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halfwayinlight · 4 years ago

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I wrote a thing today. It was supposed to be for Valentine’s Day

Title: Holding Space Fandom: Star Trek TNG Pairing: Will Riker/Deanna Troi Rating: PG Notes: set between Season 3 episodes The Bonding and The Booby Trap

Commander Will Riker would be lying if he didn’t admit that he was disappointed Deanna had not yet come to the bridge to report she was back on board. It wasn’t an official protocol, but it was a courtesy that the senior staff generally observed. It was, in fact, out of the ordinary that Deanna didn’t report to the bridge officer on duty.

He told himself he would wait a full half hour past her anticipated arrival time to call down to O’Brien. It would be a very long half hour, and he knew that at least some of the bridge crew were very aware he was antsy. So Will had dutifully read through the various daily reports sent in. And he checked the logs three times to make sure there wasn’t some mental health crisis that would’ve pulled her immediately back into work.

Eventually, he’d taken to the ready room, vacant since the captain was off duty at the moment. Catching up on reports was no help in the distraction department because the only remaining reports they were still working on were the reports over the Mintaka III duck blind. It had been an utter failure in all aspects of First Contact. Not that the Enterprise crew had been able to really help it. It was more an Act of Fate.

Privately, though, Will still felt guilty about the whole thing. Guilty for leaving Deanna behind. He knew, rationally, that there was no help for it. Palmer had needed immediate medical care. There had been no reason to think that Deanna wouldn’t be able to slip quietly away and be beamed back on board.

“You’re beating yourself up over it,” she’d observed one night in Ten Forward, about a week ago. Her fingers played with the glass containing her Sumerian sunrise, idly tracing the bands etched around the cup.

He shifted, elbow on the table to lean against it for support, suddenly uncomfortable with the turn this evening was taking. Rather than answer immediately, he took a slow inventory of the lounge. It was a slow night, and they were relatively isolated. As his gaze swept the bar, Guinan had given him a long look and a subtle nod. He wasn’t even really sure what the nod meant, except that they would be given some space. “We should’ve come up with a better plan. One that had less risk.”

“We had limited intelligence. Given what we knew at the time, the risks seemed minimal. In retrospect, I don’t see what we could’ve done any differently. And, Will, I’m fine. I wasn’t hurt.”

He shook his head. “You were almost sacrificed to a non-existent deity,” he ground out, one hand lifting to rub his beard in frustration. “Do you know what it’s like to sit in a meeting with the captain and the current expert in Mintakan culture and hear that under these extraordinary circumstances, they might actually kill someone you care about?”

Deanna was leaning in now, arms resting on the table, hands clasped. He envied her level of calm and acceptance about this. “No, I do not. But,” she quickly added, “I do know what it’s like to sit on the bridge or in meetings and hear about missions where the people that I care deeply about may die. To see you and our friends leave on away teams when there are serious risks. To coordinate evacuations and general quarters, especially sauce separations, that leave me with the low-risk group and people I care for very much on the battle bridge.”

The intensity of her words hit him like a phaser blast, and Will was left speechless for long moments. He’d never taken much time to consider what it looked like from her end of things. And given her sympathetic smile, she realized this.

“It’s the life I chose, Will,” she added quietly after giving him some time to absorb her first statements. “We all signed up for Starfleet understanding the risks. Some of us have already lost loved ones in the line of duty…”

It was the line of duty that was the hardest to absorb. That reminder that her own father had died while serving. Amplified days later when Lieutenant Aster died on the archeological dig. It had impacted the crew, shocked them all because this had seemed like such a routine exploration. Worsened because she left behind Jeremy, now parent-less.

And in the last six days since that incident, Deanna had been on duty, more or less continuously caring for the boy. Worf had wanted to accompany both her and Jeremy to Starbase 24, where they would rendezvous with the boy’s aunt and uncle, but the Enterprise couldn’t spare him long enough. As it was, Deanna would barely make the connection back before they needed to jump to high warp in order to make their next mission. If she was delayed, it would be another week or more before a shuttle or transport would cross their path to bring her back.

In the end, it was O’Brien calling. “Transporter Room 3 to Commander Riker.”

“Riker here,” he replied instantly, straightening in his seat on the couch. He never used the desk in the ready room because it felt too much like the captain’s personal space.

“The counselor is back on board. You can take us to warp now.”

“Acknowledged,” Will replied, feeling a bit silly for not realizing sooner that O’Brien would be aware they were waiting for her arrival before moving on. That he would have anticipated the need to notify the bridge so they could go to warp.

Gathering the PADD he had been using, Will made his way back to the bridge. “Counselor Troi is back on board. Warp eight, on to our next coordinates,” he called to the helm before settling into the captain’s chair. He continued to fight his eagerness to see her back on board for himself. With a few commands from his PADD, he finished the plans he’d settled on the night before in anticipation of her return.

