Reflections (episode) — memory alpha

Real world article

(written from a production point of view)

Mariner and Boimler work the Starfleet recruitment booth at an alien job fair, Rutherford challenges himself.

Summary

Teaser

Ensign Sam Rutherford is sleeping in his bunk but is in the midst of a nightmare in which he's having trouble with an engine that's overheating and on the verge of destruction. As the engine explodes, Rutherford wakes up screaming, startling fellow Ensign Hans Federov as he walks by in a towel.

Act One

"Captain's log, Stardate 58345.2. The Cerritos is back at Tulgana IV, where we'll be updating the Federation consulate's power systems, a straightforward job which gives us extra time to fill some of our Starfleet quotas."

In the Cerritos's Repair Bay 5, Ensigns Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler discuss their assignment to run the Starfleet recruitment booth on Tulgana IV. Mariner resents what she sees as a pointless task, while Boimler is philosophical about it, noting that someone has to do it. Mariner contends that no one had ever signed up at a recruitment booth, though Ensign D'Vana Tendi pipes up that she did, to Boimler's amusement. Packing several PADDs into a carrying case, Boimler admits that running the booth is not exciting, but it's their assignment for the day. Meanwhile Rutherford is struggling with repairs on the shuttlecraft Sequoia, and Tendi takes notice. Rutherford tells her about his lack of sleep due to having the same nightmare for the past week. Tendi checks his implant via a cerebral scan with her tricorder and tells him there are some long-term memories stuck in his buffer. Believing them to be unimportant, she offers to clear his cache, which he agrees to. Tendi immediately does and suggests Rutherford take a nap.

Mariner and Boimler finish loading the shuttlecraft Death Valley with supplies for their booth. As Mariner continues to complain about the lowliness of the job, Commander Jack Ransom walks by and overhears Mariner's complaint and asks if she has a problem with her task. Perking up, Mariner politely gives her opinion on the task and requests a different assignment for them. Ransom sternly tells her that he doesn't care if she's not fond of the work; Mariner irately replies that it's something nobody cares about and is just so "the captain can tick off a meaningless box." Ransom retorts that he cares, and will be checking up on them, warning her that if she leaves the booth, he will transfer her to the dreaded Starbase 80. Intimidated by the threat, Mariner agrees, and she and Boimler sit in stunned silence as they power up the Death Valley and leave for the planet.

Rutherford falls asleep in his bunk, but within moments his implant malfunctions and turns red. Waking up, Rutherford is confused to be on a California-class starship and why his has an implant. When he stands in front of a nearby window, his reflection (regular Rutherford) starts talking to him, wondering what's going on. Rutherford has apparently lost control of his body, and another brasher and more intense personality has taken over. Rutherford tries to call out for help, believing an anaphasic lifeform has taken control of his body, but this theory is shot down by Red Rutherford before walking away.

At their booth in the commuters' market on Tulgana IV, Mariner eagerly tries to attract the attention of any passersby, unwilling to take any chance of a transfer to Starbase 80. A Tellarite prospect approaches and asks if one needs to go to Starfleet Academy to work on a ship. Mariner replies that he doesn't, giving him the option of signing up as a non-commissioned officer and getting training at the Tech Services Academy on Mars, which could result in him working at a transporter bay. On being asked if transporter operators ever get to "sit on the bridge," Mariner hedges that it's technically possible. A woman at the booth next to them warns the Tellarite that he'd be signing up for very mundane work ("seven years in a windowless room"), causing the Tellarite to lose interest and walk away. An angry Mariner confronts the woman for sabotaging her deal, but the woman, who is an independent archeologist, shows no remorse and and continues to mock Mariner and Boimler. Mariner tries to ignore her and gets the attention of a Gelrakian who asks if they often get dilithium crystals. Mariner says that they do, but the archeologist warns that Starfleet crews are often assimilated by the Borg, scaring him away. Fed up with the archeologist, Mariner stands up, ready to get up close and personal, but Boimler calms her down and has her remain focused.

