.gif)
Night (Star Trek: Voyager)
Encyclopedia
"Night" is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager
, the first episode of the fifth season. The episode has an average rating of 4.6/5 on the official Star Trek
website (as of July 28, 2007).
has panic attack
s, Paris
and Torres
fight even more than usual, Harry
spends his boring duty shifts practicing his clarinet
, and the crew spends a lot of time in the holodeck
.
No one has seen Captain Janeway
in weeks. She has been spending the long, uneventful shifts in the dark void isolated in her quarters, seeing no visitors, just thinking of what has happened over the last four years. She still feels immense guilt for having made the choice that stranded Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. She notes that the crew is very unhappy right now and takes it personally.
One day, something knocks out all power on the ship. A field outside the ship is draining Voyagers systems, and there is total darkness. While the lights are out, aliens enter the ship. One of the intruders attacks Paris, but Seven of Nine
is able to stun the alien. Janeway emerges from her quarters and helps her crew fight off the intruders. When they get the power back on they see that Voyager is surrounded by a fleet of small ships. A larger ship sweeps in and attacks them, and the aliens leave Voyager. The pilot of the larger ship, Emck, is from a people called the Malon. He promises to show Janeway a vortex that serves as a quick shortcut out of the void if she will turn over the injured alien to him. It is tempting but she refuses.
In sickbay the injured "night alien" apologizes for disabling Voyager and explains that his people are on the defense against the Malon, who are poisoning the area with theta radiation. The Malon specialize in transporting and dumping hazardous radioactive industrial waste, and since he has no respect for the local inhabitants, he has been dumping it in the void. The night alien begs Janeway for help.
Emck comes aboard Voyager to negotiate. Torres explains to him that the Malon could easily recycle the hazardous radiation and use it cleanly for energy, as they do on Voyager. They would not have to dump it at all. The Malon says it is a great idea except for one thing: he makes his living carrying and disposing of the waste. Turning to recycling would ruin the entire industry in which he makes his livelihood. Emck plans to happily continue dumping radiation in the night aliens' home.
Janeway knows she can destroy the vortex connecting the void to outside space. She could shut the Malon out of the void and save the night aliens. The problem is, it would also close Voyagers shortcut out of the dark expanse and they would have to endure it for two long years. Janeway does not want to be responsible for stranding her crew yet again. She agonizes over the decision and then assembles her senior staff to make an announcement. She will send Voyager through the vortex under Chakotay
's command, while staying behind in a shuttle to destroy the vortex once her crew is safely through. The crew balks at this, flatly refusing to take Voyager on without the captain. She drops the idea, understanding that Chakotay had informed the crew beforehand that she would propose some sort of grand self-sacrifice for herself and that they should all unite in defiance. She realizes and accepts that the crew do not blame her or harbor resentment toward her personally for condemning Voyager to a lifetime in the Delta Quadrant.
A backup plan develops. They battle through the Malon front, enter the vortex, and blow the inner portal, riding the shock wave out the other end. The vortex is destroyed, the night aliens are safe from the Malon, and Voyager clears the void. Before them lies a welcome sight - millions of stars.
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
, the first episode of the fifth season. The episode has an average rating of 4.6/5 on the official Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
website (as of July 28, 2007).
Plot
Voyager has entered an area of space that is totally dark. The lack of stars outside the ship's windows has made the crew tense and depressed. They only feel worse when they find out that it will take Voyager two years to travel to the other end of "the void" at top speed. Everyone reacts in their own way; NeelixNeelix
Mr. Neelix is a fictional character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. He is played by actor Ethan Phillips.-Fictional Biography:Mr. Neelix is a Talaxian originally from Rinax, a moon of the planet Talax, in the Delta quadrant, although his great-grandfather was Mylean. His entire family...
has panic attack
Panic attack
Panic attacks are periods of intense fear or apprehension that are of sudden onset and of relatively brief duration. Panic attacks usually begin abruptly, reach a peak within 10 minutes, and subside over the next several hours...
