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Warhead (Voyager episode)
Encyclopedia
"Warhead" is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager
, the 25th and penultimate episode of the fifth season. The episode has an average rating of 3.3/5 on the official Star Trek
website (as of August 31, 2007).http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/VOY/episode/106254.html
asks that the crew rescue it and return it to its people.
The artificial intelligence's memory is damaged, and it cannot tell them even what its function is; however it is soon found to be a weapon of mass destruction. At the Doctor's behest, Captain Janeway
keeps the missile aboard, but orders B'Elanna Torres
and Harry Kim
to disarm the warhead before it remembers what it is.
However, during the procedure, the warhead's intelligence takes over the Doctor's holomatrix, and traps Kim and Torres in sickbay. Threatening to detonate, the warhead orders the Captain to take it to its target. While the rest of the crew look for ways to disable the intelligence, Kim tries to reason with it. The bomb refuses to listen, insisting that it must be allowed to reach its target; it threatens to detonate and destroy the ship if the crew does not comply.
Voyager crew members attempt to reconstruct the warhead's damaged memory circuits. They determine that its creators, a race called the Druoda, halted all hostilities with their enemy and issued recall orders to its fleet of sentient warheads. Most complied, but a few warheads malfunctioned and could not receive the order. This warhead is one of those, and was forcibly crash landed by the Druoda (by remote) to prevent it from detonating. The warhead does not believe this, and thinks that the order to stand down was faked by the enemy.
However, Kim reasons that the recall orders are protected by a code that is nearly impossible to break. The warhead is eventually convinced that hostilities are over; however, over 30 of its fellow warheads are still out there, and have already found Voyager. They ignore the Druoda order to stand down, and the warhead realizes what it must do next. The warhead is downloaded back into its 'body' (freeing the Doctor) and returned to its companions - whereupon it detonates, destroying itself and the other smart bombs.
Note: This episode is based on Alan Dean Foster
's 1974 science fiction tale Dark Star
, in which the crew of the space ship Dark Star are confronted with a sentient, talking bomb intent on exploding despite the fact that it is unable to launch, leading to a philosophical debate between crew and bomb.
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 25th and penultimate episode of the fifth season. The episode has an average rating of 3.3/5 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 August 31, 2007).http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/VOY/episode/106254.html
Plot
An away team on an uninhabited planet find a small spaceship, crashed and damaged. Upon finding that its programming is fully sentient and in distress, the DoctorDoctor (Star Trek)
The Doctor, an Emergency Medical Hologram Mark I , is a fictional character from the television series Star Trek: Voyager, played by actor Robert Picardo...
asks that the crew rescue it and return it to its people.
The artificial intelligence's memory is damaged, and it cannot tell them even what its function is; however it is soon found to be a weapon of mass destruction. At the Doctor's behest, 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...
keeps the missile aboard, but orders B'Elanna 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...
and Harry Kim
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:...
to disarm the warhead before it remembers what it is.
However, during the procedure, the warhead's intelligence takes over the Doctor's holomatrix, and traps Kim and Torres in sickbay. Threatening to detonate, the warhead orders the Captain to take it to its target. While the rest of the crew look for ways to disable the intelligence, Kim tries to reason with it. The bomb refuses to listen, insisting that it must be allowed to reach its target; it threatens to detonate and destroy the ship if the crew does not comply.
Voyager crew members attempt to reconstruct the warhead's damaged memory circuits. They determine that its creators, a race called the Druoda, halted all hostilities with their enemy and issued recall orders to its fleet of sentient warheads. Most complied, but a few warheads malfunctioned and could not receive the order. This warhead is one of those, and was forcibly crash landed by the Druoda (by remote) to prevent it from detonating. The warhead does not believe this, and thinks that the order to stand down was faked by the enemy.
However, Kim reasons that the recall orders are protected by a code that is nearly impossible to break. The warhead is eventually convinced that hostilities are over; however, over 30 of its fellow warheads are still out there, and have already found Voyager. They ignore the Druoda order to stand down, and the warhead realizes what it must do next. The warhead is downloaded back into its 'body' (freeing the Doctor) and returned to its companions - whereupon it detonates, destroying itself and the other smart bombs.
Note: This episode is based on Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...
's 1974 science fiction tale Dark Star
Dark Star (film)
Dark Star is a 1974 American comedic science fiction motion picture directed by John Carpenter and co-written with Dan O'Bannon.-Backstory and plot:...
, in which the crew of the space ship Dark Star are confronted with a sentient, talking bomb intent on exploding despite the fact that it is unable to launch, leading to a philosophical debate between crew and bomb.