Star Trek: VOY episode
"Flashback"
Captain Sulu of the Excelsior
Episode no.	Season 3, Episode 2
Prod. code	145
Airdate	September 11, 1996
Writer(s)	Brannon Braga
Director	David Livingston
Guest star(s)	Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand Jeremy Roberts as Dimitri Valtane Boris Krutenog as Excelsior helmsman Michael Ansara as Kang George Takei as Hikaru Sulu
Year	2373 (flashback to 2293)
Stardate	50126.4
Episode chronology
Previous	"Basics, Part II"
Next	"The Chute"

"Flashback" is the name of the 44^th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the second episode of the third season. Image File history File linksMetadata STVOYEp302. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Screenwriters, scenarists or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ... Brannon Braga at a 2006 lecture Brannon Braga (born August 14, 1965 in Bozeman, Montana) is an American television producer and screenwriter who is mostly known for his significant contributions to the Star Trek series since 1990. ... A television director is usually responsible for directing the actors and other taped aspects of a television production. ... Grace Lee Whitney greets a fan at a Star Trek convention (circa 1978). ... Michael Ansara (born April 15, 1922) is a stage, screen and voice actor. ... George Hosato Takei (last name is pronounced in (IPA): ) (born April 20, 1937) is a Japanese-American actor. ... A year is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. ... Stardate is one of the dating conventions used in the fictional Star Trek universe. ... Basics is a two-part episode of the Star Trek: Voyager television series. ... The Chute is the name of the 55th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the third episode of the third season. ... The starship Voyager (NCC-74656), an Intrepid-class starship. ...

It is noteworthy for featuring characters of the Original Series of the late 1960s, most noticeably Hikaru Sulu and Janice Rand. Naturally enough, both characters appear by means of a flashback by Tuvok. The episode was produced, along with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "Trials and Tribble-ations" as part of Star Trek`s 30th anniversary. While the DS9 episode featured stock footage of the majority of The Original Series cast, the base episode, "The Trouble With Tribbles", did not feature Takei. As compensation, he was given an all new part in this episode. The starship Enterprise as it appeared on Star Trek Star Trek is a culturally significant science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. ... Hikaru Sulu is a fictional character in the original Star Trek series, played by George Takei. ... In the original Star Trek television series Janice Rand (played by Grace Lee Whitney) served as a yeoman to Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) in 2266, assisting him with his job. ... In literature and film, a flashback (also called analepsis) takes the narrative back in time from the point the story has reached, to recount events that happened before and give the back-story. ... Lt. ... Space station Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or STDS9 or DS9 for short) is a science fiction television series produced by Paramount and set in the Star Trek universe. ... Trials and Tribble-ations is a fifth season episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that was written as a tribute to the original series of Star Trek. ...

Plot summary

As Voyager monitors a nebula with large quantities of the power source sirillium, Tuvok finds his hands shaking, and requests permission to go to sickbay. En route, he experiences a flashback to a young girl falling off a cliff when he let go of her hand. Eventually, he arrives in sickbay, and collapses, convulsing on the floor. Lt. ...

In sickbay, Tuvok describes the memory, but insists the events he 'remembered' never occurred. With no clear cause, he is dismissed with a device to monitor his readings in case such an event occurs again. That night, he attempts to build a 'structure of harmony' in an effort to aid his meditation, but cannot stop the structure from collapsing. After a visit from Kes, he attempts again. Kes is a character in the Star Trek fictional universe, played by Jennifer Lien in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. ...

The next morning, he notes he had spent fourteen hours meditating, and still had no idea what the cause of the problem was. Ensign Kim could not find anything unusual with the nebula they were near - but Tuvok suggests they scan it for Klingon activity - B'Elanna Torres reminding him that the Klingon Empire was "on the other side of the galaxy". Moments later, Tuvok sees the mental image again, and collapses once more. Harry Kim is a fictional character of the Star Trek universe, played by Garrett Wang, who served aboard the Starship Voyager, with the rank of Ensign and as its chief operations officer, on Star Trek: Voyager. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... BElanna Torres, played by Roxann Dawson in Star Trek: Voyager, is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe. ...

In sickbay, the Doctor suggests the problem is a repressed memory, which in Vulcans can cause brain damage due to the conflict between the conscious and unconscious minds. The only possible cause of action is to initiate a mind meld - normally undertaken with a family member. Lacking the presence of any on Voyager, he requests Captain Janeway to assist him in locating, and reintegrating the memory. A repressed memory, according to some theories of psychology, is a memory (often traumatic) of an event or environment which is stored by the unconscious mind but outside the awareness of the conscious mind. ... The Forge of Vulcan, by Diego Velázquez. ... Vulcans are a humanoid species in the fictional Star Trek universe who reside on the planet Vulcan and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic. ... Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway Kathryn Janeway, (Born: May 20 in Indiana, year 2332) a character in the fictional Star Trek universe played by Kate Mulgrew, was the captain of the USS Voyager (2371-2378) in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. ...

