Worst Case Scenario (episode)

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"Worst Case Scenario"
VOY, Episode 3x25
Production number: 40840-167
First aired: 14 May 1997
←  66th of 168 produced in VOY  →
←  66th of 168 released in VOY  →
←  471st of 911 released in all  →

A buried holonovel with high entertainment value depicting a Maquis mutiny is discovered.

Summary

B'Elanna Torres looks apprehensive as she walks down the corridor on the ship and approaches the turbolift to report for duty, and even more so as Chakotay joins her casually. Once they are in the turbolift, Chakotay begins asking a series of strange questions pertaining to his dislike for Tuvok and mentions that in fact a lot of the crew are not happy with the chief of security and Captain Janeway for that matter. He wonders whether Torres agrees, stating that there will be some changes around here. It seems a mutiny is in the works. All of the Maquis and 25 of the Starfleet crewmembers are behind him, and he wants to know which side Torres is on once the shooting starts.

On the bridge, Torres and the other officers go about their duties, pushing buttons as if they are doing something, when Captain Janeway announces she will be going off in a shuttlecraft with Tom Paris and leaving Chakotay in command of the ship. Chakotay has Harry Kim perform a diagnostic that shuts the transporters down before a pair of security personnel arrive with what Chakotay claims to be the duty roster. As soon as Janeway's shuttle goes to warp, Chakotay tells all hands to begin their plan and commences the takeover, stunning Tuvok and Kim before moving on to the rest of the ship. Torres goes along with his plan. Then there is a surprise: they turn a corner to find Seska.

The siege continues through the mess hall - where Neelix takes their side. With the senior officers in the brig and the rest of the loyal Starfleet personnel held prisoners in an empty cargo bay, Chakotay announces his plan of dropping the senior staff off at the nearest habitable planet and taking USS Voyager straight home – this time without letting mighty "Starfleet principles" get in the way. He offers the remaining crew the chance to join him, when suddenly Paris enters the cargo bay and asks Torres what's going on. It is then revealed that this has all been a holo-program depicting a Maquis mutiny. Despite the obviously controversial nature of what they found, they agree that they need more information to give the captain a "full report" and re-start the program.

Tom Paris in gold uniform

This time, Paris walks down the corridor wearing an operations division gold uniform. Chakotay approaches Paris the same way he approached Torres, and knowing what will happen, Paris eagerly goes along with the plan. When it is time for Chakotay's mutiny, Paris attempts to warn Tuvok, but it is too late; once again, Tuvok and Kim are shot, but this time Paris joins them and the other loyal Starfleet officers in the brig. There, Paris grows impatient with simply "waiting around", but Tuvok insists that they wait for an opportunity to overpower the enemy. Chakotay eventually comes along to take everyone but Tuvok and Kim to cargo bay one. There he gives the same speech as before, which inspires Paris to join him.

Paris and Torres now discuss the holonovel eagerly in the mess hall, and Paris reveals that his constant switching caused Chakotay to assign him to menial tasks. As they talk about plans of attack, Neelix wanders by and reveals that he too has played the program. It seems Torres told The Doctor, who told Neelix, who promises his lips are sealed; but as he speaks, Kim shows up asking them about the holonovel Ayala told him about.

"Lieutenant Paris's personal log: Stardate 50953.4. I've decided to take B'Elanna's advice and replay the holonovel, this time as a full-fledged member of Chakotay's team of mutineers. I hope it turns out better than before."

Paris and the mutineers are on the bridge again, out of uniform and in control despite problems with the warp core likely the result of a saboteur. As Janeway and the holographic Paris return in their shuttle, she has a chilly reunion with Chakotay, who genuinely does not want to hurt anyone. However, she attacks Voyager head-on and beams aboard with Paris as it opens fire to destroy her shuttle. Chakotay and Paris take the turbolift to the brig, where Janeway and her former first officer shoot one another before Paris comes face-to-face with himself. At that moment, the simulation ends; it seems whoever wrote the program did not finish it, as no more parameters have been entered. Frustrated, Paris has no choice but accept that the holonovel has ended.

