Template:Realworld
- For the condition which affects Vulcans during pon farr and which this episode is named after, see plak tow.
B'Elanna Torres experiences symptoms similar to the pon farr after being attacked by Ensign Vorik who is also undergoing the blood fever.
Summary
- "Captain's log, stardate 50537.2. Routine scans of an uninhabited star system have revealed the presence of gallicite, a very rare substance, on the fourth planet."
USS Voyager comes into orbit around an apparently-uninhabited planet that has been detected to contain gallicite, a substance that can be used to refit the ship's warp coils. Closer sensor sweeps reveal at least a kiloton of the material, more than enough to do the job. There also appears to be an abandoned colony site on the planet. Captain Janeway places B'Elanna Torres in charge of an operation to potentially collect and utilize the gallicite. Janeway advises her to get Neelix involved, as he has mining experience.
In engineering, Torres and Ensign Vorik are further examining the gallicite deposits, and find artificial tunnels, suggesting past mining operations. After they are finished with their examination, much to Torres' dismay, Vorik asks Torres to be his mate, rewording it to Human terms as "proposing marriage". On top of her objection that the proposal is too sudden, Torres remembers that Vulcans typically have arranged marriages, but Vorik notes that his betrothed likely considers him lost and would have chosen a different mate by now. After repeated rebuffs of his advances, Vorik attacks Torres, attempting to place her in a mind meld. Torres is able to disengage from Vorik, punching him right in the face and knocking him across Main Engineering.
Act One
In sickbay, The Doctor diagnoses Vorik as having a dislocated jaw and a neurochemical imbalance which he must discuss with Vorik privately. Torres leaves disgusted, after which The Doctor reveals to Vorik that he is going through pon farr. Vorik's distress suggests it is his very first pon farr, which can be particularly dangerous to those who are not experienced at mitigating their own symptoms. The Doctor has extremely little information on pon farr, and requests in vain for any information. Somewhat embarrassed and determined to deal with it himself, Vorik requests medical confinement to quarters, and is fitted with a cortical monitor.
The Doctor goes to the only other person who could possibly help: Tuvok. But even he is unwilling to discuss things with the Doctor, leading The Doctor to make the very human judgment that Vulcans have a Victorian attitude toward sex. Tuvok does say that Vorik only has three alternatives to death: taking a mate, fighting for a mate, or intense meditation. He feels that attempting to intervene would be counter-productive.
Torres, Neelix and Tom Paris meet in a transporter room. Torres remarks that Vorik will not be joining them on the surface. They examine the route they will be taking to the most accessible useful vein of gallicite, and beam down. Neelix and Paris take note of Torres' unusually cheerful attitude. As they move toward their destination, Neelix finds a colony. Though it suggests it has only been abandoned for 50 to 60 years, it is in bad decay. Paris wants to explore it, but Torres suggests, almost flirtatiously, that Paris wants to put off showing off his climbing ability in the gallicite caves. They all head off.
In the caves, they find that the tunnels are steeper than they expected. They put their pitons into the rocks, and descend. However, Neelix's piton breaks, and he falls, pulling Torres off the face as well. Neelix injures his knee in the landing, and Torres yells at him for nearly getting them all killed. Paris tries to get Torres to calm down, noting that he checked Neelix's rigging work and that his piton must have malfunctioned. Torres decides to continue the mission on her own, even though Neelix has to return to the ship. Paris tries to stop her, but she bites him, and runs off. Paris stays with Neelix and reports the situation to Voyager.
Act Two
Tuvok asks Vorik some uncomfortable questions
Upon being briefed by Paris as to the situation, including Torres' unusual behavior, Janeway orders a second away team for rescue. Tuvok delays, however, suspecting he knows what is wrong with Torres. He goes to Vorik, and tries to get him to reconstruct the earlier events with Torres. Vorik states that it was difficult to remember, but he recalls putting his hands to her face. Tuvok figures out that Vorik initiated a mind meld in an attempt to establish a telepathic mating bond. He surmises that the mind meld awoke in Torres compatible Klingon mating instincts that are very similar to pon farr, and potentially just as dangerous to herself and others. Vorik wants to help her, but Tuvok advises the younger Vulcan to continue his meditative efforts, suggesting that Torres would not want his help.
Chakotay and Tuvok go to the surface and brief Paris on Torres' potentially life-threatening situation. As Neelix is taken to safety, Chakotay, Tuvok and Paris go after Torres. They find her deeper in the caves, where she has discovered live artificial lighting circuitry in the richest deposits of gallicite. The crew, for the moment, is more concerned about helping Torres, but she is unaware of what's going on with her, growing increasingly more irritated and angrier; she doesn't understand why the others are acting the way they are. Right then, some aliens appear, holding weapons.
