Aquiel

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Star Trek: TNG episode
"Aquiel"

Episode no.	139
Prod. code	239
Airdate	February 1, 1993
Writer(s)	Jeri Taylor Brannon Braga Ronald D. Moore
Director	Cliff Bole
Guest star(s)	Wayne Grace Reg E. Cathey Majel Barrett Renee Jones
Year	2369
Stardate	46461.3
Episode chronology
Previous	"Ship in a Bottle"
Next	"Face of the Enemy"

"Aquiel" is a sixth season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The crew of the Enterprise investigate a mysterious death on a remote station, and Geordi falls for the main suspect.

1 Plot
2 Character development
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The U.S.S. Enterprise arrives at a remote subspace relay station near the Klingon border, and Riker, Geordi, and Beverly encounter a stray dog and evidence of what appears to be the remains of Aquiel Uhnari, a Haliian Starfleet lieutenant. The staff attempts to discover precisely what happened by surveying the deserted shuttlecraft docked into the station. While surveying the shuttlecraft's destroyed deck plate, Beverly and Riker suspect that Aquiel and the missing Lieutenant Rocha may have been the victims of a Klingon attack. Then, Geordi comes across a moving, speaking screen image of Aquiel in her quarters, relaying a message to her sister Shianna about her fear of a Klingon named Morag. Geordi continues to watch these personal logs, and learns that Aquiel had a contentious relationship with Lieutenant Rocha. Riker then joins him in her quarters and is informed by Picard that the Klingon Governor Torak has arrived at the Enterprise.

The senior staff meets with Torak, and much to their surprise, he produces Aquiel — alive! She explains that Rocha attacked her and she escaped into Klingon space via shuttlecraft. Thus, the remains found near the bulkhead were probably Rocha's, but she doesn't remember precisely what happened, possibly due to a head injury. To help clarify what really occurred, Picard requests to speak with Commander Morag, a Klingon who supposedly harassed the station.

Attracted to this familiar stranger, Geordi befriends Aquiel, and takes her to Ten-Forward. He reveals to her that he surveyed her logs and personal correspondence in an investigation of her quarters. He then asks her about Rocha, and she tells him that she didn't like Rocha but she didn't wish him dead. She realizes, however, that the senior staff of the Enterprise suspects her of murder.

Meanwhile, Beverly continues to examine the cellular residue found on the deckplate, while Riker and Worf come across a phaser in the shuttlecraft set to kill. Given this new development, Riker and Worf question Aquiel; however she still insists that she would not kill him. Geordi sits in on this interrogation, and it is obvious he is sympathetic towards his new friend.

Commander Morag then arrives aboard the Enterprise and meets with the senior staff. He admits that he was present when Rocha was killed, and that he took priority Starfleet messages. Geordi then confronts Aquiel about taking messages from Rocha's log, and she explains that she did so because Rocha was declaring her insubordinate and belligerent to Starfleet. Scared that this new evidence will condemn her as Rocha's killer, she only agrees to stay aboard the Enterprise because Geordi has faith in her. He and Aquiel use an ancient method of her people to bond and share their thoughts.

While Beverly examines the DNA found on the deck plate yet again, the material jumps up and forms a perfect replica of her hand. Due to this, she suspects that the real Rocha may have been killed by this strange coalescent organism, and a replica of him may have attacked Aquiel in search of a new body. Suddenly, Aquiel's dog transforms into a creature right in front of Geordi — the dog is really a coalescent creature. Fortunately, Geordi manages to defend himself against the bizarre being, which apparently coalesced from Rocha to Aquiel's dog. She and Geordi then bid each other a fond farewell, both of them hoping they'll see each other again in the future.

[edit] Character development

Apparent throughout the series, this episode presents a clear example of the tendency of Geordi La Forge to become attracted to women with whom he has had no physical contact; forming romantic attachments based solely upon computer information, holographic representation, or even simply personal logs and correspondence.

[edit] Trivia

The plot of an investigator who falls in love with a missing woman he has never met was used in the 1944 film, Laura. Other similarities between the two stories also exist.