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Old 11-07-2021, 07:44 PM
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November 4th, "Unification Part 1"

Fiver by IJD GAF (Hey Zeke, why didn't he write a fiver for Part 2 at the same time?)

The Episode

BRACKETT: Three weeks ago, one of our most celebrated Ambassadors, an advisor to Federation leaders for generations, disappeared.

I never liked this bit. They were postponing Spock's reveal by all of thirty seconds. What's the point?

Incidentally, why not mention his Starfleet service? Or his reputation as a scientist, for that matter?

BRACKETT: Taken on Romulus, by long range scanner.

Long range scanners can take photographs? How does that work? Don't Vulcan/human hybrids have different lifesigns than Romulans? Couldn't they have used that?

For that matter, where are these intelligence reports coming from? Does Starfleet maintain a network of spies on Romulus?

And while we're at it, wouldn't Spock have surgically altered his appearance before this mission? Such a thing should be possible. Just the thickened Romulan brow would make him look drastically different.

Captain's log, stardate 45236.4. As I study the intelligence reports on Ambassador Spock's disappearance, I cannot help but feel a deeper, more personal concern about this mission, for I know this man through his father. It was barely a year ago that I shared a mind meld with the Vulcan, Sarek.

"Sarek" was stardate 43917.4. That's not "barely a year", that's 16 months. "It was only last year" would've been better.

PICARD: I met him once. What I know of him comes from history books, and of course my mind meld with his father.

As I've mentioned before, Picard attended Spock and Saavik's bonding ceremony back in 2329. Unfortunately he wasn't able to make it to the actual wedding in 2344.

RIKER: That must cover a lot of ground.
PICARD: Not as much as you'd imagine. Sarek and Spock. Well, sometimes, fathers and sons.
RIKER: Understood.

A deleted scene from "Journey's End" says that Picard's father Maurice died when Jean-Luc was a sophomore, 2324. The stress from this almost caused him to drop out of the Academy.

PERRIN: Mint tea. It's been years since I've had it. Vulcans have some kind of strange concoction they call mint. You'd never recognise it.

Even if we're going to claim that old-fashioned Vulcans choose not to have replicators in their homes, you'd think an exception could be made for Perrin. Incidentally, in the novel Sarek it's established that Amanda worked hard in her garden to make Earth plants grow. I wonder if Perrin lacks a green thumb (no rude jokes, please).

Furthermore, I have serious doubts that mint would be one of those things that replicators can't duplicate properly.

PERRIN: Between Spock and his father. They had argued for years. That was family. But when the debates over the Cardassian war began, he attacked Sarek's position publicly. He showed no loyalty to his father.

You gotta wonder what they were fighting about. I can't help but wonder what positions they took on the Occupation.

RIKER: The Vulcans haven't figure out what these fragments are but they've determined that the metal is a dentarium alloy.
LAFORGE: That pretty well indicates that they're Vulcan. And dentarium also means that whatever this was, it was originally designed for use in space.

Meaningless aside, but there's a dentist office in Latvia called Dentarium. Only mention of dentarium in the canon.

Incidentally, Memory Alpha tells us that T'Pau is called Apollo. The USS Ajax that Kosinski worked on was of this class, as was the Vulcan freighter that was carrying CFI replicators to Cardassia (the ones the Maquis stole). The USS Gage was destroyed by the Borg at Wolf 359, another use of the model. This class doesn't have conventional nacelles, they have an annular warp drive (the "nacelles" are actually a tube around the main hull).

Memory Beta (and the CCG) calls this the Merchant-class because the expanded universe uses "Apollo-class" for a completely different design (it looks like the Constellation-class but there are only two nacelles, upper and lower).

I know, you don't care about any of this, but I find it fascinating.

SAREK: He is a Romulan Senator. Spock has maintained a relationship with him over the years. I don't know how they met. At the Khitomer Conference, I'd imagine.

Yes, they did. The novel Assignment: Eternity features their first meeting at Khitomer. Sarek was actually the one who introduced them.

Pardek wasn't killed by Shinzon, he was assassinated by the Tal Shiar in 2380.

PICARD: He's ignoring me. What other explanation is there?
RIKER: Seems after hailing him for three days, he could've found a minute to talk to you.

Why did they let it get to three days? After twelve hours I would've contacted Starfleet to sic the Diplomatic Corps on Gowron.

DATA: Captain, I have a visual identification of Senator Pardek of Romulus. This is a Barolian record of a trade negotiation in which Pardek participated four years ago.

Only mention of Barolians on screen. They appeared a couple novels. The Borg destroyed their homeworld in 2381.

In the Star Wars expanded universe Barolians are just blue-haired "humans."

PICARD: Gowron or K'Tal?
WORF: Neither, sir. It is the junior adjutant to the diplomatic delegation.

An adjutant is in charge of HR in a military heirarchy.

PICARD: I require a cloaked vessel.

It sounds like Picard wants to be given a ship. He should be asking for the use of a cloaked vessel.

PICARD: The only benefit to the Klingon Empire would be our gratitude.
B'IJIK [on viewscreen]: That is what you want me to tell him?
PICARD: Yes. And please add that if he is unable to provide a ship, then I am sure there are others in the Klingon Empire who would be willing to help me. And then, they would have our gratitude.
B'IJIK [on viewscreen]: I see.

And some people have the nerve to claim that TNG is boring.

CRUSHER: They're not removable, are they, Data?
DATA: Removable?
CRUSHER: Your ears.
DATA: No, Doctor. They are fully integrated components.

Pointless exchange. Incidentally, Lore's ears ARE removable, even though he's supposed to be physically identical to Data. Oops.

CRUSHER: These two still have an appointment with Mister Mott to have their hairpieces designed.

Mot has one "t." And why would a barber know anything about making wigs? You'd think that the ship would have someone in charge of disguises for away teams that require it. The episode "Patterns of Force" sure indicated that such a position existed on Kirk's Enterprise.

LAFORGE: What we seem to have here is a navigational deflector array. Or at least what's left of one.
RIKER: Why would anyone want a Vulcan shield array?

Navigational deflectors and shields aren't the same thing. Oops.

K'VADA: You'll sleep Klingon style. We do not soften our bodies by putting down a pad.

This seems like a horrible idea. And if Worf is any indication, Kligons prefer to sleep under animal skins.

KLINGON [OC]: MeH HoD.
K'VADA: Jatlh!
KLINGON [OC]: MeHmaH ghoS.
K'VADA: So'wl'chu'.

"Bridge to captain." "Speak!" "Bridge, we're assuming the heading." "Engage cloak."

K'VADA: Well, Captain, we're at the border of the Neutral Zone.

That's not what the other guy said!
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