#jaffen

[bumblingbabooshka]

'Annoying Co-Worker' is in Tuvok's DNA Patreon | Ko-fi

[raurquiz]

#otd #startrek    #voyager #workforce #janeway #chakotay #tuvok #kim #paris #belannatorres #7of9 #emh #neelix #jaffen #kadan #ambassador #quarren #startrek56 @startrekonpplus https://www.instagram.com/p/Co7klWXOnCq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doctahchang]

kathryn janeway my favourite heroine of a greek tragedy

song is alt-j - philadelphia

[isagrimorie]

Rewatching a few scenes from Star Trek Voyager's 2 part episode: Workforce. These episodes really did a number on Janeway; this is one of the times I did wish emotional arcs carried over from one episode to the next.

In the seven years in the Delta Quadrant, nothing has stopped Janeway's quest to bring home her crew back to the Alpha Quadrant.

And in the Delta Quadrant, for Captain Kathryn Janeway, the Voyager is home.

Janeway has faced off against the Borg Queen, the Hirogen, the Vidiians, and Species 8472 but no one has done as much damage to Janeway the way Dr Kadan did a number on Kathryn Janeway.

Because Kadan took away Janeway's certainty.

Kathryn Janeway can traverse any gulf, and jump to any fire as long as she has her iron-clad certainty and belief in her mission intact and that was what Kadan took from Kathryn Janeway.

He accidentally pinpointed the one thing she's been able to repress for so long, and that's her loneliness and how bone tired she is of being in Command.

More than any other Captain, Kathryn Janeway needed a sabbatical. She needed to reconnect with herself, and just be Kathryn.

This is the gift and curse Kadan gave to Kathryn Janeway. Because as plain ol' Kathryn Janeway, a factory worker she was happy, free of responsibility and burdens of Command.

She found friends, love, and comfort in Jaffen (a well-casted romantic lead. The actor had charisma and acting chops to make us believe Janeway Captain or just Kathryn would fall for him).

I don't think Janeway even knew how lonely she's become -- no one needed a long vacation from work than Janeway. I hope that she got that vacation Starfleet put her on the Flag Officer track.

Through the whole two-part episode we see them build up this vivacious and happy version of Kathryn, and then by part 2, the story slowly pulls that away from her.

Just as an example, the look on Kathryn's face when Harry addresed her as "Captain".

You can see how Harry addressing Kathryn as "Captain" struck a chord in her but it's also like someone threw cold water at her.

Kathryn immediately tells Harry to call her "Kathryn" instead:

Kathryn tries to still be in denial and tentatively brings up what Chakotay told her: "He said you had proof of who some of us really are."

She's trying to put distance between herself and this reality. She's conflicted-- she doesn't want to be Captain Janeway. There's even a hint of temptation there that she doesn't want to continue on helping her missing friends.

And yet, the moment Voyager and her crew were in trouble some part of herself reacted. And despite what she felt, she proceeded to bring down the shield knowing that doing so would tear her away from the life she's come to love.

This happens fast, once the shield grid is down, Kathryn disappears from Jaffen's side.

And the next time they see each other again, Kathryn Janeway is Captain Kathryn Janeway again with her uniform and Command back. And they might as well be a million miles away despite being in the same room:

Janeway allows herself to embrace Jaffen for one last time, and there's tears in her eyes, her grief is palpable. It's the way she's held herself apart from Jaffen, the way her hand twitches like she wants to reach out and touch him but can't.

Not in the uniform she's wearing, not in the position she's in.

You can see how much her experience in Quarren affected Janeway by the way she enters the Bridge:

In the turbo lift, she's faced away from the Bridge as if she can't bear being there. She has to steel herself.

Normally Janeway occupies the turbo lift like she owns that space. Because she DOES.

It’s so strange seeing Janeway occupy so little space in her own bridge, even when Voyager was hijacked she never looked out of place or so small.

The moment she steps out Harry, eager Ensign Harry, who missed the events in Quarren and how it might have affected her notices Captain Janeway immediately and announces her arrival.

She looks around at the bridge, still uncertain. Still picking up the pieces of the Captain.

Even when she sat on her Command chair,Janeway looked uncomfortable and for the first time, Captain Janeway doesn't look like she's larger than life.

She can't help but confide to Chakotay:

And. There. It. Is.

The biggest moment. Janeway admitted that Quarren felt like home. Even in The 37s, on a planet that's closest to Earth and home Janeway never even considered that home.

In the Delta Quadrant, Voyager is home.

The moment Janeway said this on the rewatch, I was bowled over because this is such a big moment for Janeway. A big thing for her to admit.

Chakotay asks her if Janeway is sorry he showed up and upended her comfortable life in Quarren?

There is a second's beat, but the beat tells all the story that needs to be said. Janeway rallies and lies: "Not for a second."

