THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

STORIES INVOLVING THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

[Season 4: #94 Hope And Fear]

Episode Index - part of Ship's Logs which includes illustrated transcripts and synopses

Arturis, one of the few survivors of Species 116 that was assimilated by the Borg, saw the advent of the war between Species 8472 and the Borg in his region of space as his people's "last hope" to defeat the Borg. With Species 8472 inflicting heavy casualties on the Borg, Arturis hoped that they would banish the looming threat of assimilation into the Borg Collective. Arturis blames Voyager for his people's doom, due to Janeway's decision to ally with the Borg. It is hard not to have sympathy for Arturis' viewpoint.

Janeway's decision violated the Prime Directive by attempting to interfere with the balance of power in the region and, thereby, to interfere with two societies (Borg and Species 8472 and countless unknown species......such as Species 116), but Janeway believed her crew's very survival was at stake and their survival took precedence despite the Starfleet oath to uphold the Prime Directive even at the cost of the sacrifice of one's life. At the time, Janeway did not consider or foresee the consequences. Chakotay accused her of looking no further than her desire to get the crew home.

Voyager's aid proved crucial in compelling Species 8472 to retreat. Shortly thereafter, Kes engaged her mental powers to throw Voyager clear of Borg space (or what was then the heart of Borg space; the crew will encounter the Borg directly elsewhere later, in Seasons 6 and 7), and with that as far as she was concerned Janeway no longer had reason to consider the consequences of the alliance until Species 8472, perceiving Mankind a threat, planned a pre-emptive strike against Starfleet as depicted in [#98 In The Flesh]. The alliance of Voyager and the Borg is depicted in [#68 and #69 Scorpion], a story in which Arturis is not yet known about.

Species 8472 destroys attacking Borg cubes. The devastating power of Species 8472 weapons is also illustrated below. Screenshots above and below are from [#68 and #69 Scorpion].

A member of Species 8472 kills two Borg drones then turns on Kim.

A number of Species 8472 bio-ships head for the Borg planet. In formation, eight of them, one by one feed a tendril of glowing energy toward the central ship which acts as a focus and concentrates all the combined energy toward the Borg planet. Species 8472 bio-ships combine weapons to fire a devastating blast at a Borg planet. (pop-up window)

In this story, Arturis seeks revenge on Voyager's crew and on Janeway in particular. He transforms his advanced starship so that it looks like a prototype Starfleet vessel named USS Dauntless, sent by Starfleet to bring the Voyager crew home. He intends to trap all the crew and take them to the Borg to be assimilated, just as the majority of his species were, but Janeway manages to detect his subterfuge, though not the details. As a result, in the ensuring physical struggle, only Janeway and Seven end up trapped on Arturis' starship. The situation is evident from the dialogue quotation given below.

Arturis: "Typical of Captain Janeway: self-righteous." Janeway: "If I've done something to offend you or your people, please tell me." Arturis: "Diplomacy, Captain. Your 'diplomacy' destroyed my world! You negotiated an agreement with the Borg Collective - safe passage through their space. You helped them defeat one of their enemies." Seven: "Species 8472." Arturis: "Did it ever occur to you that there were those of us in the Delta Quadrant with a vested interest in that war? Victory would have meant annihilation of the Borg, but you couldn't see beyond the bow of your own ship!" Janeway: "In my estimation, Species 8472 posed a greater threat than the Borg." Arturis: "Who are you to be make that decision, a stranger to this Quadrant?" Janeway: "There wasn't time to take a poll. I had to act quickly." Arturis: "My people managed to elude the Borg for centuries, outwitting them, always one step ahead, but in recent years the Borg managed to weaken our defences. They were closing in, and Species 8472 was our last hope to defeat them. You took that away from us! The outer colonies were the first to fall, twenty-three in a matter of hours, our sentry vessels tossed aside, no defence against the storm. By the time they surrounded our star system, hundreds of cubes, we had already surrendered to our own terror." His voice trembles as he recalls the harrowing experience. "A few of us managed to survive, ten, twenty thousand. I was fortunate. I escaped with a vessel, alone but alive." Arturis points at Seven. "I don't blame them, they were just drones, acting with their collective instinct." He points accusingly at Janeway: "You, you had a choice!" Janeway: "I am sorry for what happened to your people, but try to understand: I couldn't have known." Arturis: "It took me months to find you. I watched and waited for my opportunity to make you pay for what you'd done, then the Starfleet message, and I knew your that selfish desire to get home would surface again, that I could lure you to this vessel, that I could see to it that you'd all be assimilated and spend the rest of eternity as Borg! I was hoping to get your entire crew but I'll settle for the two of you. In a matter of hours, this ship will return to my homeworld, inside Borg space." Seven: "When that happens you will be assimilated as well." Arturis: "That's irrelevant." [Season 4: #94 Hope And Fear]

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