Worst Case Scenario (episode)

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"Worst Case Scenario"
VOY, Episode 3x25 Production number: 167 First aired: 14 May 1997
←	66th of 168 produced in VOY	→
←	66th of 168 released in VOY	→
	{{{nNthReleasedInSeries_Remastered}}}th of 168 released in VOY Remastered
←	471st of 726 released in all	→
Written By Kenneth Biller Directed By Alexander Singer
50953.4 (2373)
←	Arc: Seska (7 of 7)
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A buried holonovel in Voyager's computer banks depicting a Maquis mutiny is discovered. What initially appears to be a controversial piece of fiction with high entertainment value soon turns deadly when it is discovered that Seska tampered with it prior to leaving the ship.

Contents 1 Summary 2 Log entries 3 Memorable quotes 4 Background 4.1 Video and DVD releases 5 Links and references 5.1 Main cast 5.2 Guest stars 5.3 Co-star 5.4 Uncredited Co-Stars 5.5 References

[edit] Summary

B'Elanna Torres looks apprehensive as she approaches the turbolift to report for duty, and even more so as Chakotay joins her casually. Once they are in the turbolift on their way to the bridge, Chakotay begins asking questions – the kind that could get an officer court martialed. It seems a mutiny is in the works; all of the Maquis and 25 of the Starfleet crew members are behind him, and he wants to know which side Torres is on.

Aboard 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 leaves Chakotay in command of the ship. He has Harry Kim perform a diagnostic that shuts the transporters down before a pair of security personnel arrive with what Chakotay claims is the duty roster. As soon as Janeway's shuttle goes to warp, Chakotay tells all hands, "Let's do it," and begins his 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) and the rest of the ship until Chakotay is in control, with the senior officers in the brig and the rest of the loyal Starfleet personnel prisoners in an empty cargo bay. There, Chakotay announces his plan to drop the senior staff off at the nearest habitable planet and take USS Voyager straight home – without letting "Starfleet principles" get in the way. He offers the remaining crew the chance to join him, shortly before Paris enters the cargo bay and asks Torres what's going on. It is then revealed that this has all been a holo-program of the ship. Despite the obviously controversial nature and their duty to report it to the real Janeway, they agree that they need more information to give her a "full report" and re-start the program.

This time, Paris walks down the corridor wearing an operations division gold uniform. Chakotay approaches Paris much as he did 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 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 Tom 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 joins them and reveals that he learned about it from Ayala.

"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 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.

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 senior staff meeting, by which time the program has been accessed 47 times by 33 different people. 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 he himself wrote the program, not as a novel but as a tactical training exercise for his security personnel in the event of a mutiny. He was afraid when the Maquis and Starfleet crews came together that there may be a risk of the Maquis trying to take over the ship. But since the two crews worked very well together, he saw no use for it and deleted it – until Torres recovered the file. Contrary to his expectations, Janeway and the crew are eager for an ending, so Paris volunteers to write one.

Tuvok finds Paris in the mess hall to find that Tom wants to write the program so that Janeway retakes the ship and decides to execute the traitors. This does not meet with the Vulcan's logical goals, but Paris finds it fun. The two butt heads over the Dictates of Poetics versus pure fun until Torres and Neelix each drop by to offer suggestions, prompting the authors to 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. Tuvok and Paris enter Sick Bay 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 20 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 turned 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 had put in various booby trapped subroutines to prevent the crew from helping Tuvok. 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 to 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 they are captured. Janeway, outside the holodeck, learns that Seska had programmed the holodeck to adapt to any changes that may occur.

In the cargo bay, Seska tries to have Tuvok and Paris killed, but Janeway alters the Chakotay hologram to prevent her orders from being obeyed. Angrily, she kills Chakotay to prevent any interference in her plans. Undeterred, Janeway decides another way to modify the program. She modifies the program to have the Rukani attack the holographic Voyager. Tuvok and Paris are able to take a phaser rifle and phaser from the crew during the attack. Seska refuses to give up and activates a sixty-second auto-destruct, which will destroy the holodeck 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. Tuvok then hands Seska his rifle and orders Paris to stand down. Paris also tells the Rukani that their assistance is no longer needed. Seska says she will finally get her chance to kill Tuvok and Paris. Seska fires the phaser rifle and she is killed. Tuvok had configured 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, as long as he is not the bad guy. Tuvok says that if they decide on a new holonovel, they will choose a subject much less close to home.

[edit] Log entries

• Personal log, Tom Paris

[edit] 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

"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

"20 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.

[edit] Background

• In Germany, this episode was instead named "Rebellion Alpha", after the holo-program (which was called "Insurrection Alpha" in the English version).
• When Paris and Tuvok are discussing new ideas for a holo-novel, Torres and Janeway suggest a western or a mystery. This may be a reference to Captain Picard's Dixon Hill and Alexander and Worf's western from "A Fistful of Datas".
• This episode had another reference to the number 47. At the staff briefing Chakotay says that the program had been used "47 times by 33 different crewmembers". Also, Tuvok's security clearance code used for accessing the "Insurrection Alpha" program was "four-seven-seven-four".
• Two outtakes from this episode are mostly seen on the internet, notably YouTube. The first one has Tuvok playing around after getting shot by Chakotay and the second being the real Tom 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. Ultimate Trek at the Internet Movie Database
• 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, 2) is threatening to kill (in this episode, some of) them. However, in this episode the computer program is meant for members of the crew, while in the case of "Civil Defense" it was a defense system left over from the Cardassian occupation, meant to be triggered in case of a Bajoran uprising at Terok Nor.
• Seska returns in this episode, albeit in holographic form and with her Bajoran disguise. She would reappear once more in the seventh season episode "Shattered".
• Seska left the ship around stardate 48658.2 but (according to Torres) modified the holo-program on stardate 48671.
• Script writers continued to develop and allude to the future romantic relationship between Paris and Torres. While in the mess hall with Neelix and Tuvok, discussing possible additions to the story, Paris suggests including "a steamy love-scene between the Starfleet conn officer and the Maquis chief engineer". To which Torres retorts sarcastically "Oh, that's realistic!"
• "Worst Case Scenario" also includes the fourth of many times Janeway "dies" in the series. On this occasion, the holographic Janeway is murdered by Seska.
• Jennifer Lien (Kes) appears in the episode only as a hologram, with the same hairstyle she sported for most of the first three seasons.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Links and references

[edit] 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

[edit] Guest stars

• Martha Hackett as Seska

[edit] Co-star

• Majel Barrett as the computer voice

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

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Star Trek: Voyager Season 3

Next episode: "Scorpion"