Despite Torres' knowledge of computers and Neelix's gift of gab, no one is able to find the mysterious author of the holonovel. Janeway brings it up at the next staff meeting, by which time the program has been accessed 47 times by 33 different crew members. Of course, everyone present has tried it (save Janeway and Chakotay), but no one knows who made it, so she tells them to talk to their respective staff and find the author. However, Tuvok reveals that in fact it was he himself who wrote the program, albeit not as a novel but more as a tactical training exercise for his security personnel in the event of a mutiny. He explains that he wrote the program when the Maquis crew had just joined the Voyager crew and when the possibility of a mutiny was very real. But when the two crews began to successfully work together, he realized that the threat of an insurrection was increasingly unlikely, and therefore deleted the program – until Torres recovered the file. Contrary to his expectations, Janeway praises it as harmless fun, and stresses the need for original sources of entertainment now that they are so far away from home. Paris volunteers to write an ending, and Janeway jokes that she is excited to see how her character will manage to outwit the mutineers.

Tuvok finds Paris in the mess hall, working diligently on an ending for the novel. When he suggests helping him craft the novel with some level of organization and logical application, Paris casually states that he doesn't need any help in that regard as he is sort of making it up as he goes along. He tells Tuvok that in his version, Paris and Janeway retake the ship and Janeway decides to execute all the conspirators. Tuvok objects that this is a completely implausible plot development, as Captain Janeway would never react in such an inhumane manner. But Paris laughs his objections off, saying that this wasn't real life but just fiction. Tuvok reiterates the importance of applying logic when writing stories and characters, citing the Vulcan Dictates of Poetics, which state that a character's actions must flow, inexorably, from his or her established traits. But again, Paris laughs off Tuvok's insistence on logical application and in fact finds his own interpretation of things more fun. The two continue butting heads over the Dictates of Poetics versus pure fun until Torres and Neelix each drop by to offer suggestions. Much to Tuvok's annoyance and objections that this wasn't a romance novel, Torres wants to see some passion and heart in the story. Neelix, on the other hand - while not making any plot suggestions - tells Tuvok that he completely misportrayed the Neelix character in his rendering, as the real Neelix would never betray Captain Janeway in such a manner. Paris jokes that Tuvok must have forgotten to follow the Dictates of Poetics, at which point Tuvok suggests that it might be best to move their work to some place more quiet.

The two go to the holodeck, where they find The Doctor waiting with his own set of suggestions. Once Tuvok gets rid of The Doctor, he has the holodeck open the narrative parameters file of the program. Tuvok and Paris appear in the brig and are greeted by Seska while the transporters on Voyager shut down, the comm system goes off-line, and the holodeck grid is scrambled. The holodeck safety protocols are also disengaged. It seems the Cardassian spy found Tuvok's program some time ago and rewrote it so the ending will be not-so-happy for its participants. Seska tells a confused Tuvok and Paris that they have ten seconds to run for their lives or she will shoot them with a phaser.

Tuvok tries to disable the holodeck program and contact help, but to no avail. Seeing no other alternative, Tuvok and Paris run from the brig where they encounter a holographic Captain Janeway. The holographic Janeway asks them to help her retake the ship by transporting into the cargo bay. Tuvok thinks that they shouldn't participate in the scenario, as it presents the least possible risk. After all, Seska may have programmed the holographic Janeway to betray them. Janeway configures the transporter and tells Tuvok and Paris to go when Chakotay and Seska appear at the door. Janeway defends herself with a phaser rifle, but it malfunctions and she is killed. Seska then tells Tuvok and Paris to run. Paris tells Seska that none of the simulation is real, including the holographic Chakotay who is attracted to her. She gets angry and has Chakotay shoot Paris' arm with a phaser. Tuvok and Paris run once again. They enter sickbay to try to treat Paris' phaser wounds. The Doctor appears and says he's going to treat Paris' second-degree phaser burns, but he uses a hypospray to inject twenty ccs of nitric acid into his arm. Tuvok tries to help Paris, but The Doctor grabs him and starts to choke him. The Doctor's arms are the only part of him that are solid, so any attempts to hurt The Doctor are unsuccessful. Once The Doctor is finished "treating" them, he throws Tuvok and Paris out.

On the bridge, Captain Janeway asks for information on Seska's modifications to the holodeck program. It turns out that on stardate 48671, Seska found the program and modified it. She triggered her modifications to activate when Tuvok re-opened the narrative parameters file. To make matters worse, Seska put in various booby trap subroutines to prevent the crew from helping Tuvok and keeping him trapped on the holodeck. For example, if the holodeck doors are forced open, the holodeck will explode. Janeway gets an idea to help... perhaps she could modify the program by co-writing it in a manner that would ultimately help Tuvok and Paris.