She's saying the right words but, at that moment, so near Quarren, after just losing Jaffen. Janeway says something she doesn't feel.

Janeway orders Tom to resume the course for home; but after she gives the order, Janeway's face falls.

And it's so damned sad and this, as I said above, is one of the moments I wish they continued this emotional throughline with Janeway.

Kadan did a number on her and I wish we get to see throughout a few episodes Janeway slowly get over the lie and find a measure of happiness.

Instead, season 7 loses its focus on Janeway and bizarrely have an episode with Q Jr and then a lot of focus on the EMH Doctor. It takes several episodes before Janeway gets the focus again, and that's the series finale.

If Voyager were written today, and the writers were allowed, this moment would be the emotional turning point for Janeway. It's the point where Janeway has to find a way home fast otherwise she's heading for a breakdown.

The center will not hold.

It's probably a good thing her future, alternate self decided to save Captain Janeway the heartbreak of a decade more of this life, and losing the people she loves the most.

And it kind of hurts that canonically, we don't know if Janeway was able to take that vacation. And if Janeway was able to get a measure of happiness and love, as I've mentioned after this episode and after Firewall I really don't care who Janeway ends up with anymore as long as Janeway is happy.

/Edited, March 13 2024, 10AM

[insanewaykathy]

Okay, this is just a crazy thought, but… Did you notice that Janeway always wears her hair turned inwards?

In Workforce her hair is turned outwards.

I think the hair represents that she is having attitudes contrary to what she would have… Honestly, I never bought this relationship with Jaffen, in a short time she was already living with the man… It doesn't make sense! It's okay for her to have a relationship with someone, but like this? And we see several other acts of hers that also show how out of her mind she was, and she didn't even seem like herself, like saying that she was happy to have a "good job" and that it was a lot of responsibility to take command of a starship. That doesn't sound like Janeway at all! She kept some things, like her kindness, talking to machines… But I think the brainwashing they did to them messed with much more than just their memories, they must have programmed them to like that life. (A good example is Tuvok telling jokes). The crew must have been given a mental programming like "You're happy here, you have everything you need, get a partner, settle down and do a great job!"

[jazylo]

I was seeing STV Counterpoint, for 1234553562... Time I lost the count. And suddenly I realized something, Tuvok and Vorik weren't the only telephats on Voyager, Sudder doesn't count because he was different, betazoid but unable... There's proof that someone should know the real feeling about the commanding duo that I love and ship, yes J/C , who is it? you may ask. Another betazoid her name Jurot.

She is in the green uniform. By the way the green uniform was operations? Does anyone know? Well the thing is , boy! The heavy stuff that she should know about captain Janeway and Chakotay. Imagine one day after a chat between them, Chakotay has to see something in Jurot's work area, and he was thinking something like 'today she ( Katherine) looks awesome', 'I almost hug her it was to close', or, ' I love that woman' , ' She is my warrior ', 'Why with Jaffen and never with me?' , 'Those lips need to be kiss by me', 'I love the essenses when she es close'... And Jurot like think something nice think something nice!!!! Lol. Or Janeway thinking ' It's my fault that all of them are stranded here' , ' Chakotay know me so well ', 'He is the only one for me, damn protocols', 'Yesterday at dinner he was irresistible, I really wanted to be in his arms'... OMG the secrets Jurot had! I mean it must not been a lot she wasn't with the superiors but she must catch something by coincidence, like in the mess hall, or J/C leaving the holodeck, turbo lift ... What do you think?

[grissomesque]

Was anyone going to tell me that Jaffen is Elle's dad in Legally Blonde or was I just supposed to stumble across this information myself 23 years late?

[baylardo]

can u imagine being threshold!j*neway during workforce and getting ur mind altered into believing you just naturally look the way you do 😩😩😩😩 and then the rude awakening omg,,,,,,,,,,,

that scene where chakotay reveals hes human to her (when she says theyre the same species) would be kinda sad lol

i feel like theres a lot of different angles u could approach the episodes at. like not just her appearance which shes pretty at peace with by now but also the DOMESTICATION. i also like tossing around the different Where Do The Triplets End Up hypotheticals with Workforce hehe,,,,,,,,,,

i think itd be cute if Tom got to “single dad” at least one of them on the planet. :) i just be thinking if he ever had doubts about becoming a father, it would lay things to rest for him here. and idk i think about that scene in the end where belannas thanking him and theyd be thinking about how well he did with one of the triplets on his own hehe. :3 maybe amelia bc that dynamic sounds cute to me and its dissimilar to their actual relationship. I DO BE THINKING ABOUT HIM CALLING HER HIS LITTLE PRINCESS LALALA. and then kathryn getting peppa and ed with jafffen. 🤷 but idk just a thought lalala. ugh its cute thinking about ed being shy and clingy to his mother around jaffen 😭❤️

maybe itd be heckign sad for chakotay seeing his(?) kids with different family(s) lol. not in a jealous acting out way though i HATEEEEE when he gets portrayed that way lmao. just kinda a quiet “😔 i dont fit in” type vibe. its season seven hes getting distant!!!!!!!!! or maybe like philippa never liked her life on the planet and made it everyones problem so returning was EASY for her and goes back to “chakotay is my papa” EASILY. maybs amelia and tom get along better after Workforce and kathryns a little miffed that her and philippa still clash haha

