Last Time
When we last left the Protostar crew, they had failed at their first opportunity of first contact with an alien race. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise since they had no training in Starfleet First Contact procedures. Not to mention the entanglements of Dal’s Mother figure Daimon Nandi had on the situation. So, even though they prevented Nandi from stealing their crystals, they did give the aliens a negative opinion of outside races…and a Federation communicator. You’re welcome!
Team Building
Nevertheless, Holo-Janeway was disappointed in their efforts. Of course, she still believed they were Starfleet Cadets. For some reason. So, she decided to try some holo-deck team building exercises involving a boat, a lake, a fox, a chicken and some grain. Obviously delving into some high-tech Federation training protocol. This classic brain teaser has no doubt been the stuff to train some of the best Federation officers in Starfleet. Janeway assures them that they could solve this puzzle with some teamwork. Unfortunately, they fail at the task and Dal, in a moment of frustration, admits to Janeway that they AREN’T Starfleet Cadets. In fact, they STOLE the Protostar. Not exactly a way to get Federation assistance. As the “crew” leaves the holodeck, Zero stops to explain their story.
Daimon Nandi makes a Deal
Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, the Diviner is still having hopes of somehow getting the Protostar back. To assist in this end, he had put out offers of reward for the location of the Protostar. One that Dal’s Ferengi “MOM” is more than willing to cash in on. Drednok tells the Diviner about Nandi’s claims to know where the ship is located. He opens a channel to discuss the matter with her, wary of the chance that she is just wasting his time. But once she sends the coordinates, Drednok advises him that because of the huge jump that the Protostar took upon their escape from them, it would take months for them to catch up to them. And only if they stayed where they are. The Diviner had other plans, however. With the coordinates provided, he knew of another way to “make their presence known.” Soon the vehicle replicator on the Protostar activated. But it wasn’t a vehicle that was being created.
Time Amok
As for the Protostar, it was heading toward a Tachyon Storm. Which was just how Jankom was feeling after Dal spilled the beans to Janeway. Unfortunately, the ACTUAL Tachyon Storm had a little more kick. Especially when it came to gravity. After Gwyn explained to him what could be expected, Jankom ran to engineering to try to monitor the Protostar drive since gravity was the only thing making the drive stable. But as he tried to fix the problem, a wave of energy passed through the ship and each member of the crew. Separating the crew by putting each member into a different temporal phase. Jankom is in an accelerated time cycle with poor Rok-Tahk in an extreme slow one. The rest of the team are somewhere in between. The only constant is Janeway. Somehow, she must get the team to work together in their separate time phases to build a device to restore time and the crew back to normal. Not an easy task. When the ultimate conclusion is a warp breach and the destruction of the Protostar.
A Piece of the Puzzle
With Jankom in the most accelerated phase, his temporal phase doesn’t allow enough time to resolve the issue. Therefore, Janeway must work with the other team members. She starts with Rok but she is so scared and unsure of herself, she refuses to entertain attempting to fix the problem. Besides, she doesn’t think she can do whatever Janeway is asking anyways. In her fear, she eventually closes the Janeway program rather than hear what must be done. That brings Janeway to Zero. Fortunately, Zero is more levelheaded and has realized the temporal issues the crew is facing. Unfortunately, Zero’s temporal phase is also at an accelerated level so unlike Rok, there is a limited amount of time to act. Zero knows a warp matrix device is the solution but doesn’t have the time to build it. Instead, Zero draws a schematic of the device so that Janeway can pass it on to someone else to build. Just one more piece of the puzzle.
Apollo 13ing it
However, Janeway’s next time stop on the temporal train’s only passenger is Murf. Not much chance for Murf to build a warp matrix…unless it can be done by eating something. So, she waits until the next stop and finds Dal, who is playing a game, apparently unconcerned about what is going on. In fact, he is oblivious that the rest of the crew is gone. Once Janeway explains the situation, Dal initially sees no way for him to build the device that Zero created. Unless…he can use the ship’s vehicle replicator. Which was a great idea, except someone apparently has beaten him to the device and has loaded a huge program to build, essentially locking the builder up. I wonder who THAT was? Can you “Divine” an answer?