On the Cerritos, Red Rutherford is mocking the design features of the ship as Rutherford continues to demand his body back from passing reflective surfaces. Red Rutherford takes notice of Ensign Barnes and unsuccessfully tries flirting with her in an attempt to gain information about the security shift change. Rutherford tries desperately to be heard by Barnes but is unsuccessful as his alternate personality offends her to the point of tears. Rutherford tries to think of a way to contact Tendi, hoping she'd have an idea to solve this problem, and Red Rutherford asks who she is. Using the computer to locate Tendi, he heads for the repair bay where she's located while Rutherford demands that he stay away from her.

Red Rutherford enters the repair bay, and on noticing him, Tendi calls him over to show him a contained pod plant from Omicron Ceti III that can release mind control pollen. Attempting to copy Rutherford's manner of speech, he tells her he can't remember when the security shift changes, and Tendi immediately tells him that it's at 0900 hours. As they both laugh, Rutherford, growing desperate, punches his implant, hoping to cause any kind of disruption. The implant malfunctions, causing Red Rutherford pain, and Tendi takes notice. Red Rutherford immediately demands that Rutherford, in the reflection of the Sequoia's viewport, stop, and it is his body. Rutherford does it again; saying he'll kill Red Rutherford, Red Rutherford lashes out by throwing a piece of equipment, which just bounces off the viewport. A concerned Tendi tries to scan his implant, but Red Rutherford shoves her away and runs off. Tendi immediately calls sickbay for an emergency medical team to Deck 11.

Back on Tulgana IV, Mariner and the archeologist are still trading jabs at their respective booths. Mariner calls her a thief, telling her that if she were actually in pursuit of knowledge, she'd be limiting herself by avoiding Starfleet. The archeologist introduces herself as Petra Aberdeen, a graduate of the Academy and a former officer. Boimler confirms it when he finds her personal file and that she served aboard USS Victory. Aberdeen states that she did a tour in the fleet "before wising up" and left, believing Starfleet to be militaristic and violent. Mariner gets more annoyed but holds herself back, unwilling to risk leaving her work.

Red Rutherford sneaks through the corridors of the Cerritos, narrowly avoiding detection from Tendi, Dr. T'Ana, and Lieutenant Shaxs. Accessing the Jefferies tubes, he manages to break into a transporter room and knock out Chief Lundy. His attempts to beam off the ship are unsuccessful. He's then confronted by Shaxs, who tells "Baby Bear" he would know that Tulgana IV's ion field prevents a solid transporter lock if he were really Rutherford. Red Rutherford activates the transporter with a delay to different coordinates; he avoids being grabbed by Shaxs and manages to dash onto the transporter pad to transport himself outside the captain's yacht. He runs inside and begins accessing the controls; from the front viewport, Rutherford tells him that he messed with the wrong crew. While Red Rutherford is confident that once he takes off, they won't be able to find him, as the yacht is a warp-capable vessel, Rutherford says he only needs to buy them some time and once more begins to attack his implant. The resulting malfunctions hinder Red Rutherford long enough for Shaxs to catch up and stun him with his phaser. Shaxs catches Rutherford's unconscious body and immediately calls for T'Ana and a medical team on his combadge.

Act Two

Having taken Rutherford to sickbay, T'Ana runs scans of Rutherford as Captain Carol Freeman and Tendi observe, confirming that his memory and personality are from a decade ago. She compares it to a backup having overwritten his brain. Tendi tells her that she had cleared his cache and despairs that she potentially erased her best friend, but T'Ana notes the high cerebral activity in his brain. They will have to wait and see which Rutherford emerges whenever he wakes up.