She had sent two communiques to him in as many days. They’d spoken only once through subspace, the first night after Jeremy had fallen asleep in one of the bunks on a small thirty passenger supply ship they’d caught a ride with. Deanna had looked very tired, eyes shadowed from lack of sleep that he hadn’t seen from her in a long time. It had been a rough past few months for her-- the psychological torment on Rana IV, nearly being sacrificed on Mintaka III, and the aftermath of Aster’s death. He’d set a hot bath to run in her quarters and left out some real chocolate that he’d managed to obtain on a recent starbase and kept a secret stash for the rough days when hot chocolate from the replicator wasn’t enough. Will had the sense from their subspace call that this would be one of those days.

And yet the bridge held only the scheduled crew members on a very routine shift. Textbook even. He’d rarely been so glad to hand over command to Data when it finally did end. In reality, he should be finding his way to the mess hall or Ten Forward for a meal. But he was determined not to wait any longer.

It didn’t take long to gain her quarters, and he politely pressed the button to notify her that she had a visitor. They came and went freely from each other’s quarters. They were both visitors with full access at any time. Besides that, as First Officer, he had override access to all parts of the ship. But he was a gentleman and would announce himself.

When there was no answer, he paused for a long moment. A glance up and down the hall confirmed that he was alone for now, and he was grateful. Everyone on board knew they were close. It wouldn't have been the first time either of them had been spotted outside the other’s quarters. Besides, their roles on the ship meant they often worked closely together. But he was also acutely aware that the crew knew their relationship was much more complicated than that.

“Computer, location of Counselor Deanna Troi,” he finally decided to consult on this, instead of simply assuming she was in her quarters. It would be easy enough to gain entry, but he hesitated to simply go in. She might be sleeping. Or she might want to be alone. A few dozen less rational explanations for no answer flitted through his mind, but he dismissed the various scenarios as absurd and unlikely.

“Counselor Deanna Troi is in Commander Riker’s quarters.”

Now that was not something he had not considered. With an about-face, he moved just down the corridor and through his own door. His lounge showed no evidence of a visitor, and he frowned to himself as he scanned the room to be sure he hadn’t missed anything. He gained his room and came to a full halt at the doorway.

There was a Betazoid in his bed. Soundly asleep. In the chair in the corner, her maroon uniform was folded neatly and her boots tucked out of the walkway. He was pretty sure he’d left at least a few articles of clothing on the floor, but it had been cleared out, most likely tossed in the laundry.

But what caught his breath was how small and worn out Deanna looked under the silvery Starfleet-issued blanket. The shadows under her eyes were more pronounced in the low light seeping in from the lounge. He wondered if she had even gone to her own quarters at all, and he suspected likely not.

For now, he was too awake to sleep. So he let himself linger for several moments more, absorbing that she was back on board. That she was getting the rest she so clearly needed. There would be time to catch up later. Will finally returned to his lounge and found something in the replicator menu that sounded appetizing and was able to focus enough to wrap up his daily report and close out two older reports before his mind wound down enough that he could think about sleeping, too.

A quick sonic shower relaxed him enough that Will knew meant he could finally get some rest. When he went in search of his usual blue pajamas, he found the top missing but tugged on the trousers and eased in beside Deanna. And he quickly found his missing top, which she had appropriated for her own sleepwear.

That particular realization touched on a mix of new feelings. Attraction. It wouldn't be the first time she had swiped something of his to sleep in. Secretly, he hoped it wouldn’t be the last time, either. And it touched on something tender, which surprised him all the more. That she was tired enough to borrow something, rather than make the effort of going to her own quarters, one room away, for her own things.

“Mmmm,” she murmured now, though Will could tell she remained on the other side of sleep.

“Sssh,” Will soothed, arms banding around her and pulling her closer to him, his body warmer than usual from the sonic shower. She relaxed into the comfort, as he’d hoped she would. “Back to sleep,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss into her hair. “I’m glad you’re back,” he breathed, thumb pressing at the nape of her neck, seeking those pressure points to soothe and relax her. He rubbed small circles until her breath evened out again, familiar and soothing against the crook of his neck and he followed her into deep sleep.

