The Omega Directive

Template:Infobox Star Trek episode"The Omega Directive" is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 21^st episode of the fourth season. The episode has an average rating of 3.9/5 on the official Star Trek website (as of December 29th, 2007).

Plot

Voyager is suddenly rocked by a distant explosion. Although ship systems appear undamaged, all information and control screens are suddenly locked out and replaced by an eerie omega symbol. Captain Janeway arrives on the bridge and informs the crew not to worry. She orders the ship's computer to override and transfer all data to her ready room, but leaves without explaining to her bemused crew what happened. Alone in her office she asks the computer to brief her on the detection of "Omega". Janeway also summons Seven of Nine into her ready room, as the Borg have assimilated Starfleet Captains in the past, and the Borg would have knowledge of "Omega". Seven, formerly belonging to the Borg, would also have this knowledge.

As Voyager is separated from Starfleet, the Omega Team (a specially trained group which would normally be tasked with handling situations involving "Omega") cannot be brought in to deal with the problem. Janeway decides to break the code of silence involving the symbol and share information with her senior officers. She announces that she has just received the Omega Directive, an order that permits Starfleet captains to ignore the Prime Directive and destroy the Omega particle at all costs. The particle is too dangerous to be allowed to exist - an uncontrolled Omega explosion destroys subspace, making warp travel impossible in a given region of space. The consequences of this would be disastrous; enough Omega explosions could render all warp travel impossible, effectively ending inter-planetary civilization.

Moving to the coordinates of the explosion they encounter the alien race that created it. The society is on the brink of economic failure, and are making Omega to "give their children a chance at a future." Seven of Nine, an ex-Borg member of the crew, displays an interest in the scientists' methods, hoping to save the omega particles and harness them, because she believes them to be perfection - infinite parts working together as one (like the Borg) - despite ample Starfleet and Borg evidence of their danger. The Borg are expected to assimilate it at all costs, even though they have experienced the loss of a large quantity of Borg vessels to Omega explosions while trying to harness the power of the substance. Seven notes, however, that the ability to harness Omega would make the Borg an unstoppable force; this remark only motivates Janeway to wipe out all omega particles, at any cost.

Eventually all the particles are safely gathered together and detonated a safe distance from the alien planet. Just before they are destroyed, they stabilize, and Seven is able to view perfection for a brief moment.

Notes

Janeway compares Voyager's discovery of Omega particles with Carol Marcus's invention of the Genesis Device, in terms of each discovery's potential for destruction. This is a reference to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Janeway refers to the creation of a single Omega particle by Federation scientists destroying subspace within an entire sector of space, killing all the researchers at the focal point. This is described in further detail in the original series Section 31 novel Cloak. Star Trek novels are not considered canonical.

One must wonder at the point of collecting and disposing of the Omega particles while leaving the knowledge and the technology to create more within the hands of the Alien Civilisation.

During the final minutes of the episode, Commander Chakotay calls on Tom Paris to go to "maximum warp in 10 seconds" or the ship will be destroyed, however, after they warp away from the attacking ships, Tom indicates that the ship is moving only at Warp One. Given that this is the speed of light and presumable the explosion moves at the same speed, the ship should have been destroyed.

The Borg denotation for the Omega molecule is "Particle 010," because they believe it is perfect.

External links

• The Omega Directive on StarTrek.com
• The Omega Directive at Memory Alpha