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: Voyager Season 7 (5 of 7)

Episode 17: Workforce (Part 2)

Plot (as given by me):

Following the events of Part 1, Chakotay is able to overcome the Quarran security officers pursuing him, but takes an injury to his shoulder from an energy weapon in the process, while in space, Voyager is able to evade pursuit by Quarran patrol ships.  Chakotay returns to the bar he and Neelix visited earlier and learns Kathryn is moving in with her co-worker Jaffen.  As an investigation begins into B’Elanna’s abduction from the planet, Chakotay is soon missing as well.

The Doctor, still in Command Hologram mode, hides Voyager on a moon that is able to mask the ship’s energy signature.  A discussion with Neelix reveals the extent of the manipulation performed on their abducted ship-mates; while select memories have been left intact, others have been altered or bypassed.  Working together, the Doctor and Neelix begin working to help B’Elanna remember her real life.  Back on Quarra, Annika Hansen begins looking into things following her real memories beginning to resurface as a result of Tuvok’s attempted mind-meld.  At the same time, Kathryn begins moving her belongs to Jaffen’s apartment, only to find the injured Chakotay now using her former apartment as a hideout.

Chakotay initially succeeds in gaining Kathryn’s assistance, but when he’s contacted by Ensign Kim and the Doctor, his revelation that she’s their missing captain jeopardises things, even when he removes his cosmetic alterations to show that he’s also human.  When Kathryn confides in Jaffen, it isn’t long before Quarran security arrive and take Chakotay.  An attempt to speak with him by a detective named Yerid is foiled when Chakotay is moved to Neuro-Pathology at the local hospital without anyone scanning him, and Yerid is swiftly relieved of duty.  However, Yerid soon teams up with Annika, as well as Tom Paris, Kathryn and Jaffen in further investigations, and at the same time, a young doctor at the hospital also become suspicious.

It isn’t long before the truth becomes apparent; the head of Neuro-Pathology and a few key officials are conspiring to resolve the Quarran labour shortage by abducting and brainwashing the crews of passing ships, including the crew of Voyager.  Chakotay planned to disable the planet’s shields so Voyager could beam their crew away, and the plan is now taken up by the others.  While Kathryn and Jaffen infiltrate the power station to contact Voyager, Annika and Yerid infiltrate the hospital.  While Chakotay and Tuvok are promptly rescued, Chakotay has been manipulated into luring Voyager into an ambush by the Quarran patrol ships.

While Voyager battles the Quarran ships, they convince Kathryn to execute Chakotay’s plan to take down the shields, which ultimately succeeds.  As the crew of Voyager begin to regain their memories, the Doctor and Ensign Kim wrap up things from a diplomatic stand-point.  With the conspiracy now uncovered, others who were victims are being treated and repatriated to their proper home worlds.  Kathryn, now restored to being Captain Janeway, is forced to leave Jaffen behind.  When she returns to the bridge, she thanks Chakotay for coming to rescue her, and despite her feelings for Jaffen, she claims that she doesn’t regret being reminded who she really is.  Voyager then resumes its course for the Alpha Quadrant.

Review:

Part 2 of ‘Workforce’ is the second of two episodes directed in this series by Roxann Dawson, which is probably down to her character being featured less in the second part of the story.  On Trek wiki site Memory Alpha, Dawson notes that producer Rick Berman gave her this chance by coming up and saying to her “So, I’m giving you another chance to fail”.  Apparently, Dawson herself took it as Berman saying she’d done well on her first directorial effort but could potentially find the next one more problematic.  Without knowing how Berman said this, I’m not sure if that’s a good interpretation.  To me, the words seem to imply Dawson did poorly on her first effort, which was the season six episode ‘Riddles’.  Considering how good that episode was, and that Dawson went on to direct 10 episodes of prequel Trek series Enterprise, I’m thinking that she did very well with directing, and if Berman meant what he said in the way I’m thinking, then he’d be an idiot to think along those lines.  Dawson does a great job concluding this second part to the overall story, and if the episode is failed, it’s possibly in its writing.

