Parturition
Stardate: 49068.5
Original Airdate: September 10, 1995
By Christina Luckings
The Story
Tom Paris is giving Kes a lesson in shuttle-craft operations
on the holodeck, and he is not making life easy for her. As
the simulated shuttle is shaken around, she tries to work out
what malfunction he has programmed to cause this. It terms
out that he has clogged the plasma injectors, which she considers
a dirty trick. Suddenly the craft lurches and Kes, who was
standing up, is thrown into Tom’s lap. After a long moment
staring into each others eyes, she extricates herself and he
points out that he never said that the simulation was finished.
Kes tells the computer to initiate evasive manoeuvres. When
the lesson is finally over, the pair walk down the corridor
laughing. Their mirth is observed by some one who does not
like what he is seeing. Neelix.
Chakotay enters the Captain’s Ready Room, but not necessarily
with the good news she wants to hear. Food reserves are down
to 30% and they need to find a planet where they can re-supply
soon. He tells her that the good news is that there is an M-class
planet with promising readings only one day out of their way.
The bad news is that it is shrouded in vapours and the atmosphere
is full of EM disturbances. Sensors cannot confirm that there
is any actual plant life on the surface. Stellar Cartography
have already nick-named it ‘Planet Hell’. As this
is their first chance to re-supply in weeks and as they have
no idea when the next opportunity will turn up, Captain Janeway
orders the Commander to set a course for Planet Hell.
In his quarters, off-duty, Harry Kim is practising with his
newly replicated clarinet. After hearing his mother’s voice
telling him to practice, he ate Neelix’s meals for a week
and used the saved replicator rations to make the instrument.
Tom Paris stops by and is impressed with what he hears. He asks
Harry to play something for him, but the young man demurs, protesting
that he has only had it for a few days, then gives in and starts
a light happy piece. Tom asks him for something less cheerful
and finally explains to his young friend what is bothering him.
They sit on the settee together as Tom finally admits that he
has fallen in love with Kes. The one woman on board Voyager who
he cannot have, and he has to fall for her. Harry suggests that
Tom enjoys setting himself up for rejection and cites an old
Chinese expression – stay out of harm’s way. But
Tom is feeling very blue. The whole thing might not be so bad
if Kes and he weren’t going to be stuck on the same spaceship
for the rest other lives. So just to be annoying, Harry plays
for Tom, another light cheerful upbeat tune.
Neelix and Kes are having a private dinner for two. She is cheerfully
and enthusiastically telling him about her flying lesson with
Tom while he tries hard not to get upset about what he imagines
is the situation between her and the young man.
On the bridge next day Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay
are looking at the analysis of Planet Hell’s atmosphere.
The first officer says that it should still support humanoid
life despite the high levels of trigemic vapours. They are interrupted
by the voice of the EMH asking them to turn to his monitor channel.
He has been eavesdropping on their conversation and wishes to
inform them that trigemic vapours at such levels can cause severe
skin irritation. Chakotay asks if he can provide some sort of
skin protection, and the EMH replies that he is making a batch
of dermal osmotic sealant at that very moment. Janeway asks the
Doctor how often he eavesdrops and the EMH defends himself by
telling her that the program automatically establishes comm.-links
with all key areas if the ship. He is simply trying to monitor
issues concerning the crews health. After all, he is a Doctor,
not a voyeur. The Captain, however, is not pleased about this
little revelation by the EMH, and curtly instructs him to stop
listening in. Commander Chakotay will discuss protocols with
him at the earliest opportunity. Lt. Torres adds another problem
to their list. Planet Hell’s EM disturbances will stop
them using the transporters and will cause problems with communications
too. Chakotay says he will get Ensign Kim to look at the problem.
Meanwhile, Harry is trying to find a way to cheer Tom up. As
they enter the mess hall he suggests they see a Moliere comedy
on the holodeck later. The idea doesn’t appeal to Tom.
Then he spots Kes sitting with her back to the serving counter
and decides that they will pretend that they have to discuss
bridge operations as an excuse not to sit with her. Neelix recommends
that they have the Alfarian hair pasta, which is apparently made
with shed hair and very high in protein. Just as they are about
to sit down with their lunch, Chakotay summons Harry to the bridge.
Tom sits with his back to Kes’s back, and she looks around,
sees him, then gets up and leaves the room. Neelix is watching
this and finally has had enough. He goes over to Tom and challenges
him, saying that sitting back to back isn’t fooling him.