Meanwhile, Dal had to work with what he had. With Janeway’s guidance, he built a crude version of the warp matrix. But time was running out so he raced the device to the engine. All that was needed was to connect it. But the connections were not compatible. He still needed a dilithium coupler. But before he could locate one, his time was up. However, his efforts were not without merit. Another piece of that puzzle was built. Now Janeway knew that the next version of the matrix would need that coupler. Hopefully they could find the piece they need to complete the task.
Drednok Returns
Back at the vehicle replicator, the programmed construction was completed. The results were a new version of Drednok. This was unbeknownst to Gwyn whose turn it was to assist Janeway. Their mission was to find the correct size coupler. Before they were able to locate one, they spied Drednok coming toward the bridge. As the robotic stooge for the Diviner approached the ships console, Janeway verbally engaged him. She had seen him before when he had attacked her previous crew. It was hoped that the mechanical construct would be so engaged with Janeway that he would not notice Gwyn’s attack. He was not. Dreadnok fended off Gwyn’s offensive, expressing his belief that his Diviners biggest mistake was creating her. He also used the knowledge he had gained in his first incursion into the Protostar to use Chakotay’s command codes to delete Janeway’s Holo program. It was just Gwyn and Drednok now. But unlike her, he knew where to find the correct coupler to stop the core breach.
All the Time in the World
However, Gwyn was not finished yet. She waited until Drednok reached the engine and then she opened the outer airlock. Drednok was sucked out into space. Along with, unfortunately, the warp matrix. She had failed. But she was not defeated. She recorded a message for Rok. Sending the schematics for the construction of the warp matrix and the location of the correct coupler as found by Drednok. It would be up to Rok who, thanks to the temporal phase she was stuck in, had all the time in the world to figure it out. If she would just believe in herself to do it.
Rok Saves Time
It was a slow start, but eventually, Rok started working on the problem. Over and over, teaching herself the skills needed to accomplish her task. But once she had assembled the warp matrix, she was still missing some important information. Where it was supposed to be installed. To gain that piece, she decided to use Janeway’s still saved memory buffers and reprogram her Holo-Program. Once again, it was trial and error. 276 of them to be exact. But she succeeded. Janeway was back and she showed Rok where to install the matrix. After a moment of trepidation, Rok plugged in the machine and time was put back in order. All thanks to teamwork and Rok’s perseverance. Not to mention teaching herself, Engineering, Computer Science, Holo programming, and a myriad of other skills. Her friends were grateful for her work and pleased to be back together. They sure looked like a crew. Too bad no one noticed the ship’s vehicle replicator was back in the Drednok construction business.
Thoughts
This episode spoke to a number of teachable moments. The first being teamwork. The only way they would be able to resolve their situation was to solve parts of the puzzle and then, pass them on to the next in line. By doing so, they not only eventually resolved the danger but also got past their own fears of failure. This was extremely important for Dal, who after the series of past events, was questioning his own decision-making abilities. It was a great step toward legitimate self-assurance.
The other teachable moment was the mistake of judging someone by their appearance. The team thought of Rok-Tahk as a huge, muscled tank who was best served to be security. Regardless of what she wanted. There was so much more to the kid than what was on the surface. Now, thanks to her extended training session, she had the mechanical and computer science skills and expertise to match her brawn. Her opportunities have expanded greatly, as has her confidence in herself. Which doesn’t change the fact that she has the cutest voice ever.
In Closing
It will be interesting if they reveal exactly how long Rok was stuck in her temporal phase. It would have taken a long time to teach oneself all the skills necessary to put together the matrix AND reprogram Janeway. Sort of like Bill Murray learning to play piano while stuck in Groundhog’s Day. However, it seems like an unpardonable mistake for no one to have included the installation point for the warp matrix for Rok. But I guess time constraints could have made it slip the mind. Or they just assumed that Rok would know where the device went. That would be another valuable lesson. Leave nothing to chance and never assume. Like leaving a crazed, red-eyed android henchman to be built. As for Time Amok, although temporal shifts and time-loops have been a staple of science fiction and thus used repeatedly, any episode that expands Rok-Tahk is a winner in my book. I give it a consistently solid 4 out of 5.
Star Trek Prodigy can be found on Paramount Plus with new episodes released on Thursdays.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