Why do I consider that the episode might involve a writing error?  Well, because it took me until the end of this part to get the underlying issue exploration at hand.  The whole thing is basically about human trafficking, but via the metaphor of Trek, having Janeway and her crew essentially being trafficked to this alien world to work.  The problem is the episode doesn’t make this very apparent because it doesn’t focus on the issue within the story, and that’s down to how it was written.  There’s no debate, no seeing all sides of the issue; the mystery of what’s happened to the crew, figuring out how to restore their memories and the inevitable action sequences Voyager goes for by remit all take up too much time for that.  As a result, the issue exploration is left, well, unexplored, which is sad when you consider Starfleet and thus Trek is very much in the business of exploring.

Granted, we get the usual excellent acting, some decent character beats and so on, but I really think the episode needed to delve into the substance it had to hand more and focus less on hollow style.  For me, this episode earns the same as part 1, 7 out of 10.

Episode 18: Human Error

Plot (as given by me):

Seven of Nine begins a holodeck program in which she has finally shed the last of her Borg implants, becoming more sociable with the crew, being given a Starfleet uniform and allocated crew quarters.  She also develops a relationship with a holographic double of Chakotay that quickly turns romantic.  However, the program begins to take up time Seven should spend on her duties, even in terms of her interactions with others off the holodeck, such as giving B’Elanna a belated baby shower gift and becoming irritable with the Doctor when he is unable to remove an implant that requires maintenance.

When Voyager is knocked out of warp by a nearby explosion, the crew investigates and learn that they’re travelling through a region that is being used to test weapons that travel via sub-space.  Seven is given the duty of trying to detect the test munitions so Voyager can evade them, but the holodeck program interferes with her duties, to the point where she fails to complete her assigned work and is away from her post when another munition strike occurs.  When Captain Janeway confronts Seven on the matter, she claims the holodeck program is something else and leaves to perform her duties.

After a brief discussion with Icheb, Seven returns to the holodeck to end things with the holographic Chakotay, but he doesn’t give in, and suddenly Seven collapses.  Fortunately, she is able to contact the Doctor before she collapses, and he transmits himself to the holodeck.  Initially confused by Seven’s outer implants being absent, the Doctor soon realises this is part of Seven’s program and shuts it down.  When Seven awakens in sickbay, the Doctor presses her for further information, as it seems Seven’s cortical node shut down and he needs to understand what happened.  Following Seven’s time in Unimatrix Zero, she began to feel incomplete and wanted to experiment with the aspects of her humanity she found there.  Seven intends to delete the holodeck program to avoid compromising her work, but the Doctor suggests that the solution lies in Seven finding a proper work-life balance instead.

Seven finally aids Voyager in getting clear of the alien munitions range without further damage.  However, the Doctor has bad news; apparently, the Borg design the cortical nodes of their drones with a failsafe mechanism, designed to shut down a drone’s higher brain functions if the individual experiences a certain level of emotional stimulation.  The idea seems to be that the Borg would want to inhibit emotional awareness to suppress any desire to leave the collective.  The Doctor believes he can remove the mechanism, but it would take multiple surgeries and involve extensive recovery time.  Seven is unwilling to consider this, and curtly dismisses the Doctor as she enters a regeneration cycle.

Review:

Whoever at Wired that recommended skipping this episode in a Voyager binge-watch back in 2015 clearly didn’t know what they were talking about.  This episode is another bit of quality Trek, and as we’ll see in the series finale, it’s actually of some importance from a continuity standpoint.  In this case, we’re getting to see more development in Seven’s character, and in the process, we’re getting some decent issue exploration into the bargain.  The character development is fairly obvious throughout; Seven clearly wants to be more human at this point, and as things progress, we learn this is a consequence of her rediscovery of Unimatrix Zero in the shift from season 6 to season 7.  In the process, we also see Seven get frustrated and even overwhelmed by these discoveries, and in turn retreat from them.

How does this story explore any issues?  Well apparently, the episode was written by a writer named André Bormanis who claims this to be his favourite writing contribution (out of 7 Voyager episodes and 12 for Enterprise).  According to Bormanis, the episode was intended to be a metaphor for post-traumatic stress disorder, and I can see how that was worked in.  Seven’s liberation from the collective was originally likened by those behind her introduction to someone being freed from a cult, and as I understand it, being part of a cult can lead to traumatic situations.  It can be viewed that Seven’s emotional stimulation and the way her implants react to that would be equivalent to a PTSD sufferer experiencing flashbacks or other trauma symptoms from sensory stimuli associated with their original trauma.

However, as I’ve often noted before, Seven is one of the Voyager characters I often see as an Autism analogue, and there’s room here to see her reflect that as well.  A lot of Autistic people, myself included, have an interest or may at times express interest in the pursuit of romantic relationships.  This isn’t easy for us and we can get overwhelmed more than we might by more basic forms of social interaction.  We also see Seven play out how she wants to act in the holodeck, which is similar to how I often mentally envision and replay certain scenarios in my own head before they come around.  Of course, they then go totally different in real life because fantasy and real-life are seldom ever the same.

