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* ComedicUnderwearExposure: When Beckett tries to prove Barb is a Reptoid, she pulls Barb's pants down exposing her underwear.
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Trope was cut/disambiguated due to cleanup
Deleted line(s) 86 (click to see context) :
* CanadaEh: Somewhat referenced to in the episode, with the U.S.S. ''Vancouver'', Jet eating poutine, and of course, Barbara technically being the GirlfriendInCanada.
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* MooseAndMapleSyrup: Somewhat referenced to in the episode, with the U.S.S. ''Vancouver'', Jet eating poutine, and of course, Barbara technically being the GirlfriendInCanada.
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Moving to more accurate trope
Deleted line(s) 149 (click to see context) :
* MortonsFork: {{Subverted|Trope}}. The unstable moon has to be imploded lest it destroy its planet, Mixtus III. But then one of the aliens says doing so will doom his planet of Mixtus II by exposing it to pollution from Mixtus III. It seems like either choice will destroy a planet, and this is ''technically'' true, but Freeman discovers the Mixtus II "civilization" is just this guy and his wife who built some sort of summer home there all by themselves. Possibly an AffectionateParody of [=DS9's=] [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E15Progress "Progress"]].
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* SadisticChoice: {{Subverted|Trope}}. The unstable moon has to be imploded lest it destroy its planet, Mixtus III. But then one of the aliens says doing so will doom his planet of Mixtus II by exposing it to pollution from Mixtus III. It seems like either choice will destroy a planet, and this is ''technically'' true, but Freeman discovers the Mixtus II "civilization" is just this guy and his wife who built some sort of summer home there all by themselves. Possibly an AffectionateParody of [=DS9's=] [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E15Progress "Progress"]].
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* TapOnTheHead: Boimler's little bump on the engineering platform puts him out for a ''long'' time.
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* ReliablyUnreliableGuns: Docent's phaser fires when he drops it on the ground, hitting Rutherford in the leg. Thankfully, Docent has it set so low that it just acts like a low-grade anesthetic.
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* ReliablyUnreliableGuns: Docent's phaser fires when he drops it on the ground, hitting Rutherford in the leg.hand. Thankfully, Docent has it set so low that it just acts like a low-grade anesthetic.
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Spelling/grammar fix(es)
Changed line(s) 36,37 (click to see context) from:
Mariner dashes through the ship in desperation to save Boimler. She locates him on one of the engineering platforms orbiting the moon. When she arrives, she finds Boimler at his station waiting for Barb... in his birthday suit. After overcoming their mutual embarrassment, Mariner presents the evidence she found that Brinson isn't who she appears to be, but Boimler assumes it's just something Mariner invented to save face for all the times she was wrong before. Unfortunately, at that moment, an gravitic shock to the platform caused by the moon briefly knocks both of them to the ground. Mariner crawls over to find Boimler unconscious, and at that exact moment, Barb walks in.
to:
Mariner dashes through the ship in desperation to save Boimler. She locates him on one of the engineering platforms orbiting the moon. When she arrives, she finds Boimler at his station waiting for Barb... in his birthday suit. After overcoming their mutual embarrassment, Mariner presents the evidence she found that Brinson isn't who she appears to be, but Boimler assumes it's just something Mariner invented to save face for all the times she was wrong before. Unfortunately, at that moment, an a gravitic shock to the platform caused by the moon briefly knocks both of them to the ground. Mariner crawls over to find Boimler unconscious, and at that exact moment, Barb walks in.
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Added example(s)
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* MortonsFork: {{Subverted|Trope}}. The unstable moon has to be imploded lest it destroy its planet, Mixtus III. But then one of the aliens says doing so will doom his planet of Mixtus II by exposing it to pollution from Mixtus III. It seems like either choice will destroy a planet, and this is ''technically'' true, but Freeman discovers the Mixtus II "civilization" is just this guy and his wife who built some sort of summer home there all by themselves. Possibly an AffectionateParody of [=DS9's=] [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E15Progress "Progress"]].
