A Tribble Called Quest (episode)

Real world article

(written from a production point of view)

While harvesting bosonite on a barren world, the crew encounters aggressive, genetically-modified tribbles – and the Klingon scientist who created them.

Summary[]

Act One[]

Rok-Tahk describes how a star is usually formed, and then explains how they need to make a special star so they can power the Protostar drive to return to the USS Voyager-A. Hologram Janeway has discovered an M-class planet nearby with a natural supply of bosonite for them to use to make their own "perfect" star. The entire crew of the USS Protostar beam down to the planet and notice that the surface looks desolate; Captain Chakotay senses that nature is out of balance. The away team locates a large deposit of bosonite nearby, and they soon notice a tribble.

Rok picks up the tribble and coos over it, and it quickly multiplies into several tribbles, one of which bites Rok due to the tribbles' voracious appetite. Rok is in disbelief that it bit her, recalling from her studies that tribbles don't have teeth. Suddenly, tribbles of unusual size appear; several at least 1 meter tall, and one well over 2 meters tall. As the tribbles start to chase the crew, Dal R'El thinks fast and recovers their transporter enhancers before they are crushed by the incoming soft, furry creatures (that make a distinctly un-pleasant sound). Murf jumps off a ledge and swings underneath an overhang, extending his arms so the others can join him and hide from the giant tribbles. All but Dal and Zero make it to safety; Murf catches Dal before he falls, but Zero's leg is injured.

Jankom Pog and Zero beam back to the ship to get Zero to sickbay. Immediately, a Klingon points a disruptor at the remaining away team and shouts at them in Klingon. When the Universal translator is unable to translate for the crew, Gwyn translates the nuanced Klingon dialect as "Leave this planet or you will die."

Act Two[]

With the universal translator now translating properly for everyone, the away team follows the Klingon, who says he is not able to leave this planet yet. He decloaks his Bird-of-Prey and they all go aboard. Rok comments on the unsanitary conditions of the lab and notices notes about genetic manipulation and hormonal retroviruses, realizing that the Klingon is a scientist like her. He introduces himself as Doctor K'ruvang, house geneticist for the Klingon Empire, sent by Chancellor Martok years ago to find a way to defeat the ancient Klingon blood enemy, the tribbles. He found a weakness in the tribbles' DNA, but his experiments went wrong and they became stronger. For this, he lost his honor and is now unable to leave the planet until he defeats his enemy. Rok sees an issue in K'ruvang's notes right away, saying that Starfleet has made many advancements since he first came to this planet. She and K'ruvang hypothesize a new way to reduce both the size and reproduction rate of the tribbles on this planet.

Maj'el reminds everyone that their goal is to collect bosonite. K'ruvang laughs and points out that the bosonite they seek is in the Omega Tribble nest. Since their goals align, Chakotay orders Rok to work on the retrovirus. While working in the unsanitary lab to create the serum, Rok sneezes onto a petri dish, but doesn't realize it.

On the Protostar, Zero's leg is not able to be healed. Zero knew that their body wouldn't last forever, they just thought they had more time. Jankom tries to leave, claiming that Tellarites don't have the best bedside manner, but Zero requests that he stay. Jankom then confides to them that if he can't fix something, he builds something even better, which intrigues Zero.

On the planet, both Gwyn and Maj'el are unable to sleep due to how loud K'ruvang snores. Maj'el senses that Gwyn fears that Solum will end up like this world, broken. Maj'el reminds Gwyn that though Vulcans do not express emotion, they do feel, and confides that she is uneasy with her decision to leave Voyager after Wesley Crusher said she was essential to helping the Protostar crew. She is unable to find the logic, and Gwyn reassures her that both life and hope are not always logical.

Inside the Bird-of-Prey, it seems that a tribble is destroying the lab, but it turns out to be a different creature. Rok realizes that her sneezing accidentally contaminated the petri dishes she was using, which resulted in the creation of this new creature.

