30th Anniversary TNG Episode Discussion Marathon

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

Troi: Outwit. Outspeak. Outlive.

Are there some missing first lines here.

Yep, and now they're back. A lot of fivers are in this condition and I keep putting off the repairs because it'll take forever (in most cases I'll be relying on the Wayback Machine), but it was high time to fix at least one.

[NAHTMMM]

Do you have a list of the affected fivers? We could get a collab thread going in the 5MV Talk forum.

[Nate the Great]

Since Voyager starts tomorrow I'd better finish TNG today. I thought I only had to do All Good Things, but no, I have to do Preemptive Strike as well...


May 16th, 1994, "Preemptive Strike"


No fiver


Fair warning, I have plenty of nits, but these are really minor. As a standalone story divorced from DS9 and the prior episodes that set up the Maquis ("Journey's End" in particular), it's a fine story with fine acting.



The Episode


TROI: This is real Bajoran foraiga.
LAFORGE: It wasn't easy to find.



Oddly enough foraiga never appeared in DS9, just a few novels.


TROI: So, where are your new quarters?
RO: Deck four, section eight.



What does this have to do with anything? What's Troi gonna say, "that's too far for me to walk, I'll never visit"?


One problem with using transcripts instead of shooting scripts is that the nonverbal acting is overlooked. Ro seeing Picard walk out the door and being disappointed is an important element that one has to remember when considering the story.


PICARD: Change course to intercept. I'm on my way. I'd like you at the conn, Lieutenant.



Ro just completed Advanced Tactical Training and you want her at the conn? Couldn't she be posted at Tactical next to Worf?



DATA: I will scan their warp signatures. Sir, sensors indicate the attacking vessels are Federation ships.

....
RIKER: Those are Federation ships.
PICARD: Isolate one and magnify. The Maquis. Open a channel.



You know, it stands to reason that the Maquis wouldn't want all of their ships to look alike. A DS9 episode says that the Maquis use Peregrine class ships, too bad they didn't identify which style of Maquis ship, as we've see them use at least five different classes of ship.


In the novel "Pathways" (secondary canon at best), Jeri Taylor called this kind of ship the Antares class. But I would take that with a HUGE grain of salt.


PICARD: You are Federation citizens. Your actions are in violation of our treaty with the Cardassians. Call off your attack.



And here we go. I've ranted about the premise of the Maquis enough already, but since this episode is a direct setup for Voyager I have to bring it up one more time. These colonists who chose to stay in Cardassian space and fight the Cardassians were supposed to have renounced their Federation citizenship per "Journey's End." At which point the Federation should've ignored them and they would've been wiped out by the Cardassians within a year. But that didn't happen for reasons that are beyond me.



RIKER: I never thought we'd be firing on our own people to protect a Cardassian ship.



They aren't your people anymore! Furthermore, you're supposed to be at peace with the Cardassians right now, remember? The Federation is supposed to be accommodating to all people, remember? Leave your bigotry in your quarters, it has no place on the bridge!


WORF: The Cardassian's shields are down to thirty percent.
RIKER: They may not be able to withstand another hit.


What? The entire point of the Maquis ships is that they're smaller and faster, not more powerful than the top of the line warships of the major powers. In no universe should their ships be able to deplete thirty percent of a Cardassian warship's shields in one hit, or even one minute of continual fire.


GUL EVEK: Lately Starfleet seems to look the other way when the Maquis attack.
PICARD: I can assure you that is not the case. We're doing everything in our power to control them.



Well that's a lie. I'll skip the screed this time, but the short version is that "everything in our power" would've been forcibly removing them back in "Journey's End" when they should've. There should be no civilians (not even Cardassian civilians!) in the DMZ right now!


GUL EVEK: They came at us with photon torpedoes and type eight phasers. Tell me, Captain, how do you suppose that a group of civilians acquired such weaponry?
PICARD: I can assure you it was not through official channels.
GUL EVEK: So you don't think the fact that some of the Maquis are former Starfleet officers has anything to do with it?