s, Paris
Tom Paris
Thomas Eugene "Tom" Paris, played by Robert Duncan McNeill, is a character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. Paris serves as the chief helmsman and an auxiliary medic aboard the USS Voyager...
and Torres
B'Elanna Torres
B'Elanna Torres is a main character in Star Trek: Voyager played by Roxann Dawson. She is portrayed as a half-human half-Klingon born in 2349 on the Federation colony Kessik IV. Torres joined the Maquis in 2370 and was serving on the Val Jean when brought to the Delta Quadrant...
fight even more than usual, Harry
Harry Kim (Star Trek)
Ensign Harry S. L. Kim, played by Garrett Wang, is a character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. He serves as the USS Voyagers operations officer.-Depiction:...
spends his boring duty shifts practicing his clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, and the crew spends a lot of time in the holodeck
Holodeck
A holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...
.
No one has seen Captain Janeway
Kathryn Janeway
Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew, is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. As the captain of the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, she was the lead character on the television series Star Trek: Voyager, and later, a Starfleet admiral, as seen in the 2002 feature film Star Trek...
in weeks. She has been spending the long, uneventful shifts in the dark void isolated in her quarters, seeing no visitors, just thinking of what has happened over the last four years. She still feels immense guilt for having made the choice that stranded Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. She notes that the crew is very unhappy right now and takes it personally.
One day, something knocks out all power on the ship. A field outside the ship is draining Voyagers systems, and there is total darkness. While the lights are out, aliens enter the ship. One of the intruders attacks Paris, but Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine is a fictional character on Star Trek: Voyager, portrayed by actress Jeri Ryan. Born human, she was assimilated by the Borg at the age of six. Eighteen years later, Voyager left Borg space with Seven on board, after attempts to negotiate passage through Borg space proved only...
is able to stun the alien. Janeway emerges from her quarters and helps her crew fight off the intruders. When they get the power back on they see that Voyager is surrounded by a fleet of small ships. A larger ship sweeps in and attacks them, and the aliens leave Voyager. The pilot of the larger ship, Emck, is from a people called the Malon. He promises to show Janeway a vortex that serves as a quick shortcut out of the void if she will turn over the injured alien to him. It is tempting but she refuses.
In sickbay the injured "night alien" apologizes for disabling Voyager and explains that his people are on the defense against the Malon, who are poisoning the area with theta radiation. The Malon specialize in transporting and dumping hazardous radioactive industrial waste, and since he has no respect for the local inhabitants, he has been dumping it in the void. The night alien begs Janeway for help.
Emck comes aboard Voyager to negotiate. Torres explains to him that the Malon could easily recycle the hazardous radiation and use it cleanly for energy, as they do on Voyager. They would not have to dump it at all. The Malon says it is a great idea except for one thing: he makes his living carrying and disposing of the waste. Turning to recycling would ruin the entire industry in which he makes his livelihood. Emck plans to happily continue dumping radiation in the night aliens' home.
Janeway knows she can destroy the vortex connecting the void to outside space. She could shut the Malon out of the void and save the night aliens. The problem is, it would also close Voyagers shortcut out of the dark expanse and they would have to endure it for two long years. Janeway does not want to be responsible for stranding her crew yet again. She agonizes over the decision and then assembles her senior staff to make an announcement. She will send Voyager through the vortex under Chakotay
Chakotay
Chakotay , played by Robert Beltran, is a character in Star Trek: Voyager. He is the First Officer of the USS Voyager.-Character biography:...
's command, while staying behind in a shuttle to destroy the vortex once her crew is safely through. The crew balks at this, flatly refusing to take Voyager on without the captain. She drops the idea, understanding that Chakotay had informed the crew beforehand that she would propose some sort of grand self-sacrifice for herself and that they should all unite in defiance. She realizes and accepts that the crew do not blame her or harbor resentment toward her personally for condemning Voyager to a lifetime in the Delta Quadrant.
A backup plan develops. They battle through the Malon front, enter the vortex, and blow the inner portal, riding the shock wave out the other end. The vortex is destroyed, the night aliens are safe from the Malon, and Voyager clears the void. Before them lies a welcome sight - millions of stars.