Changes: Dragon's Teeth (episode)

Revision as of 18:44, 29 April 2007

When Voyager seeks refuge from alien attackers on the surface of a devastated planet, they find a small group of people who have survived in suspended animation for almost 900 years.

Summary

Teaser

The beauty of an enormous alien city is suddenly torn apart when torpedoes begin raining down on it, causing massive destruction everywhere. Below the chaos, a couple desperately tries to avoid falling debris and scramble into stasis pods. They are set for five years, hoping that by then, the war will have ended.

Act One

Nearly nine centuries later, the crew of the USS Voyager is surprised when they find themselves pulled into a subspace corridor full of asteroids, destroyed ships, and other debris. They sail along for five minutes before making contact with another vessel, identifying itself as Turei. Captain Janeway states that they were pulled in by accident, thanks to their shield polarity. The Turei vessel helps Voyager alter their shields, and both vessels are thrown out of the corridor. The crew is amazed when Ensign Kim reports that they have traveled over 200 light years in five minutes. Janeway immediately asks the Turei vessel if they could negotiate passage through the subspace corridor, hoping to reach the Alpha Quadrant. However, not only do the Turei deny the request, but they perceiveVoyager as a threat and begin firing on them. The Turei inform Voyager's crew that they must have their computer core wiped to erase the evidence of the "underspace" claimed by the Turei. The Turei demand that Voyager lowers its shields to be boarded.

To escape the firing ships, Paris sets a course for a nearby planet which appears to have once been inhabited, but is no longer. The planet's atmosphere is full of radiogenic particles making it a prime hiding spot. As Voyager drops through the atmosphere, the crew spies what remains of a metropolis situated on the surface. Voyager lands in the middle of the city, and Tuvok reports that while the radiation in the atmosphere is temporarily blocking Voyager from the Turei's sensors, it will not for long. They agree that the planet is suffering from the effects of a nuclear winter.

Voyager lands in the center of the city and the Captain orders repairs begun. They then detect faint life signs underneath the city, and as they explore, they discover several stasis pods, some of which are still active. They beam down to an underground chamber that has been heavily reinforced in order to make it last indefinitely. As Janeway and Tuvok search a different part of the chamber, Seven examines the pods. Ignoring Starfleet procedure, Seven of Nine activates one of the stasis pods and awakens a man. The man is startled to hear that he was in stasis for nine hundred years. He asks to see his wife, Jisa, but she did not survive the stasis.

Act Two

The man awakes in Voyager's Sickbay where he is scanned by The Doctor. He identifies himself as Vaadwaur, and recognizes Seven of Nine as Borg saying he's encountered them before. He indicates that the underspace corridors were previously held by the Vaadwaur, but it seems after centuries of inactivity they have been claimed by their rivals. There are thousands more stasis pods still active underground as well as preserved vehicles and fighters. Gedrin expresses disappointment at his wife's lack of courage before entering stasis, the Captian calls that "a bit heartless" but continues relations.

File:Gedrin Vaadwaur.jpg

Gedrin.

When Gedrin meets Neelix, he observes that he is Talax-ilzay. Neelix says that this was an ancient name of his people. He says that in his ancient tongue, the word vaadwaur means foolish. As Neelix attempts to apologize for calling the Vaadwaur foolish, a torpedo hits the city and red alert is activated.

On the Bridge, Chakotay reports that the Turei have found them. They cannot get an exact fix, but they can fire in the general area. Gedrin has a plan for a way to accurately target the Turei. If Voyager can uplink with a Vaadwaur Sentry satellite they will receive its sensor telemetry. Once they have access they return fire and disable the lead Turei ship. They cease their attack.

Voyager makes a deal with the Vaadwaur, the Vaadwaur get to escape and rebuild their civilization while Voyager can use the subspace corridors to get closer to Earth. Gedrin reveals a huge chamber filled with Vaadwaur fighters. Chakotay comments by saying "Dragon's Teeth." He says it is an ancient Greek myth: "After a dragon was killed in a war, its teeth were spread out across the battlefield. They took root and warriors sprung from the ground to continue the fighting."

Act Three

In Astrometrics the crew discusses their options with the Vaadwaur. They have memorized the subspace corridor layout, so they can plot Voyager's course, however there are eleven Turei ships in orbit. Morin is put in charge of reanimating the other Vaadwaur.

In her quarters Naomi Wildman plays with a doll sadly. Neelix enters to tuck her in. When he asks her about her experiences with the Vaadwaur children she says she doesn't like them. Apparently she witnessed them making fun of Neelix. He isn't very offended, but he doesn't continue telling her to play with them.

Back in the underground chamber, B'Elanna Torres is helping the Vaadwaur make repairs. Morin says a Klingon phrase to her. It seems that they identify with the Klingon views of battle and honorable death. "As children we are taught to fall asleep each night imagining a different way to die."

Back in the mess hall, Neelix reviews references to the word vaadwaur in Talaxian and other Delta Quadrant history. The earliest usages are in Eldaxon's Collected Folklore, Neelix begins to review the specifics. Meanwhile in Astrometrics, Seven and one of the Vaadwaur review possible planets to relocate the Vaadwaur to. He tells Seven, that the Borg only controlled a few systems 900 years ago.