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Changed line(s) 42,43 (click to see context) from:
Onboard the platform, Brinson and Mariner fight, each of them convinced that the other is some sort of impostor -- Brinson apparently has been harboring her own suspicious that someone as badass as Mariner would be best friends with her cuddly Brad. The continue to scuffle, hurling accusations at each other.
to:
Onboard the platform, Brinson and Mariner fight, each of them convinced that the other is some sort of impostor -- Brinson apparently has been harboring her own suspicious that someone as badass as Mariner would be best friends with her cuddly Brad. The They continue to scuffle, hurling accusations at each other.
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Spelling/grammar fix(es)
Changed line(s) 42,43 (click to see context) from:
Onboard one of the platforms, Brinson and Mariner fight, each of them convinced that the other is some sort of impostor -- Brinson apparently has been harboring her own suspicious that someone as badass as Mariner would be best friends with her cuddly Brad. The continue to stuffle, hurling accusations at each other.
to:
Onboard one of the platforms, platform, Brinson and Mariner fight, each of them convinced that the other is some sort of impostor -- Brinson apparently has been harboring her own suspicious that someone as badass as Mariner would be best friends with her cuddly Brad. The continue to stuffle, scuffle, hurling accusations at each other.
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Expanded synopsis
Changed line(s) 4 (click to see context) from:
The ''Cerritos'' is on a joint mission with the USS ''Vancouver'' to blow up a moon before it destroys an alien race. Boimler's girlfriend serves on the ''Vancouver'' and they have some time to spend together, but Mariner refuses to believe that she's real.
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The ''Cerritos'' is on a joint mission with in orbit of Mixtus III. An unstable moon around the planet needs to be demolished, and Starfleet has come to help the locals do so safely. The project is being led by the USS ''Vancouver'' ''Vancouver'', a ship famous for conducting stellar engineering projects of this magnitude. Unforunately, there are still a few diplomatic obstacles in their way. The ''Vancouver'''s captain leads Captain Freeman to blow up their conference room, where the indiginous aliens are in a heated argument, each objecting to the moon's destruction for their own reasons, all of which seem quite trivial considering they'll all die if the moon before it destroys an alien race. Boimler's girlfriend serves on ''doesn't'' get imploded.
Boimler, however, is busy gushing into his personal log about his new girlfriend, Barbara Brinson, who is assigned to the ''Vancouver'' and will be reuniting with him soon. Mariner is [[GirlfriendInCanada skeptical that she even exists]].
Rutherford and Tendi are working on some of their ship's less reliable systems. The ''Cerritos'' seems to have a lot of them these days. Not at all like the ''Vancouver'', which both Rutherford and Tendi agree is an impressive vessel. Supposedly, they even have the fancy new [=T88=] diagnostic tools that aren't even supposed to be in service yet!
Their shared enthusiasm grows even more when they shuttle over to the ship and see it for themselves. Boimler, with an armful of romantic presents, is more excited to see his girlfriend, but she's not in the shuttle bay when they land. Mariner is still convinced this is all a pathetic act, but a moment later, a blonde woman in a science division uniform arrives. The two embrace and get all kissy for a long moment before Brinson remembers her manners and introduces herself to Mariner. She then pulls her boyfriend away on a tour of the ship, leaving Mariner dumbstruck. Boimler's hot girlfriend is ''real''? And she's a ''Lieutenant''? ''How??''
As they're walking the corridors, Jet Manhaver sees them and calls out to Barb. The two are old friends, it seems, and excited to be working together on this assignment. A bit ''too'' excited, Boimler thinks. Seeing the muscular Ensign twirling his girlfriend around with such familiarity leaves Boimler feeling insecure, especially when he learns that the two dated once upon a time. But Barb says that was nothing compared to the month she's known Boimler, and seems genuinely sad when she has to cancel their lunch date to do sometime recalibrations with Jet for the moon implosion. As she leaves, Mariner finally acknowledges to spend together, Boimler that this new relationship of his is genuine... but [[ThinkingOutLoud privately]], she still believes it's TooGoodToBeTrue.