Tom denies that there is anything to need to fool Neelix about,
but Neelix calls him a liar and tips the bowl of pasta and sauce
over the front of Tom’s uniform. Tom retaliates by throwing
Harry’s abandoned meal over Neelix. The pair fight, trading
insults, when they are interrupted by Captain Janeway’s
voice summoning them both to her ready room immediately. And
she does mean right now.
The Captain stares at her Morale Officer and Helm Officer, with
food on their clothes and generally looking a mess. Lt. Paris
declines to explain on the grounds that it might take too long
so instead she outlines the upcoming mission she has in mind
for the two of them. They are going to take a shuttle down onto
Planet Hell and scout for food sources. Paris because he is their
best pilot and Neelix because he is their expert on edible plant
species in the Delta quadrant. The pair are very uncomfortable
with the situation and Paris suggests that maybe Ensign Baytart
would be a suitable choice. Neelix confesses that they have a
personal problem that could cause problems with the mission but
the Captain curtly tells them to solve it. They leave at 1400
hours.
In the briefing room, Lt. Torres reports that so far they have
not managed to modify the transporters to work through the atmosphere.
However, adds Ensign Kim, there may be occasional windows of
opportunity every thirty hours or so. They would only last for
a few minutes at a time and they aren’t sure about them
yet. Janeway feels that is good enough to beam up whatever food
supplies Paris and Neelix manage to collect while waiting for
the atmospheric window to open.
Meanwhile, Kes has heard about the fight in the mess hall and
is waiting for the briefing to finish so that she can speak to
Neelix. He does not want to talk about it now and cuts her off
by just getting in the turbolift telling her to wait until he
gets back. She is furious when she storms back into sickbay,
slamming things around. The EMH asks her if she could run an
analysis for him and she tells him that she did it during lunch.
Recognising that something is wrong, his program searches for
a medical reason and he comments on the results of a low blood
sugar level due to missing meals but stops when he sees the look
she is giving him. Kes tells him that Tom and Neelix have had
a fight over her and he surprises her by saying that she should
take it as a compliment. Men have fought duels over women for
centuries and he can cite autopsy reports going back to 1538.
Kes does not find that amusing, despite her interest in autopsys.
Are all Talaxians so jealous, she asks him. He wouldn’t
know, comes the reply, he has only met one. Kes cannot understand
why they fought. She loves Neelix and Tom is just a friend. When
the EMH describes how Paris’s respiration increases and
his pupils dilate and his ears turn orange whenever she walks
into the room, Kes is genuinely surprised. Such things are not
within her experience. Ocampans choose a mate for life. There
is no jealousy or envy, she tells the EMH, who comments that
their literature must be very dry then. He reassures her that
she has done nothing to cause this state of affairs, and most
likely there is nothing she can do to resolve it either.
The shuttlecraft is entering the planet’s atmosphere and
they have lost communication with Voyager. Paris continues to
record the flight record verbally while Neelix tells him that
he does not need to impress him with the technobabble. Tom asks
if he can make a suggestion to which Neelix retorts that he can
even make it an order, which he would have to obey. The suggestion
is that they put their personal problems aside until after the
mission. Neelix asserts that he left his personal problems back
on Voyager and all Paris has to do is get them down in one piece
so that he can do his part of the mission. That proves to be
somewhat difficult as the anomalies in the atmosphere interfere
with their engines and they have to dump their fuel. Paris sends
out an EMS pulse which he hopes Voyager will pick up and understand
as a distress signal as they head rapidly for the surface.
Tuvok does pick up their signal, but Torres still cannot get
the transporters to work through the interference. Janeway tells
her to use as many crew as she needs to solve the problem. This
is now a search and rescue operation. The shuttle craft is on
the ground and its two occupants are alive. They extricate themselves
from their crash positions and Neelix starts scratching. There
must be leaks in the hull for the irritating atmosphere to be
seeping into the craft. They use the EMH’s spray to minimise
the effects then Paris decides that they will have to leave the
shuttle and look for other shelter. Neelix disagrees. They don’t
know if their pulse signal got through, the vapours will be worse
outside, and Voyager will looking for the shuttle. Paris makes
it an order and the pair head out onto the surface of Planet
Hell.
