Alliances
Stardate: 49337.4
Original air date: January 22 1996
By Christina Luckings
The Story
Voyager is in trouble. For the fourth time in two weeks they
are being attacked by the Kazon and barely escaping in one piece.
With engines, shields and weapons all off-line, a hull breach
on deck four, and casualties from all decks flooding into sickbay,
Chakotay hopes that their assailants don’t return to finish
them off. As a final touch to their catalogue of woes Tuvok announces
that the navigational deflector will need repair before they
can use more than thruster power. Down in engineering, Torres
is setting up an emergency transport for her friend and fellow
Maquis, Kurt Bendera, who has been badly burnt when his console
exploded. He is just one of many who have been injured down there,
and Tom Paris volunteers to go down and assist with getting the
engines working again. Janeway agrees and tells Kim to prepare
a full damage report before retreating into her ready room.
A little later, Chakotay brings his Captain the news that Bendera
died of his injuries. This was the third death in the recent
spate of attacks, along with a dozen serious injuries. Janeway
offers her sympathy, and asks him to arrange the memorial service.
However, her first officer has a lot more to say to her. Their
situation out here is a lot like that of the Maquis back home – they
are alone, having to create their own opportunities against insurmountable
odds in order to survive. He doesn’t think they can carry
on the Starfleet way anymore.
At Bendera’s memorial service in the mess hall, Chakotay
tells how they first met, when Kurt came to his aid in a fight.
As the gathering breaks up, crewman Hogan approaches the Captain
to give her his opinion on their situation. With Jonas listening
closely nearby, Hogan tell her that he feels that Voyager is
not going to survive much longer unless they abandon the Prime
Directive and give the Kazon the technology they want. Janeway
tersely informs the listening crowd that she’ll blow up
the ship before handing any part of it over to the Kazon, then
storms out of the room. Chakotay hurries after her, to try and
calm things down. She understands Hogan is upset over his friends
death; but can see no evidence that Starfleet principles have
failed them yet. He offers a middle way. Why not consider forming
an alliance with one or two of the factions? Janeway is sceptical
about the idea so he leaves her with the thought that maybe her
imagination is too limited by protocols. After all, it is her
responsibility to make decisions in the best interests of the
crew.
In need of an ally for the Starfleet way, Captain Janeway makes
one of her rare visits to Tuvok’s quarters. However, her
trusted advisor thinks that Chakotay could be right and he reminds
her of the alliance proposed by Spock between the Federation
and the Klingon Empire. He himself had spoken out against it,
but it had turned out to be highly beneficial for the quadrant
in the end. The Captain is still not entirely convinced. They
would be allying themselves with small factions, not the whole
of the Kazon, and only for the time they would be passing through
the region. Nevertheless, points out Tuvok, once the Kazon have
had a taste of peace, they might decide that they like it.
Captain Janeway announces her decision to form an alliance at
the daily briefing, and asks for ways to pursue it. Neelix tells
her that he has a contact on the nearby Kazon-Pommar planet of
Sobras who has the ear of his Maje. His reaction to the suggestion
of an alliance would be useful. Kim suggests getting in touch
with Seska, and Torres agrees. She has been trying to create
alliances between the factions and might welcome their support.
Chakotay thinks it is a bad idea but Janeway tells him that he
can’t have it both ways. However, she then turns down his
offer to make contact with his former lover, and does it herself.
‘Captain's log, stardate 49337.4. After sending a subspace
message to Seska and Nistrim Maje Culluh, we have received a
quick response.’
It is a smiling Maje Culluh, with Seska by his side, who appears
on the viewscreen to agree to a meeting at a location of their
choosing. Meanwhile, Neelix has arrived at a seedy bar in Sobras
and is directed to a table where his ‘good friend’ Jal
Tersa is trying to convert a dodecahedron into an icosahedron.
His reward will be to spend the night with the bar’s exotic
dancer. Tersa knows about Neelix now being aboard Voyager, every
one does, but just as the Talaxian begins to explain about the
proposed alliance, guards arrive to arrest him. He is dragged
away as Tersa denies knowing who he is.