Tendi and Rutherford, practically hyperventilating with excitement at being on the ''Vancouver'', meet with Lt. Cmdr. Ron Docent for their assignment. With all the political squabbling, Captain Freeman is having the team reconsider alternatives to the implosion. He gives them each a [=T88=] so they can do some diagnostics on the simulators. When he sees how manic they are over the new tech, he decides to stoke their enthusiasm with a friendly competition: whoever finishes their tasks first will get their own scanner to keep!
Back on the ''Cerritos'', Mariner and Boimler are arguing about Barb. Boimler is still feeing threatened by Jet, but Marinerrefuses is convinced she must be some kind of alien or impostor or something else dangerous, because why else would someone that attractive be dating Boimler? Mariner's paranoia is based in a traumatic story of her own. Back when she served aboard the USS ''Quito'', she says, two of her friends, Angie and Niko, seemed to believe have a perfect relationship, until it turned out Niko was actually a Harvongian shape-changer in disguise. He transformed and devoured Angie right in front of Mariner's eyes. It's not an experience she ever wants to repeat.
Meanwhile, Freeman has managed to make remarkable progress with the Mixtans. All of their various grievances have been addressed... except for one. A lone alien remains behind after the others have left, saying his people on Mixtus II depend on the moon to block pollution emitted from Mixtus III. Without it, they won't survive. Meaning, whether they destroy the moon or not, they'll be condemning an entire planet to die. Freeman doesn't know what to do, but she's determined to find a solution. They're Starfleet. This is what they do.
Boimler finds Barb at work in the stellarcartography lab and does his best affectation of someone cool and suave, like Jet, though all he manages to accomplish is to make his girlfriend (and everyone else on her team) uncomfortable at this bizarre and intrusive display. In the midst of this, Mariner sneaks into the room and surprises them all with a loud tone from her tricorder. Supposedly, it would have been [[BrownNote disruptive to a positronic brain]], but Brinson isn't an android, so all it does is annoy everyone. Boimler kicks Mariner out, but Barb tells him as gently as she can that he should probably go too...
Mariner's obsession continues unabated. Back in the ''Cerritos'' repair bay, with frayed hair and ExhaustedEyeBags, she continues spewing her crazed theories from her giant [[StringTheory board of pushpins and thread]]. But Boimler has had enough.
->'''Boimler:''' Mariner, stop it! Barb's not a Suliban.\\
'''Mariner:''' But how do you know?\\
'''Boimler:''' She is nothing but a great human lady! You need to stop spinning out and accept people for who they are. Now be quiet. I gotta change everything about me to trick her into thinking I'm someone I'm not.
Boimler struts into the mess hall wearing a [[RummageSaleReject randomly discordant outfit]] the replicator cobbled together for him based on "the coolest people in Earth history". Once again, he does a painfully embarrassing impression of a stereotypically macho alpha male, but it only makes his [[TheKlutz poor coordination]] even worse, causing him to spill the beer he just replicated all over Barb's uniform. Then Mariner sneaks up behind her with a knife and unsubtlely cuts out a lock of her hair for whatever crazy test she has planned next. Brinson has had enough of these shenanigans and leaves in a huff to resume her work.
It's not until Boimler finds Barb working in the shuttle bay with Jet -- and [[OutOfContextEavesdropping misinterprets their conversation as something sexual]] -- that he finally works up the courage to come clean. He feels insecure next to someone as conventionally attractive and charismatic as Jet. Barb feels better finally knowing the truth and puts a stop to her boyfriend's panic spiral by reassuring him that she loves him for him. She suggests they turn the day around and invites Boimler to join her on her assigned orbital platform for the last stage of the project.
Then Mariner, who is now convinced Barb is a disguised reptoid, leaps out from the shadows to protect Boimler from her barbed tail! But all she accomplishes is to pants her in front of the entire shuttle bay. There's no tail. Barb angrily pulls up her trousers and departs with her boyfriend, leaving Mariner to wonder if she really has been wrong all this time. But then, as Mariner is leaving, something crunches beneath her foot. On the deck where Barb was just standing lies the green husk of a parasite exoskeleton. Mariner was right all along!
As for Rutherford and Tendi, their competition has started to turn less than friendly. They both rush back to Docent's office, clambering over each other in their struggle to win a new scanner. It turns out to be unnecessary, as Docent decides they've both worked hard enough to earn the reward: a transfer to the ''Vancouver''! The two look nervously at each other. Docent never said anything about ''that''.
