Heroes and Demons
Stardate: 48693.2
Original Airdate: April 24, 1995
By Chakoteya
The Story
'Captain's Log, Stardate 48693.2. We've altered course to investigate
some unusually intense photonic activity in a nearby protostar.
Lieutenant Torres and I are beaming aboard samples for further
analysis.'
Down in engineering, the Captain and the Chief Engineer are
watching two containers as they transport some matter into them.
However, only one is filling due to a problem with the annular
confinement beam so they abort and try again. This time they
are successful, and Torres gets ready to do an analysis on the
photonic matter they have acquired. If it is suitable, it could
boost the power converters by fifteen to twenty percent. The
preliminary analysis will take at least six hours, but the Captain
wants it sooner, and believes she can convince Harry Kim to give
up his free time to assist Torres with it. There is no response
to her comm-signal, however, and when she asks the computer for
his location, it tells her that Ensign Kim is not aboard the
ship.
On the bridge, Tuvok and Chakotay are searching for the missing
crewmember electronically. There has been no transporter activity,
and all the shuttlecraft are on board. Since his shift ended
four hours ago, Harry had some Holodeck time booked and no one
has seen him since. Tuvok tries scanning the holodeck, but cannot
get a clear result because of interference. Since it is not a
system malfunction, the Captain sends the two men down to holodeck
two to investigate in person.
Outside the holodeck doors, Tuvok and Chakotay discover a programme
is running, and that it cannot be shut off. They go in and find
themselves in a dense, dark forest. The computer identifies the
programme as one based on the Anglo Saxon Epic poem, Beowulf.
The tricorder cannot detect any lifesigns, and the interference
is still strong. As they move forward, a spear whistles past
Chakotay's ear and thuds into a tree. They are challenged by
a shield maiden, Freya, at sword point. Chakotay tells her that
they are kinsmen of Beowulf, which is obviously the role Harry
has taken in this novel, as Freya then describes him and says
that it is right that they should avenge his death, and leads
them to the king, where they will learn more about how he died.
They enter a long hall lit by fires, and are introduced to Hrothgar,
the king of the Danes. He tells them that Beowulf chose to face
Grendel alone and was presumably killed and taken to it's lair.
Chakotay says that they would like to see Grendel for themselves,
and Unferth is scathing. Their names mean nothing to him, there
are no songs of their deeds and battles, why should he believe
they can slay Grendel? Freya scolds him for not showing proper
hospitality, and Hrothgar tells them that they may stand sentry
that night. Then the court retires and Chakotay reports to Janeway
what they have learnt so far. Tuvok says that they must consider
the possibility that Harry is dead, as the safety programmes
are malfunctioning. They would only know for sure if they could
shut the programme down. The Captain orders them to run a diagnostic
on the holodeck's imaging control systems, and if they're not
working, try to repair them. She also instructs them to relay
their tricorder scans to the Bridge for her to analyze the readings.
Whilst Tuvok locates the primary and auxilliary imaging matrices,
he comments on this culture's preoccupation with monsters. Chakotay
explains it as a way of exploring a peoples darkest emotions
and cites the example of the Vok'sha of Rakella Prime who believe
that hate is a beast which lives inside the stomach. Their greatest
mythical hero is a man who ate stones for 23 days to kill the
beast and became a saint. Tuvok is cynical and points out that
there are no demons in Vulcan literature. 'That might account
for its popularity,' comments Chakotay sarcastically. Meanwhile
Janeway has had the tricorder data analysed, and it has revealed
minute quantities of photonic energy. Torres believes it happened
when the protostar samples were being beamed aboard and there
was a breach in the annular confinement beam. The photonic energy
has leaked into several ships systems including the replicators.
Tuvok deduces that there is a risk that Kim has been converted
into energy. The holodeck is an outgrowth of transporter technology,
changing energy to matter and back again, explains the Captain
when Chakotay interrupts her. Something is coming - an object
about one metre in diameter. Janeway orders Tuvok to examine
it then Torres detects matter energy conversion. An emergency
transport is initiated, but Torres cannot get a lock. Chakotay
and Tuvok are gone.
Examination of a scan of the holodeck prior to their disappearance
suggests a malfunction in the holodeck's matter conversion nodes
which can be blamed on the leaking photonic energy. Paris is
not ready to give up on his collegues and wants to go into the
holodeck to find out what happened, but Torres points out that
anyone who goes there will end up like the others. Or maybe not
anyone, muses Tom.
A stunned EMH is having the plan explained to him by Paris,
Torres and Janeway as Kes listens impassively. As he is already
energy, he cannot be converted into energy. He's the perfect
choice, Tom tells him. They will modify his data stream protocols
and imaging systems, and give him complete control over his magnetic
containment field so he can be solid or not as he pleases. The
Captain suggests that he thinks of this as his first away mission
and tells him that he has three hours to become familiar with
the Beowulf story so that he can interact with the characters,
find the photonic energy surge and scan it closely. He goes to
his office to begin his research, when Kes comes to tell him
that she has finished the last text he gave her to study. She
suggests that he is nervous about the mission, and he admits
that he does not know what to expect in the holodeck. He has
never seen a sky, forest or monster. Kes reassures him that now
he is being treated as a member of the crew, and none of them
knows exactly what to expect when they go on an away mission.
Maybe he should choose one of his three shortlisted names before
he goes - it might help him feel more like an officer. He tells
her that he will think about it, and she wishes him good luck.
With all the modifications complete, Tom Paris transports a
tricorder into the holodeck then transfers the EMH. In the forest,
he picks up the device, examines his surroundings, and is challenged
by Freya whom he immediately identifies from his research, and
impresses her by saying that she is famous where he comes from.