I'm having a hard time following Evek's line of reasoning. Having former Starfleet officers in positions of Maquis leadership would help with their strategic planning and running the ships efficiently, but I don't know too many Starfleet officers (not currently stationed on DS9 anyway) that have access to the illegal arms merchants.


PICARD: Starfleet does not condone the Maquis' actions in the Demilitarised Zone any more than your government would condone the paramilitary actions of Cardassian civilians.
GUL EVEK: We have taken measures to deal with our colonists who have armed themselves.
PICARD: Considering that they destroyed a Juhryan freighter less than a week ago, I would say that your efforts are meeting with limited success.



Only mention of Juhryans. As I've said before, we don't hear nearly enough about the Cardassian residents of the DMZ. Are there that many resource-rich planets in there that they're willing to mine them without Bajoran labor?


NECHAYEV: No Bularian canapés this time, Captain?
PICARD: I thought twice was pushing it a little.
NECHAYEV: It's just as well. They're extremely fattening.



I'm going to assume that these things are yet another luxury item that replicators can't make with healthier materials properly.

[Nate the Great]

RO: Starfleet wants me to infiltrate the Maquis?
PICARD: Because of your recent training, because you're Bajoran, and because of your past troubles with Starfleet gives you a certain credibility.
RO: Well, that's certainly true.



I'm having trouble with this premise. Had this happened back in Season Five I would've said okay, the Maquis (or proto-Maquis I suppose I should say) would've bought it. But Ro has been back in Starfleet for over two years at this point. Even the Maquis would know about it, in particular because I think that they'd keep tabs on all Bajoran members of Starfleet (there can't be that many at this point).


RO: I've heard a lot about the Maquis. One of my instructors at Tactical Training, a Lieutenant Commander in Starfleet, a man I admired and respected, he was sympathetic to them. He resigned and left to join them.



This is supposed to be a Chakotay reference, but I'm not sure how well it works. Had she said Lieutenant, it would've been an interesting Tuvok reference.



PICARD: We're all sympathetic, Lieutenant. Our civilian population in the Demilitarised Zone is in a very difficult situation, but even sympathy has to end at some point.



And you're sympathetic...why? You gave them the option to leave the DMZ back in "Journey's End", but they didn't take it. They chose to renounce their Federation citizenship and stay. It's no longer the Federation's problem and the Cardassians should've wiped them out by now.



WORF: We are looking for a Bajoran woman, dark hair.
DATA: She is responsible for the death of a Cardassian soldier.
WORF: If we learn that she has been here, this establishment will be closed down.



Does Starfleet have jurisdiction in this bar?


MACIAS: They don't understand the situation here in the Zone. I lived on Juhraya. When the treaty was signed the colony suddenly found itself in Cardassian territory. Some of us chose to stay, take our chances. Then one night I was dragged from my bed and beaten. The authorities clucked their tongues and agreed it was an unfortunate incident, and did nothing.



Suddenly? There was noting sudden about the Federation withdrawal! And you just said that you chose to stay and take your chances. This is what's called buyer's remorse, and it's not the store's fault, it's yours!


KALITA: One that I think we should take seriously. A trader coming from Pendi Two said he could verify that the Cardassians are going to start supplying their colonists with biogenic weapons.
RO: I thought every shipment coming into the Zone was searched.
KALITA: The Cardassians always seem to find a way around problems like that.



What? The Cardassians let Starfleet search every ship going into the DMZ from their space? If you're implying that Starfleet trusts the Cardassian military to search Cardassian civilian ships entering the DMZ, then I have another screed to bore you with.


RO: I have no intention of asking for them. I intend to take them.
KALITA: How? The Enterprise is a fortress.
RO: I know its security systems work. Give me a ship. I can do it.



This is extremely dubious. Presuming that Ro actually left Starfleet two years ago, Worf would've had plenty of time to upgrade the security systems.



RO: I set the transporter confinement parameters to maximum. We should be able to fill our hold with medical supplies with just one single beam out.