#imzadi #otp: imzadi #will riker #deanna troi #counselor troi #commander riker #my messed up space cinnamon nugget rolls

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phantom-le6 · 4 years ago

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Episode Reviews - Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 (2 of 6)

Slightly later than I’d originally intended, here’s another round of episode reviews for the third season for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Episode 6: Booby Trap

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While the Enterprise investigates the asteroid-laden sector of space where the final battle between the Menthars and the Promellians occurred, it receives a distress call from a Promellian battlecruiser. Captain Picard directs the ship to investigate. They find the ancient battlecruiser adrift but intact, and Picard, anxious to see the ship for himself, joins the away team as they transport over. They find the crew all long dead but still at their posts, and a recording by their captain suggests the ship was caught in a Menthar trap. With their investigation complete, the away team returns to the Enterprise to continue on, when they begin to suffer a series of power losses that prevent the use of either impulse or warp drive, and are bombarded by radiation that threatens to drain their shields and kill the crew. Picard orders Chief Engineer La Forge to find a way to restore power while a second away team searches for more clues on the Promellian vessel. They discover that the Menthars had previously used aceton assimilators to absorb an enemy ship's energy and redirect it back as hazardous radiation, and that the Enterprise is stuck in the same trap.

La Forge realizes that the only way to restore power is to reconfigure the warp drive and traces the warp drive's design back to the Enterprise's construction and blueprints created by Dr Leah Brahms. La Forge enters the ship's holodeck to help figure through the engine reconfiguration, whereupon the computer takes an off the cuff remark by Geordi literally and creates a holographic representation of Brahms herself to assist him in his work. As Geordi does so, he asks the computer to update the hologram with Dr Brahms' personality profile, and slowly gains romantic feelings for her. Despite the holo-Brahms' help, La Forge is unable to find a way to safely manoeuvre the Enterprise away, and when Picard orders all extraneous power systems (including the holodeck) shut down to conserve power, La Forge convinces the captain to allow the holodeck to continue to run.

After power is restored, the simulated Dr Brahms recognizes a solution which is to allow the computer to take control of the ship, allowing it to make rapid adjustments to compensate for the trap. La Forge then finds an alternate solution to the problem which is to completely reduce the power output from the Enterprise and manoeuvre it out of the field by manual control with only two thrusters. Picard and La Forge decide that computers cannot account for human intuition and elect to go with the manual approach. Picard takes the helm himself to skilfully carry out the operation, successfully moving the Enterprise from the trap. Once free and with power restored, the Enterprise destroys the Promellian craft to prevent others from falling into the trap. Afterwards, La Forge ends his romance with the Dr Brahms hologram.

Review:

While this episode does have Picard-centric moments, this is basically a Geordi episode and has numerous layers to it, despite the appearance of it being a techno-babble problem of the week episode. Our resident visor-wearing chief engineer is shown to be having issues with his love life, feeling more at ease with engineering issues than with romantic ones, and then while trying to solve a problem that requires some scientific smarts, he finds himself falling for a holodeck simulation that he inadvertently creates to help him.

Apparently, the idea here was meant to be to showcase the love between man and machine, not unlike how a lot of Americans of certain era can often have quasi-romantic relationships with their first car or with cars of certain types. However, I feel that the relationship between Geordi and Brahms combined with his prior romantic troubles make it a more universal story, albeit not quite accurate, story about the idea that romance happens when you stop trying for it. To my mind, this is an idea that has never made sense, because romance is even less likely to happen if you aren’t seeking it. After all, if you’re not making any kind of an effort, anyone you stumble across will be even less attracted, and for that matter you might miss any possible hints about someone having a romantic interest because you’re not actively looking for those hints.

To my mind, the whole struggle with standard romantic relationships as they have come to be in our time exists for one sole reason; the neurotypical obsession with letting interpersonal communication remain a pointless complex and convoluted process. There’s so much about the various aspects of people communicating with each other that, as a person with autism, I can only see as a hinderance to effective communication. Actively seek romance or not, the need to essentially tap-dance around what each person wants and not just say straight out what you each want to or don’t want will always be the biggest impediment to any potential relationship.

Take Geordi’s failed date at the episode’s opening; why has it taken until the date for the woman to let Geordi down? Why let him go through all the trouble of trying so hard to create a nice holodeck program before saying you don’t feel that way about him? Answer: because neither of them actually said what they wanted straight out beforehand, resulting in wasted time and effort for both parties and hurt feelings for Geordi. This episode is basically testament to the folly of the old play-it-by-ear concept of romance that is gradually falling by the wayside, as evolving attitudes to consent advocate more frank and open discussion rather than the pointless conversational meandering that I for one absolutely cannot stand.

Apparently, one reviewer gave this episode a low rating because they noted it as being somewhat creepy, and I suppose this is around the idea of Geordi falling in love with a holodeck character who he could easily program and revise to be his ideal woman. I can see why some people would find that concept uncomfortable, but that’s not what Geordi does in this episode. Moreover, there is something to be said for one day having artificial companions in such a manner. It’s not for everyone, and never would be, but for people who find interpersonal communication hard and who society does not bend around enough to make it easier, it has distinct advantages over being around other people. Overall, I give this episode 9 out of 10.