Mariner dashes through the ship in desperation to save Boimler. She locates him on one of the engineering platforms orbiting the moon. When she arrives, she finds Boimler at his station waiting for Barb... in his birthday suit. After overcoming their mutual embarrassment, Mariner presents the evidence she found that Brinson isn't who she appears to be, but Boimler assumes it's just something Mariner invented to save face for all the times she was wrong before. Unfortunately, at that moment, an gravitic shock to the platform caused by the moon briefly knocks both of them to the ground. Mariner crawls over to find Boimler unconscious, and at that exact moment, Barb walks in.
->'''Both''': Stay away from him!
Tendi and Rutherford are in their bunks mulling over the curve ball Docent just threw at them. As impressed as they are by the sophisticated ''Vancouver'', it's just not home to them, and neither of them is eager to leave ''Cerritos''. They decide to find Docent and decline his offer, confident that he'll understand. [[GilliganCut Except he doesn't.]] Docent isn't happy to hear that the ensigns want to back out. In fact, he's not going to take no for an answer. On impulse, Tendi body checks Docent, steals his PADD, and dashes out of the office with Rutherford, Docent in hot pursuit!
Onboard one of the platforms, Brinson and Mariner fight, each of them convinced that the other is some sort of impostor -- Brinson apparently has been harboring her own suspicious that someone as badass as Mariner would be best friends with her cuddly Brad. The continue to stuffle, hurling accusations at each other.
Tendi and Rutherford continue to lead Docent through the halls of their ship. They manage to reach a turbolift, where Rutherford stalls their pursuer as long as possible to give Tendi time to break into his PADD.
No solution has yet been found to save Mixtus II. The alien resident continues to beseech Freeman not to go through with the project, but they're almost out of time. If they don't start the implosion soon, the platforms run the risk of being destroyed, which would be the doom of Mixtus III. The alien says the pollution that would bring down on Mixtus II would require both of them to move.
->'''Freeman''': I know, but how can... Wait, "both"? W-what do you mean, "both"? How many people are in your civilization?\\
'''Mixtan''': Me and my wife.\\
'''Freeman''': There are TWO [bleep]ing people on your WHOLE [bleep]ing planet??\\
'''Mixtan''': Well, yes, we're, uh... we're rich.\\
'''Freeman''': ''[To the conn]'' Implode the moon.\\
'''Mixtan''': You maniacs! We just redid the floors!
Brinson has managed to wear her opponent out. As she moves in, Mariner says Boimler will figure her out eventually. He may not always be the quickest on the uptake, like on Sendu IV when he spent a week [[PoopingWhereYouShouldnt peeing in the wrong bathroom receptacles]], but he's no idiot. Brinson pauses at this, recognizing the story as one Boimler told about a friend of his. Nope, says Mariner. She was there, and it was all him. The tension in the room defuses as the two start sharing more anecdotes about Boimler's various embarrassing [[FeeFiFauxPas faux pas]], realizing that neither of them is as mistrustful of the other as they thought. The bond for a bit over their shared friendship with Boimler while they wait for him to wake up. Brison lets Mariner give her a tricorder scan as a peace offering, and sure enough, it reports that she'sreal.a human. But then, a moment later, the tricorder also reports detecting another lifeform...
Docent finally breaks into the turbolift, his phaser trained on Rutherford, but his hands shake with uncertainty as the magnitude of what he's doing wars with his desperation to retrieve the PADD. Rutherford tries to talk him down, but the phaser goes off and stuns Rutherford's hand. Docent, on the verge of tears at having shot a fellow officer, begs Tendi not to read his PADD, but it's too late. Tendi is shocked to discover that Docent was going to transfer ''himself'' to the ''Cerritos''. The man drops to his knees, blubbering to them that, for all his talk of how amazing the ''Vancouver'' is, the huge projects they deal with are a neverending source of stress. He was hoping to swap places with them so he could return to a simpler workstyle. Tendi and Rutherford strike a bargain with him: if Docent deletes the transfer orders and throws in a [=T88=] for each of them, they won't mention the little phaser incident to anyone. With Rutherford's implant recording everything as leverage, Docent relents.
