Brunt

Species:	Ferengi
Affiliation:	Ferengi Commerce Authority
Occupation:	Liquidator
Status:	Alive (2375)
Played by:	Jeffrey Combs

For the mirror universe counterpart, please see Brunt (mirror).

"Brunt, FCA."

- Brunt's customary introduction

Brunt was a liquidator for the Ferengi Commerce Authority. He often wore a bar of gold-pressed latinum on a chain around his neck.

Career

Brunt was given the task of dealing with Ishka, Quark's mother, in 2371 after she was found to have illegally earned profit. He used the threat of selling Ishka into indentured servitude to persuade Quark to get her to confess to her crimes. (DS9: "Family Business") Brunt later returned to Deep Space 9 to investigate the worker strike at Quark's by Ferengi who had formed a union. After these two encounters with Quark, Brunt grew to hate him. (DS9: "Bar Association")

Brunt had the joy of revoking Quark's business license in 2372, after Quark broke a contract with him. Quark had sold Brunt the vacuum-desiccated remains of himself for 500 bars of latinum, but later found out that he was not going to die. Brunt seized Quark's assets and expelled him from the Ferengi business world. However, the generosity of the staff and residents of DS9 helped mitigate this punishment to Quark and allowed him to continue his bar business in defiance of Brunt's intentions. (DS9: "Body Parts")

In 2373, Brunt concocted a scheme to install himself as the new Grand Nagus, by exposing Grand Nagus Zek's failing business mind. His plan was foiled by Quark, who helped Zek reunite with Quark's business-minded mother. (DS9: "Ferengi Love Songs")

Following his betrayal, Brunt was fired from the FCA. Brunt later hoped to regain his old job by joining a rescue mission commissioned by Zek and led by Quark to rescue Ishka, who had been taken prisoner by the Dominion. Quark and the other team members initially did not welcome Brunt's efforts to join the group until he revealed his ownership of a shuttle.

While the team was showing a notable lack of success in simulated engagements with Jem'Hadar soldiers on in the holosuite, Brunt suggesting starting off with something easier like ambushing Bolians. Team member, Nog, angrily retorted that Brunt couldn't ambush a Bolian if the Bolian was blindfolded and tied to a tree. (DS9: "The Magnificent Ferengi")

Brunt finally maneuvered his way to the throne by 2374, becoming Acting Nagus after Zek was deposed by the Ferengi Commerce Authority. Zek had enacted a set of reforms to give Ferengi women equal rights. With the help of Quark, Zek regained the support of enough commissioners of the Ferengi Commerce Authority to return to his position. Brunt returned to his job as a liquidator. (DS9: "Profit and Lace")

When Zek returned to Deep Space 9 in 2375 to install the next Grand Nagus, Brunt believed Quark was to take the throne. Ever the opportunist, he wasted no time in lavishing praise on his former enemy and offered his services as financial adviser. However, it was in fact Quark's brother, Rom, who was installed as Nagus. Brunt later made the same offer to Rom, though Nog did not appreciate the offer and escorted him away. It remains unclear if the new Nagus accepted. (DS9: "The Dogs of War")

Appendices

Appearances

• DS9:
  • "Family Business" (Season Three)
  • "Bar Association" (Season Four)
  • "Body Parts"
  • "Ferengi Love Songs" (Season Five)
  • "The Magnificent Ferengi" (Season Six)
  • "Profit and Lace"
  • "The Emperor's New Cloak" (mirror universe counterpart) (Season Seven)
  • "The Dogs of War"

Background information

Jeffrey Combs commented on the character of Brunt: "I think he's a completely right-wing devout Ferengi. I mean, on top of being a Ferengi through-and-through, I think he is also inflexible in allowing any deviation from what he thinks are his high standards. Now, maybe that's the Ferengi way as well, but I don't see that from Quark and Rom. They're Ferengi through-and-through, but they seem to have a basic goodness about them. Brunt sees that as a weakness. That's not being a true Ferengi. They've been around the Humans too long. Anyone who sets themselves up to be as self-righteous as Brunt does, always has a chink somewhere. There's always a weakness". (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Official Poster Magazine, issue 14)

Combs also said of Brunt, "He was the IRS guy from hell. He's the guy who just kept coming back to make your life miserable, audit after audit after audit. I can imagine that that would be pretty awful. He also typified to me the inflexibility of someone who thinks their way is the right way." (Hidden File 02, DS9 Season 7 DVD special features)

On wearing Ferengi makeup Combs stated, "Wearing makeup was never horrific because I was thankful for coming to this beautiful lot. But the Ferengi makeup was much more uncomfortable. You can't hear, so it's very difficult to modulate your voice, and as the day went on my head would start to ring. Also, you release a lot of heat from your scalp, and when you're wearing this big rubber thing it just gets suffocated after awhile." (Star Trek: The Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 17, p. 19)

Star Trek literature

Brunt appears in the novel Satisfaction Is Not Guaranteed in Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Volume 3 and in the related short story "Reservoir Ferengi" in Seven Deadly Sins.

External link

• Brunt at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works