Episode 7: The Enemy

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise responds to a Romulan distress signal coming from Galorndon Core, a planet near the Neutral Zone with severe radiologic storms that interfere with transporters and communications. Riker, Worf, and Geordi La Forge transport down through a window in the storms and discover wreckage of a Romulan craft on the hostile planet's surface. Worf finds a Romulan survivor near death and subdues him. While Riker and Worf take the Romulan back to the beacon for transport back to the ship, La Forge ends up falling into a hidden hole. Riker and Worf try to find him, but are forced to leave before the transport window in the storms closes. By the time Geordi has climbed out, it is impossible to communicate with the Enterprise.

Aboard the ship, Dr Crusher tends to the Romulan, finds that he is also suffering severe neurological damage due to the planet's storms, and that she needs to locate a matching donor of a rare variety of ribosomes to keep him alive. When Captain Picard asks for suggestions on how to locate Geordi, Wesley Crusher offers the idea of launching a probe onto the planet's surface that would send a neutrino signal that could be detected by La Forge's visor. Following the signal would lead him to the probe, and allow him to use it to signal he is all right, enabling him to return to the ship during the next storm window. As they launch and monitor the probe, the Enterprise detects a communication from Romulan Commander Tomalak. When they hail him to inform him that the Romulans violated the treaty by entering Federation space, he brushes it off as a misunderstanding and explains that the craft went off course due to a malfunction. Picard informs him that they found a survivor, and after getting assurances that the crashed craft only had the one occupant, agrees to meet Tomalak at the Neutral Zone to deliver the survivor. Several crew members suggested a more aggressive response, but Picard warns his crew that they must handle the situation delicately to avoid setting off another war between the Federation and Romulan Empire.

On the surface, La Forge discovers the probe's signal, but while following its guidance, is captured by Bochra, another Romulan survivor of the crash. Though Bochra holds La Forge hostage, he reveals that he is losing feeling in his legs from the crash, while Geordi notes he is starting to have problems seeing through his visor, leading him to conclude that the storms are causing neurological damage, and they need to get off the planet to survive. La Forge manages to convince Bochra to take his chances with the Federation, but as they head out to the probe, Geordi succumbs to the neurological damage and is unable to see through his visor. Bochra suggests connecting the visor to the tricorder, using the combined technology to be able to direct them to the probe, and the two work together to overcome their physical disabilities to make it there.

On the ship, Worf is found as the only suitable donor for the dying Romulan, but he refuses due to his anger against the Romulan race for killing his parents. Picard urges Worf to put his duty to Starfleet over his honour as a Klingon, but it is all for naught when the Romulan succumbs to his wounds and dies. Tomalak, irate that the Enterprise wasn't at the designated waiting point at the agreed upon time, violates the treaty and appears in front of the Enterprise at the planet. Picard is forced to report that the Romulan crewman died, which infuriates Tomalak and he prepares his weapons to fire at the Enterprise. As the Enterprise raises its shields, they discover Geordi has reached the probe with another lifeform. Picard warns Tomalak they are lowering their shields to beam up the survivors directly to the bridge. When they arrive, Bochra reports to Tomalak that Geordi has helped save his life. Tomalak accepts this and stands down his weapons. Bochra cautiously thanks La Forge for his help and is returned to the Romulans, and the Enterprise escorts Tomalak's ship back to the Neutral Zone without further incident.

Review:

This episode really has two focal characters rather than one, each of whom takes a different approach to how they deal with a situation where it is seen as mutually beneficial to set aside differences and help each other. The first is Geordi, who gets stranded down on the planet with a Romulan soldier, and when the planet’s very nature effectively cripples both of them, you get the inevitable Trek staple of adversaries coming together to help each other out. It’s well done in terms of performance and consistent with Geordi’s character as a human Starfleet officer, but it’s also over-predictable.

By comparison, Worf’s situation is very different. In his case, him acting as a donor to the Romulan they beamed up earlier comes down to him having to choose between the demands of duty and those of honour. I imagine this was meant to be some kind of metaphorical exploration of religions that don’t believe in donating blood, organs, etc. However, Worf’s reasoning is far more personal than faith, and while the move to have him keep refusing to volunteer was apparently to make him more Klingon, I’d argue it was an equally human move, albeit the move of a modern-day, real-life human. After all, Worf has had his biological parents killed by the Romulans when he was only six; how many children orphaned by war would forgive the nation whose soldiers killed their parents? My guess would be virtually none, and that is as it should be, because some losses are simply too painful to forgive and move past.

