A Moral Star, Part 1 (episode)

Real world article

(written from a production point of view)

The crew forgo their dreams of Starfleet to return to Tars Lamora in a no-win scenario.

Summary

Act One

In crew quarters, Rok-Tahk explains to her shipmates that she was able to save them and the USS Protostar from the recent fractured time incident by getting Hologram Janeway back online and restoring the warp matrix. Jankom Pog, Zero, and the rest of the crew take a moment to acknowledge the team's capacity for innovation, bravery and teamwork. Dal realizes the crew will never be able to let their guard down while The Diviner is after them, but then accidentally knocks over the disabled Dred 2, which initiates a recorded holographic message from The Diviner.

The Diviner's holo ultimatum — The Diviner issues an ultimatum

The Diviner delivers an ultimatum: insisting that this "chase across the galaxy" must end, the crew will return the Protostar to him in one day in exchange for releasing The Unwanted, or the miners will pay the price. Gwyn, frustrated by her father, stabs Dred 2's head with her heirloom to stop the looping message, and storms off.

Around a conference suite table, the crew considers their options: formulate a rescue mission to Tars Lamora on their own, or reach out to the Federation and Starfleet for help (which would most certainly take too long). Dal can't believe what a limited time they have to decide and/or plan, and Zero reminds everyone that the ship only has power left for one proto-warp. Janeway acknowledges it's a difficult decision, but as Dal is the captain, it's ultimately his decision to make. Jankom then enthusiastically jumps on the table in support of saving the miners they left behind. Seeing the crew's united support for a rescue mission, Dal uncharacteristically gets up and leaves; Gwyn follows him, concerned.

Gwyn enters the captain's quarters behind Dal, asking if his indecisiveness is based on fear or selfishness. Dal confides that after years of trying to escape the mines of Tars Lamora, he's that worried if they return, they may not be able to escape again; a fear Gwyn didn't have to experience. With the crew's lives on the line, Dal realizes the rescue mission can't be one of his half-baked plans, that this is his Kobayashi Maru no-win scenario. Gwyn reminds him of the ongoing lesson of their time on the Protostar: that they are not alone, and that the crew must plan together as a team.

Janeway oversees the crew whole-heartedly working together to prepare for their mission: strategizing, building, upgrading ship systems, and arming themselves with phasers, snacks and coffee. One final touch to the plan: Dal takes a last look at some of his belongings and looks to the Protostar captain's uniform and the combadge that united the crew during their time together.

Dal and the crew join Janeway on the bridge, having all adopted the Protostar uniforms. Janeway upgrades her uniform as well, and commends the crew for coming together on "a seemingly impossible mission to save others. To bring hope to a hopeless cause. Nothing's more Starfleet than that."

The Protostar jumps to maximum warp headed for Tars Lamora. The crew, unified and resolved, engages the proto-drive.

Act Two

The Protostar drops out of proto-warp and approaches Tars Lamora. The Diviner longingly watches "his" ship approach, and Drednok deactivates the chimerium cloak. The miners, including a Caitian child, look up, unsure of what to make of the ship (which they had last seen triumphantly breaking out of their prison). Rok takes Murf to the cargo transporter where Zero and Gwyn are waiting. Gwyn notices Zero being unusually quiet, and they explain that they're worried The Diviner will capture them and use them as a weapon again. But Gwyn assures them that won't happen, as long as everyone does their part.

Suddenly, they feel the ship shake, and Janeway reports that the Rev-12 has activated its tractor beam and is pulling the Protostar in.

The Protostar lands and the crew walk out where they meet The Diviner, Drednok, and an army of Watchers. Dal warns them not to try anything hasty, as Janeway was given the order to self-destruct the ship if needed. The Diviner, disgusted by the sight of his daughter in a Starfleet uniform, changes their deal. He agrees to let the miners go, not just in exchange for the Protostar, but also for Gwyn, as well. Against Dal's and the rest of her crew's wishes, Gwyn agrees to her father's terms, as long as he agrees to leave the prisoners the Rev-12 so they can leave the planet. Drednok deactivates the Watchers and disables the prisoners' security anklets; The Diviner demands Gwyn's combadge, and destroys it.