The lifeform that Mariner's tricorder picked up, it turns out, is coming from Boimler. They find an invertebrate parasite attached to him, hidden beneath his hair. Brinson takes it in for analysis and finds that it's a species that reproduces by making its host chemically attractive to mates of its own species. He picked it up right before he met Barb, which makes Boimler afraid that the only reason she likes him is because of the parasite. Brinson scoffs at the suggestion, saying it's absurd that she would have fallen for him over something as simple as biochemistry... then she [[IResembleThatRemark immediately breaks up with him]], citing her job -- researching this new parasite -- as her new priority. Poor Boimler.
Tendi and Rutherford are back in the ''Cerritos'' repair bay together, content to be back on their ship, flawed though it is. Tendi surprises Rutherford with a gift: a duffel bag full of [=T88s=] she "borrowed" from the ''Vancouver'', figuring their crew can make better use of them. Rutherford laughs in amusement at their synchronicity as he pulls out his own duffel bag with the exact same contents. Great minds think alike.
Boimler, however, is busy gushing into his personal log about his new girlfriend, Barbara Brinson, who is assigned to the ''Vancouver'' and will be reuniting with him soon. Mariner is [[GirlfriendInCanada skeptical that she even exists]].
Rutherford and Tendi are working on some of their ship's less reliable systems. The ''Cerritos'' seems to have a lot of them these days. Not at all like the ''Vancouver'', which both Rutherford and Tendi agree is an impressive vessel. Supposedly, they even have the fancy new [=T88=] diagnostic tools that aren't even supposed to be in service yet!
Their shared enthusiasm grows even more when they shuttle over to the ship and see it for themselves. Boimler, with an armful of romantic presents, is more excited to see his girlfriend, but she's not in the shuttle bay when they land. Mariner is still convinced this is all a pathetic act, but a moment later, a blonde woman in a science division uniform arrives. The two embrace and get all kissy for a long moment before Brinson remembers her manners and introduces herself to Mariner. She then pulls her boyfriend away on a tour of the ship, leaving Mariner dumbstruck. Boimler's hot girlfriend is ''real''? And she's a ''Lieutenant''? ''How??''
As they're walking the corridors, Jet Manhaver sees them and calls out to Barb. The two are old friends, it seems, and excited to be working together on this assignment. A bit ''too'' excited, Boimler thinks. Seeing the muscular Ensign twirling his girlfriend around with such familiarity leaves Boimler feeling insecure, especially when he learns that the two dated once upon a time. But Barb says that was nothing compared to the month she's known Boimler, and seems genuinely sad when she has to cancel their lunch date to do some
Tendi and Rutherford, practically hyperventilating with excitement at being on the ''Vancouver'', meet with Lt. Cmdr. Ron Docent for their assignment. With all the political squabbling, Captain Freeman is having the team reconsider alternatives to the implosion. He gives them each a [=T88=] so they can do some diagnostics on the simulators. When he sees how manic they are over the new tech, he decides to stoke their enthusiasm with a friendly competition: whoever finishes their tasks first will get their own scanner to keep!
Back on the ''Cerritos'', Mariner and Boimler are arguing about Barb. Boimler is still feeing threatened by Jet, but Mariner
Meanwhile, Freeman has managed to make remarkable progress with the Mixtans. All of their various grievances have been addressed... except for one. A lone alien remains behind after the others have left, saying his people on Mixtus II depend on the moon to block pollution emitted from Mixtus III. Without it, they won't survive. Meaning, whether they destroy the moon or not, they'll be condemning an entire planet to die. Freeman doesn't know what to do, but she's determined to find a solution. They're Starfleet. This is what they do.
Boimler finds Barb at work in the stellarcartography lab and does his best affectation of someone cool and suave, like Jet, though all he manages to accomplish is to make his girlfriend (and everyone else on her team) uncomfortable at this bizarre and intrusive display. In the midst of this, Mariner sneaks into the room and surprises them all with a loud tone from her tricorder. Supposedly, it would have been [[BrownNote disruptive to a positronic brain]], but Brinson isn't an android, so all it does is annoy everyone. Boimler kicks Mariner out, but Barb tells him as gently as she can that he should probably go too...