When she asks for his name, he replies Doctor Schweitzer. A hero's
name, she says, and leads him to the king's hall. On the way
she picks some mushrooms to make into a broth for drinking before
battle. The EMH identifies it as amonita muscaria, a poisonous
fungus. Freya is once again impressed and tells him that his
people must value him greatly.
In the hall, Hrothgar is even more depressed than before, and
Unferth still scathing about unknown warriors come to slay Grendel.
He challenges the EMH to a fight. Freya gives him a sword to
use, but after one parry, he puts it down. Unferth takes a swing,
and the sword passes harmlessly through the EMH jarring his arm
as it hits the floor with force. Freya is delighted with the
outcome and declares the EMH their new Champion. At dinner Hrothgar
offers him a piece of elk to eat and asks him to tell them stories
of his prowess in battle, so the EMH begins to explain how he
spent seventy four hours developing an inoculation for a form
of measles. Unferth is unimpressed, and leaves. Hrothgar shows
him the sword he used to when he made his first kill aged eleven,
on display on the wall. Unferth returns to tell the king it is
time to sleep, then accuses the EMH of deceiving the old man
with tricks. The EMH reassured Unferth that once he has dealt
with Grendel, he will be leaving. Freya has shed her armour and
is stoking the fire. She tells him that she believes that the
world will end in a winter like this and that sometimes she thinks
she sees the moment of her own death, in battle. Telling him
that it is important to keep warm before a battle, then kisses
him and suggests that if he wants a different kind of heat, he
knows where she sleeps. Once alone, he contacts the bridge to
inform them that he is picking up readings of photonic energy.
A tendril of the energy wraps around his arm as he calls for
them to get him out of there. Paris does the transfer of his
matrix back to sickbay, all except the arm.
With the EMH made whole again by Tom Paris, Torres shows the
Captain the readings from the EMH's tricorder at the moment of
contact. There is a synaptic pattern in them and B'Elanna wonders
if she can produce the patterns in the samples they have in Engineering.
Paris volunteers to give her a hand. In Engineering, he initiates
a polarisation field and introduces it to the container. A synaptic
pattern is produced and a multi-armed entity escapes and cuts
through the bulkheads heading for deck fourteen section c-five
before Torres can get a containment field in place. Spotting
the trap it changes course, and B'Elanna thinks that they might
be dealing with a life form. The Captain has noticed the energy
mass from the bridge, and when Torres tells her what she thinks
it is, and that it is not going through any critical systems,
she orders that it be allowed to leave, and the resulting hull
breach is sealed with a force field pending repairs. They watch
it on the main screen and see a brief surge of light which the
entity goes into and then it disappears.
In sickbay, they brief the EMH on what they discovered about
the object that the energy form went back to. In the brief few
seconds of sensor contact they detected three distinct bio-electrial
patterns which don't match anything else there. Janeway hypothesises
that because they had imprisoned the photonic lifeforms in a
containment field for experimentation, the other beings had taken
Kim, Tuvok and Chakotay hostage in retaliation. The EMH volunteers
to take the remaining photonic life form to the holodeck and
release it to Grendel as a gesture that they mean well, and in
the hope that they might get the missing crewmembers back again.
Back in the forest, Freya is delighted to see Schweitzer again,
and rushes into his arms. He calls the container a talisman to
destroy Grendel but Unferth is also there and calls him a liar
and in league with the monster. He comes at him with his sword
and knocks him to the ground as he holds onto the container.
Freya comes to the EMH's defence, and takes the thrust as Unferth
lunges forward to kill Schweizer. While the EMH tends Freya,
Unferth takes the container and leaves. Freya dies as the EMH
holds her hand, with his name on her lips. He takes her sword
and goes to the hall. Unferth is giving the container to Hrothgar
as the EMH enters. Then he accuses the EMH of killing Freya.
Schweizer takes a burning brand and forces Unferth against the
table before putting the sword across his throat. Then in front
of the whole court, he calls Grendel. The photonic being enters
and he opens the container. Then he asks it to return their crew.
On the bridge, Paris detects the lattice again and Torres reports
a massive particle surge on the holodeck. The lattice vanishes
again and the EMH calls to report the safe return of the three
missing men.
'Captain's Log, Stardate 48710.5. Since the return of our missing
crewmen, we've been unable to locate any further traces of the
photonic aliens.'
Back on home territory in Sickbay, the EMH is talking with Captain
Janeway. She is placing a special commendation in the logs for
the CMO and wants to cite him by name. Kes has told her that
he has chosen one, but he tells her that he's not sure that he
wants to keep it. It would remind him of the painful memory of
the last time he heard it spoken.
Analysis
That faint whirring sound in the distant background is not
your video player, it is the writer of the original Beowulf
poem
spinning in his grave at the liberties taken with his epic
in the name of science fiction entertainment. Nonetheless,
this is a good and novel way to get the EMH involved in the
adventure more than just as a repairer of injuries and curer
of alien maladies. The issue of his name is still unresolved,
which is probably for the best at this stage. To have him
named after an historical figure might diminish his uniqueness.
Paris' skills with holoprogramming get used for more than making
interesting locations for off duty socialising, which makes him
the only other character to get a little extra depth from this
story. The big problem with the EMH is that he can only go where
there are holo-emitters, so sickbay and the holodeck are the
limits of his terrain. Giving him serious screen time and stories
could turn out to be something of a challenge in the future.
Grade: 6/10 (C)
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:
Marjorie Monaghan as Freya
Christopher Neame as Unferth
Michael Keenan as Hrothgar
Creative Staff:
Director: Les Landau
Written By: Naren Shankar