I remember a line from the Ken Branagh adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing from the character of Leonato, when he is playing the part of the grieving father to sell the illusion of Hero’s death, and I think it well encapsulates the kind of emotion Worf is acting from in this episode;

“Bring me a father that so loved his child,

Whose joy of her is overwhelm'd like mine,

And bid him speak of patience;

But there is no such man: for, brother, men

Can counsel and speak comfort to that grief

Which they themselves not feel; but, tasting it,

Their counsel turns to passion”

This is the reality of losing anyone close to you by the hands of others, and I’m glad Worf is reacting in kind in this episode. Even if he does overcome his hatred for Romulans down the line (I can’t remember for the moment if he does or not), you don’t want it to be something he just does overnight. It’s the kind of thing someone would take ages to move past, not unlike what DS9 fans got to see in interactions between the Bajorans and Cardassians. In summation, this is a pretty good episode; I give it 8 out of 10.

Episode 8: The Price

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The crew of the Enterprise plays host to a group of visiting interplanetary dignitaries who are negotiating for the rights to a stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant discovered by the Barzan people, which could provide a valuable and efficient "bypass" through known space. Deanna Troi, overwhelmed by her duties as ship's counsellor, reluctantly agrees to attend the delegations' reception. She meets Devinoni Ral, secretly a fellow empath and negotiator for one of the groups. Ral and Troi fall into an instant, passionate affair.

Meanwhile, talks over the rights to the wormhole are coming to a boiling point. Resolved to achieve success and take over the rights, the Ferengi incapacitate the Federation representative, Seth Mendoza. Captain Picard selects First Officer William Riker to replace Mendoza in representing the Federation's interests. Riker recommends that the Enterprise conduct an exploratory expedition into it before committing the Federation to a binding contract. Picard agrees and orders Chief Engineer La Forge and Lt. Commander Data to take a shuttlecraft into the wormhole. In an effort to prevent being outdone, the Ferengi send in a shuttle of their own. The two craft are surprised to find themselves in the Delta Quadrant, and as they monitor the wormhole, La Forge and Data agree that while the other end of the wormhole may be stable, this end is not, making the wormhole worthless. Further, they detect signs that this end of the wormhole may move soon. The two try to warn the Ferengi about this before they return through it, but the two Ferengi remain steadfast. The Ferengi are shocked when the wormhole vanishes in front from them, stranding them in the Delta Quadrant.

Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, negotiations for the wormhole continue, as well as the sparks between Troi and Ral. Even though she has fallen for Ral, Troi starts to have some second thoughts about him when he tells her in intimate confidence that he is part Betazoid and that he has been using his empathic abilities to manipulate the opposing delegates in the negotiations.

Ral deftly narrows the competition down to the Federation and his own employers, the Chrysalians. Just before Riker can obtain the wormhole rights, the Ferengi threaten to destroy the wormhole, claiming that an "informed source" has told them that the Federation has made a covert pact with the Barzan premier. Picard requests Riker's presence on the bridge to deal with the situation; in his absence, Ral takes the advantage, and builds his case on the Barzan leader's wishes for peace to win the claim to the wormhole for his group. When Troi realizes that Devinoni staged the entire altercation to sabotage the Federation, her sense of duty forces her to betray his trust and speak out publicly. But before the Barzan premier has a chance to cancel the bargain with Ral and the Chrysalians, the Enterprise shuttle emerges from the wormhole and hails the ship, announcing that it is worthless. Ral then says goodbye to Troi and returns to face his employers for purchasing worthless rights.

Review:

This is an ok episode that is notable more perhaps for its legacy than its content, with the wormhole concept being revisited by both of TNG’s spin-off shows; Deep Space Nine is set around a genuinely stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant, while Voyager would find the Ferengi missing during the third season as they journey to return from the Delta Quadrant. The episode is centred on Troi this time round, with the underlying subject matter having to do with ethics and people trying to claim advantages that are shades of grey at best and outright disgraceful at worst. It’s an ok plot, but far from brilliantly executed. A lot of this comes from the poor writing in the Tori/Ral ‘romance’.

According to Wikipedia, last year gaming website Gamespot noted this episode as containing one of the most bizarre moments of the series in the form of a relatively blatant discussion about sex between Crusher and Troi while the pair are exercising. To me, this doesn’t seem that bizarre at all, though I imagine it might have seemed that way to some back in November 1989 when the episode first aired. The society we live in now is much more open on the topic of sex now than it was back then, and I imagine that trend will keep going forward, especially given the existence of the Shades of Grey novel and film franchise, Game of Thrones and the Channel 4 TV show Naked Attraction among other things. The reality is that by the time of TNG’s setting in the 24th century, we’ll probably be even more open and less Victorian in our attitudes toward the subject of sex, so I’d flag this kind of scene as less bizarre and more ahead of its time. Overall, I give this episode 6 out of 10.

Episode 9: The Vengeance Factor

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise travels to the planet Acamar III after detecting traces of Acamarian blood at a looted Federation outpost. Sovereign Marouk, the Acamarian leader, suggests that the looting was done by the Gatherers, descendants of Acamarian society a century ago that have turned to piracy to sustain themselves. Marouk initially suggests hunting them down with the help of Starfleet, but Captain Picard convinces Marouk to join him to seek a peaceful resolution, including ending the Gatherers' exile. Marouk and her servant, Yuta, arrive on the ship to help. Commander Riker finds Yuta attractive and tries to get to know her better, but Yuta finds herself unable to open up to him.