Red Rutherford arrives in the mindscape and is confronted by Rutherford, who recognizes his counterpart as his younger self from ten years ago, without the implant and wearing a civilian jacket over a Starfleet Academy cadet uniform. Cadet Rutherford tells him that their brain can't handle having two copies of his personality, and to cope, they were both partitioned until one of them becomes the dominant personality. Rutherford calls the cadet an imposter, but his younger self conjures up his old garage and shows him an incomplete racing ship that he was building in the past called the Sampaguita. Giving it a quick look, Rutherford describes it more as "a seat strapped to an impulse engine", to which Cadet Rutherford agrees with a sense of pride. Rutherford is confused why he can't remember building the racer, and the cadet angrily accuses him of erasing his own memories with his implant. Rutherford is certain that he did so to help him with engineering, but his younger self brings up an old memory of when Rutherford received his the implant. They see two doctors in the shadows revealing that Rutherford's implant has a fabricated recollection of why he has it in the first place. Cadet Rutherford accuses Ensign Rutherford of attempting to erase all the memories that 'made them cool' through the implant, but the brain is more complicated than that and kept the memories protected. The ensign asks why the cadet never tried to take over before, but the cadet clarifies that he attempted many times to retake the body, which resulted in Rutherford's many glitches and malfunctions with the implant or behavioral shifts. Rutherford recalls having liked pears momentarily, and the cadet explains that he loves them and it was actually one of his attempts. Finally convinced that his younger self is real, the cadet reveals that they have to decide which of them will leave the mindscape and which will be erased. When a bright spotlight shines down from above, Cadet Rutherford shoves the ensign aside and tries to return to the waking world, but Ensign Rutherford stops him only to be stopped in his own attempt to leave. Ensign Rutherford demands that the cadet stay with him until they figure out their situation, then takes the opportunity to ask about the garage. The cadet explains how they would sneak away from the Academy to build sick racing ships but clarifies that the sneaking was to avoid trouble with Starfleet since they were not allowed to test their own engines before graduation nor get near any warp cores, which he believes was "so dumb." Ensign Rutherford states that the restrictions make sense, as they could have gotten hurt messing around with such things before being fully educated and trained. Cadet Rutherford reveals they did more than just 'mess around' and funded their ship projects through multiple wins of the illegal Devron 500 space race, which crosses the Romulan Neutral Zone, and proudly shows off their many collected trophies. Discussing the legalities of such things, the mindscape suddenly quakes, causing them mental pain; they cannot stay in the mindscape forever. Agreeing that the best engineer should be the dominant personality, the cadet challenges the ensign to a Devron 500 race for which they each build their own racer. Rutherford agrees to the challenge, although Cadet Rutherford appears to be more than confident with his chances of winning.

On Tulgana IV, Aberdeen and Mariner are still throwing quips at one another when two representatives of The Collectors Guild approach their booth, mocking them on how their booth is only collecting dust. Boimler tries to calm Mariner down before they are approached by a couple of conspiracy theorists, who ask when Starfleet will reveal what truly happened to Captain Benjamin Sisko or talk about the time when parasites took over Starfleet admirals' brains by 'crawling up their butts.' Mariner reiterates that Sisko really is "working hard in a celestial temple," and Boimler declares the parasite story is just a stupid conspiracy that never happened,. Mariner quietly tells him that she thinks it actually did. Asking if they're controlled by parasites, Mariner responds that if that were true, they'd have to kill the truthers for finding out. The truthers laughingly replay that they can't due to being unable to leave the booth, much to Mariner's anger.

In Rutherford's subconscious, the ensign and the cadet complete their racers. Cadet Rutherford reconstructs the Sampaguita, while Ensign Rutherford recreates the second Delta Flyer from 2377. His younger self mocks the Starfleet design cues since Rutherford could have built something original. Rutherford defends it, as he always wanted a Delta Flyer. Deriding the Flyer as "a shuttle with a paint job," the cadet reveals the completed Sampaguita: with Vulcan inverters and quad engines, he's confident that Rutherford might as well give up his claim to their body. Rutherford reiterates that the Flyer is awesome and even comes with its own flight suit. Somewhat bemused with Ensign Rutherford, the cadet comments that he had thought that the ensign's years of experience might have evened them out, but thinks that the ensign's excitement for the Flyer and the suit is "just sad." Undeterred, Rutherford enthusiastically hurries off to put it on and show it off, leaving Cadet Rutherford to ruefully shake his head.

