Learning Curve (episode)

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"Learning Curve"
VOY, Episode 1x16 Production number: 116 First aired: 22 May 1995
←	15th of 168 produced in VOY	→
←	15th of 168 released in VOY	→
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←	368th of 727 released in all	→

Written By Ronald Wilkerson & Jean Louise Matthias Directed By David Livingston
48846.5 (2371)
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Tuvok conducts a training session for Maquis personnel. (Season Finale)

[edit] Summary

[edit] Teaser

Janeway greets the children

Captain Janeway is in the midst of a Gothic holonovel, dressed in Victorian clothing, when suddenly one of the characters abruptly disappears. She soon learns that there has been a disruption of power to one of the energy grids.

Crewman Kenneth Dalby

Approaching an open access panel on Deck 6, Tuvok discovers Crewman Dalby emerging from the panel. Tuvok asks him what he is doing, to which Dalby cheerfully replies that he was in the area, noticed a malfunctioning bio-neural gel pack, and replaced it. Tuvok informs Dalby that Starfleet vessels operate under a protocol. Dalby, somewhat annoyed, defends his actions as justifiably the Maquis way, while Tuvok presses him on the inappropriateness of his actions, reminding him that he is no longer on a Maquis ship. Finally, Dalby gets into Tuvok's face, asking him to leave him alone. Tuvok is left in the corridor, perplexed at Dalby's reaction.

[edit] Act One

"Captain's log, Stardate 48466.5. Ordinarily, the loss of a gel pack would be a minor inconvenience. But here in the Delta Quadrant, it's a reminder of the precarious nature of our journey."

Janeway discusses the malfunctioning gel pack with Chakotay and Tuvok, expressing her concerns about the limited number of gel packs that run critical systems on the ship and which cannot be replicated. Chakotay suggests that in the meantime they explore the possibility of switching some systems over to conventional isolinear circuitry.

Tuvok takes the opportunity to bring up the issue with Crewman Dalby. He describes the confrontation with the crewman as insubordination, prompting Janeway to remember the name Dalby having come up before in other complaints. Tuvok remains steadfast, stating that a starship must operate under protocols. Janeway considers the situation and explains that Dalby is not the only Maquis who has had trouble adjusting. She maintains that it is not only a matter of attitude, but also of experience. She believes they have been unfairly expecting non-Starfleet crew members to operate as if they had attended the Academy . Instead of punishing them, she proposes that they take on the responsibility of getting those crew up to speed, instruct them in how to run a Starfleet vessel, and show them why they do things the way they do.

She puts a somewhat reluctant Tuvok in charge of taking on a class of raw cadets, pointing out that Chakotay doesn't have to earn the respect of the Maquis crew, but they, as Starfleet officers, do.

Tuvok asks Gerron to look him in the eye

In the first session in a cargo bay, Tuvok's rigid introduction is almost immediately interrupted by Crewman Henley, who demands to know why they have been singled out. When Chell also interrupts Tuvok, going on a diatribe about the unfairness of all this and how he has been misjudged, Tuvok assigns him to forty laps around the cargo bay, immediately raised to fifty when he blurts out another protest.

Tuvok goes on to describe the nature of the class, but no one really seems to take him seriously. Dalby states that they all consider this course insulting, because they didn't ask to come aboard this ship in the first place. Dalby asks the class if they want to stay, and Crewman Henley says that she doesn't have anything to learn from Tuvok. After calling out for Chell, they leave, leaving Tuvok standing in the cargo bay.

"How does a Starfleet Crewman answer a question?"

Later, in the mess hall, Gerron has misgivings about having left like that, but Henley and Dalby assure him that nothing can happen to them. Behind them, Chakotay enters and while getting himself a drink, overhears Dalby whispering that they are not going to jump through any Starfleet hoops. The commander asks the group for their version of what happened, while Dalby tells Chakotay that they are used to doing things the Maquis way. Chakotay confirms that if Dalby wants to do things the Maquis way, then that is what he shall get. He suddenly gets up and strikes Dalby across the face and knocks him off his chair, saying that this was the Maquis way too. He tells them that if they want to keep doing it the Maquis way that's fine with him; they can do that tomorrow, the next day, every day until they report to Lieutenant Tuvok. Surrounded by the stunned faces of the crew, Dalby shakily nods his head.

[edit] Act Two

The issue ends there – they take the class. At the second session, Tuvok hands out their study assignments and informs them of their unannounced exam schedules and then examines their uniforms, ensuring that their outfits are not in violation of regulations. Overall, the class is now compliant, if not holding back anger.

Back on duty in engineering, Dalby talks to B'Elanna Torres about the field training. He seems to think it a waste of time, if not punishment, but Torres says that it sounds like he's afraid of failing. While they are talking, an alarm sounds, indicating another power failure. Dalby identifies it as another bio-neural gel pack, and Torres informs the bridge that she is sending another repair crew. She then grabs a damaged gel pack and informs her staff she will be in sickbay if she's needed.