Inside the holodeck, Tuvok and Paris are traveling through a Jefferies tube where they encounter a plasma fire behind a door. Tuvok isn't able to close the door, but all of the sudden a plasma extinguisher appears. Paris extinguishes the fire and crawls down to the next deck. A display appears telling them to go to the weapon's locker for additional help. When they reach the locker, however, Chakotay and a group of Maquis appear, and Paris and Tuvok are captured. Janeway, outside the holodeck, learns that Seska had programmed the holodeck to adapt to any changes that were made to it.

In the cargo bay, Seska tries to have Tuvok and Paris killed, but Janeway alters the Chakotay hologram character to prevent him from cold-bloodedly murdering the two. Angrily, Seska kills Chakotay to prevent any interference in her plans. Undeterred, Janeway decides another way to modify the program: she rewrites it to include a Rukani attack. Tuvok and Paris are able to take the weapons from the crew during the attack. Seska refuses to give up and activates a sixty-second auto-destruct, which would destroy the holodeck and everyone on it in the process. Tuvok tells Seska that he set his phaser rifle to kill and he will fire if she does not disable the auto-destruct. Seska refuses and demands that he hand over the phaser rifle to her. Tuvok does so, and Seska deactivates the self-destruct. She then turns the phaser rifle on Tuvok and Paris, intent on killing them. The weapon, however, malfunctions killing Seska. Tuvok reveals that he had reconfigured the rifle to malfunction in the same way it had for the holographic Janeway in the transporter room. The holodeck simulation ends and the systems come back online.

The senior staff is having a discussion in the mess hall about holonovels. Chakotay says that he looks forward to the next one, for as long as in whatever they write next, he is not the bad guy. Neelix suggests a story about a cook on a starship, similar to his own life. Tuvok says that if they decide on a new holonovel, they will choose a subject much less close to home.

Log entries

• Personal log, Tom Paris

Memorable quotes

"Under my command, we won't let almighty Federation principles get in the way of opportunities the way Janeway did when she destroyed the array that could have gotten us home. And we won't be wasting precious time stopping to investigate every insignificant anomaly that we come across. What we will do is use any means necessary to acquire technology that can shorten our journey. To hell with Starfleet regulations. You have fifteen minutes to make up your minds."

- Chakotay hologram, to the remainder of the holographic Starfleet officers

"Remember the good old days when it was impossible to keep a secret on a ship this small?"

- Paris, on the anonymous author of Insurrection Alpha

"We're not going to kill anybody today... unless it's absolutely necessary."

- Chakotay hologram

"With all due respect, Mr. Tuvok, loosen up."

- Janeway

"I guess we should have known Seska wouldn't let a little thing like death stop her from getting even."

- Paris

"I don't care what kind of story it is, as long as I'm not the bad guy this time."

- Chakotay

"If you think I will allow you to turn this novel into a parody you are sorely mistaken."

- Tuvok to Paris

"Now up until now the story has been nothing but action, which is fine, but what it needs is a little heart, a little emotion."
"We are not writing a romance novel, lieutenant."

- B'Elanna and Tuvok

"No offense Mr. Vulcan, but I don't think you understand my character very well."
"Tuvok, did you forget to follow the Dictates of Poetics?"

- Neelix and Tom Paris

"Twenty ccs nitric acid – a little proverbial salt in the wound."

- The Doctor in Seska's altered version of Insurrection Alpha "treating" Tom Paris after a phaser burn

"Mr. Neelix, if Mr. Paris and I do create another work of holofiction, I assure you, we will choose a subject much less close to home."