The Enterprise crew makes contact with one band of Gatherers led by Brull, and offer negotiations. Brull negotiates with Marouk and Picard, and after hearing the offer, agrees to pass it on to the Gatherer leader, Chorgan. Meanwhile, Yuta meets alone with one of the older Gatherers and touches his cheek, causing the Gatherer to suffer a heart attack. As the man dies, Yuta asserts that she, as the last of her clan, Tralesta, will outlive the Lornak clan. The Gatherer's body is later found but initially assumed that death was by natural causes. However, later investigation by Dr Crusher reveals that a fast-acting "micro-virus", targeted to attack a specific Acamarian DNA profile, was the cause. Dr Crusher believes the virus was purposely genetically engineered, and that the death was a targeted murder. At Picard's request, Marouk has her government send data to the Enterprise to investigate the murder.

The Enterprise meets with Chorgan's starship, and Picard, Marouk, and Yuta transport aboard to begin negotiations. At the same time, the Enterprise crew receives the database from Acamar, and find that fifty-three years earlier, another Gatherer suffered a similar heart attack. This Gatherer was also from the Lornak clan, and a photographic record shows Yuta was present, and clearly hasn't aged since that time. Finding the common clan, Riker discovers that Chorgan is of the Lornak clan, and realizing that Yuta is there to assassinate him, transports over to Chorgan's ship. He interrupts negotiations to prevent Yuta from serving Chorgan a drink, accusing her of the murder. Yuta explains she is the last of five survivors of the Tralesta clan that was wiped out by a Lornak attack, and has undergone genetic alterations to host the virus and to keep herself from aging, allowing her to seek out and murder the Lornak clan to the last person. Riker attempts to talk her out of her revenge at phaser-point, gradually increasing the yield with each successive shot, but she cannot break from her desire for vengeance that she built up over the last several decades. After pleading with her not to try again, she moves once more on Chorgan, and Riker vaporizes her with his phaser.

The negotiations are successful and a truce is called between the two sides; at the conclusion, the Enterprise is assigned a routine survey mission through the now-peaceful sector. Searching for his First Officer, Picard finds a depressed Riker in Ten-Forward, and informs him that they'll be taking on medical supplies at the next star base, and he intends to extend shore leave to anyone who wants it. Riker says he'll pass it along to the crew.

Review:

Here we get a Riker episode, and under the heading of ‘department of no surprise’, it’s a girl-of-the-week episode. In other words, Riker’s trying to shack up with the pretty little guest star in the same way Kirk apparently did back in the original series. It’s a decent plot, and it had the potential for some issue exploration in Riker wanting an equal out of someone who was apparently more accustomed to acting in a dominant/submissive relationship. However, this never really gets explored because the surrounding plot and its efforts to try and impart a lesson about vengeance gets in the way.

Unfortunately, and by the same token, the Riker-Yuta romance also gets in the way of any possible issue exploration about vengeance, which to my mind was the less interesting option. There’s also a shot where Riker has to kill Yuta to prevent a further murder, and in order for the phaser effect to work while Picard was in-shot, Patrick Stewart had to stay still, resulting in no reaction from Picard where one should have been. Basically, this episode is another example of TNG still having rough areas and not yet being all it could be. All in all, I give this episode 6 out of 10.

Episode 10: The Defector

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The episode begins with Data exploring the human condition through acting in a Shakespearean play, Henry V. Captain Picard is giving Data some constructive criticism when he is notified by Commander Riker that a Romulan scout vessel is being pursued in the Neutral Zone. The scout vessel is under attack by a Romulan warbird, and they are approaching Federation space. The Enterprise moves to intercept the ship, causing the Warbird to cloak and return to Romulan space. The occupant of the ship is brought aboard the Enterprise, and claims he is Sub-Lieutenant Setal, an insignificant logistics clerk seeking to defect to the Federation after coming across information about a secret Romulan installation on the planet Nelvana III, within the Neutral Zone, that could sustain a large Romulan fleet.

Picard and his crew remain sceptical of Setal's claims when he refuses to provide them with any more evidence, and Picard orders an investigation of Setal's reliability while the Federation relays to the Enterprise that the Romulans are seeking Setal's return. When Setal's ship auto-destructs, the crew is forced to review the records of Setal's arrival, and believe that the Romulans arranged Setal as part of an elaborate hoax. Picard refuses to enter the Neutral Zone on the baseless claims.