Torres asks The Doctor to examine the pack's biological component, since there appear to be no problems with the mechanical components. The Doctor inform her that the gel pack has an infection. He predicts that the crew has not been infected, confirmed by Kes' scan of Torres, but says that to contain the infection, all the affected biopacks will have to be isolated and quarantined until a treatment regimen can be initiated.

Maquis crewmen in Tuvok's field training

Meanwhile, the "boot camp" continues. Tuvok has the class climb through over fifty Jefferies tubes and a ten kilometer run. The entire class struggles, sweating and straining to complete the exercise. Chell and Gerron struggle in particular, gasping for breath and even, as in the case with Chell, fantasizing that Tuvok will slip and plunge to his death. Crewmen Chell and Gerron, having been lapped three times at the end of the run, have to complete the course while the others gasp for breath after what Henley calls a "death march." Panting for breath, the group learns that Tuvok increased the gravity on that deck by 10%.

[edit] Act Three

Chell degausses the transporter pad

The next assignment for the class is a war games simulation on a holodeck version of the Voyager bridge Tuvok has created. During the simulation, Voyager goes through a series of attacks by Romulan warbirds, before it is finally overpowered and shield's start to buckle. When Dalby orders to keep firing in order to do as much damage as they can, alarms scream, sparks fly, and ruptured conduits smoke, leaving Tuvok to end the simulation.

Tuvok announces that they are all dead and that their first command was less than successful. Dalby falls back into the captain's chair, remarking that it was a no-win situation. Tuvok asks them for reasons for the failure, and they all sit silently, insisting that they went by the book and are proud to at least have gone down with phasers firing.

Crewman Mariah Henley in the simulation

Tuvok asks Dalby if the possibility of retreat had occurred to him, warning that while going out with phasers firing may seem heroic, in the long run, it is merely foolish. Retreat is often the best possible option. Dalby speaks for them when he quietly but sarcastically concedes that once again Tuvok has proven his point that they are not Starfleet material. The trainees are demoralized and file out, feeling as if they have failed. Tuvok is again left alone, this time seeming to wonder why his methods are not proving effective.

This perception is confirmed as Neelix approaches a pensive Tuvok in the mess hall. When Neelix presses him about the Maquis trainees, Tuvok describes their lack of progress and their unresponsiveness, complaining that he cannot isolate the problem and is at a loss, further insisting that his methods are sound and time-honored. In response, Neelix takes Tuvok to look at some Keela flowers gathered in small glass vases. The flowers are remarkably strong due to their flexible stems, but occasionally on the same stalk are stems that are not so flexible. Tuvok interprets Neelix's demonstration as implying that the Maquis crew are rigid and inflexible, and that they will never adjust to Starfleet rules. But Neelix corrects him, stating that in fact it is the other way around, for it is Tuvok who is being rigid and inflexible. Neelix proposes that if Tuvok were to learn to "bend a little," he may have better luck with his class. He suggests Tuvok get to know his students and try to find out what they are like inside.

A plate of Brill cheese in the Mess hall

Tuvok doesn't know if he has the ability to "find out what they are like inside," but then pauses as he begins to pick up an odor, turning to the plate of white food. Neelix inhales the potent odor with delight, informing Tuvok that it is Brill cheese, made from the schplict he recently acquired. Tuvok notes that to create cheese, one needs to cultivate bacteria. As Neelix agrees, he follows Tuvok's gaze to a ventilation intake located right above Neelix's food preparation area...

[edit] Act Four

"Captain's Log, Stardate 48895.3. Lt. Tuvok has reported what may be a possible explanation for the infection in the bio-neural gel packs. I have asked Lt. Torres and her team to investigate Neelix's kitchen."

Torres reports that the cheese is full of volatile bacterial spores, and that it must remain isolated. As they talk, the lights flash and system power down and up, causing Torres to worry that the infection has spread to the environmental systems, at which point they would be in more trouble than they thought.

As the investigation proceeds, Tuvok attempts to follow Neelix's advice and plays pool at Sandrine's with a recalcitrant Dalby in an attempt to get to know him better. However, that doesn't seem to be a successful approach, because Dalby doesn't appear very friendly or much interested in opening up to Tuvok. After some prying, Dalby tells Tuvok that he and his family lived on the Bajoran frontier where they had a hard life, that he coped by getting into a lot of trouble and was angry at everybody and everything. This continued until he fell in love with a Bajoran woman who then was viciously raped and murdered by three Cardassians. This event prompted him to join the Maquis where he then tried to kill as many Cardassians as he could. After this deadpan delivery, Dalby bluntly tells Tuvok that he does not want to get to know him or be his friend.

The Doctor continues to examine the cheese, finally concluding that the bacteria has been the host to the virus, and that there are thousands of viruses so small that they would have escaped detection. Kes begins to submit the gel packs to anti-viral agents.

Kim reports to Janeway that the gel packs are beginning to fail sequentially and that they are losing systems faster than they can compensate with backups. Chakotay asks about the isolinear circuits, but Kim reports that Torres has not completed the changeover, and that they could not even maintain life support at this point. Paris announces that propulsion is down as Kim informs them that every critical system on the main grid is down.

