Ensign Ro (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

"Ensign Ro"
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 3
Directed by	Les Landau
Teleplay by	Michael Piller
Story by	Michael Piller Rick Berman
Featured music	Dennis McCarthy
Production code	203
Original air date	October 21, 1991 (1991-10-21)
Guest actors
Michelle Forbes - Ro Laren Scott Marlowe - Keeve Falor Frank Collison - Dolak Jeffrey Hayenga - Orta Harley Venton - Collins Ken Thorley - Mot Cliff Potts - Kennelly Whoopi Goldberg - Guinan Majel Barrett - Computer voice

"Ensign Ro" is the 103rd episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The third episode of the fifth season.

The crew is unsettled by the arrival of Ensign Ro, a disgraced Starfleet officer of Bajoran origin. Although Ro was previously court-martialed for disobeying orders on an away mission, resulting in the deaths of eight crew members, Starfleet admiral Kennely has pardoned and assigned her to the Enterprise. Her ostensible mission is to persuade Bajoran rebels to stop attacking and raiding Federation colonies. But Picard soon learns that the rebels, displaced from their home-world by the Cardassians some 40 years ago, were not to blame for the attacks- and that Kennely's orders to Ro are very different than those he conveyed to Picard.

Plot

The Solarion Four settlement is destroyed, and the Bajorans claim responsibility. The world of Bajor was annexed by the Cardassians generations ago, and the Bajorans have been refugees ever since, and apparently some of them are using terrorism to draw attention from the United Federation of Planets.

Picard meets with Admiral Kennelly, who tells him that the Bajoran responsible is a terrorist named Orta. Picard's mission is to find Orta, and to send him back to the Bajoran settlement camps where he can do less damage.

Kennelly assigns a controversial person to assist Picard: Starfleet Ensign Ro Laren, a Bajoran whose reputation is very poor. Kennelly insists she can help, and she comes aboard the Enterprise.

Despite a difficult attitude, Ro works with the crew to locate Orta. Ultimately, they head to the third moon of Vallor One where they believe he is based.

Meanwhile, Ro receives a secret communication from Admiral Kennelly and tells him all is going according to plan.

The next day, the Away Team prepares to beam down, but discover Ensign Ro had preempted them by beaming down six hours ago. They follow her, and are promptly captured by Orta and his people. Orta, who was disfigured by Cardassian torture, tells them that he felt abducting them was necessary, and says that the Bajorans were not responsible for the attack.

Picard finds himself inclined to believe Orta, but confines Ro to quarters for her unauthorized beam down. Guinan, who has befriended Ro, goes to see Ro, and after learning there is more to what is going on that meets the eye, convinces Ro to talk to Picard.

Ro reveals that she is on a secret mission by Kennelly to offer Orta Federation weapons in exchange for returning to the camps. Given her experiences, she no longer knows what to do or whom to trust. Picard decides that the best course might be to actually take Orta back to the camps, and see what occurs.

As the Enterprise escorts a Bajoran cruiser to the camp, however, two Cardassian ships cross the border and demand the Enterprise leave the ship to them. Picard initially refuses, and the Cardassians give him an hour to reconsider. Kennelly, far from helping, insists that the Cardassian treaty is the more important issue and orders Picard to withdraw.

Picard withdraws, and the Bajoran cruiser is destroyed. However, suspecting a chain of events like this might occur, Picard had ensured no one was aboard, and had the ship operated remotely. Picard informs Kennelly that the Bajoran ships are so old and obsolete that they were incapable of attacking the Solarion Four settlement, and suggests that the Cardassians staged everything, hoping to find someone like Kennelly, naive enough to help them solve their problems.

With the mystery solved and the mission accomplished, Ro accepts Picard's offer to remain in Starfleet and join the Enterprise crew.

References

• Star Trek The Next Generation DVD set, volume 5, disc 1, selection 3.

External links

• Ensign Ro at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Ensign Ro at StarTrek.com
• "Ensign Ro" at IMDb
• "Ensign Ro" at TV.com