In Voyager's Briefing room, Tuvok reports a total of 21 Turei ships on sensors. Tuvok's battle plan is pretty standard: Voyager will make a straightforward attack, while the Vaadwaur fighters make a surprise attack. Gaul requests photon torpedoes for their fighters, but Janeway refuses because it goes against Starfleet protocols.

Later in the Vaadwaur underground chamber, a few of them are discussing their plans. Unsatisfied with Captain Janeway's decisions, they plan to capture Voyager and use the ship's technology to rebuild their civilization and fight of the Turei. They plan to attack Voyager instead of the Turei.

Act Four

In Astrometrics, Seven shows Gedrin a planet that my be suitable, but Neelix summons her to Cargo bay 2 before they can make a decision. When she arrives, Neelix explains to her that he has been researching the historical records that concern the Vaadwaur. They describe a race who appeared from nowhere and destroy anything in their path and then leaves. This could be explained by the Vaadwaur subspace corridors. Neelix convinces Seven to do additional research using her Borg knowledge.

Gedrin enters Captain Janeway's Ready room, where she has called for him. She confronts Gedrin with the evidence uncovered by Neelix and Seven. "If I were to take you at your word, the ancient Talaxians might call me vaadwaur, foolish." Gedrin admits that his species did use the corridors to gain territory but they were not a purely aggressive race. She will go forward with the plan, but will not be as trusting as before.

On the Bridge, Janeway discusses the situation with Chakotay. They decide to alter the plan, she orders Ensign Kim to hail Gaul. She informs him that only ten of the Vaadwaur fighters will have their particle beams remain active. Only ten will be attacking, so this should not be a problem, she explains. Voyager is ready for the ascent sequence, but the sip jolts when massive energy readings begin to emanate from the chamber. The Vaadwaur are launching the first wave of fighters -- seventeen ships. However, the ships are on an attack vector for Voyager.

Act Five

Voyager begins to ascend from the surface, while firing a full spread of phasers at the incoming fighters. They won't be able to jump to warp and escape until they are 280 kilometers airborne. As Voyager continues to ascend, they disable some fighters, but thrusters and sensors are damaged. Janeway orders Kim to contact the Turei in orbit. They have been detecting the weapons fire, so they believe Janeway when she informs them of the Vaadwaur's presence. Now the Vaadwaur have another enemy to deal with.

When it begins to look hopeless, Gedrin offers to go to the surface to boost the signal to the satellite. He has seen the error in the aggressive ways of the Vaadwaur. Janeway allows him to leave, but she sends Tuvok with him. The Vaadwaur are taking mild damage, but it looks as if Voyager is heavily damaged. The Captain orders the crew to initiate emergency landing procedures.

Suddenly, the tables turn, and the Vaadwaur are being bombarded by Turei torpedoes. Gedrin's work on the uplink has turned the tide, however, the uplink chamber with Gedrin and Tuvok in it is beginning to collapse. Gedrin tells Tuvok to save himself, as he gives his life to save Voyager. The Captain comes up with a plan to take in particles from the radiogenic atmosphere in order to boost Voyager's dwindling power supply.

Thanks to the Captain's quick thinking, Voyager is able to go to warp and escape the conflict. Vaadwaur fighters are engaged in a violent battle with the Turei, however some of the fighters are able to escape into the subspace corridors. By Seven's astrometric readings about fifty Vaadwaur ships escaped into the corridors leading the Captain to surmise that they will likely encounter these ancient aggressors again.

Seven expresses her guilt because she is essentially responsible for the Vaadwaur resurgence, but Janeway says she would have done the same.

Log Entries

Captain's log, supplemental. We've revived nearly 200 of the Vaadwaur and we're moving forward with our unexpected alliance.

Captain's log, stardate 53167.9. After two days, there's been no sign of the Vaadwaur or the Turei. However, Seven of Nine has made an unsettling discovery.

Background Information

This episode was initially planned as a two-hour telemovie, but Braga and Menosky decided while writing Part One that it would work better as a single hour. By the time the compressed version of the script was finished, their opinions had turned around again - but it was too late to re-expand the story.

The visual effect for the subspace corridor was a redress of the quantum slipstream effect, except for a change in color and some added debris.

Awards

This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series.

Links and References

Guest Stars

References

bio-pod; Borg Collective; Devore Imperium; Eldaxon's Collected Folklore; gamma radiation; personal database; plasma charge; stasis; subspace corridor; Talax-ilzay; Talaxian; Turei; Vaadwaur; Vaadwaur fighter

Previous episode:
"Riddles"

Star Trek: Voyager
Season 6

Next episode:
"One Small Step"

@@ Line 92: / Line 92: @@
 *The visual effect for the subspace corridor was a redress of the [[quantum slipstream]] effect, except for a change in color and some added debris.
+===Awards===
+*This episode was nominated for an [[Star Trek's awards and honors#Emmy Awards|Emmy Award]] for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series.
 ==Links and References==