Ex Post Facto
Stardate not given: Kim returns alone in a shuttle from a trip to Benea which he made with Tom Paris. After getting entangled with a scientist’s wife, and by all accounts murdering the scientist in question, Paris has been sentenced to relive the crime from the victim’s point of view every 14 hours. Janeway, despite Tom’s admittedly less-than-exemplary record, needs to know for herself if Tom is guilty of the crime. When it turns out that the Benean punishment is reacting badly to Tom’s human physiology, he is taken back to Voyager. Mysteries begin to pile up – why are the neighboring warlike Numiri attacking Voyager? And who really committed the murder? The answers can only come from one source – Tuvok must mind-meld with Paris to experience the forced reenactment of the incident himself.
teleplay by Evan Carlos Somers and Michael Piller
story by Evan Carlos Somers
directed by LeVar Burton
music by Dennis McCarthyCast: Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway), Robert Beltran (Chakotay), Roxann Biggs-Dawson (B’Elanna Torres), Jennifer Lien (Kes), Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Tim Russ (Tuvok), Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim), Robin McKee (Lidell), Francis Guinan (Minister Kray), Aaron Lustig (Professor Ren), Ray Reinhardt (Benean Doctor), Henry Brown (Numiri Captain)
LogBook entry by Earl Green
Stardate 9029.2: The Excelsior is assigned to visit the warring worlds of Krikiki and Den-Kai to negotiate a peace – and possibly to make overtures that could lead to both civilizations joining the Federation. Captain Sulu’s orders from Starfleet are clear: adhere to both worlds’ customs and protocols, and establish a dialogue. But paradoxically, Sulu is supposed to start this dialogue without being able to directly address anyone he meets at first. The first person he meets turns out to be a walking peace offering – the son of the Krikiki ruler is being sent to the Den-Kai Queen, but only after he has already been tortured, his vocal cords cut and his legs broken. Sulu struggles to maintain his imprtiality in his mission and his silence, and learns from the song of a trio of Krikiki that the young prince is certain to face more of the same treatment when he arrives at the Den-Kai palace. But Sulu doesn’t have to worry about his misgivings over his assignment for long: the Den-Kai send a group of extremists to collect the peace offering, and they attack the Starbase where the handover is to take place. Sulu sees an opportunity to take matters into his own hands, regardless of the Den-Kai’s customs, even though doing so may make the diplomatic situation considerably worse.