The episode also touches on the subject of work-life balance.  This is an issue all of us who have jobs struggle with, and as the Doctor rightly points out to Seven, it’s important to find a good balance.  Too much work lowers productivity by denying you rest, while too much leisure time has the same effect by wasting time you need to spend working.  As an autistic person who now works from home and is frequently surrounded by special interests, I can understand Seven’s temptation to spend more time than she should going to the holodeck.

The Doctor also brings in some less-than-ideal Autistic representation towards the end of the episode, when he presumes Seven will want to begin surgeries to remove the implants inhibiting her full emotional range.  I know from my own experience how much more preferable it can be to find a solution and implement it straight away so that the problem is eliminated.  However, not everyone thinks the same way, and sometimes the first solution isn’t something everyone is willing to go for.  It’s possible they have some issue with the methods involved, or they need time to process the problem, as Seven clearly does.  In circumstances like this one, it’s always better to give the other person time, so autistics like myself should probably take the Doctor’s behaviour in this closing scene as an example of how not to behave in similar situations.

For me, this episode doesn’t make too many mis-steps, and those which seem to be made are probably not errors or compensated for by the positives.  My only point of concern is that Seven’s holodeck program runs a little close to how Reg Barclay used the holodeck in his first TNG appearance, and then later in the Voyager episode ‘Pathfinder’, yet Seven’s privacy isn’t invaded like Barclay’s was, nor is she really subject to similar reprimands.  I’d be curious as to why that might be, considering that in the world of Trek, humanity is supposed to be beyond double standards based on sex.  Regardless of this, I find myself once again handing down a top score; 10 out of 10.

Episode 19: Q2

Plot (as given by me):

Captain Janeway is surprised when Q returns with his son, Q Junior, who has now reached an equivalent of adolescence by the standards of the Continuum.  Q claims his son has come to Voyager for a vacation from the Continuum, but after Q Junior makes a major nuisance of himself, culminating in a confrontation with the Borg, Q admits the truth to be somewhat different.  Apparently, Q Junior has been using his powers in irresponsible ways for fun.  The female Q who is his mother has disowned the young man out of shame, leaving Q alone to try and rectify the matter.  Q’s idea was that by leaving his son with Janeway and her crew, some of their morality might rub off on him.

Janeway suggests that Q needs to spend time with his son, but this gets no results.  When Q feeds back on what happened, Janeway points out that Q is indulging his son’s antics by cleaning up after him; unless he makes Junior face up to his bad choices, the bad behaviour will persist.  Finally seeing the sense of this, Q temporarily turns his son into an amoeba, then delivers an ultimatum; if Junior can show some sign of improvement within a week, he will be restored to the Continuum.  If not, then he will become an amoeba forever.  The conditions of that week are that Junior spend the time on Voyager as a human.

At first, Junior doesn’t take things seriously.  When assigned tasks similar to those Icheb is completing for Starfleet Academy, the young Q cheats instead of doing the actual work.  However, he begins to turn things around, but his earlier antics leave him on thin ice.  When Q returns to check on his progress, he is unimpressed, much to Junior’s sorrow and Janeway’s frustration.  Believing he will be sentenced to life as an amoeba no matter what he does, Junior steals the Delta Flyer to run away, dragging Icheb along on the pretence of fixing a mechanical fault.  When Icheb is injured during a run-in with an alien vessel, however, Junior is forced to return to Voyager in an attempt to save his friend’s life.

Junior pleads with his father to save Icheb, but Q refuses, so Junior and Janeway track down the alien vessel so Junior can apologise and plead for information on the weapon that injured Icheb.  It turns out the alien is really Q; he posed as the alien and injured Icheb to test his son’s sincerity to be a better Q, and believes he has passed.  The Continuum, however, disagrees, and sentences Junior to remain human.  Outraged, Q pursues his fellows into the Continuum, apparently abandoning his son.  As Junior opts to continue his training out of obligation to Janeway, Q returns and explains that he only left so abruptly to appeal the verdict.  It turns out Q convinced the Continuum to readmit his son, but on the condition that Q accompanies him for all eternity.  As a thank-you, Q provides Janeway with information that will reduce Voyager’s journey home by a few years.  When asked why he isn’t sending them all the way back to Earth, Q explains it would set a bad example for his son if he did all the work for them.

Review:

Until shows like Lower Decks and Picard revisited Q, this was John de Lancie’s last performance as Q in any Trek shows.  Apparently, the actor playing Q’s son is de Lancie’s real-life son Keegan, and it’s fun to see this father-and-son duo playing characters with the same relationship to each other.  The episode touches on some interesting aspects of parenthood, with some elements perhaps more cautionary tale than sound advice.  However, the episode doesn’t go deep on any of these issues, instead only touching on them where they serve and feed into the plot.  It’s also fun and interesting to see Q Junior and Icheb forming a kind of friendship banter similar to how I’ve noticed a lot of British male-male friendships play out, and I think it’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of this.  Perhaps in another reality in the Trek multiverse, it does play out more, but here it’s only a brief flash in the Voyager pan.  For me, this was a decent episode, but not by any means the best, and I grant it 8 out of 10.