This bit of Treknobabble is particularly silly. Sure, you can tell the scanners to look for medical supplies and automatically forward the coordinates to the transporters, but there are bandwith restrictions to the actual transporter process. I'll assume that these raiders only have one transporter room and maybe one cargo transporter, there's a limit to how much you can transport in thirty seconds.


RO: We're going to cross the border here.
KALITA: There are sensor buoys all along the border. If we cross anywhere other than a checkpoint, Starfleet will send a ship to investigate.
RO: With the right security codes, we can disable the proximity detectors on the buoys.



Let's put aside the logic behind these buoys and how close Starfleet monitors the border, it's irrelevant when you consider the time restrictions. Ro can exit the DMZ, steal the supplies, and be back before the violation can be investigated.



The bigger problem is how Ro is supposed to know the security codes for the buoys when she's been "out" of Starfleet for years, and even when she was she would've have had access to the buoy codes.


KALITA: How are we going to beam through their shields?
RO: We can't. If we're going to get those medical supplies, we're going to have to take this ship through their shields.



This strategy should've been used more often.

[Nate the Great]

RO: It took me a while, but I managed to patch through into Starfleet's comm. system. I intercepted a communication from one of the checkpoints on the border. They're concerned because a Pakled transport came through carrying retro-viral vaccines.
SANTOS: Why is that a concern?
RO: Well, last week a Ferengi transport came through carrying biomimetic gels. By themselves, neither of these is dangerous, but Starfleet is concerned because with along with other components the Cardassians could put together a biogenic device.



Who trusts the Pakleds to carry vaccines? And at this point I have to wonder if only the Federation has the capacity to make biomimetic gel.


RO: My father played the klavion. When I was very young and afraid of monsters under my bed, he'd play for me. He said that the klavion had special powers. Monsters were afraid of it and when they heard it they would disappear. When I listened to that music he played for me I was never afraid to go to sleep. When he died I realised even he couldn't make all the monsters go away.



Great scene.


RO: Why don't we get acquainted? There's a table in the back that's more private.
PICARD: I'd like that.
(they sit and pretend to be getting close)



This is a wonderful premise. They're pretending to be getting closer when in fact they're drifting apart.



PICARD: Are you saying you want to back out of this mission?
RO: Sir, I don't want to let you down, I swear that I don't.
PICARD: This has nothing to do with me. This is about you. If you back out now, you'll throw away everything you've worked for. We're committed to this mission. My only question for you is, can you carry out your orders? I could put you before a board of inquiry for having lied to me about this operation. I would certainly have you court-martialled if you sabotage it.



This is a big problem. Yes, if Ro backed out now she'd lose some of Picard's respect. But if she doesn't, she could lose ALL of Picard's respect. This is definitely the time for making the choice with the "least bad" outcome. And while Picard may feel that he has to explain the possible outcome, this is not the time. She already feels terrible just by anticipating betraying him, you don't need to burden her any more.


RIKER: She seemed very sure that she was making the right choice. I think her only real regret was that she let you down. Here's my report.
(Picard doesn't move to take the PADD, so Riker puts it on the desk and leaves)



One can only imagine Picard's thoughts right now.


Memory Alpha



* Ro's reference can't be Chakotay because he left Starfleet in 2368, two years ago. Then again, that was established in "In the Flesh", WAY after this episode. Chalk this one up to the writers not keeping proper notes for their successors.
* Ro says that biomememtic gel is legal and nobody finds it unusual that it's being shipped around, but by the time of "In the Pale Moonlight" Sisko clearly says that gel is strictly controlled and not for sale. Maybe the regulations changed.
* Only time Ro's first name "Laren" is used onscreen.
* Last appearance the real Nechayev. A Dominion-created simulation will appear in "The Search", but that's it.


Memory Beta


* Ro's career after this episode (before her cameo in Picard, of course) was a bit sparse, only appearing in a few novels. My biggest memory is her appearance in "Rogue Saucer".