- Tuvok, to Neelix after curtly stopping his suggestion for a future holonovel

Background

• In Germany, this episode (translated back into English) is known as "Rebellion Alpha", after the holo-program (which is called "Insurrection Alpha" in the English version of the episode).
• When Paris and Tuvok are discussing new ideas for a holonovel, Torres and Janeway suggest a Western or a mystery. These suggestions may be in reference to Captain Picard's Dixon Hill (from Star Trek: First Contact as well as from episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation), a Western program that Worf and Alexander participate in (in TNG: "A Fistful of Datas") and the conceptual origins of the Gothic Janeway Lambda one mystery holonovel (which appears in "Cathexis", "Learning Curve" and "Persistence of Vision").
• This episode contains at least one of many Star Trek references to the number 47. At the staff briefing, Chakotay says that the program has been used "47 times by 33 different crew members." Also, Tuvok's security clearance code – used for accessing the "Insurrection Alpha" program – is "four-seven-seven-four".
• Two outtakes from this episode are commonly seen on the Internet, notably on YouTube. The first one has Tuvok playing around, after getting shot by Chakotay, and the second involves the real Paris telling Chakotay that Holo-Paris and Janeway are returning to the ship, and Chakotay breaking character after a delay to ask how he knew that. These scenes came from Ultimate Trek. (Template:IMDb-link)
• This episode resembles DS9: "Civil Defense" in that the crew, in both cases, triggers an old computer program which (1) they are unable to shut down and (2) is threatening to kill (in this episode, some of) them. However, the computer program here is meant for members of the crew while, in the case of "Civil Defense", it is a defense system left over from the Cardassian occupation, meant to be triggered in case of a Bajoran uprising at Terok Nor.
• This is the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Voyager's third season which, unlike the series' first and second seasons, includes only a single episode (i.e., this one) in which the character of Seska reappears. When she returns here, she is in holographic form and with her Bajoran disguise, having looked Bajoran in all of her episodic appearances of Season 1. Seska actress Martha Hackett said of the episode, "Even when I had been off the show for a season and, you know, we pretty much thought Seska had disappeared, there she was. She came back to haunt them – in a very clever way, I thought – when they brought me back as a hologram. And that's something the fans appreciated and, you know, it was kind of fun to go back to that, [to] bring all those storylines back up again." (VOY Season 3 DVD special features) Following her inclusion in this episode, Seska would reappear once more, in the seventh season episode "Shattered".
• Seska left the ship around stardate 48658.2 (in the first season episode "State of Flux") but, according to Torres in this episode, Seska modified the holo-program on stardate 48671.
• This episode contains several inside jokes. One such in-joke is that, while in the mess hall with Neelix and Tuvok (discussing possible additions to the holonovel's plot), Paris suggests including "a steamy love scene between the Starfleet conn officer and the Maquis chief engineer," to which Torres sarcastically retorts, "Oh, that's realistic!" Another in-joke is when Paris asks of the senior crew, "Remember the good old days when it was impossible to keep a secret on a ship this small?" Obviously, Paris is either forgetting or sarcastically commenting on the secret that Seska kept; that she was a Cardassian spy.
• This episode includes the fourth of many times when Janeway "dies" in the series. On this occasion, the holographic Janeway is murdered by Seska.
• Jennifer Lien (Kes) appears in this episode only as a hologram, with the same hairstyle she sports for most of the first three seasons.

Apocrypha

• Tuvok's program is referenced in the story "Command Code" (by Robert Greenberger) from the tenth anniversary compilation Distant Shores. The story indicates that Tuvok reconsidered the program, following an incident involving a species called the Dresh, in which he relieved Chakotay of command. He estimated that he had only completed what he assumed to be a quarter of the scenario.

Video and DVD releases

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 3.13, 20 October 1997
• As part of the VOY Season 3 DVD collection

Links and references

Main cast

• Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway
• Robert Beltran as Chakotay
• Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres
• Jennifer Lien as Kes
• Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris
• Ethan Phillips as Neelix
• Robert Picardo as The Doctor
• Tim Russ as Tuvok
• Garrett Wang as Harry Kim

Guest stars

• Martha Hackett as Seska

Co-star

• Majel Barrett as the computer voice

Uncredited Co-Stars

• Tarik Ergin as Ayala
• Ransom Gates as O'Donnell
• Sue Henley as Ensign Brooks
• Kerry Hoyt as Crewman Fitzpatrick
• Zach LeBeau as Crewman Larson
• Tom Morga as Carlson
• Louis Ortiz as Ensign Culhane
• Raphael Sbarge as Michael Jonas (voice only)
• John Tampoya as Kashimuro Nozawa

References

47; auxiliary database; Bolian; Caretaker's array; class 2 shuttle; coffee; compression phaser rifle; Dictates of Poetics, The; EPS conduit; holofiction; holomatrix; holonovel; Insurrection Alpha; internal sensors; jack-in-the-box; Jefferies tube; Maquis; mutiny; narrative parameters file; nitric acid; plasma extinguisher; plasma manifold; pool; rodent; Rukani; Rukani sector; Rukani vessel; rumba; Sandrine's; T'Hain

Previous episode: "Displaced"

Star Trek: Voyager Season 3

Next episode: "Scorpion"