Episode 20: Author, Author

Plot (as given by me):

Using the quantum singularity that’s enabled Starfleet to have monthly data-stream contact with Voyager, a comm-link is established between Earth and Voyager that will last for 11 minutes each day.  The crew draw lots to determine in what order they get to contact home, and the Doctor is first in line.  He’s been working on a holo-novel and speaks with his publisher, who presses him to complete revisions shortly.  When Tom Paris learns of this, he asks the Doctor about it and is invited to play the program for himself, as the Doctor knows Paris to be a fellow author of holodeck programs.  The holo-novel is entitled “Photons Be Free”, and is apparently based on the Doctor’s own experiences.

When Tom plays the holo-novel, he is surprised and concerns by what he sees; the characters and their ship are clearly based on Voyager, but the crew are portrayed in a very negative light.  The program also over-exaggerates elements like the Doctor’s mobile emitter.  When Captain Janeway plays the program to its conclusion, she summons the Doctor, who explains that he wrote the holo-novel to highlight the injustice facing the other EMH Mark 1 holograms in the Alpha Quadrant, which were reprogrammed for menial labour.  He also explains that the mobile emitter’s size and weight in the program is a representation of the stigma he sometimes feels is still attached to it, and refuses to compromise his creative expression to accommodate his friends.

When the Doctor goes to make his planned revisions to the holo-novel, he finds that Tom has altered the program to put the Doctor in Tom’s shoes, showing the Doctor as a lecherous slacker who drugs an analogue of Seven to take advantage of her.  When the Doctor confronts Tom, he is told that Tom is less concerned about how the crew will look to people back home.  His concern is that the Doctor sees him that way.  A further conversation with Neelix makes the Doctor see that he can revise his holo-novel to show greater sensitivity to his crew-mates without compromising the novel’s message.  To that end, the Doctor contacts his publisher and gains assurances that he will have time to make further revisions.

Unfortunately, the publisher reneges, and Lt Barclay is soon forced to inform Admiral Own Paris, Tom’s father, of the holo-novel because it’s already been released.  When the Admiral informs Janeway, the publisher is contacted and find out that under Federation law, holograms have no rights.  As a result, the comm link is taken over for several days by an arbitration.  Tuvok attempts to reason that the Doctor is entitled to control his work under the legal definition that an artist is “a person who creates an original artistic work”.  The arbiter points out that the definition of person doesn’t extend to holograms, so the crew rallies to demonstrate that the Doctor is indeed a person.

Ultimately, the arbiter is unwilling to go so far as to rule that holograms are people, but he can see the Doctor is no ordinary hologram and extends him the rights of an artist, enabling him to control his work, and a recall of the previous version is ordered.  The Doctor feels the victory is somewhat hollow, but his friends encourage him not to give up.  Four months later, EMH Mark 1’s in the Alpha Quadrant begin to play the finalised copy of the holo-novel during their diagnostic breaks.

Review:

Just as the Doctor’s episode ‘Real Life’ echoed TNG’s ‘The Offspring’, this episode becomes the Doctor’s version of ‘Measure of a Man’.  A lot of past Voyager episodes also come into the mix, either as references made by the other characters or by contributing plot elements to this episode.  Of course, this blending initially creates something seemingly original, because at first, it’s not really apparent what the episode will become.  The focus is initially on Voyager getting more direct contact with Earth, then it ends up primarily on the issue of the Doctor’s holo-novel.

Now as someone trying to become a writer and trying to focus many of my efforts on pro-Autistic narratives, I can appreciate where the Doctor is coming from.  He’s part of a group that’s not being treated in a fair and equitable manner, and those around him are a bit blind to this, most likely because none of them are in the same boat.  As such, he wants to showcase how people like him are treated, and when his friends object, he takes it the wrong way.  This is why any factual writing based on my life experiences doesn’t name names, and my fiction writing efforts don’t use a single person for each character.  Instead, I combine physical and personality traits from across a number of people for each character, creating composites to distance the story being told from my real life present or past.

Towards the end, however, the episode left-turns into full equal rights territory by saying the Doctor has no rights due to being a hologram.  Where TNG put Data’s legal status as an android front and centre fairly early on in ‘Measure of a Man’, this episode spent more time focusing on how the Doctor’s writing efforts were being taken by the others.  However, I think Tom is the only one who really gets a point across, because most of the others come off like they’re afraid to be seen in a negative light.  Given how some of them have ill-treated the Doctor in earlier episodes, even if only by accident, a little tarnishing of their reputations is the least they deserve.

