The Mariner Protocol
| Star Trek Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Mariner Protocol |
| Author(s): | bauchle |
| Date(s): | November 23, 2020 – August 20, 2021 |
| Length: | 20k words |
| Genre: | het |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: Lower Decks |
| External Links: | On AO3 |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Mariner Protocol is a Star Trek: Lower Decks fic written by bauchle and posted from late 2020 to mid-2021. The fic features the two most popular pairings in the fandom, Brad Boimler/Beckett Mariner and Sam Rutherford/D’Vana Tendi; the author describes it as “a marinler fic in a tendiford trenchcoat”. As of June 2023, it is the most kudosed work for Lower Decks on AO3.
Summary
AKA: Beckett Mariner's Guide to Scoring With Hot Space Babes
When she learns that Rutherford is crushing hard on Tendi, Mariner selflessly takes it upon herself to coach him in the fine arts of courtship. She even drafts Boimler to help her out, though for some reason he's less than enthusiastic about the whole project.
Cue movie nights, flirting "workshops", and 400-year-old mixtapes - not to mention melees, arguments, and maybe a minor shipwide crisis. This is definitely going to end well.
Reactions
Yup. This is being added to the "godfic" folder. You've written a masterpiece, here. Bravo.A Throwaway Lmao, 30 October 2021
You have no idea how loud I almost screamed when I got the email that this fic had been updated and man this chapter was worth the wait!! God this ending is so adorable and I LOVE Tendi's perspective on everything, her internal voice is so well written and just ahh *chef's kiss*. Also Boimler worrying over concussed Mariner is like, my new favorite thing and the part about the smile he gives her being proof of true love just hit me like a truck and I am still not over it. I also adore the concept of a group movie night and ngl the ending part with all of them holding each other so they can stay on the seats and not get too cold just warmed my entire heart(I'm also a huge poly shipper tho so I love anything with all four of them being cute together tbh), and just ahhh this fic is so freaking good and I'm gonna go re-read it like three times and scream.LastOneOut, 21 August 2021
I’m not the best at words but I just wanted to say that I loved the fic. I really liked how you did the character voices, I think that’s the way to put it, and the humor was spot on. I didn’t come into the fic expecting the pain, but I love it, from start to finish. Thank you for your work!ZealousChristian24, 24 August 2021