Mariner's obsession continues unabated. Back in the ''Cerritos'' repair bay, with frayed hair and ExhaustedEyeBags, she continues spewing her crazed theories from her giant [[StringTheory board of pushpins and thread]]. But Boimler has had enough.
->'''Boimler:''' Mariner, stop it! Barb's not a Suliban.\\
'''Mariner:''' But how do you know?\\
'''Boimler:''' She is nothing but a great human lady! You need to stop spinning out and accept people for who they are. Now be quiet. I gotta change everything about me to trick her into thinking I'm someone I'm not.
Boimler struts into the mess hall wearing a [[RummageSaleReject randomly discordant outfit]] the replicator cobbled together for him based on "the coolest people in Earth history". Once again, he does a painfully embarrassing impression of a stereotypically macho alpha male, but it only makes his [[TheKlutz poor coordination]] even worse, causing him to spill the beer he just replicated all over Barb's uniform. Then Mariner sneaks up behind her with a knife and unsubtlely cuts out a lock of her hair for whatever crazy test she has planned next. Brinson has had enough of these shenanigans and leaves in a huff to resume her work.
It's not until Boimler finds Barb working in the shuttle bay with Jet -- and [[OutOfContextEavesdropping misinterprets their conversation as something sexual]] -- that he finally works up the courage to come clean. He feels insecure next to someone as conventionally attractive and charismatic as Jet. Barb feels better finally knowing the truth and puts a stop to her boyfriend's panic spiral by reassuring him that she loves him for him. She suggests they turn the day around and invites Boimler to join her on her assigned orbital platform for the last stage of the project.
Then Mariner, who is now convinced Barb is a disguised reptoid, leaps out from the shadows to protect Boimler from her barbed tail! But all she accomplishes is to pants her in front of the entire shuttle bay. There's no tail. Barb angrily pulls up her trousers and departs with her boyfriend, leaving Mariner to wonder if she really has been wrong all this time. But then, as Mariner is leaving, something crunches beneath her foot. On the deck where Barb was just standing lies the green husk of a parasite exoskeleton. Mariner was right all along!
As for Rutherford and Tendi, their competition has started to turn less than friendly. They both rush back to Docent's office, clambering over each other in their struggle to win a new scanner. It turns out to be unnecessary, as Docent decides they've both worked hard enough to earn the reward: a transfer to the ''Vancouver''! The two look nervously at each other. Docent never said anything about ''that''.
Mariner dashes through the ship in desperation to save Boimler. She locates him on one of the engineering platforms orbiting the moon. When she arrives, she finds Boimler at his station waiting for Barb... in his birthday suit. After overcoming their mutual embarrassment, Mariner presents the evidence she found that Brinson isn't who she appears to be, but Boimler assumes it's just something Mariner invented to save face for all the times she was wrong before. Unfortunately, at that moment, an gravitic shock to the platform caused by the moon briefly knocks both of them to the ground. Mariner crawls over to find Boimler unconscious, and at that exact moment, Barb walks in.
->'''Both''': Stay away from him!
Tendi and Rutherford are in their bunks mulling over the curve ball Docent just threw at them. As impressed as they are by the sophisticated ''Vancouver'', it's just not home to them, and neither of them is eager to leave ''Cerritos''. They decide to find Docent and decline his offer, confident that he'll understand. [[GilliganCut Except he doesn't.]] Docent isn't happy to hear that the ensigns want to back out. In fact, he's not going to take no for an answer. On impulse, Tendi body checks Docent, steals his PADD, and dashes out of the office with Rutherford, Docent in hot pursuit!
Onboard one of the platforms, Brinson and Mariner fight, each of them convinced that the other is some sort of impostor -- Brinson apparently has been harboring her own suspicious that someone as badass as Mariner would be best friends with her cuddly Brad. The continue to stuffle, hurling accusations at each other.