Act Three[]

The crew replicates large amounts of quadrotriticale grain that is infused with Rok's serum. K'ruvang expresses doubt in both Rok's abilities and the effectiveness of the serum, due to the existence of the accidental not-a-tribble "abomination" as he calls it. Gwyn, Murf, and Maj'el all coo over the cute creature, but Rok is distressed that she created it by making a mistake, and worries that she made a mistake with the serum as well. Dal comes up with the name Bribble, and the group likes it, except for Rok.

Rok, Murf, Maj'el, and K'ruvang, who are the science team, spread the grain outside the Omega Tribble nest, a cave filled with tribbles of all sizes. Rok prevents Bribble from eating the grain, finally seeming to warm up to its cuteness. The Bird-of-Prey hovers over the nest, and once the tribbles take the bait and go outside, Dal and Gwyn slide down ropes and place transporter enhancers around the bosonite. Hologram Janeway beams the bosonite up to the ship, but before Dal and Gwyn can be beamed up too, the tribbles return to the nest and destroy one of the transporter enhancers. Chakotay orders the science team to save Dal and Gwyn. K'ruvang worries that it will jeopardize the experiment, but still goes with them. Rok tells him she will choose her crew over the experiment.

The science team charges into the nest, saving Dal and Gwyn from immediate danger, but they all end up surrounded by tribbles. Phaser and disruptor fire are ineffective against the tribbles, even though K'ruvang is very intentionally using a setting stronger than stun. K'ruvang tries to shoot the bosonite in order to destroy as many tribbles as he can with an explosive chain reaction, but Rok knocks his aim off and he misses the bosonite. K'ruvang is at his wits' end, and yells that he will destroy them all in order to reclaim his honor. Rok argues that there's always another way, and Murf and the rest of the crew restrain and disarm K'ruvang.

As the tribbles close in and it seems all hope is lost, Bribble starts communicating with the tribbles, and the tribbles disperse. Chakotay comments that Rok's "little miscalculation" just saved them all, and Rok now seems at peace with unexpected variables. K'ruvang leads them all in a Klingon victory song.

The Protostar crew, now joined by Bribble, are successful in restarting the Protostar drive using the bosonite. Dr. K'ruvang contacts them to say that Rok's serum was successful in reducing the tribbles' size and aggressiveness, and now he can finally return home with his honor restored. Janeway charts a course for Voyager, and asks Chakotay if he's ready to see the admiral. He says that he is now, and they continue on their journey.

Log entries[]

"Science log, supplemental. No one said making a star was easy. It may not have gone perfectly, but it made the experience special. I was super relieved to hear my retrovirus worked after all. It just needed a little time... Which means Dr. K'ruvang was finally able to go home, too, with his reputation mostly intact. You have to expect the unexpected in my field... Because, before the right answer, we often find the wrong one. But the wrong one can lead us to entirely new discoveries. That's why it's important we don't hang our heads when we make a mistake. Instead, we should wear them like a badge of honor."

- Rok-Tahk

Memorable quotes[]

"Oh great, look at this mess. Can't we go to a nice planet for a change?"

- Jankom

"Well, hello, friend. Was that you who devoured this entire world?"
"It's a Tribleustes ventricosus! "

- Zero and Rok, upon discovering a tribble

"It bit me! But, tribbles don't have teeth..."
"I think these do. Run!"

- Rok and Chakotay

"The tumble was exhilarating, but the end result... not optimal."

- Zero after having their leg injured by being rolled over by a giant tribble

"Oh, my, pain is such a horribly novel sensation."

- Zero

"Whoa, back up! A Klingon scientist... Don't run into many of those."
"I am Doctor K'ruvang, house geneticist for the Empire, sent by Chancellor Martok to find a way to defeat our ancient blood enemy: the tribbles!"

- Chakotay and Doctor K'ruvang, before Dal laughs but Gwyn quickly silences him by shaking her head

"Uh, if it makes you feel any better, whenever Jakom finds something he can't fix, Jankom builds himself something even better."
"Hmm, perhaps we shall."

- Jankom and Zero

"Life's not always logical. But neither is hope. And just because the path isn't clear now doesn't mean you'll never find your purpose, or I'll never get back to my home world to fix what I abandoned."
"Perhaps such things are only impossible, until they are not."

