What a Card: Ensign Davis

Being a look back at cards from the Star Trek CCG, and what I thought of them back when they were fresh and new... in EPISODE order. The Mirror Universe must have a lot of cannon fodder...

EXPANSION: Mirror, Mirror

PICTURE: When watching TOS again for the umpteenth time, I noticed this guy getting disintegrated by NOMAD in "The Changeling", but later being still alive in the Mirror universe. I guess the fates were kinder to him over there! Decipher was too because the pic is pretty strong. His pre-salute pose is distinctly MU without offending anyone with the actual thing, the blue and yellow patches are well balanced behind him, and hey, it's just interesting to have so young a man with silver hair. Score adjusted for looking like he just came off "I Dream of Jeannie" ;-). Total: 4.

LORE: How do you write interesting lore about a background character with no lines? By making it about characters we know and love. The bit about dispatching him using a common TOS tactic (related to the old "you distract him, I'll hit him with the nerve pinch" trick) is a lot of fun. Score adjusted for not mentioning any kind of universality. Total: 4.

TREK SENSE:
Though the lore makes no mention of his being universal, his part was so small as to allow him to be without objection from me - one of many guards probably all like this. Lots of icons, but they're all fine. He's from the Mirror quadrant, part of the Terran Empire, from another time (AU), specifically from the TOS era, and a Staffing ensign. That he would have Treachery makes sense since it's no doubt the most common skill of the Mirror universe. Unfortunately, that makes him a mission specialist in the field, and here, I have to state some concerns. See, Treachery is more a type of behavior, or an ethical code, than it is a "skill", so specializing in such a thing is borderline at best. In the case of someone like Selok, I take it to mean she's a "specialist in espionage", but Davis isn't a spy. Perhaps he does spy on crew members for the captain (or on the captain for others), so it could work. Might even be something Security guards regularly do. Integrity is way low, which follows his design quite well. Being taken by the hypo trick shows off his stupidity (Cunning 5). And the Strength is that of a security guy. The one real problem I found a way to explain away, so the total is 4.

STOCKABILITY:
A Treachery mission specialist for the Feds? Do they even have Treachery-related missions? Well, very few, and always shared with other affiliations, but he can nonetheless get you +5 points on there. There are also a few dilemmas that require the skill, and it's relatively rare in the Federation. Of course, being part of the Terran Empire means he can ally with non-Feds who also are, including some Bajorans and Ferengi. Suddenly, that Treachery has a few more missions it can attempt. He's quick to report to OS ships if you need the skill, but can also report using Assign Mission Specialists, a Mirror ship or Defend Homeworld. All those icons do open up a number of possibilities for him and his kind. Attributes are weak, but he's got the STRENGTH to go with his SECURITY, never a bad classification. Ok, not the mission specialist who'll see the most action, but he might make a good supporting character for your complete specialist deck to handle certain dilemmas. Not a 4, no, but a 3.5.

TOTAL: 15.5 (77.5%) NON... SEQUITUR! ;-)

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