Act Three

Finally in control of the Protostar, The Diviner overrides Janeway's program to make her obedient to him, and orders the Rev-12's power generator targeted for destruction--leaving the prisoners with nothing, not even gravity. When Gwyn objects, The Diviner points out that he promised them a ship; not their lives. As the Protostar leaves the planet, Gwyn asks for answers from her father--namely why did he choose the ship over her? The Diviner confesses to Gwyn that he made a mistake by doing that. He begins to reveal his true mission to Gwyn, then stops when he realizes she's merely stalling for time. He orders Drednok to engage the protostar drive, only for Drednok to report that the drive has been removed.

Back on Tars Lamora, it's revealed that the Protostar crew anticipated The Diviner's double-cross, and were each armed with thruster packs so they could navigate the micro-gravity atmosphere. In addition, the proto-core is protected within the indestructible Murf himself, who was hiding the whole time within what looked like Zero's containment suit, while Zero was actually elsewhere. Dal assures Rok that even though the power generator was destroyed, they can still save everyone, and they have time for their plan to work.

Memorable quotes

"How is this even a debate? Going back for the miners is a bad call... that Jankom couldn't be prouder to make with you dumb-dumbs! Who's in?!"

- Jankom pumps up the team for a rescue mission, in true Tellarite fashion

"This is a no-win scenario, Gwyn. This is our Kobayashi Maru."
"So, what are you saying?"
"It can't be one of my half-baked plans. Not with all of our lives on the line."
"Don't forget, you're not alone. We're in cat boots now. Let's plan together."

- Dal and Gwyn

"Suddenly, I feel underdressed." (changes uniform) "That's better."

- Hologram Janeway

"I just wanna say, I know you never thought you were Starfleet material, but today, you're risking everything on a seemingly impossible mission to save others, to bring hope to a hopeless cause. Nothing's more Starfleet than that."

- Hologram Janeway to the Protostar crew

"On my mark. Ready? Go fast."

- Dal, ordering proto-warp speed

"Jankom, prepare cargo transporter."
"Ah, cargo transpo', is a go-go." (clears throat) "Uh, cargo transporter ready, captain."

- Jankom Pog, still adjusting to doing things in a more Starfleet manner

"I never wanted to see this place again. Too many bad memories."
"Then let's make some better ones, kid."

- Rok-Tahk and Jankom Pog

"Gwyn! We need you."
"You said it yourself. Without a ship, you'd all be stranded here. When he took all of you, I stood by and did nothing. I need to make it right."

- Dal and Gwyn, as Gwyn agrees to The Diviner's altered deal, giving herself up in return for the safety of the miners and the rest of her crew

"Ugh, why does it feel like we lost?"
"Because we did the right thing."

- Jankom and Dal, as they let their adversaries claim the Protostar

"Engage the proto-warp now!"
"The proto-core is not responding. The computer is saying it is not on the ship."
"What?!"
"Lose something?"

- The Diviner and Drednok discover the crew's sabotage of the Protostar, and Gwyn takes a moment to poke fun at them

Background information

Title

The title was announced by StarTrek.com on 24 January 2022. [1]
"A Moral Star" is an anagram of Tars Lamora.

Production

By acknowledging the entire writers' room for their contributions, this episode holds the record for most writers credited on a single episode of Star Trek. [2]

Continuity

Dal R'El references the lessons he learned about the burden of command and the consequences of command decisions in the Kobayashi Maru scenario in "Kobayashi".
This episode shows the crew of the USS Protostar wearing Starfleet uniforms for the first time. Hologram Janeway also updates her uniform to match the style of the rest of the crew.
- According to the Hagemans, these new uniforms and combadge are unique to this specific ship: "Since the USS Protostar is an experimental starship, we felt it gave us some freedom to create our own uniform design, as long as it fit alongside the uniforms of this era. We, [executive producer] Ben Hibon, and our design team spent a lot of time discussing the badge and uniforms. We had to balance the style of our series, while also recognizing these kids aren't actually anywhere close to being Starfleet Officers, which is why we went for a stripped-down design." They added that, "we all know different styles of combadges often co-existed in the same era, and we knew we wanted something special for Prodigy." [3]
Jankom references his familiarity with a pus hog, an animal previously referenced by Neelix in the VOY Season 2 episodes "Projections" and "Twisted".
Drednok attempted to reprogram Hologram Janeway in order to make her obedient to The Diviner. Similar reprogramming had been experienced by Data when his ethical subroutines were shut off by Lore in TNG: "Descent", and by The Doctor when Captain Rudolph Ransom deleted his ethical subroutines in order to make him perform an incredibly damaging medical procedure on Seven of Nine in VOY: "Equinox, Part II".
The emergency evacuation thruster pack was previously seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, where one was worn by Spock.