Act Three
The aliens confront the away team, asking what they want on their planet. Chakotay tries to assure the aliens that they mean no harm. The aliens are suspicious of Torres, but Tuvok tries to assure them she is ill and they are trying to get her to safety. Chakotay tells the aliens they thought the planet was uninhabited. The lead alien is permitted to examine a phaser, and confirms that their tricorders did not previously detect any life forms.
Suddenly, a seismic alarm sounds, and the aliens warn them that the walls are unstable. One of the aliens tries to push Torres to safety, and is attacked. As an earthquake occurs, the aliens disappear with Chakotay and Tuvok, while Paris tries to calm Torres down. Neither the aliens nor Chakotay and Tuvok can be detected, revealing a jamming field that blocks lifesigns. Paris promises to explain to Torres what's wrong with her, but insists they have to get to the ship before trying to find Chakotay and Tuvok.
In sickbay, Vorik has returned to The Doctor, who injects a hypospray to regulate Vorik's serotonin levels. He also has postulated a possible course for regulation of symptoms, but Vorik is still reluctant to accept help. The Doctor advises that, in Voyager's current situation, he may need all the help that he can get from his on-board friends. The Doctor takes Vorik to a holodeck, where he suggests he use a holographic Vulcan female to deal with his "urges". Vorik suggests he may try it.
Underground, Torres is trying to make sense of what Paris is telling her. Paris seems to be aware that a bite like she gave him could be an initiation of a Klingon mating ritual. Torres is uncertain of what to do, and unwilling to have anything to do with Vorik. Paris assures Torres that The Doctor should be able to help her. When they come to a blockage caused by the earlier tremor, Paris stops Torres from trying to blast it open with a phaser rifle. In the struggle over the rifle, Paris determines she is trying to initiate a mating ritual with him, and resists her actions, even when she begs him to give in. Paris asks her to fight her urges as long as possible, unwilling to take advantage of her when she's vulnerable.
Act Four
Tom and B'Elanna's first kiss
In a hidden tunnel, one of the aliens, a Sakari named Ishan, interrogates Tuvok and Chakotay, wanting to know everything about them, their ship and their technology. He takes particular interest in an artificial joint in one of Tuvok's elbows. Chakotay wants to know why the Sakari have taken such great lengths to avoid detection. Ishan says that invaders came long before he was born, and destroyed the Sakari civilization. The survivors have hid underground ever since. Chakotay offers Voyager's help to improve their concealment techniques – particularly the concealment of their gallicite, which is how Voyager found them – and remove the remaining surface traces of their civilization. Ishan agrees, but states that the visitors will be supervised at all times. Then, the Sakari's seismic alert sounds.
A partial cave-in occurs where Torres and Paris are trapped. They are okay, but the rifle has been buried, hindering their escape. Torres has a moment of weakness, and resumes her advances on Paris. She states that she thinks he wants her as bad as she wants him, but he is still unwilling to give in. Torres challenges him, telling how she knows he has some feelings for her. She begs him not to push her away, claiming that she does feel the same way. They finally kiss, but Paris regains his wits, leaving Torres frustrated by his unwillingness to help by mating with her.
On Voyager, The Doctor returns to the holodeck where he sees Vorik, who appears more relaxed. He suggests that the holoprogram has helped, and wants to return to duty. The Doctor isn't ready to release him to work yet. The Doctor reports to Janeway, and suggests that the holodeck might work with Torres as well. He intends to write a study about the various races' mating rituals, purely "from a socio-biological point of view".
In the caves, Torres' agony is starting to worsen, to the point of short-term amnesia, forgetting where she is and why. At that moment, Chakotay and Tuvok clear the rocks from the other side and get Paris and Torres to the surface. When they get there, however, they find communications with Voyager down. Tuvok notices Torres' condition, and tells Paris that the only solution is for he and Torres to mate; otherwise, he surmises, Torres will die. Paris agrees, and Tuvok and Chakotay give them their privacy.
Act Five
Off in the surrounding forest, he and Torres begin to give in to the urges. Before they get too far, however, they are interrupted by an enraged Vorik, who has beamed to the surface and is now determined to mate with Torres at any cost. He calls to Tuvok, and declares his intention to initiate the koon-ut-kal-if-fee, a ritual challenge to win Torres' hand in marriage. He wants to fight Paris to the death, a challenge everyone knows Paris will lose. Vorik reveals that he was the one that disabled communications, to stop any interference.
