How would you handle? A Captain's decision

[M.A.C.O.]

Just rewatched VOY episode "Phage". Janeway's decision to let the Viidians always bothered me. The Viidians as a species have spent 2,000 years harvesting the organs and skin of other species. The level of f*cks they could give about others is definitely in the negatives. Despite this, Janeway lets them go, and the Viidians attack Voyager several other times after the first encounter.


So I figured I'd make this thread posing the question: "What would you do?" If you were in the captain's position, what would be your choice. I'd like to get other people's opinions.

This isn't in the VOY Thread because I want to leave it open for other decisions made by Captain's throughout Trek's run. Feel free to post your own questions and response.

 

[Melakon]

It wouldn't have accomplished anything to kill those two schmucks in "The Phage" except for petty revenge. Vidian ships seemed to be comparable or better in power to Voyager. The Phage apparently is cured a few years later in "Think Tank".

 

[JirinPanthosa]

When you're in an organization like Starfleet, summary execution of somebody who does not pose a direct immediate threat just isn't something you do, even when it might be practical.

If I was Captain of Voyager, I would let them go. If I was Captain of Battlestar Galactica I would execute them.

I would have loved to see an episode focusing on just what happens to the Vidiians after the phage is cured. Trying to restore their once-great civilization while dealing with the fact that they've been murdering people for the last thousand years. But of course the showrunners were too cowardly to do an episode that focuses away from the main group.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

It wouldn't have accomplished anything to kill those two schmucks in "The Phage" except for petty revenge. Vidian ships seemed to be comparable or better in power to Voyager. The Phage apparently is cured a few years later in "Think Tank".

Well they could've gotten Neelix's lungs back. Janeway could've asked for medical technology to compensate for the theft/attempted murder of one of her crew member's property.

When you're in an organization like Starfleet, summary execution of somebody who does not pose a direct immediate threat just isn't something you do, even when it might be practical.

If I was Captain of Voyager, I would let them go. If I was Captain of Battlestar Galactica I would execute them.

I would have loved to see an episode focusing on just what happens to the Vidiians after the phage is cured. Trying to restore their once-great civilization while dealing with the fact that they've been murdering people for the last thousand years. But of course the showrunners were too cowardly to do an episode that focuses away from the main group.

@Bold
That's a good contrast. I would've taken Neelix's lungs back which would've killed one of them (not like it was his property too begin with) and set the other one off with a warning that organ harvesting will be punishable by death. SFdebris made a comparison to the Viidians and the Borg and how nobody weeps when a Borg Drone is shot but the Viidians are supposed to inspire sympathy.

Yeah a reconciliation of post-Phage Viidians would've been nice. I mean how do you square 2,000 years of murder? With trillions of beings losing their organs, skin and lives. Think tank gave one line of dialogue to the Viidians cure and moved right on.

The Think Tank resolution was so meh. VOY was thousands of light years away from Viidian space by the time of Think Tank.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Yeah, it was thousands of light years away, but a more courageous production staff would allow the storytelling to touch on other parts of the universe occasionally.

I don't think you can kill one of them and let the other go. That's kind of worst of both worlds there. If you kill both of them you get the lungs back and make no new enemies. If you let them both go, you exercise the moral high ground and possibly create good will for yourselves. If you kill one and release the other, you don't have any moral high ground and risk the other Vidian coming back later with his friends to extract revenge.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I would've taken Neelix's lungs back which would've killed one of them (not like it was his property too begin with) and set the other one off with a warning that organ harvesting will be punishable by death.

What does this gain you, though? The lungs could no longer be used by Neelix at this point, so getting them back doesn't really accomplish much, except maybe forcing them to go steal another set from someone else.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

I would've taken Neelix's lungs back which would've killed one of them (not like it was his property too begin with) and set the other one off with a warning that organ harvesting will be punishable by death.

What does this gain you, though? The lungs could no longer be used by Neelix at this point, so getting them back doesn't really accomplish much, except maybe forcing them to go steal another set from someone else.

The lungs couldn't be used by Neelix without killing one of the Viidians which was the dilemma that Janeway was in. The single Viidian who got both of Neelix's lungs would've died leaving one survivor. The Viidians gave negative f*cks about anyone except themselves and their own survival. With how many times they attacked Voyager after "The Phage" episode, it seems Janeway's display of mercy did not gain VOY any leverage or good credit.

If the Viidians had taken Tom Paris' hands or Chakotay's heart, or B'Ellanna's eyes, do you think it would be right for the Viidians to keep what they stole? Or for Janeway to let the Viidians go with a warning not to do this to Voyager again? Where do you draw the line?

 

[Avro Arrow]

I would've taken Neelix's lungs back which would've killed one of them (not like it was his property too begin with) and set the other one off with a warning that organ harvesting will be punishable by death.

What does this gain you, though? The lungs could no longer be used by Neelix at this point, so getting them back doesn't really accomplish much, except maybe forcing them to go steal another set from someone else.

The lungs couldn't be used by Neelix without killing one of the Viidians which was the dilemma that Janeway was in. The single Viidian who got both of Neelix's lungs would've died leaving one survivor.

Perhaps I'm misremembering the episode. I had thought that the Vidiians had already modified the lungs somehow so that they'd be compatible with Vidiian physiology, and as such even if the Voyager crew got them back, they couldn't be used anymore by Neelix regardless.

 

[T'Girl]

The Viidians as a species have spent 2,000 years harvesting the organs and skin of other species.

Small thing, your skin IS a organ. In fact it's the biggest organ.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

NEW QUESTION

Janeway's decision to kill Tuvix! Naw I'm just kidding.


Janeway's decision to give Species 8472 the blueprints/schematics for the nanoprobe torpedoes. Did Janeway give away too much in exchange for too little?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

In the Species 8472 case, they were in a position to go destroy Earth immediately and there's not a damn thing Voyager or anybody could have done about it at that point. It was kind of a Minbari situation so Janeway's hand was kind of forced to do whatever possible to restore 8472 to sanity.

@AllStarEnterprise

Just because letting them go did not win them any good will does not mean it could not have. Killing people who do not pose an immediate direct threat is something Starfleet just doesn't do. If they had them execute the Vidiians it would have had to work toward the 'Degradation of principles' arc that none of the writers wanted to do. So their options were to hold them in the brig or let them go, and from a pragmatic standpoint they were best off letting them go.

 

[Drone]

What does this gain you, though? The lungs could no longer be used by Neelix at this point, so getting them back doesn't really accomplish much, except maybe forcing them to go steal another set from someone else.

The lungs couldn't be used by Neelix without killing one of the Viidians which was the dilemma that Janeway was in. The single Viidian who got both of Neelix's lungs would've died leaving one survivor.

Perhaps I'm misremembering the episode. I had thought that the Vidiians had already modified the lungs somehow so that they'd be compatible with Vidiian physiology, and as such even if the Voyager crew got them back, they couldn't be used anymore by Neelix regardless.

Your memory is right on the money.