Tuvok experiences a repressed memory that's linked to his first Starfleet assignment under the command of the renowned Captain Sulu.
As Voyager approaches a nebula rich in sirillium, Tuvok is plagued by flashbacks of himself as a boy, trying to rescue a girl who's falling from a cliff. The Doctor suspects Tuvok is experiencing a repressed memory, which can cause permanent brain damage in a Vulcan. Vulcan healing techniques call for the patient to mind-meld with someone he trusts, so that together, the two can bring the memory into the Vulcan's conscious mind. Because of their long-standing friendship, Janeway agrees to meld with Tuvok.
The meld takes Tuvok and Janeway back 80 years to the Vulcan's first assignment on the Starship Excelsior, commanded by Hikaru Sulu. Sulu served under the legendary Captain James Kirk for many years, so his crew isn't surprised when he disobeys Starfleet orders to try and help Kirk and another old shipmate, Doctor McCoy, who are being held for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor. On the way, the Excelsior passes through a nebula that is similar to the one Voyager spotted prior to Tuvok's first flashback. Once again, Tuvok experiences the memory of the little girl falling, but this time he goes into convulsions.
On Voyager, the Doctor revives Tuvok, and Janeway wonders what the little girl had to do with this period on the Excelsior. All Tuvok can recall is that the Klingons ambushed the starship in the nebula, forcing Sulu to abort the rescue mission.
Reforming the mind-meld, Tuvok relives the Klingon attack. He recalls that during the battle, he aided an injured crewman named Valtane, who died in Tuvok's arms. As he goes through this again, the Doctor notices that the Vulcan is again experiencing erratic brain patterns. Unable to break the mind-meld between Tuvok and Janeway, the Doctor exposes Tuvok's brain to bursts of thoron radiation and in doing so, inadvertantly discovers the truth. When Valtane died, a strange alien virus that he'd been carrying in his brain migrated to Tuvok's brain, camouflaging itself as a repressed memory. The Doctor increases the intensity of the radiation and is at last able to destroy the peculiar virus, leaving the minds of Tuvok and Janeway healthy and "bug"-free.
CAST
CAPTAIN KATHRYN JANEWAY
KATE MULGREW
COMMANDER CHAKOTAY
ROBERT BELTRAN
LIEUTENANT B'ELANNA TORRES
ROXANN BIGGS-DAWSON
KES
JENNIFER LIEN
LIEUTENANT TOM PARIS
ROBERT DUNCAN MCNEILL
NEELIX
ETHAN PHILLIPS
THE DOCTOR
ROBERT PICARDO
LIEUTENANT TUVOK
TIM RUSS
ENSIGN HARRY KIM
GARRETT WANG
GUEST STARS
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER RAND
GRACE LEE WHITNEY
VALTANE
JEREMY ROBERTS
EXCELSIOR HELMSMAN
BORIS KRUTONOG
MICHAEL ANSARA as "Kang"
and
GEORGE TAKEI as "Captain Sulu"
Written by: BRANNON BRAGA
Directed by: DAVID LIVINGSTON
HIGHLIGHT LISTING
STAR TREK: VOYAGER: "Flashback" -- Tuvok experiences a repressed memory that's linked to his first Starfleet assignment under the command of the renowned Captain Sulu.
ADVERTISING HEADLINE
THE WAR FOR TUVOK'S MIND
Tuvok is tormented by a repressed memory that could kill him!