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STAR TREK: VOYAGER: FLASHBACK (TV)

Summary

One in this series of programs about the outer space adventures of the USS Voyager and its commander, Captain Kathryn Janeway, in the twenty-fourth century.

Voyager discovers a gaseous anomaly containing sirillium, which could be used as a power source. Tuvok suddenly becomes disoriented and asks to go to sick bay. On the way there, he experiences what appears to be a flashback to his childhood wherein he tried and failed to save a girl from falling off of a cliff to her death. Tuvok arrives at sick bay frightened and barely conscious. He recounts the experience to the Doctor and Kes, claiming that the events in the memory never actually occurred. However, the anxiety and panic he felt was real; the Doctor releases him but monitors his brain in case of any further effects. Tuvok unsuccessfully attempts to meditate in order to calm his mind.

The next day, Tuvok attends a meeting in engineering about the gaseous anomaly and makes comments about cloaked ships and Klingon space, puzzling the other crew members. He experiences the flashback again and passes out from the strain. Tuvok is taken back to sick bay, where the Doctor explains to Janeway that Tuvok has a repressed memory, which can be fatal in Vulcans. The only solution is mind-melding with a family member, and Janeway is the closest thing that Tuvok has to family on Voyager. She agrees to participate in the mind-meld as a "guide" to help Tuvok sort through the repressed memory.

However, Tuvok and Janeway find themselves in an entirely different memory: Tuvok's service aboard the starship Excelsior under Captain Sulu 80 years ago. They find themselves on the bridge in the midst of an attack by Klingons. Tuvok can interact with Janeway, but the other figures in the memory do not seem to perceive her. Janeway theorizes that this memory is somehow related to the girl on the cliff, and Tuvok's memory takes them back to three days earlier, when the Excelsior was investigating gaseous anomalies. This provides another connection to Tuvok's condition on Voyager. As Tuvok brings Captain Sulu a cup of tea, he explains to Janeway that the Excelsior was caught in the explosion of Praxis, a Klingon moon. The explosion of Praxis was one of the events which led to the first peace treaty between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The Excelsior experiences the explosion of Praxis just as Tuvok described.

He then goes on to recount that the Excelsior was warned away from Praxis but that Captain Sulu discovered that Captain James T. Kirk and Doctor Leonard McCoy were being put on trial on the Klingon homeworld Qo'noS for the murder of the Klingon chancellor. Sulu defied Starfleet orders to rescue them and Tuvok was the only crew member who voiced his opposition. Sulu explains to Tuvok that being in Starfleet is about more than simply regulations, that there is a sense of "family" in serving alongside fellow officers. Janeway discovers that Sulu took the Excelsior through a nebula almost identical to the gaseous anomaly discovered by Voyager. Tuvok and Janeway both witness the girl falling from the cliff before they are awoken from the mind-meld. Tuvok goes into shock and passes out.

Kim compares the two nebulas and he and Janeway talk about the era in which Captain Sulu served, noting that it was less developed than the 24th Century but perhaps more exciting. Tuvok awakens in sick bay and recounts that the Excelsior was ambushed by Klingons after entering the nebula, so Sulu had to cut the rescue mission short. They attempt the mind-meld again and they end up back on the bridge of the Excelsior again during the Klingon attack. Tuvok then takes Janeway back to his quarters several hours earlier, when Sulu ordered him to get some rest. His roommate Dimitri Valtane discusses Sulu's actions with him. Tuvok expresses disdain for Sulu's decision and reveals that he only entered Starfleet to appease his parents, also revealing a marked distaste for humans and their "egocentrism." Janeway is surprised to hear this, and they talk about Tuvok's fifty-year hiatus from Starfleet.

A Klingon ship decloaks near the Excelsior and Sulu is hailed by the ship's captain, Kang. They bluff each other for a while before Kang offers to "escort" Sulu back to Federation space. However, Sulu and Tuvok devise a plan to ignite the nebula in order to disable the Klingon ship. The Excelsior resumes its course towards Qo'noS, but is intercepted by more Klingon ships and a battle ensues. Tuvok attempts to prevent Valtane from being killed by an exploding control panel, but is unsuccessful and Tuvok can only watch as he dies. The memory of the girl on the cliff resurfaces again. The repressed memory takes its toll on Tuvok's brain and the Doctor scrambles to keep him alive. Meanwhile, Sulu is suddenly able to perceive Janeway. Tuvok explains that the brain damage is destabilizing his memories.

Janeway realizes that the memory of the girl on the cliff is somehow linked to Valtane's death. She and Tuvok travel back to an earlier memory where Janeway can steal a uniform so as not to attract attention. The Doctor discovers a virus in Tuvok's brain and begins pelting it with radiation in order to destroy it. In Tuvok's memories, the Klingons attack and Valtane dies again. Janeway advises Tuvok to concentrate on the memory as the Doctor continues using radiation against the virus. Suddenly the memory of the girl on the cliff enters Janeway's mind, and appears to cycle through various people before it is finally eliminated. Janeway and Tuvok emerge from the mind-meld. The Doctor and Kes explain that the virus mimicked memory engrams in order to hide from the immune system, and created a repressed memory within the subject's mind; it is not certain if the event actually occurred at all. The episode ends as Tuvok and Janeway reminisce about the era of Captain Sulu. Commercials deleted.

Details

  • NETWORK: UPN
  • DATE: September 11, 1996 9:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:45:50
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: B:50187
  • GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
  • SERIES RUN: UPN - TV series, 1995-2001
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Michael Piller … Executive Producer, Created by
  • Jeri Taylor … Executive Producer, Created by
  • Rick Berman … Executive Producer, Created by
  • Wendy Neuss … Producer
  • Merri D. Howard (See also: Merri Howard) … Producer
  • Kenneth Biller … Co-Producer
  • Brannon Braga … Supervising Producer, Writer
  • Peter Lauritson … Supervising Producer
  • Brad Yacobian … Line Producer
  • David Livingston … Director
  • Gene Roddenberry … Based upon "Star Trek" created by
  • David Bell … Music by
  • Jerry Goldsmith … Theme Music by
  • Kate Mulgrew … Cast, Captain Kathryn Janeway
  • Robert Beltran … Cast, Commander Chakotay
  • Roxann Biggs-Dawson (See also: Roxann Dawson) … Cast, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres
  • Jennifer Lien … Cast, Kes
  • Robert Duncan McNeill … Cast, Lieutenant Tom Paris
  • Ethan Phillips … Cast, Neelix
  • Robert Picardo … Cast, The Doctor
  • Tim Russ … Cast, Lieutenant Tuvok
  • Garrett Wang … Cast, Ensign Harry Kim
  • Grace Lee Whitney … Cast, Janice Rand
  • Jeremy Roberts … Cast, Dimitri Valtane
  • Boris Krutonog … Cast, Excelsior Helmsman
  • Michael Ansara … Cast, Kang
  • George Takei … Cast, Captain Sulu