- Gwyn and Maj'el

"Just because an unexpected variable occurred, it does not mean your abilities are flawed."
"Unexpected variable? That?"
"Well, what else would you call it?"
"Ugh, an abomination!"
"We don't have to call it anything! Can we please move on and test the grain to make sure it works?"

- Maj'el, Rok, Gwyn, and Dr. K'ruvang

"It is a fascinating error, various DNA strands hybridized into an unknown species."
"Hey, I'm one of those, too. This one is just a little baby tribble. Uh, wha-- Bribble."
"Huh, Bribble, I like it."
"Ugh, now it has a name?"
"I thought you liked cute animals."
"I do! I just don't like my scientific mistakes... staring at me."

- Maj'el, Dal, Gwyn, and Rok

"You have to expect the unexpected in my field. Because, before the right answer, we often find the wrong one. But the wrong one can lead us to entirely new discoveries. That's why it's important we don't hang our heads when we make a mistake. Instead, we should wear them like a badge of honor."

- Rok-Tahk

"I'll chart a course for Voyager. Are you ready to see the admiral?"
"I am now. Crew, let's set a course for home."

- Hologram Janeway and Chakotay, after the protostar drive is restored

Background information[]

Title[]

The title is a reference to the music group A Tribe Called Quest.
In the French release, the word "Bridule" is substituted for "Quest".

Story and script[]

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Continuity[]

In "Into the Breach, Part I", Rok was interrupted while presenting a report on reducing the multiplication rate of the tribble species Polygeminus grex. Here, having only observed a single tribble from a short distance, she immediately refers to it by the name Tribleustes ventricosus.
It was previously seen that one tribble generally has an average litter of ten offspring approximately once every 12 hours. (TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles"; DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations" ) However, the genetically modified tribbles on this planet seem to be able to reproduce much faster, though perhaps with a lower average litter size; two tribbles (one of which had just given birth to the other one) seemed to multiply into a total of seven tribbles after only about 15 seconds.
Cyrano Jones had previously genetically-engineered tribbles to prevent them from breeding at all, in order to make them more compatible with humanoid ecology. However, his modifications didn't affect the tribbles' metabolism, and as a side effect the tribbles continued to eat and grew incredibly large. (TAS: "More Tribbles, More Troubles")
- It was discovered that such larger tribbles were actually just colonies of normal-sized tribbles. It is unclear whether the larger tribbles on this planet are also just colonies, or are in fact larger individual tribbles.
115 years earlier in 2269, Doctor Leonard McCoy had treated Cyrano Jones' genetically-modified tribbles to reduce their metabolic rate, which seemed to produce truly "safe" tribbles. (TAS: "More Tribbles, More Troubles") It is unclear whether this combination of knowledge had ever reached the Klingon Empire, and whether Dr. K'ruvang would have had knowledge of it, as he only indicates that a solution had eluded him (presumably while he was on the planet) for "years".
When Rok looks at a diagram made by Dr. K'ruvang, it seems to indicate that the genetically modified tribbles on this planet have skeletal structures, including what looks like a skull and ribcage. It is unclear whether this anatomy is normal for tribbles, or only for this particular genetically-modified variety; but the fact that typical tribbles don't have teeth might make the latter more likely.
When Gwyn, Maj'el, and Murf are enamored with the hybrid creature Bribble, they demonstrate seemingly uncharacteristic reactions for each of them; Maj'el seems almost ready to smile. This could just be due to the novelty of a cute baby creature, or Bribble might also be exhibiting the tribbles' innate tranquilizing effect, which is known to affect Humans, and might also affect Mellanoid slime worms, Vau N'Akat, and Vulcans.
Quadrotriticale is the same type of grain that another group of tribbles ate on Deep Space Station K-7, though that grain was poisoned and many of the tribbles perished. (TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles")

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And

Previous episode:

"Last Flight of the Protostar, Part II"

Star Trek: Prodigy

Season 2

Next episode:

"Cracked Mirror"

Tribble-related episodes
22nd century	ENT: "The Breach"
23rd century	ST: "The Trouble with Edward" TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles" TAS: "More Tribbles, More Troubles"
24th century	DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations" PRO: "A Tribble Called Quest"