Unity (Star Trek: Voyager)
Encyclopedia
"Unity" is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager
, the 17th episode of the third season. It has an average fan rating of 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek website as of September, 2009.
Chakotay
and Ensign
Kaplan pick up a distress call with a Federation
signature. When they land their shuttlecraft
on the planet
, they both come under fire from hostiles who kill Kaplan and injure Chakotay. After he loses consciousness, a second group chases away the attackers and take him to the safety of their compound. There he wakes up with a woman by the name of Riley Frazier, who claims that the planet's inhabitants were some years earlier kidnapped by an unknown species and left on the planet. Suspicious of her insistence that he should stay in the room for the time being, he finds a way out and discovers that Riley and the others were not simply kidnapped but in fact assimilated by the Borg
. When an electro-kinetic storm damaged their cube, their link with the hive mind
was broken so they took what equipment they could and settled on the planet. Over time they have regained their individuality and even removed most of their Borg implants, but a great deal of violent tension has arisen between the many different species which the Borg had assimilated.
Chakotay's injury worsens, and the only available cure is for him to be temporarily fitted with a neural link so that the former drones can exploit the medicinal properties of their retained collective consciousness. Despite his reluctance, he eventually agrees because it is clear he will otherwise die before Voyager arrives to rescue him. While connected to the miniature hive mind, he sees the other members' memories of their pre-Borg homes and families, and also learns of their hope that Voyager will be willing to reactivate a part of the Borg ship which will re-establish the harmonious neural link which had once united the planet's inhabitants when they were drones, so ending their social problems. When Voyager finally arrives (having found the buoy signal which Chakotay left above the planet before landing), Captain Janeway agrees to provide the former drones with food, medical supplies and upgraded security, but will not reactivate the ship for fear that this might draw attention from the Borg collective.
However, Riley and the others soon use their established link with Chakotay to make him reactivate the neural link anyway. As Janeway feared, this has unforeseen consequences as it reactivates the entire cube and some remaining Borg inhabitants whose link to the collective has not been severed. The rescue team sent to intercept Chakotay, along with Chakotay himself, are beamed aboard Voyager. The planet's inhabitants manage to order the Borg ship's self-destruct sequence to engage before it gains weapon capabilities. Within three seconds, the ship explodes, but the mission was successful - the planet's inhabitants have regained their collective state. They send a message to Voyager thanking Chakotay for cooperating with their plans and release him from their link with their newly created "cooperative" which only affects the local inhabitants of the planet and no one else.
Chakotay discusses the situation with Janeway, and questions how long the inhabitants can retain a sense of morality amidst the power of a collective. After all, he reasons, it did not take them long to use him against his own will for their own motives. Janeway cannot answer his question.
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 17th episode of the third season. It has an average fan rating of 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek website as of September, 2009.
Plot
While attempting to find a faster way through the Nekrit Expanse, CommanderCommander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
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:...
and Ensign
Ensign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
Kaplan pick up a distress call with a Federation
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
signature. When they land their shuttlecraft
Shuttlecraft (Star Trek)
In the Star Trek fictional universe, a shuttlecraft is a small auxiliary spaceship carried by the larger craft such as the Enterprise. Shuttlecraft were documented in the writer's guide for the series in 1966 and first appeared in the episode The Galileo Seven. Galileo was the name of the...
on the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
, they both come under fire from hostiles who kill Kaplan and injure Chakotay. After he loses consciousness, a second group chases away the attackers and take him to the safety of their compound. There he wakes up with a woman by the name of Riley Frazier, who claims that the planet's inhabitants were some years earlier kidnapped by an unknown species and left on the planet. Suspicious of her insistence that he should stay in the room for the time being, he finds a way out and discovers that Riley and the others were not simply kidnapped but in fact assimilated by the Borg
Borg (Star Trek)
The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe associated with Star Trek.Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg use enforced cybernetic enhancement as a means of...
. When an electro-kinetic storm damaged their cube, their link with the hive mind
Group mind (science fiction)
A group mind, hive mind or group ego in science fiction is a single consciousness occupying many bodies. Its use in literature goes back at least as far as Olaf Stapledon's science fiction novel Last and First Men ....
was broken so they took what equipment they could and settled on the planet. Over time they have regained their individuality and even removed most of their Borg implants, but a great deal of violent tension has arisen between the many different species which the Borg had assimilated.
Chakotay's injury worsens, and the only available cure is for him to be temporarily fitted with a neural link so that the former drones can exploit the medicinal properties of their retained collective consciousness. Despite his reluctance, he eventually agrees because it is clear he will otherwise die before Voyager arrives to rescue him. While connected to the miniature hive mind, he sees the other members' memories of their pre-Borg homes and families, and also learns of their hope that Voyager will be willing to reactivate a part of the Borg ship which will re-establish the harmonious neural link which had once united the planet's inhabitants when they were drones, so ending their social problems. When Voyager finally arrives (having found the buoy signal which Chakotay left above the planet before landing), Captain Janeway agrees to provide the former drones with food, medical supplies and upgraded security, but will not reactivate the ship for fear that this might draw attention from the Borg collective.
However, Riley and the others soon use their established link with Chakotay to make him reactivate the neural link anyway. As Janeway feared, this has unforeseen consequences as it reactivates the entire cube and some remaining Borg inhabitants whose link to the collective has not been severed. The rescue team sent to intercept Chakotay, along with Chakotay himself, are beamed aboard Voyager. The planet's inhabitants manage to order the Borg ship's self-destruct sequence to engage before it gains weapon capabilities. Within three seconds, the ship explodes, but the mission was successful - the planet's inhabitants have regained their collective state. They send a message to Voyager thanking Chakotay for cooperating with their plans and release him from their link with their newly created "cooperative" which only affects the local inhabitants of the planet and no one else.
Chakotay discusses the situation with Janeway, and questions how long the inhabitants can retain a sense of morality amidst the power of a collective. After all, he reasons, it did not take them long to use him against his own will for their own motives. Janeway cannot answer his question.