The vapours make their skin worse, and there are no signs of
edible vegetation in the area. Paris points out that their rations
won’t last long and Neelix rises to the challenge. He will
find them something to eat even f it doesn’t come up to
Tom’s personal culinary standards. Tom tells him not to
worry. He has learnt to lower his standards since Neelix became
ship’s cook. Then they head off to some caves his tricorder
is detecting a kilometre to the west.
Harry visits Kes in her quarters to see how she is coping. She
is deeply upset and feeling guilty because just a few hours ago
she was very angry with both Neelix and Tom, and now they might
be dead. Harry tries to reassure her that if anyone could land
the shuttle safely Tom could. And Neelix has very strong survival
skills, adds Kes. They will be fine, they are both professionals,
says Harry. Unless they kill each other, says Kes, but they had
better be all right so that when she sees them next she can tell
them that she will never speak to either of them again. Then
the ship is rocked by weapons fire. Over the ship’s comm.
system, Commander Chakotay calls battle stations.
Tom and Neelix have made it to a cave where the vapour levels
are low, and used a phaser to bring down rocks to seal the entrance.
Neelix finds a type of rock that they can use to create a source
of heat and light so they can conserve the beacon cells. He asks
Tom about Starfleet survival strategies and Paris ruefully admits
that his father had been teaching the course that year, and had
only given him a B minus grade. Tom asks about Talaxian survival
protocols. Neelix says that he wrote his own book. After all,
his life before Voyager was no bed of roses. More like a bed
of junk, Tom nearly says and Neelix gets annoyed. Not worthy
of a woman like Kes perhaps? Then they hear a noise deeper in
the cave and make a worrying discovery. There are now life signs
present that were not there before they sealed themselves in.
Voyager has been joined in orbit by another vessel who do not
want to talk to them, and which is taking up a defensive posture
below them. Captain Janeway is baffled. What could they be defending?
The entire planet? How about something on the planet, suggests
Chakotay.
Paris and Neelix go searching for the source of the new lifesigns,
and on their travels they discover a boot print on the tunnel
floor. Maybe they chose the wrong cave to shelter in. Finally
they come across a clutch of three very large eggs, and one is
hatching.
On the bridge, Kim announces that he thinks they will have a
transporter window in less than one hour provided they stay within
an area of reduced electromagnetic activity. However, because
they do not know where the shuttle landed, Voyager will have
to go through the window closer to the planets surface to have
the best chance for a successful beam-out. Kim thinks he can
warn them before the window closes again, which is not good enough
for Captain Janeway. He tells her that he will try to get her
a better answer. Tuvok has been studying the other ship in anticipation
of the Captain’s request to find a way to get by them with
minimal force. He believes their weapons are equal to Voyagers,
but he has come up with an ingenious plan to neutralise them
based on a vulnerability in their shield configuration. Chakotay
spells out his plan for him. A phaser pulse to disable their
weapons array. Tuvok grudgingly acknowledges that the Commander
is correct. Captain Janeway orders red alert, Kim to enter the
co-ordinates of the up-coming window and Chakotay to take the
helm.
Down in the cave, Paris is giving an assessment of their new
hatchling and concludes that this is a sentient reptilian species.
Although many reptiles leave their young to hatch and fend for
themselves, they suspect that may not be the case this time,
and neither relished being there when the mother returns. Neelix
points out that they have blocked the cave entrance. The mother
may be outside. She might also smell Tom’s aftershave and
abandon the nest because it has been tampered with. Paris objects
to Neelix’s assertion that they have a responsibility towards
the new creature, maybe even to having to adopt it. If the mother
returns and accepts it, everything will be fine, but if she does
not, they cannot abandon it to its fate. The infant finally stops
making its mewling noise and Paris designates him its godfather.
Then it shivers in it’s half-shell so Neelix picks it up
and wraps it in his jacket. Finally it falls asleep. Neelix isn’t
its godfather, he’s its godmother, says Paris.
The atmospheric window is beginning to form, so Janeway orders
Voyager within ten kilometres of the alien ship to try and use
Tuvok’s plan to disable it. This time there is no sign
of the vulnerability in their shields as the aliens fire at Voyager,
so Captain Janeway orders Tuvok to arm photon torpedoes. Then
Tuvok finds the hole in their shields and disables their weapons
with a phaser shot. Janeway orders Chakotay to head into the
atmospheric window which is now just a few minutes away from
its maximum.
