Icon from a picrew by grgikau. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
“It’s a good way to earn some extra credits,” Sisko said as he scooped more mashed potatoes onto his plate. “And Vilix’pran needs the help.”
“Dad, have you ever tried to look after sixteen kids at once?” Jake said. “I’m not doing it. He could pay me in a new PADD and a holosuite program and I still wouldn’t do it.”
“Oh, you mean like that new snowboarding program?” Sisko said, not looking up from his food.
“That came in?” Jake asked.
Sisko smiled at him. “Quark says it’s very popular. Maybe you and Nog could play it.”
Jake’s eyes lit up, then realization dawned on him and he slumped back in his chair. “After I babysit for Vilix’pran,” he grumbled.
“Smart boy,” Sisko said with a wink. “Finish your dinner. Ensign Vilix’pran expects you at nineteen hundred hours.”
—
“No! Not in the…” Jake fumbled and nearly caught Ten before she fell into the hatchling pond. “… water.”
Tears welled in Ten’s eyes. At least, Jake assumed they were tears. He wasn’t about to bring a sample to Dr. Bashir, but the glistening in all six of her eyes seemed to happen when she was upset. She turned her long, prehensile nose into the air and wailed – a thin, reedy sound that Jake had gotten very used to after so many babysitting gigs for Vilix’pran.
“Ten’s wet,” Three, one of Vilix’s children from a previous litter, said. He was standing next to Jake, a concerned expression on his small face.
“Yeah, I know,” Jake said as he scooped Ten out of the pond. “Thanks for pointing that out.”
Three wasn’t old enough to understand sarcasm so he just nodded. “Welcome.”
Jake grabbed a towel from next to the hatching pond and gave Ten a quick rub down. “Alright, who wants jelly pods?” he asked the room of children. Twelve hands shot into the air. The remaining four children were engaged in a game of what Jake could only describe as “stalk fighting” with their ear stalks.
“This had better be a really good snowboarding game,” Jake grumbled as he materialized a plate of flavored jelly pods from the replicator. Swarm felt rude considering how the kids looked, but Jake couldn’t think of any other word to describe twelve children descending on him and all grabbing for a jelly pack. “Relax!” he said as Five reached a wobbly hand towards the plate. He picked up a green jelly, one of Five’s favorites, and handed it to him. “I can always replicate some more. You’ll get fed.”
“More!” Two exclaimed, her mouth covered in red jelly. “More! More!”
The chant of “more” quickly filled the quarters as more and more children joined in.
“You all get one and then I’ll replicate another plate!” Jake said in his most authoritative voice. He winced as he realized he sounded like his father. Good thing Nog wasn’t here to rub that in. “Are we clear?”
“Yeah,” a couple of children grumbled at once.
“Ok! Eat and then we’ll talk,” Jake said as he put the plate back on the replicator to be reclaimed. He started putting in the code for a cheeseburger for himself when little Eight wobbled up to him.
“Jake,” she said, pulling on his pants leg.
“Yeah?” Jake asked, trying not to let his frustration show in his voice.
“You’re cool,” she said. She looked down at her feet. “I like when you babysit.”
Jake pressed his lips together to keep from tearing up. “You’re pretty cool too, Eight,” he said. “Do you want to play hide and seek after you eat?”
“Yeah!” Eight said, her six eyes glowing with delight.
“Ok. Just tell Two and Four that they aren’t allowed to climb into the ventilation shafts. We talked about this.”
“We talked about this,” Eight repeated as she half-toddled, half-flew towards the other children. “No ventilation shafts. We talked about this.”
Jake took a bite of his cheeseburger and looked out over the throng of quietly playing and eating children. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad gig.
man… jake sisko really is the most tragic guy in all of star trek huh. he grows up constantly losing the people he loves to their sense of duty towards some higher cause. he loses his mother in one of the most horrific battles in federation history. his bright and idealistic best friend joins starfleet and develops ptsd and depression after being brutally injured. his father sacrifices his corporeal form in order to keep a great evil at bay. he watches this cycle happen over and over and there’s nothing he can do to stop it
Ds9 may have had some bad writing choices but you know what they didn’t get wrong? Jake and Nog
The way Jake starts out as this quiet unassuming boy who gets talked into bending the rules and pulling pranks by Nog. and then by the end of the series Jake is the rebel journalist with the wild ideas and Nog is the straight-laced starfleet officer. How in the beginning both Ben Sisko and Rom try to keep Jake and Nog separate because they have these internalized biases making them think they’ll have an unhealthy friendship and then by season 5 Ben and Rom work together to keep Jake and Nog as friends. The fact that Jake taught Nog how to read and then in In the Cards Nog talks about correcting Jake’s grammar……..
SORRY IT WASNT IN THE CARDS IT WAS THE ASCENT where Nog critiques Jake’s grammar. I’m still right tho