Meanwhile, Tuvok and his class are engaging in another activity in a cargo bay and affected by the malfunctioning environmental systems, end up trapped in the cargo bay, unable to contact the bridge.

[edit] Act Five

The Doctor reports that heating the gel packs, similar to inducing fever to fight off infections, has proven successful in his experiments. However, he says that he does not have the power to heat all the gelpacks ship-wide. The chief engineer proposes that they could accomplish this by infusing the gel packs with a high-energy plasma burst from a symmetrical warp field, which Janeway confirms would be generated by inverting the warp field towards the ship.

Henley and Tuvok trapped in the cargo bay

Back in the cargo bay, the trainees and Tuvok recognize the change in the environmental systems. Tuvok assigns Gerron to check if the console in the control room is still functioning, sending the young man up a ladder to the small room while he and the rest go to try to access a Jefferies tube from the forward bulkhead.

The trainees open an access panel only to be blown down by an exploding conduit. As plasma gas begins to seep in, Tuvok announces the room will become poisonous within minutes and orders them to leave immediately through the Jeffries tube. Dalby reminds him about Gerron. They all look up to see the young man slumped over the rail, unconscious. Dalby tells Tuvok that they can't leave him, but Tuvok orders them all into the Jeffries tube, stating that it is always tactically correct to sacrifice the few for the many. Dalby is furious and lunges up to go get Gerron himself. However, Tuvok pins his arm behind his back, threatening to break it if he doesn't get into the Jeffries tube as ordered. As Dalby accuses him of killing Gerron, he climbs into the tube, which Tuvok seals, himself remaining inside the cargo bay. Coughing from the plasma gas, Tuvok runs to Gerron.

While the heat and gas continue to build, Tuvok climbs the ladder to reach Gerron, then placing him over his shoulder and beginning the climb back down. Overpowered by the plasma gas, Tuvok falls from the ladder with Gerron. He attempts to crawl while dragging Gerron, but ultimately collapses.

When The Doctor finally informs the bridge officers that the bacteria have been destroyed, Janeway orders Kim to start getting the systems back online.

In the cargo bay, through the billowing gas clouds, the door is forced open by the trainees. Henley and Dalby run in and pick up Gerron and Tuvok and drag them to safety. Back in the corridor, gasping and drenched in sweat, the trainees collapse, smiling in success. Holding Tuvok up, Dalby says that he thought Starfleet rules said that was an unacceptable risk. Tuvok responds that it was, but that he recently realized that there are times when it is desirable to bend the rules. Dalby responds amicably, saying that if Tuvok can learn to bend the rules, then he can learn to follow them. With that, they support Tuvok and Gerron to sick bay, while Voyager continues on its course home.

[edit] Log entries

[edit] Memorable Quotes

"There's the Starfleet way, and there's the Maquis way."

- Kenneth Dalby

"Come with me. I want to show you something. These are Keela flowers. They're beautiful and remarkably strong. The stem is flexible. It's impossible to break. But, occasionally, on the same plant, there's a bloom whose stem is not so flexible. Ah, here's one, see? And when the stem is brittle, it breaks."
"You're saying that the Maquis crew is rigid and inflexible, that they will never adjust to Starfleet rules."
"No, Mr. Vulcan. I'm saying that you are rigid and inflexible. But maybe if you learn to bend a little, you might have better luck with your class."

- Neelix and Tuvok

"Get the cheese to sickbay."

- B'Elanna Torres

"Lieutenant, if you can learn to bend the rules, I guess we can learn to follow them."

- Dalby

[edit] Background Information

Lindsey Haun, who played Beatrice Burleigh in this episode and "Persistence of Vision", later played Belle in "Real Life".
The character Mariah Henley was named for Sue Henley, Kate Mulgrew's stand-in and the actress who played Ensign Brooks.
This was the last episode of season 1 of Star Trek: Voyager.
This episode appears to be the point when friction between the Maquis and Starfleet crews is finally reconciled. The tensions between the two are revisited in the 3rd season episode "Worst Case Scenario" and in season 7's "Repression".
Among the items from this episode which were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, was a schematic lot of the cargo bay. [1]
The wargame simulation is most likely a version of the Kobayashi Maru scenario, as the purpose of this particular simulation was the same: evaluate a cadet's performance in an unwinnable situation.

[edit] Video and DVD releases

UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 1.8, catalog number VHR 4008, 6 November 1995.

Although this was the last broadcast episode of season 1, CIC Video released the four "hold-over" episodes in their production order, as part of the first season release. Volume 1.9 begins with "Projections". Volume 2.1 begins with "Initiations".

As part of the VOY Season 1 DVD collection.

[edit] Links and References

[edit] Starring

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

[edit] Also starring

Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay
Roxann Biggs-Dawson as Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres
Jennifer Lien as Kes
Robert Duncan McNeill as Lieutenant Tom Paris
Ethan Phillips as Neelix
Robert Picardo as The Doctor
Tim Russ as Lieutenant Tuvok
Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

[edit] Guest stars

[edit] Co-stars

Previous episode:
"Jetrel"

Star Trek: Voyager
Season 1

Next episode:
"The 37's"

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