Twenty hours later, Culluh and Seska are in the briefing room
discussing the terms of the proposed alliance with Tuvok and
Janeway. Voyager will be an ally to any Nistrim ship or outpost,
and provide emergency food, medicine or clothing supplies when
needed. But they will not provide weapons or technology. Accepting
this, Culluh proposes some thing else-an exchange of crewmembers.
Seska suggest that they discuss that later and he rounds on her,
declaring that he will not be dictated to by a woman. This blatant
chauvinism angers Janeway who promptly ends the meeting.
Neelix is detained in some caves with a group of men, women
and children who were captured in space five days earlier. Ore
of then introduces himself as Mabus, sole surviving member of
the Trabe governing council. The Kazon are determined to exterminate
their race, but they will not be prisoners much longer as another
Trabe ship is on its way to rescue them.
‘Captain's log, supplemental. We're on our way to rendezvous
with Mr. Neelix. I can only hope that he had more luck with the
Kazon than we did.’
There is no sign of Neelix’s shuttle on the long range
sensors so Captain Janeway decides to wait for two hours before
heading to Sobras. Down in engineering, Hogan is trying to persuade
Torres to get back in touch with Seska. B’Elanna no longer
trusts the woman who was once her best friend, and angrily tells
Hogan that if he doesn’t like Captain Janeway’s decisions,
she doesn’t want to hear about it. Jonas listens to the
argument with interest.
As the two hour deadline passes, Kim detects an armada of Kazon
vessels heading towards them, weapons armed. To the entire bridge
crew’s astonishment, they are hailed by Neelix, who introduces
Mabus and explains that what they know as Kazon ships are actually
stolen from the Trabe. At a special dinner in the mess hall,
Mabus tells the senior officers how the Kazon lived in restricted
areas, encouraged to fight amongst themselves, until one day
when he was eight years old, when they finally turned against
the Trabe, killing everyone they could. He was lucky to have
escaped on a spaceship with a friend’s family. Since then
they have been nomads, as the Kazon have refused to allow them
to find a new homeworld. Although few of the generation that
persecuted the Kazon still live, their descendents are still
being hunted down over thirty years later in the desire for revenge.
Captain Janeway sees some parallels between the Trabe and Voyager.
Meanwhile, somewhere else on Voyager, Jonas is trying to persuade
a Kazon to pass a message to Seska.
Captain Janeway goes to sickbay where the EMH is giving the
Trabe children medical checks. The most common problem is malnutrition,
which is easily treated with supplements. Mabus thanks her for
the use of the facilities and she asks him to walk with her.
On the way down the corridor she suggests that they could form
an alliance. He is very interested, but would like to find a
way to benefit all the other scattered Trabe as well, and suggests
that they take advantage of their combined strength to bring
the Kazon to the bargaining table and try to find a way to end
the violence.
Culluh reads the message inviting all the Majes to a conference
on Sobras and wonders how this state of affairs could have arisen.
Seska points out that if he hadn’t tried to insist on that
exchange of crewmen it would be the Nistrim allied with Voyager,
not their mortal enemy the Trabe. Her assertiveness angers him,
but she calls his bluff by reminding him that she is carrying
his child and he would not endanger him. She talks him into going
to the conference to assess the mood of the other Majes and the
strength of the Trabe. Then he could use that knowledge to unite
the factions and defeat the Trabe one and for all while taking
Voyager as a trophy. Ego suitably massaged, Culluh agrees.
‘Captain's log, stardate 49342.5. Neelix has returned
from Sobras where he learned a disturbing piece of information
that may require us to rethink our plans.’
The Kazon-Pommar have captured a mercenary making a sketch of
the conference room. The assumption is that one of the Majes
wants to sabotage the meeting. Tuvok suggests that the guilty
party will be the one who tries to leave the gathering before
their forces arrive to massacre their rivals. Janeway insists
on continuing as planned, with careful monitoring of all vessels
for suspicious activity and a continuous transporter lock on
her, Tuvok and Neelix while they are on Sobras.
Planet-side, Neelix is trying to get more information out of
Tersa, who is assuming that the conference room is somehow monitored
and insisting on discussing the shape of the table instead. It
is triangular. Then the Majes are announced: Minnis of the Pommar.