Back on Tulgana IV, Aberdeen discovers that Mariner and Boimler are from the Cerritos and recalls how their captain was involved in the destruction of Pakled Planet. Mariner quickly clarifies that the Pakleds bombed themselves when a couple of outpost scientists approach the Starfleet booth. One of them, a Bajoran woman, asks a question about the uniforms. Boimler begins to answer, but realizes the scientists were mocking him. The Bajoran woman takes Boimler's rank pip and casually tosses it over her shoulder into the middle of the market, where a passerby walking by steps on it. Boimler erupts with rage and screams at them for their utter unappreciation for just how much Starfleet does for them. He goes on to terrorize and insult every person who has teased them that day, attacking their careers and flaws viciously and destroying several booths. While Mariner tries to get him back to the booth an alien, who is impressed with Boimler's confidence, asks to join Starfleet in hopes that he can get the same kind of confidence. As Boimler continues his rampage, more aliens stop to ask Mariner how they can join Starfleet. Aberdeen takes advantage of the distraction to slip away towards the nearby Museum of Antiquities.

In Rutherford's subconscious, the race is about to start. Their surroundings change from the garage to the Neutral Zone. Cadet Rutherford has a track randomly generated in the interests of fairness, though he warns Ensign Rutherford about potential Romulans, uncharted black holes, dangerous nebulas, and rogue planets. The race starts, and while Rutherford initially struggles, he quickly proves he can keep up. Cadet Rutherford gets a boost of speed and takes the lead, but his joy is short-lived when a Romulan D'deridex-class Warbird decloaks and attacks the two ships.

Act Three

The warbird continues its attack, and Rutherford orders for power to be rerouted to the aft shields. The cadet, believing Rutherford to be talking to himself, is surprised that Rutherford is talking to a crew consisting of recreations of Mariner, Boimler, and Tendi. Tendi boosts the Flyer's shields to 130%, while Mariner charts a course through the debris field, which will help provide cover. The cadet complains that having a crew is not fair, but Rutherford reminds him that he said that 'anything goes'.

On Tulgana IV, Ransom walks out of the Death Valley just outside the market to finally check in on Mariner and is pleasantly surprised to see her talking with numerous people at the booth who are eager to sign up for Starfleet applications. His attention is then drawn to Boimler, who is still on his rampage, and when he asks what's going on, one of the truthers mentions he believes Boimler's being controlled by "butt-bugs."

Back in Rutherford's subconscious, both ships are taking hits, but the Sampaguita is badly damaged. Boimler warns that the racer's shields have failed and the warbird is about to destroy the Sampaguita. Rutherford has Tendi beam the cadet over into the Flyer's cockpit and catches him in his arms as he collapses. While he's saved him from the Romulans, the cadet has sustained critical injuries. Cadet Rutherford concedes victory to Ensign Rutherford, and their surroundings fade to the pair alone in the blank mindscape. The cadet is impressed with what Starfleet has taught the ensign. He reflects on how he used to be full of anger at everything but can see in Ensign Rutherford that all of that rage is gone. Rutherford proposes the two merge and combine their memories, but the cadet explains that would erase them both. The cadet's appearance suddenly flashes momentarily to show a severely injured Rutherford; he remembers how they received the implant and reveals the memory to Rutherford.

Rutherford's hazy memory of his implant operation

It turns out that the nightmare that Rutherford has been having is actually a memory of an engine test for the Sampaguita that went wrong and resulted in an explosion that critically injured him. Cadet Rutherford explains that they'd thought they could do anything but clearly had overreached in this instance and paid the price, just the kind of thing that the Starfleet rules they shirked were meant to prevent. They're unable to see a figure that grabs his unconscious body while complaining that the incident will "set us back years,", as well as the doctors who gave him the implant. Behind the doctors they can hear the voice of the first man, who is an officer in command red ordering the erasing of any memories of him or a secret program. When he asks what the cover story will be around the implant's origin, the doctors say they've programmed into it that Rutherford would believe it was elective. Ensign Rutherford is shocked at the revelation that the implant was a cover-up, and Cadet Rutherford comments that it seems that someone broke even more rules than the two personalities. Ensign Rutherford suggest ways to save the cadet but Cadet Rutherford tells him that he's okay with passing, and tells the ensign not to lose his friends. Before he fades away, the cadet thanks Rutherford for one last race. Alone yet regretful of the loss of the cadet personality, Rutherford enters the light to return to the waking world. Rutherford wakes up in sickbay to the sight of Tendi, Shaxs, and T'Ana watching over him. Tendi asks if he's alright, and he smiles, saying he's "okie-dokie", and Tendi gives him a tearful hug. Shaxs and T'Ana share a smile at the sight.

