.

[Colt Ward]

Sure, high end fashion on Solaris VII and uniform store for the mercs.  Chaos Irregulars specifically got fitted out with evening gowns w/ensemble and dress uniform influenced evening wear to attend the opening ball to work contracts.  Treyhang Liao talks about the socialite circle before he got pulled in to help run Free Capella by Tormano.

Solaris City always struck me as a combination of Las Vegas, Hollywood, Paris (or maybe Hong Kong) as represented in movies, and Superbowl week for when the Grand Tournament is running.  For covert/intel ops I would say it is like Berlin during the Cold War overlaying all of that glitz.

Then you also have this sort of operation . . .


Well, we never know what the real reason for the exile was . . .

"My dear Doctor, they are all true . . . especially the lies."

Great line!

[glitterboy2098]

have you read "A Stitch in Time"? it was a novel written by the actor who played garak, giving the backstory he'd developed for the character with the help of the writers (as well as material explaining what happened to him after the end of the series)

his 'exile' was caused by a mix of factors.. he had a string of missions where he almost revealed his status as an agent (one where an old schoolmate recognized him while he was posing as a gardener, then another where he partially botched the mission when the person he was interrogating say through the deception being used) then his sponsor, Tain, retired, and he got caught up in the power struggle for the succession. right as a personal issue of his (an affair he was having with said old schoolmate's wife) caught up with him and caused his identity as an agent to become known (to said schoolmate, who was a powerful person in the government.) the 'exile' was basically the obsidian order removing a compromised asset and sending it somewhere that wouldn't interfere with on going activities. had his faction in the succession power struggle triumphed he probably would have been recovered.. but the other side won out and as a result he lost every contact he had that might have posessed the pull to get him 'un-exiled'.

all in all, after readign the book, his career really does seem very maskirovka to me. especially given how the Obsidian Order routinely was involved in 'aggressive' forms of intelligence gathering, like kidnapping and torture, as well as assassination and undermining of negotiations.

[Colt Ward]

I had not read the book, sort of refuse to get too seriously into Star Trek fiction b/c its more convoluted than some other properties.  I have heard about it and read a bit, but your synopsis is pretty good- might have to get it.

Guess it might be easy to explain as a Candace follower/devotee who ended up with a Burn Notice when Romano ended up in the chair after Candace ran off with Justin.  Easily puts a character into mid-40s or 50s during the Clan Invasion . . . granted Garak was presented as that IMO but Cardassians lived longer than humans IIRC.

[Nav_Alpha]

The last couple seasons of DS9 always remind me of the tail end of the Jihad - the Terrans/Stone and the FedSuns team up with the Klingons (Clanners) to take on the Dominion/Word.
Meanwhile, the Cardassians/Cappies throw off the yoke of their allies and independently attack them.
Ok, it’s not a perfect analogy, so please don’t load on with the differences.

But what if, a Mask agent gets burned for a failure in the Chaos March or something in the late 3060s, winds up operating in FedSuns space during SCOUR, helping the allies?

He’s spent the years eking out an existence as a tailor on Galatea, until he needed to get offworld ahead of the Wobbies