Surat of the Mostral, Loran of the Hobii. Valek of the Oglamar
and Culluh of the Nistrim. Janeway introduces Mabus and they
all sit down to talk, while Tersa hovers around offering food
and drink. The Kazon leaders are highly sceptical of the motives
behind the meeting, and suggest it is a prelude to the Trabe
trying to regain their dominance in the area. Captain Janeway
tries to assure them that this is a genuine offer to try and
negotiate peace between the three sides, but Culluh calls her
a hypocrite for siding with the greatest villains in the quadrant.
Mabus gets up and asks Janeway to join him outside to confer
for a few minutes. This is the moment Tuvok has been waiting
for. The furniture in the room begins to rattle and then a small
raider ship appears outside the window. Janeway tells the Kazon
to take cover, that it is a trap, then orders Voyager to beam
their party out. Chakotay fires three torpedoes into the atmosphere
immediately above the attacking vessel and it retreats, leaving
the Majes to pick themselves up from the wreckage of the conference
room.
In the transporter room, Captain Janeway listens in horror as
Mabus justifies his actions. By killing the Kazon leadership
he would have given them all a chance for peace. He suggests
that she is naïve and lacking in understanding of the harsh
realities of life in this region of space. Enraged, she orders
him beamed back to his own ship then contacts Paris over the
conn. system, telling him to get them out of there fast.
The next senior officers briefing is a post-mortem on the recent
events and an assessment of their situation. They have to assume
they will be attacked at any moment from now on, so continual
diagnostics will be run on all systems and additional battle
drills will be scheduled. They have several weeks supply of food
and their anti-matter fuel reserves are good. Then, ostensibly
speaking to all the staff, but directing her words at Chakotay,
she tells them that ‘In a part of space where there are
few rules, it's more important than ever that we hold fast to
our own. In a region where shifting allegiances are commonplace
we have to have something stable to rely on. And we do. The principles
and ideals of the Federation. As far as I'm concerned, those
are the best allies we could have.’
Review:
For a large part of this show it looked like some positive things
were finally going to emerge after the attack in the opening
teaser. The Trabe looked like a good ally, the Maquis suggestion
of getting involved in the local politics for their benefit and
the good of all concerned seemed to be working. But it was not
to be. I suppose there really was no way the much vaunted Federation
principle of non-interference was going to be allowed to work.
So the Trabe turn out to be the Kazon’s original slave-masters
and teachers in the way of violence and deception, and the Maquis
end up getting a lecture on how doing it the Starfleet way is
the best.
It’s a well written story, and the character of the Captain
is given some interesting moments when she is forced to try and
think outside of the Starfleet box for a change. This episode
gives us an in-depth feel for just how dangerous it is to be
alone in alien space, and how vulnerable one tin-can surrounded
by vacuum really is when it is far from home and the rest of
the fleet. Seska is continuing her game of flatter and conquer
with Culluh, but the Kazon’s racial chauvinism will take
her a long time to overcome. Note that Culluh believes her child
to be his, while she has told Chakotay he is the father. A good
way to make sure she has protectors on both sides of this conflict
should things start to go wrong for her.
I notice in the ‘Voyager Companion’ Kes is alleged
to have no lines at all. Not so, she actually has one, exchanged
with the EMH while they fail to save Kurt’s life. There
are other little details in this story, such as Tuvok’s
hobby of cross-breeding orchids with other species, and the mind-numbingly
boring duties of an ordinary crewman in engineering. All Hogan
has to do all day is make sure the dilithium chamber is filled.
Surely, in the twenty-fourth century, they have competent computer
systems for that?
Grade: 9/10
Cast:
Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway
Robert Beltran as Chakotay
Roxanne Biggs-Dawson as B'Elanna Torres
Jennifer Lien as Kes
Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris
Ethan Phillips as Neelix
Robert Picardo as The Doctor
Tim Russ as Tuvok
Garrett Wang as Harry Kim
Guest Cast:
Mirron E. Willis as Rettik
Larry Cedar as Tersa
Charles O. Lucia as Mabus
Creative Staff:
Director: Les Landau
Written By: Jeri Taylor