Torres prevents a tragedy by declaring herself her own champion, a right Tuvok confirms that she has. Vorik and Torres fight, and Torres ultimately knocks Vorik unconscious after a long and vicious hand-to-hand battle. Torres, exhausted, falls into Paris's arms. The fight clears both Torres and Vorik of their blood fever, and they are out of harm's way.
- "Captain's log, stardate 50541.6. We're following through with Chakotay's offer to help the Sakari improve their camouflage and they've agreed to supply us with a generous quantity of gallicite."
What's left of the Invaders: a Borg skeleton.
Back on board, Paris and Torres run into each other on a turbolift. The retrofitting of the warp coils is going well. Paris halts the turbolift and they talk through what happened, taking into account that they will likely be on the ship together for a very long time. Paris states bluntly that he didn't think Torres' Klingon side was that frightening, and that he welcomed the possibility of seeing it again some day. As she leaves the turbolift on her level, Torres amicably warns him to be careful what he wishes for.
On the surface of the planet, Chakotay sends an urgent hail to Captain Janeway to beam down to his coordinates. He has found something she absolutely needs to see. When she arrives, he takes her to some bushes and pulls them aside to reveal what he has found: the ancient remains of one of the invaders who destroyed the Sikari civilization. Janeway immediately recognizes them. They are the remains of a Borg drone.
Memorable Quotes
"I have always had great respect for B'Elanna. I hope she isn't too... upset with me."
"With Lieutenant Torres, upset is a relative term."
- - Vorik and The Doctor
"For such an intellectually enlightened race, Vulcans have a remarkably Victorian attitude about sex!"
- - The Doctor to Tuvok
"I tried to stop her from leaving captain, but she got very hostile and eh...bit me."
- - Tom Paris
"Lieutenant Torres has never been a great follower of logic."
- - Tuvok
"B'Elanna, stop it! This isn't about the gun, this is about sex. But that's not gonna happen right now."
- - Tom Paris to B'Elanna Torres, fighting over the phaser rifle
"I'll get to work designing the half-Klingon version of the program. There's a copious amount of information in the cultural database about their mating practices. Did you know that fracturing a clavicle on the wedding night is actually considered a blessing on the marriage?"
- - The Doctor
"So, this is the part where you throw heavy objects at me?"
"Maybe later."
- - Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres
"You're my mate, not his!"
- - Vorik
"No one will keep me from my mate!"
- - Vorik
"If anyone is going to smash your arrogant little face in, I will! I take your challenge myself!"
- - B'Elanna Torres to Vorik
"You're afraid that your big, scary Klingon side might have been showing. Well, I saw it up close and you know, it wasn't so terrible. In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing it again someday."
"Careful what you wish for, Lieutenant."
- - Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres
Background Information
- According to Vorik, there are seventy-three male crew members aboard Voyager. As he was speaking in context of potential mates for Torres and given his later stated disdain for mating with holograms, he was probably not including The Doctor.
- Vorik's interest in Torres was hinted at in the previous episode "Alter Ego". In that episode he reserves a table for just the two of them during a luau in the holodeck.
- This episode began the relationship between Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres, which would culminate in their marriage in the Season 7 episode "Drive".
- This episode contains the first foreshadowing that the crew of Voyager are nearing Borg space: Chakotay finds the remains of one of the colony's invaders, a Borg drone.
- Torres' eagerness to fight Vorik may be associated with a Klingon connection between violence and sexual arousal.
- This episode is directed by Andrew J. Robinson who is best known for playing Elim Garak on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
- This is the second and final episode of Star Trek: Voyager in which Garrett Wang (Harry Kim) does not appear.
Video and DVD releases
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 3.8, 23 June 1997.
- As part of the VOY Season 3 DVD collection.
Links and references
Guest Stars
- Alexander Enberg as Vorik
- Deborah Levin as Lang
- Bruce Bohne as Ishan
Uncredited Co-Stars
- Elle Alexander as a Sakari
- Ted Barba as a Sakari
- Tarik Ergin as Ayala
- Louis Ortiz as a Sakari
- Amy Jo Traicoff as T'Pera
Stunt doubles
- George Colucci as stunt double for Ethan Phillips
- Phil Culotta as stunt double for Alexander Enberg
- Jim Hart as stunt double for Robert Duncan McNeill
- Leslie Hoffman as stunt double for Roxann Dawson
References
Borg drone; cortical monitor; cortical scan; fusing piton; gallicite; geo-spectral analysis kit; koon-ut-kal-if-fee; koon-ut-so'lik; Lang; laser drill; microcellular scan; Neelix; Osana caverns; Paxau Resort; pon farr; Sakari; serotonin; T'Pera; Vulcan; Vulcan mating rituals; warp coil
External link
- Template:NCwiki
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