Ransom and security chief Lieutenant Kayshon escort Boimler through the corridors. For his outburst on Tulgana IV, Boimler will receive a reprimand. While he won't be transferred to Starbase 80 as initially feared, Boimler has to spend the night in the ship's brig. As Boimler has never been sent to the brig before, he expresses hope that Ransom won't think less of him, but Ransom admits that hearing Boimler stand up for Starfleet in the way he did against the "loudmouth" detractors made a positive impression on him. He invites Boimler to share a drink upon his release to hear all about it, wanting a first-hand account of how the outpost scientists cried when Boimler kicked over their table.

Mariner, Tendi, and Rutherford visit Boimler in the brig. Rutherford tells them all about what he's learned, and that whoever was responsible must have been a higher-up when he was a first-year cadet, so it could be anyone. Mariner thanks Boimler for keeping her temper in check, despite it ending up with him losing his instead and ending up in the brig. Boimler expresses how hard Mariner works to keep it together. She excuses herself to go and complete the mission log; Boimler wistfully expresses disappointment, as that's his favorite part, to which Mariner chuckles.

While finishing up the log in her bunk, Mariner is interrupted by a message from Aberdeen. Before she can break connection, Aberdeen thanks her and admits that she was only trying to rile them up to cause a distraction. It turns out that the Museum of Antiquities had stolen the staff of the Ferengi Grand Nagus, and the distraction provide cover so she retrieve the staff and return it for a reward. Aberdeen says while she understands Mariner's love for Starfleet, she asked around about Mariner and feels she has the potential to be more. She leaves an open invitation for Mariner to contact her should she ever feel out of place. Mariner scoffs at the offer, but when the transmission ends, she hesitates over deleting Aberdeen's contact info before saving it before looking out the window as the Cerritos leaves Tulgana IV behind and goes to warp.

Memorable quotes

"You okay, Rutherford? Man, you looked wiped.'"
"Oh, I haven't slept in a week. I keep having the same crazy nightmare.'"
"Ooh! The one where you're in a new timeline with Kirk and Spock where they have cinematic chemistry?'"
"I wish."

- Tendi and Rutherford

"Starfleet! Get your Starfleet! Prepare yourself for warp 10 excitement! Discover the undiscovered country!"

- Mariner

"Starfleet isn't violent!"
"Well, tell that to the Romulans, the Klingons, the Cardassians..."
"What? They attack us! It's self-defense!"
"Oh right, you guys totally aren't a pseudo-navy at all."

- Mariner and Aberdeen

"You tried to erase all the memories that made us cool, but it didn't work. The brain is more complicated than that, and it kept my cool ass stored away. So blam! Here I am, baby!"

- Rutherford (young)

"How about when parasites crawled into Starfleet admirals' butts and took over their brains? Wanna come clean about that?"
"It's just a stupid conspiracy. It never happened."
"Ahem. Actually, I think it did."
"Really?"

- Truther, Boimler, and Mariner

"WITHOUT STARFLEET, NONE OF YOU WOULD EXIST!!! WE DON'T WANNA TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE KLINGONS OR THE BORG, WE JUST WANNA EXPLORE AND STUDY [bleep]ING QUASARS! BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO!
"Dude, get back in the booth. What if Ransom shows up?"
"STUPID [beep]ING TRUTHERS! YOU HATE THE TRUTH! YOU'RE JUST A BUNCH OF PATHETIC GOSSIPY WEIRDOS! COLLECTING IS STUPID! IT DOESN'T MAKE YOU HAPPY! YOUR SHIPS SMELL LIKE ASS!"
"Boimler, get back here."
"YOU'RE ALWAYS GETTING PEOPLE TRAPPED INSIDE OF GAMES! STOP TRAPPING PEOPLE INSIDE OF GAMES!"

