Basics (Star Trek: Voyager)
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| Star Trek: Voyager episode | |
| "Basics" | |
 Voyager is stolen and her crew is abandoned |
|
| Episode no. | 42 & 43 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 142 & 146 |
| Airdate | May 20, 1996 - Part I September 4, 1996 - Part II |
| Writer(s) | Michael Piller |
| Director | Winrich Kolbe |
| Guest star(s) | Martha Hackett as Seska Anthony De Longis as Cullah Brad Dourif as Suder Henry Darrow as Kolopak John Gegenhuber as Tierna Nancy Hower as Sam Wildman Simon Billig as Hogan |
| Year | 2372 |
| Stardate | ? |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Resolutions" |
| Next | "Flashback" |
"Basics" is the 42nd and 43rd episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the cliffhanger between the second and third seasons.
[edit] Plot
Ensign Suder returns, having been confined to his quarters for life as punishment for his murder of Crewman Darwin. He has attempted to make amends for this, making several agricultural advancements. Suder is happy that his work might benefit the crew. His homicidal tendencies seem to be well under control.
An apparent defector of the Kazon is found on a stranded ship and taken on board, though Chakotay remains suspicious. As Voyager travels further into Kazon space, facing heavier attacks, the man commits suicide in a grisly, violent explosion, severely damaging Suder's quarters and disabling several of Voyager's systems. As Voyager is overwhelmed by the Kazon, Tom Paris takes a shuttle to find a Talaxian colony for aid. Voyager is boarded and taken, the self-destruct is attempted but important systems had been too damaged from earlier Kazon skirmishes.
The crew is marooned on a barren planet inhabited by primitive but seemingly hostile natives. Only two crew members are left on board Voyager - the Doctor and Suder, who was presumed dead in the explosion. Suder hides in the vents and Jeffries tubes of the ship, risking his sanity after he is forced to kill a Kazon soldier. His old Maquis tricks keep him from being detected. Seska, however, suspects something and uses her own Maquis knowledge to find Suder.
Meanwhile, on the planet, crewman Hogan is killed and devoured by a gigantic worm creature. The natives of the planet kidnap Kes and Neelix. Chakotay attempts to negotiate for their return, but this does not go well and he, Kes and Neelix plus other crewmen flee and are forced to hide in one of the caverns that the giant worms lives in. The natives attempt to smoke them out with a fire.
Back at camp, things are going wrong, although the crew have managed to find food and warmth. Ensign Wildman's baby falls ill and continues to get worse and Chakotay's team is still missing. Janeway gathers her own crew to go after Chakotay.
Inside the caverns, a mis-step leads to a crew member waking and getting eaten by the worm. Outside, Janeway has B'Elanna and two others draw off the natives with a distraction. It works, allowing them to put out the fire and get the rest of the crew out. The worm ends up buried under tons of rock dislodged by Tuvok and others as they escape.
Suder and the Doctor risk their lives to repel the Kazon. Suder, under orders from Tom Paris, who is with a Talaxian convoy, attacks the engineering section of Voyager. His goal is to sabotage the phaser weapon systems. He succeeds, but is shot in the back by a dying Kazon and perishes moments after. The Kazon attempt to destroy Tom Paris' shuttle but the sabotaged phaser ends up killing most of the Kazon and so they decide to abandoned Voyager. Seska herself has been mortally wounded; she stumbles into Janeway's ready room and dies next to her child, who survived. Maj Cullah, one of the few survivors of the attack, momentarily grieves for Seska, and then takes the baby and leaves.
On the planet, volcanic eruptions have forced the Voyager crew and the natives to move out together. Chakotay gains the respect of the natives when he rescues one of their children from a lava flow. The leader of the tribe gathers together plants that help Wildman's baby to recover.
The crew and the natives both watch in bewilderment as Voyager descends to the planet to pick them up. Tom Paris greets Janeway and the crew on the bridge and explains of Suder's deeds. In Sickbay, there is a brief conversation over the bodies of Seska and Suder; Tuvok wishes for Suder the peace he had not been able to gain in life. Voyager continues on the journey home.
[edit] Mistakes
- In the first part of the episode, Kate Mulgrew flubs a line by saying "Work on the Doctor with it, B'Elanna" instead of "Work with the Doctor on it, B'Elanna."
- In the second part of this episode, the Doctor asks the ship's computer of how many persons are on board to get an idea of the number of invading Kazon he is facing. The ship responds with "89 Kazon and one Betazoid". It fails to mention Seska, who is a Cardassian, and her baby.
- When Seska asks the computer to activate the EMH the computer does not say that the program is already running. This could be explained as deception on the part of the Doctor. He appears from behind a bulkhead when Seska activates the program. When the Captain gave him the ability to change his program he may have gained the ability to deactivate that warning. He is also able to reappear almost instantly after Seska deactivates him.