Tom, however, notes that he’s more bothered by the idea that the Doctor sees him in the negative way the Tom-based character is written.  This is actually a good point because if someone ill-treats you but later makes amends and becomes a real friend, it’s hardly fair to show them in a negative light later on.  As such, I commend the Doctor for finally realising he needs to develop his story further.  A key reason I will probably take forever to get anything I write published is that I’ll be constantly reworking things to iron out as much of this kind of issue as I can.  Well, at least where my friends are concerned; for anyone that’s bullied me or not treated me right, they deserve whatever literary bombs I don’t defuse.

When the episode makes its shift into courtroom drama, I’m a bit disappointed the Doctor isn’t ruled a person by the arbiter in the same way Data was, but I understand why.  Aside from the real-world reason that the episode needed to remain different from ‘Measure of a Man’, there’s the in-world consideration that Data was a relatively unique being, whereas the Doctor is a unique member of a wider race of artificial life form, only some of which possess sentience and even less really capitalise on that gift.  It also makes me wonder how the Doctor considers how the TNG crew treated the Moriarty hologram, who I suspect was probably studied to develop the EMH program in the first place.

The episode also has some interesting character moments for others as the crew begin having proper, albeit short, conversations with their family and friends back home.  Now if the verdict on the Doctor’s legal status had been more positive, I’d give the whole thing top marks, but instead I’m only offering up 9 out of 10.

[bumblingbabooshka]

Sorry, rewatching ‘Workforce’ .... Janeway’s thing really is old men huh.

[raurquiz]

#otd #startrek    #voyager #Workforce #Part2 #janeway #chakotay #tuvok #kim #paris #belannatorres #7of9 #emh #neelix #jaffen #kadan #quarren #ambassador #yerid #ravoc #startrek56 @startrekonpplus https://www.instagram.com/p/CpNjHfbuEXB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[nosuchthingasagruffalo]

STAR TREK JANEWAY

CHAPTER THREE - sometime in 2378

"Admiral, you can't just ask me to change the timeline of the entire galaxy, even for the people I love the most in that galaxy. The consequences are too far reaching".

"You will do it Kathryn, for your child"

***12 weeks earlier***

Kathryn sat on her sofa with a glass of wine in hand, saying goodbye to Jaffen today had been hard. He had stirred within her feelings she had long surpressed, she had been so happy, free; standing outside the transporter room she had pulled him into one final kiss. She couldn't believe she had behaved so shamlessley in front of an ensign no less!

Her thoughts were interrupted by her door chime. Before she could pull herself together to answer she found herself face to face with Chakotay. "Sorry for using the override Captain but after today I was worried for your mental wellbeing", "oh give it a rest Chakotay, I'm not your woman, I can kiss whomever I damn well please". Chakotay took a step toward her, her heart raced, her breath quickening "I noticed how quickly you gave yourself to that man, how willingly you let down your parameters, no games, no teasing, you just opened your legs as soon as you met him" "fuck you Chakotay" Kathryn yelled, the wine maybe making her a little too loud and she shoved him. In return he grasped her by her shoulders and his lips came crashing down to hers, she meant to push him away, she meant to knee him in the groin, but instead she opened her robe, pushed her nightgown off her shoulders and reached for his fly. He batted her hand away and undid himself, lifting her up against the wall and pushing himself inside her "fuck! Yes, fuck me harder, think of him making love to me, show me you know how I really need it" Chakotay obliged coming with a quiet anger, juxtaposing her loud cries. He silently zipped up and left, they used to make love so magnificently but the last few years had been a hard coming together, deriving pleasure from pushing each other to the breaking point. Was Kathryn even capable of feeling love anymore? She doubted it.

**12 weeks later**

"Admiral I know I see Seven as a daughter figure, but she's not, she's an adult who may or may not be lost on our.."

"Oh Kathryn you and espcially I are too fucking old for this. Not Seven. I know you take a nap in your ready room every shift, I know you eat steak insaitably for every dinner. I know you almost fainted in astrometrics and I know those niggling feelings that won't go away. I actually managed to avoid the doctor until I was 18 weeks, even if I did reprogramme him slightly" Admiral Janeway chuckled. "Oh don't give me your puppy eyes, the crew will accept this development with joy, it's Chakotay who will struggle. You don't tell him until 22 weeks because you don't want to hurt him or Seven, of course as soon as you realise a baby isn't something you can hide he and Seven part ways and he tries to make it work with you. But the pressure of your duties, his anger at you keeping it from him so long, it's not an easy journey. When our daughter was born it improved, you all relaxed a little. But then one day when she's four months old you leave her in her cot whilst you shower and that's when the aliens attack, your whole bedroom was destroyed. After her death you and Chakotay let the grief, the anger, the guilt and judgement eat away at you. You take it out on each other and you tear away at each other. Eventually he reunites with Seven, Seven who loved Lottie so much. Seven who insisted that you sleep and she keep watch of your infant whilst Chakotay commanded the bridge. It was illogical to not regenerate when you needed it most" the Admiral smiled. "And although she is, was, the most beautiful baby there was, she really enjoyed keeping her mommy up all night".