- Boimler and Mariner

"The Doctor didn't spend seven years in the Delta Quadrant for you [bleep]s to question his agency! HE'S GOT RIGHTS!"

- Boimler

"Don't doubt me! I failed the Kobayashi Maru seventeen times, mother[bleep]ers!"

- Boimler

"Mariner, get us out of here."
"Okie-dokie!"

- Rutherford and Mariner (imaginary)

"I meant what I said, Ensign. You knowingly disobeyed a direct order."
"Are you gonna send me to Starbase 80?"
"Oh, god no. That place is a hellhole."
"Koltar, when he drowned in the swamp."
"You're just gonna spend a night in the brig."

- Ransom, Boimler, and Kayshon

Background information

Title

The title was announced on 19 September 2022 by Paramount+. [1]

Continuity

The Cerritos previously visited Tulgana IV in "Envoys", and Boimler's first mission aboard the USS Titan was to this planet in "No Small Parts". Young Rutherford's first attempt to escape from the Cerritos is foiled by Tulgana IV's ionic field, whose existence was established in "Envoys".
Tendi asks Rutherford if his nightmare was the one where he's in a new timeline with Kirk and Spock where they have cinematic chemistry. This is a reference to the three Star Trek films set in the alternate reality which is better known as the Kelvin Timeline.
Starbase 80 was first mentioned in the Season 1 episode "Terminal Provocations".
Anaphasic lifeforms previously appeared in TNG: "Sub Rosa".
Petra Aberdeen, glamorous independent archeologist, is reminiscent of Vash. She served on the USS Victory and references the controversy over whether Starfleet is a military organization.
Rutherford's repressed personality asks Barnes if her Trill spots go all the way down; Jadzia Dax was asked a similar question by Deral in DS9: "Meridian".
To generate interest in the Starfleet recruiting booth, Mariner says "Prepare Yourself for Warp 10 Excitement!" which was the tagline for the novelization of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. She also says "Discover the Undiscovered Country!" which is a reference to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Tendi has a pod plant with mind-control pollen from Omicron Ceti III, previously encountered in TOS: "This Side of Paradise".
When Mariner explains the process of signing up for Starfleet as a non-commissioned officer, she mentions Starfleet Technical Services Academy. This training facility was first mentioned in an okudagram readout in TNG: "Eye of the Beholder".
Starfleet accepted Kasidy Yates-Sisko's reiteration of Benjamin Sisko visiting her in a vision to explain what had happened to him and his role with the Prophets of Bajor going forward. It's quite possible that the logs of Worf, Ezri Dax, Julian Bashir, and Odo, who were present when Kasidy related her vision to Jake Sisko, contributed to this.
The items featured at the Collectors Guild booth include a painting done by Data of his cat Spot (TNG: "Inheritance"), a kadis-kot board (VOY: "Infinite Regress"), the Bajoran Reckoning Tablet (DS9: "The Reckoning"), a space fun helmet (LD: "No Small Parts"), the Stone of Gol (TNG: "Gambit, Part II"), and two Data bubble bath mix bottles (LD: "An Embarrassment Of Dooplers").
The way Rutherford's younger self shows him the memory of how they got their implant and says "Remember..." mirrors the scene from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan where Spock used a mind meld to transfer his katra into Leonard McCoy.
This episode features six different Starfleet uniform styles, the most to ever appear in a single episode:
- Starfleet uniform (2250s-early 2270s), Type C (on the faceless stand-in cutout images of Kirk and Spock),
- Starfleet uniform (2350s-2370s), Type A (on a PADD image),
  - Type B (worn by an officer in Rutherford's flashback; dress uniform seen on a PADD image),
- Starfleet uniform (late 2360s-early 2370s), flight suit (illusory form),
- Starfleet uniform (2370s-early 2380s) (seen on PADD images),
- Starfleet uniform (2370s-early 2380s), Cadet uniform (illusory form),
- Starfleet uniform (early 2380s) (regularly worn by the USS Cerritos crew).
The computer mentions that Rutherford transferred to the Cerritos on Stardate 56329.4, which would place it between the events of VOY: "Endgame" and Star Trek Nemesis.