Setal confides to Data that his defection came at a heavy price, that he will never be able to see Romulus or his family again; Data attempts to alleviate Setal's feelings by taking him to a holodeck representation of Romulus. Setal dismisses the hologram and reveals that he is actually Admiral Jarok, a high-ranking officer who previously had led a vicious campaign against several Federation outposts near the Neutral Zone. Jarok again beseeches Picard to investigate Nelvana III, but Picard refuses, and demands either Jarok provide the full information or he will be damned as a traitor. Jarok gives in to Picard's request, and gives detailed tactical information to Picard. Picard orders the Enterprise to Nelvana III.

When they arrive, the crew finds the planet completely barren with no evidence of any installation, to Jarok's surprise. Unexpectedly, two Romulan warbirds decloak and fire upon the Enterprise. Picard realizes that Jarok was used as a pawn by the Romulans, feeding him disinformation to lure the Federation into the Neutral Zone and at the same time disgrace Jarok. In response to Romulan commander Tomalak's demand for the Enterprise's surrender, Picard reveals he had prepared for this contingency: at his command, three Birds-of-Prey, sent by the Klingon Empire at Picard's request (as relayed by Worf), decloak and surround the warbirds, rendering the situation a stalemate. The Romulans re-cloak and retreat, allowing the Enterprise to leave. After the Enterprise has left the Neutral Zone, the crew finds that Jarok has committed suicide leaving behind a note for his family. While Data notes that relations with the Empire make delivery of the letter impossible, Picard states that, as long as there are Romulans with Admiral Jarok's courage and conviction, it may, one day, be possible to deliver Jarok's letter home.

Review:

This episode is split in terms of character focus, with Picard and Data being the primary main cast members coming into play. For Data, the Shakespeare play ‘Henry V’ that he is performing at the beginning of the episode, followed by his reaction to the unfolding events of the episode, is yet more exploration of the human condition, which of course is always what Data does best. In this case, Data is trying to figure out how his crew-mates are coming to their opinions about the Romulan defector when the evidence alone is inconclusive. By extension, he is also witness to that same defector using the same kind of deception King Henry uses in the scene Data performs earlier on the holodeck.

At the same time, Picard himself has to work out if the defector is being truthful or not, and trying to make the right decision when the fact is the decision isn’t clear-cut. The captain ultimately makes some pretty decent tactical moves that mostly win the day, but in the process the title character for the episode comes to a tragic end lined with the optimism that Trek is notable for. The whole episode also really fleshes out the Romulans, showing that not every Romulan is necessarily going to be a villain. This is a fun kind of development akin to that used by Games Workshop in developing the novels of the Horus Heresy series in more recent times, with the galactic civil war the novels are named after involving divisions that aren’t strictly along lines of army or regiment. Much as I appreciate the simplicity and predictability of black-and-white hero/villain divides, there should also be some grey areas to balance that out at times. Overall, I give this episode 9 out of 10.

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zur-en-arrhbatman · 7 years ago

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Because I’m bored, I thought that it would be fun to tackle Avengers: Age of Ultron. While it is still quite a good movie, there are elements that could be better about it. So I thought it might be interesting to write my own version of it.

Firstly a bit of house-cleaning: though this part might be a bit controversial. Avengers: Age of Ultron was filmed from February of 2014 to August of 2014. There have been a few commentaries (mainly from Joss Whedon himself) that felt that the whole process of the film was a bit rushed, causing a finished product that was not as good as it could be.

Ant-Man began filming in August of 2014 and was completed in December of 2014 with some pick ups in April of 2015. The film was under production since before Iron Man came out in 2008, so I think it would be fairly easy to switch the release date of the two films - in this version, the events of Ant-Man precede the events of Age of Ultron. This will become more relevant later.

Next, I feel that the movie did not properly tie together the events of the previous movies: Tony Stark had destroyed all of his suits in Iron Man 3, the whole Thor: The Dark World might as well have not happened, The Winter Soldier is probably the most influential element on Age of Ultron.

My thinking is this:

We open on Asgard, as the twins previously introduced at the end of The Winter Soldier break into the Asgardian vault and steal a precious artifact (an Infinity Stone, perhaps with Quicksilver foolishly pulling it off of a partially completed Infinity Gauntlet, hinting at Loki still working for Thanos). They are accosted by Loki (appearing as Odin) but they are able to beat Loki (see the Worf Effect) and return to Earth with their stolen treasure.

Loki (”Odin”) commands Thor to retrieve the Infinity Stone, sending him to Earth to recruit the Avengers. Thor seeks the help of Tony Stark after he discovers that SHIELD is gone and can’t help him. They discover that HYDRA has teamed up with the remnants of AIM (from Iron Man 3) and intend to reverse engineer the tech to create a superweapon (as supervillains are wont to do).