Adoptive uncles Tom and Neelix are trying to get the little
reptile to eat, but it is not keen on Starfleet rations. Instead
it keeps sucking on Neelix’s jacket. Paris realises it
is trying to get at the trigemic vapours which they have blocked
out of the cave. Voyagers sensors had detected high levels of
proteins and amino acids, which was what brought them to Planet
Hell in the first place. The vapours leave a concentrated residue
of nutrition on whatever they touch. Now they must unblock the
cave entrance so that the youngster can feed.
As Chakotay pilots Voyager through the atmospheric window, the
alien vessel passes them and heads for the surface. They follow
it down. Outside the cave, Neelix and Paris are concerned for
their weakening hatchling. Neelix is in a state of panic and
rummages through the medical kit looking for anything they could
use. Finding the hypospray, Neelix suggests giving it a shot
of cordrazine, but the sight of the hypospray reminds Tom of
how he gave water to a baby bird that fell out of its nest when
he was a child. He fills the spray with vapours and squirts them
into the infant’s beak. It responds to the improvised feeding
and its vital signs get stronger.
Torres cannot find any trace of the shuttle on her instruments.
Either they are not close enough or the shuttle burnt up in the
atmosphere. Captain Janeway is not willing to accept the second
option yet. They have lost the alien ship but only have just
over nine minutes before this atmospheric window begins to close.
Janeway tells Chakotay to extend the search area but if they
do not find Paris and Neelix in five minutes they will have to
head back to the atmospheric window.
Neelix decides that he owes Tom an apology. He had no right
to push the pasta in his lap. Well, replies Tom defensively,
it saved me from eating it. He tells Neelix that he does not
like hair in his food. Neelix persists, more conciliatory. He
has heard people saying that Tom used to be a coward, untrustworthy.
Just the sort of person Kes would befriend and he was wrong to
get jealous of him. Tom returns the honesty by admitting his
attraction to Kes, and tells Neelix that if he wasn’t around,
he would be doing something about it. But Kes loves Neelix, and
being lost on the wrong side of the galaxy has given Tom the
chance to change himself from who he was to who he wants to be.
Nobody would stand a chance trying to take Kes from Neelix but
Tom would like to be her friend, if that’s all right with
him. Neelix tells him that he does not choose Kes’s friends
for her, but he does choose his own. Then Tom’s communicator
crackles with static and Captain Janeway answers his hail. He
tells her that they have encountered an alien, but that it is
very young. Janeway tells him that the alien ship is less than
one kilometre from their position, and that they are going to
try and transport the pair now. Neelix objects. They cannot leave
the hatchling alone now. He needs to be sure the mother will
accept it before they can leave the surface. Janeway tells them
there is an adult alien very close to them and the window will
close in less than six minutes with the next one not due for
days. Paris explains the situation and Kim says that they can
have no more than one minute ten seconds before they must leave.
They accept that and hide behind a nearby rock, asking that Voyager
take muffled screams as a request for a beam out. The large reptilian
adult finds the infant and picks it up.
Kes is waiting for them in the transporter room and Neelix greets
her with a kiss. Jealousy put behind them, Neelix suggests that
this is a suitable occasion to open a bottle of Potak cold fowl
that he has been saving. Tom hopes that is just an expression,
but Neelix explains that this very rare drink really is made
from the glandular secretions of a dunghill bird. It has a smoky
flavour and he likes sipping it in the company of good friends.
Review:
This theme of jealousy in a closed environment was first introduced
in the birthday scene in 'Twisted', and is now brought to a head.
The only problem with the writers deciding to tackle the issue
is that there is always a happy ending to the situation. In this
case the solution is to put the two protagonists into a dangerous
situation then give them something else to get concerned about.
Whilst they are thrashing out their differences they voice their
opinions freely and come to a new understanding.
It is not a perfect episode, far from it. It looks as good as
it can, and the hatchling is not too awful although I found that
curved beak that never actually closes something of an irritant.
Kes gets to run through a range of emotions from angry, frustrated
and grief-stricken to great joy. The EMH gets a telling off for
trying to do something about not being kept informed about what
is going on which gives us another of those McCoy homage 'I'm
a doctor, not..' lines. In it's favour is the plot point that
they cannot instantly resolve their dilemma with a quick tweak
of some portion of the ship or other. Instead they have to find
ways to work around the problem.
Finally, on a fashion note, I see that Janeway is sporting a
new, chin-length hair cut in this episode. I like it. It suits
her far better than that bun thing she has carried on the back
of her head up to now.
Grade: 6/10
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
Creative Staff:
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Written By: Tom Szollosi