When Tuvok initiates the mind meld, he attempts to take them to the cliff in his memory, but instead they appear on the USS Excelsior, under attack by the Klingons. Explaining the attack, the memory moves once more - to three days before, when Praxis exploded. After learning about how Captain Kirk and Dr McCoy were placed on trial for the attempted assassination of the Klingon Chancellor, Captain Sulu attempted a rescue mission - to which Tuvok was the only Excelsior crew member to protest. The USS Excelsior in 2293 The USS Excelsior is a starship in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... In the Star Trek universe, Praxis is a moon of the planet QonoS, the homeworld of the Klingon empire. ... Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Paramount Pictures, 1991; see also 1991 in film) is the sixth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Captain James T. Kirk James Tiberius Kirk, a fictional character in the Star Trek television series, was the captain of the starship Enterprise (NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-A). ... Leonard Horatio McCoy, M.D., nicknamed Bones (as in Sawbones, an old-fashioned colloquialism for a doctor or a surgeon), is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe, played by the late DeForest Kelley. ... Hikaru Sulu is a fictional character in the original Star Trek series, played by George Takei. ...

In an effort to avoid confrontation with the Klingons, Sulu ordered an approach path through a nebula which bore a remarkable physical similarity to the one Voyager was observing in the Delta Quadrant - the appearance causing Tuvok to recall the repressed memory once more, breaking the mind meld.

After a period of recovery for Tuvok, during which Janeway and Kim comment on the differences between Starfleet of the 23rd century and the 24th, they try the mind meld again - appearing once more on the Excelsior. After a discussion about Tuvok's motivations for joining Starfleet, a small Klingon attack began. After Sulu claimed their navigational equipment had malfunctioned, Kang insisted upon escorting the Excelsior back to Federation space, to help them from getting lost again - Sulu agreed, but on the way out of the nebula they were in, came up with a plan to disable the Klingon ship, by igniting the sirillium that was also present in that nebula. After this succeeded, they set course once more for Qo'noS, before being attacked again by three Klingon battlecruisers - an attack that killed Lieutenant Dimitri Valtane. As Tuvok watched Valtane die, the memory appeared once more - and in sickbay, the neural engrams destabilise, preventing the meld from being broken. On the Excelsior, Sulu could suddenly see Janeway, who was supposed to merely be an observer. In an effort to blend into the memories, Tuvok takes Janeway to a time where she can steal Commander Janice Rand's uniform. In sickbay, the Doctor and Kes noticed an irregularity in the memories, and deduced they were not in fact memories, but instead a virus. Using thoron radiation, they begin to kill the virus. The 23rd century (Gregorian Calendar) comprises the years 2201-2300. ... The 24th century (Gregorian Calendar) comprises the years 2301-2400. ... Starfleet Command In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet is the paramilitary defense, research, diplomacy, and exploration force of the United Federation of Planets (UFP) with – as of the late 24th century – hundreds of starships and starbases at its disposal. ... Kang is a character from the fictional Star Trek universe. ... This article or section may need to be cleaned up and rewritten because it describes a work of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. ... The meeting place of the Klingon High Council in the First City of the Klingon Empire In the fictional Star Trek universe, QonoS is the Klingon homeworld, also known as Kronos or Klinzhai. ... In the original Star Trek television series Janice Rand (played by Grace Lee Whitney) served as a yeoman to Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) in 2266, assisting him with his job. ...

On the Excelsior, the attack occurs once more, and Valtane is killed. The image of the girl on the cliff appears - but this time, it is Janeway who is letting the girl fall. As the Doctor continues the efforts to kill the virus, it tracks back, changing to Valtane, and then an endless stream of other children. Eventually, it dies, and Tuvok breaks the meld.

In sickbay, the Doctor and Kes explain what must have happened - the virus thrived on neural peptides, and hid itself by creating the false memory that the person bearing it would repress, so the virus could live in secret, and migrate from person to person as its hosts died.

Walking down a corridor, Janeway suggests that Tuvok missed those days, a suggestion Tuvok rejects. However, he admits that he is pleased to have been a part of them, and having experienced the memories, Janeways says she feels she was a part of them as well. As a result, Tuvok suggests that she could feel nostalgic for the both of them.

Trivia

• Lt. Dmitri Valtane of the Excelsior dies during this episode whereas he's still alive by the end of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and can be seen in the shot where Sulu says farewell to Captain Kirk.
• After the sirillium is used on the Excelsior to disable the Klingon vessel, it is never mentioned again, despite Voyager still needing new energy supplies. It can probably be assumed they took a supply on board before the final shot of the episode, of Voyager leaving the nebula, as there was no indication this would present problems.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Paramount Pictures, 1991; see also 1991 in film) is the sixth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ...

External links

• Flashback article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
• Episode synopsis at Startrek.com