Procedures in "Manuevers"

[Shatnertage]

I just got done watching "Maneuvers" and I've got a question. Just for context, I didn't catch most of the show during its original run, and I'm just not starting to get back into it.

It was a good episode--the opening with Seska raiding the ship was really good stuff, and there was a great twist at the end. I'm guessing Seska's baby becomes a story arc next season.

But the resolution really rang hollow to me. After they rescued Chakotay (I almost typed "Trip," must be ENT hangover), Janeway "places him on report" for "disregarding procedures."

It sounds like he's getting sent to the principal's office, and it really hurts the episode, IMHO. It reminds me of that clip from "The Paper Badge" in For Your Consideration, but it was meant (I'm assuming) to be serious.

Wouldn't it have been more powerful for Janeway to say "I trusted you. You betrayed that trust. You're going to have to work hard to get it back," instead of "I'm putting you on report?"

He didn't just "violate procedures." He lied to his captain (by omission) and endangered his ship-mates.

Really, keeping everything else the same, they could have made it work much better by shifting the emphasis from "procedure" to "I thought I could trust you."

 

[Guy Gardener]

Dude should have been demoted.

Given the XO job to Tuvok because he's next in line, or B'Elanna because she's the next Maquis in line (Actually Tom is the Next Maquis in line).

 

[JanewayRulz!]

Actually Tom is the next ex-convict in line.

I think Janeway did what she knew would affect the ex-starfleet officer the most. She flagged his service record as "insufficient."

She had already played the "I needed you, I trusted you/you betrayed me" card with Tuvok in season 1. In the same ep she already played the one more step out of line, "You will NO LONGER BE a member of this crew" card with B'Elanna.

I suspect the writers were showing that Janeway does temper her criticisms depending on who she's talking to. Chak, the former Maquis Captain, isn't as close to her as Tuvok so the "I trusted you" argument isn't as strong. I suspect the former Starfleet commander is more attuned to whether he's doing his duty to the ship, and so that mark on a record somewhere in Voyager's archives is more painful than any dressing down she could have done.

As for returning to the sound of Janeway's voice... one should compare how she modulates it for Chak, vs either B'Elanna or Tuvok "last" season.

JANEWAY: Just tell me one thing. What were you thinking?
CHAKOTAY: About keeping our technology out of Kazon hands. I thought if I did it on my own, I could keep the rest of the crew out of danger.
JANEWAY: That may be a very noble sentiment, but it wasn't your decision to make. Oh, Chakotay. We've spent the last ten months together on this ship. I thought we had an understanding. Why did you choose to ignore procedure?
CHAKOTAY: Seska was my problem, a problem I felt it was my duty to solve.
JANEWAY: So you had a personal score to settle.
CHAKOTAY: I thought I was doing the right thing.
JANEWAY: Really? Tell me this. How do you expect me to keep order when the first officer takes it upon himself to run off like some cowboy because he decides it's a good idea? What you did was commendable. The way you did it was not. You set a terrible example. And on a personal level, you have made my job more difficult.
CHAKOTAY: If that's so, I regret it.
JANEWAY: I'm putting you on report, in case that means anything anymore.
CHAKOTAY: It means something to me, Captain. It means I've let you down, and for that I'm truly sorry.

One more point... the Captain does this in her ready room, and the rebuke goes on his personal file not on the bulletin board in the mess hall.

 

[Shatnertage]

Typo in my OP--should have been "just NOW starting to get back into it," not "just NOT starting to get back into it." Talk about a Pillerian slip!

She had already played the "I needed you, I trusted you/you betrayed me" card with Tuvok in season 1. In the same ep she already played the one more step out of line, "You will NO LONGER BE a member of this crew" card with B'Elanna.

Haven't seen those eps yet, so I'm only going on this one.

The dialog you quoted made me reflect on how well acted the scene was--I could really hear Janeway saying those words, with the emphasis in the right places. It is effective.

But I've still got a hard time thinking that a man who's just been rescued from almost certain death and has discovered his ex has impregnated herself with his DNA (Is that even possible? On what appears to be a less advanced Kazon ship?) wouldn't be too shaken up about be put on report for ignoring procedures.

 

[froot]

But I've still got a hard time thinking that a man who's just been rescued from almost certain death and has discovered his ex has impregnated herself with his DNA (Is that even possible? On what appears to be a less advanced Kazon ship?) wouldn't be too shaken up about be put on report for ignoring procedures.

I tend to agree with ya. I think some of early Janeway's scenes painted her a little too much like some kind of disappointed school principal. Chakotay wasn't really Janeway's confidant until post-Resolutions, so I think her saying something about betrayed trust would have hit him where it hurt. He was probably working pretty hard to be someone she could trust.

She handles stuff like this much better in later seasons, IMO - she just glares at people until they burst into flames and run away screaming. Much quicker.

 

[JanewayRulz!]

she just glares at people until they burst into flames and run away screaming. Much quicker.

Can I get a HELL YEAH!!!!!

(I miss Jim Wright's transcripts on the old Delta Blues site.)

 

[Enterprise1981]

She had already played the "I needed you, I trusted you/you betrayed me" card with Tuvok in season 1. In the same ep she already played the one more step out of line, "You will NO LONGER BE a member of this crew" card with B'Elanna.

Her exact words were "You will no longer be an officer on this crew." Conceivably, B'Elana would have been stripped of rank and served as a crewman for the rest of the voyage as with the Equinox survivors. Putting Chakotay would have been a serious black mark, although his service since then-- with the exception of "Scorpion, Part II"-- had been exemplary. I'm sure that someone at Starfleet Command, like Admiral Hayes and his message in "Life Line", would still want to use that incident against Chakotay in deciding whether he should get command of Voyager after Janeway was promoted to admiral.