"And you think you can save our baby by coming back to this point in time?" The Admiral gazed at the stars as they passed "I'm risking everything for her, I'm too old to care what's right or wrong anymore, I would burn the whole galaxy for one more day with her".

[ebonysolcum]

Sorry if this is too much. I like to be thorough. Lol. (Also, please note, the episode numbers for Season 1 treat “Caretaker” as two episodes. If your thing counts them as one, just subtract a number.)

I’ll stick everything under a cut just so it doesn’t take up as much space.

Party (I’ve italicised the ones that are probably most what you’re looking for.)

S1 E6 “The Cloud” (I don’t know if you’d call it a party, but she does attend a gathering at Sandrine’s)

S2 E6 “Twisted”

S3 E6 “Remember”

S3 E14 “Alter Ego”

S4 E12 “Mortal Coil”

*S4 E25 “One” (It’s a holographic simulation of her, so not really.)

S5 E6 “Timeless”

S5 E11 “Latent Image”

*S5 E18 “Course: Oblivion” (Duplicate performs wedding, so kinda.)

S5 E23 “11:59” (Kinda, at the end.)

S6 E10 “Pathfinder” (Kinda, at the end.)

S6 E11 “Fair Haven” (Holographic party on the holodeck?)

S7 E23 “Homestead”

Planet

- Outside

S1 E1-2 “Caretaker”

S1 E4 “Time and Again”

S1 E10 “Prime Factors”

S2 E1 “The 37’s”

S2 E2 “Initiations”

S2 E12 “Resistance”

S2 E22 “Innocence”

S2 E25 “Resolutions”

S2 E26/S3 E1 “Basics”

S3 E7 “Sacred Ground”

S3 E8 “Future’s End, Part I”

S3 E15 “Coda”

S3 E16 “Blood Fever”

*S3 E24 “Displaced” (Technically a simulated environment on a space station.)

S4 E10 “Random Thoughts”

S4 E11 “Concerning Flight”

S5 E4 “In the Flesh” (Technically a simulated environment on a space station.)

S6 E14 “Memorial”

S6 E19 “Child’s Play”

S7 E16-17 “Workforce”

- Inside only

S1 E8 “Ex Post Facto”

S1 E14 “Alliances”

S3 E18 “Darkling”

S3 E20 “Favorite Son”

S4 E21 “The Omega Directive”

S6 E7 “Dragon’s Teeth”

S6 E13 “Virtuoso”

Q’s puppy

S3 E11 “The Q and the Grey”

In a hat

- Unfortunately, this does not exist. I guess the woman is opposed to headwear. Lol. However, I can give you two sorta options.

S5 E12 “Bride of Chaotica!” (She wears a wig with a spider on it. Kinda headwear, but not really.)

S5 E23 “11:59” (It’s not actually Janeway, but Shannon O’Donnell does wear a hat.)

Saying goodbye

*S1 E1-2 “Caretaker” (Says goodbye to Mark, though she doesn’t realise it’s permanent.)

S5 E10 “Counterpoint” (Do you want to count Kashyk? I dunno.)

S6 E11 “Fair Haven” (Tries to say goodbye to Michael. That didn’t last. Lol.)

S7 E17 “Workforce, Part II” (Says goodbye to Jaffen.)

Hope this helps! Also, sorry if I missed anything or got anything wrong.

I'm working on a video (aka I wanna start working on a video at some point, lol) but I need some help finding scenes. If anyone can help with the episode number on these scenes, I'd appreciate it!

- Janeway at a party (I know there was at least one in the mess hall)

- Janeway visiting a planet (one or two episodes/scenes)

- Janeway with the dog and Q

- Janeway in a hat (does that exist?) or at least a head thing of some sort

- Janeway saying goodbye to a man she liked but has to leave (one or two episodes/scenes)

[insanewaykathy]

Chakotay acts differently when Janeway decides to have a relationship with Michael Sullivan and with Jaffen. With Sullivan he's like: "Look, are you dating someone, huh? He's taller, or is it just me who noticed? Funny Kathryn, funny…" With Jaffen he's like: "I can't believe she was sleeping with him, that she moved in with him and still didn't want me to bring her back!" crying in the sonic shower 🤣obviously because Jaffen was real and he was jealous and disappointed.

[carter-sg-1]

Workforce AU - Janeway introducing Jaffen, her coworker, to her Significant Other-Chakotay . :P

[grissomesque]

Jaffen: "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable."

Janeway: "You're not."

Husband: "You're making me uncomfortable. Frankly."