Tony is still retired from. the events of Iron Man 3, but he plays a bit of tech support for Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye as they assault the HYDRA/AIM compound. They are soundly defeated by Baron von Strucker and his super-powered henchmen (Extremis soldiers, led by Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver).

The Avengers retreat to Avengers tower to lick their wounds, with Tony bringing up “Project Ultron” with Banner as a solution to their problems. It’s clear they’ve argued about this before - but Banner accedes when Quicksilver runs by the tower to prank the group to rub in their face that they were defeated by them.

Back at the HYDRA compound, it’s clear that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are chafing under HYDRA command, but they are being forced to work for them. Tony and Bruce boot up Ultron, with Steve angry and comparing Ultron’s programming to “Project Insight” (a Winter Soldier reference). Ultron goes after the HYDRA compound, straight up murdering Baron Von Strucker even as Tony tries to shut him down.

Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch refuse to kill Ultron, instead using the opportunity to put Strucker out of his misery. Ultron himself is crippled from Stark and Banner’s attempts to shut him down. Feeling empathy for the fallen robot, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver take Ultron and escape from the HYDRA compound just as Tony Stark arrives with the Avengers and finds that Ultron has escaped.

Steve is angry at Tony, but decides that the fault of one team member is the responsibility of the whole team (him taking responsibility for Ultron sets up the conflict in Civil War later - Tony would rather not take personal responsibility). Tony isn’t very sorry, vowing to shut down Ultron for good (throw in some Frankenstein’s Monster parallels for good measure). Bruce Banner is ashamed at having created a death machine as he feared (it gets old with him feeling guilty about being the Hulk, lets say he’s over it in this one and give him a different sort of man pain).

Black Widow tells them to get their shit together and the group deduces that the new villain trio has escaped with the Infinity Stone. They figure that Ultron must want to construct a new body. We get a scene with the Twins road tripping with Ultron, who is portrayed almost like a baby, but there are hints at his darker nature. They arrive at a prison (sent there by Ultron) and the twins break in to break out “a friend”.

The Avengers arrive and fight the twins, with Tony Stark going in (still no armor, remember) to get the prisoner - a return cameo by Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer - hereby dubbed the second smartest man in the MCU. Ultron intends to take Hammer hostage and force him to build him a new robot body. The Twins are defeated by the Avengers, but Tony loses Hammer as Ultron hacks into one of Hammer’s suits of armor (that he had been secretly building to escape prison) and leaves with Hammer hostage after a conversation with Tony (more Frankenstein parallels here).

The Avengers return to their tower once more and are met by Hank Pym. He gives the rallying speech that Fury gave in the real life Age of Ultron. He reveals that Ultron is based off of programming that he did for SHIELD back in the 1980s, which eventually developed into Project Insight. He tries to assuage Banner’s guilt and also offers his resources to help defeat the robot. The group are joined by Ant-Man and the Wasp (two original founders of the Avengers pre-dating even Captain America and definitely important additions before you add anyone else) .

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver catch up to Ultron, finding that he has tortured Hammer into constructing him “the perfect body”, now powering himself with the Infinity Stone. The Twins are suitably squicked out as they realize this isn’t a joyride anymore but a genocidal death robot. They try to fight Ultron but are nearly killed - they go to the Avengers and tell them what’s up. Cap tries to get them to join but they definitely don’t want to fight Ultron.

Tony finally builds a new suit of Iron Man armor and the Avengers as a whole suit up to go fight Ultron, who has used his programming (which includes data from SHIELD) to take Hawkeye’s family hostage so that he can set a trap to kill the Avengers. Now we can rework in those lines about “Wait you have a family?” and some character focus for Hawkeye going into the final moments of the film.

Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Cap successfully rescue the kids while the rest of the Avengers team goes after Ultron (so we can have a scene with the Issue #1 line up of the Avengers) With the revelation that Hawkeye has a family we can finally add on top of the romantic tension there had been between Cap and Widow in The Winter Soldier.

Once the kids are safe, the Avengers all band together to take down Ultron, rip him to pieces and take the Infinity Stone back. Through his communications back home, Thor has begun to suspect something awry with “Odin” and decides not to take the Infinity Stone back to Asgard, but to somewhere else that is safe. Banner (feeling guilty about creating Ultron) offers to tag along as extra protection.

Tony Stark reaffirms his status as Iron Man and promises that he and Cap will protect Earth together in Thor and Hulk’s stead, but it’s clear that there is already some tension building between the two heroes (once again foreshadowing Civil War).

In the end credits we have Thanos threatening Loki, taking the partially completed gauntlet, and sending a henchman (perhaps a GotG alum) to go after Thor and the Infinity Stone (setting up Thor: Ragnarok).

#fanfix #age of ultron #avengers: age of ultron #avengers #avengers 2 #captain america #steve rogers #iron man #tony stark #bruce banner #hulk #thor #donald blake #science bros #ultron

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