[Nate the Great]

Since Voyager starts tomorrow I'd better finish TNG today. I thought I only had to do All Good Things, but no, I have to do Preemptive Strike as well...


May 16th, 1994, "Preemptive Strike"


No fiver


Fair warning, I have plenty of nits, but these are really minor. As a standalone story divorced from DS9 and the prior episodes that set up the Maquis ("Journey's End" in particular), it's a fine story with fine acting.



The Episode


TROI: This is real Bajoran foraiga.
LAFORGE: It wasn't easy to find.



Oddly enough foraiga never appeared in DS9, just a few novels.


TROI: So, where are your new quarters?
RO: Deck four, section eight.



What does this have to do with anything? What's Troi gonna say, "that's too far for me to walk, I'll never visit"?


One problem with using transcripts instead of shooting scripts is that the nonverbal acting is overlooked. Ro seeing Picard walk out the door and being disappointed is an important element that one has to remember when considering the story.


PICARD: Change course to intercept. I'm on my way. I'd like you at the conn, Lieutenant.



Ro just completed Advanced Tactical Training and you want her at the conn? Couldn't she be posted at Tactical next to Worf?



DATA: I will scan their warp signatures. Sir, sensors indicate the attacking vessels are Federation ships.

....
RIKER: Those are Federation ships.
PICARD: Isolate one and magnify. The Maquis. Open a channel.



You know, it stands to reason that the Maquis wouldn't want all of their ships to look alike. A DS9 episode says that the Maquis use Peregrine class ships, too bad they didn't identify which style of Maquis ship, as we've see them use at least five different classes of ship.


In the novel "Pathways" (secondary canon at best), Jeri Taylor called this kind of ship the Antares class. But I would take that with a HUGE grain of salt.


PICARD: You are Federation citizens. Your actions are in violation of our treaty with the Cardassians. Call off your attack.



And here we go. I've ranted about the premise of the Maquis enough already, but since this episode is a direct setup for Voyager I have to bring it up one more time. These colonists who chose to stay in Cardassian space and fight the Cardassians were supposed to have renounced their Federation citizenship per "Journey's End." At which point the Federation should've ignored them and they would've been wiped out by the Cardassians within a year. But that didn't happen for reasons that are beyond me.



RIKER: I never thought we'd be firing on our own people to protect a Cardassian ship.



They aren't your people anymore! Furthermore, you're supposed to be at peace with the Cardassians right now, remember? The Federation is supposed to be accommodating to all people, remember? Leave your bigotry in your quarters, it has no place on the bridge!


WORF: The Cardassian's shields are down to thirty percent.
RIKER: They may not be able to withstand another hit.


What? The entire point of the Maquis ships is that they're smaller and faster, not more powerful than the top of the line warships of the major powers. In no universe should their ships be able to deplete thirty percent of a Cardassian warship's shields in one hit, or even one minute of continual fire.


GUL EVEK: Lately Starfleet seems to look the other way when the Maquis attack.
PICARD: I can assure you that is not the case. We're doing everything in our power to control them.



Well that's a lie. I'll skip the screed this time, but the short version is that "everything in our power" would've been forcibly removing them back in "Journey's End" when they should've. There should be no civilians (not even Cardassian civilians!) in the DMZ right now!


GUL EVEK: They came at us with photon torpedoes and type eight phasers. Tell me, Captain, how do you suppose that a group of civilians acquired such weaponry?
PICARD: I can assure you it was not through official channels.
GUL EVEK: So you don't think the fact that some of the Maquis are former Starfleet officers has anything to do with it?


I'm having a hard time following Evek's line of reasoning. Having former Starfleet officers in positions of Maquis leadership would help with their strategic planning and running the ships efficiently, but I don't know too many Starfleet officers (not currently stationed on DS9 anyway) that have access to the illegal arms merchants.


PICARD: Starfleet does not condone the Maquis' actions in the Demilitarised Zone any more than your government would condone the paramilitary actions of Cardassian civilians.
GUL EVEK: We have taken measures to deal with our colonists who have armed themselves.
PICARD: Considering that they destroyed a Juhryan freighter less than a week ago, I would say that your efforts are meeting with limited success.



Only mention of Juhryans. As I've said before, we don't hear nearly enough about the Cardassian residents of the DMZ. Are there that many resource-rich planets in there that they're willing to mine them without Bajoran labor?


NECHAYEV: No Bularian canapés this time, Captain?
PICARD: I thought twice was pushing it a little.
NECHAYEV: It's just as well. They're extremely fattening.



I'm going to assume that these things are yet another luxury item that replicators can't make with healthier materials properly.