Tendi and Rutherford continue to lead Docent through the halls of their ship. They manage to reach a turbolift, where Rutherford stalls their pursuer as long as possible to give Tendi time to break into his PADD.
No solution has yet been found to save Mixtus II. The alien resident continues to beseech Freeman not to go through with the project, but they're almost out of time. If they don't start the implosion soon, the platforms run the risk of being destroyed, which would be the doom of Mixtus III. The alien says the pollution that would bring down on Mixtus II would require both of them to move.
->'''Freeman''': I know, but how can... Wait, "both"? W-what do you mean, "both"? How many people are in your civilization?\\
'''Mixtan''': Me and my wife.\\
'''Freeman''': There are TWO [bleep]ing people on your WHOLE [bleep]ing planet??\\
'''Mixtan''': Well, yes, we're, uh... we're rich.\\
'''Freeman''': ''[To the conn]'' Implode the moon.\\
'''Mixtan''': You maniacs! We just redid the floors!
Brinson has managed to wear her opponent out. As she moves in, Mariner says Boimler will figure her out eventually. He may not always be the quickest on the uptake, like on Sendu IV when he spent a week [[PoopingWhereYouShouldnt peeing in the wrong bathroom receptacles]], but he's no idiot. Brinson pauses at this, recognizing the story as one Boimler told about a friend of his. Nope, says Mariner. She was there, and it was all him. The tension in the room defuses as the two start sharing more anecdotes about Boimler's various embarrassing [[FeeFiFauxPas faux pas]], realizing that neither of them is as mistrustful of the other as they thought. The bond for a bit over their shared friendship with Boimler while they wait for him to wake up. Brison lets Mariner give her a tricorder scan as a peace offering, and sure enough, it reports that she's
Docent finally breaks into the turbolift, his phaser trained on Rutherford, but his hands shake with uncertainty as the magnitude of what he's doing wars with his desperation to retrieve the PADD. Rutherford tries to talk him down, but the phaser goes off and stuns Rutherford's hand. Docent, on the verge of tears at having shot a fellow officer, begs Tendi not to read his PADD, but it's too late. Tendi is shocked to discover that Docent was going to transfer ''himself'' to the ''Cerritos''. The man drops to his knees, blubbering to them that, for all his talk of how amazing the ''Vancouver'' is, the huge projects they deal with are a neverending source of stress. He was hoping to swap places with them so he could return to a simpler workstyle. Tendi and Rutherford strike a bargain with him: if Docent deletes the transfer orders and throws in a [=T88=] for each of them, they won't mention the little phaser incident to anyone. With Rutherford's implant recording everything as leverage, Docent relents.
The lifeform that Mariner's tricorder picked up, it turns out, is coming from Boimler. They find an invertebrate parasite attached to him, hidden beneath his hair. Brinson takes it in for analysis and finds that it's a species that reproduces by making its host chemically attractive to mates of its own species. He picked it up right before he met Barb, which makes Boimler afraid that the only reason she likes him is because of the parasite. Brinson scoffs at the suggestion, saying it's absurd that she would have fallen for him over something as simple as biochemistry... then she [[IResembleThatRemark immediately breaks up with him]], citing her job -- researching this new parasite -- as her new priority. Poor Boimler.
Tendi and Rutherford are back in the ''Cerritos'' repair bay together, content to be back on their ship, flawed though it is. Tendi surprises Rutherford with a gift: a duffel bag full of [=T88s=] she "borrowed" from the ''Vancouver'', figuring their crew can make better use of them. Rutherford laughs in amusement at their synchronicity as he pulls out his own duffel bag with the exact same contents. Great minds think alike.
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Changed line(s) 38 (click to see context) from:
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: This episode depicts Boimler as a romantic sad-sack going through a lengthy dry spell. He would subsequently be depicted as something of an unwitting ChickMagnet who is oblivious to the many women all but throwing themselves at him, which is hard to reconcile with the same character who had gone a long time without having "taken a lover".
to:
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: This episode depicts Boimler as a romantic sad-sack going through a lengthy dry spell. He would subsequently be depicted as something of an unwitting ChickMagnet who is oblivious to the many women all but throwing themselves at him, which is hard to reconcile with the same character who had gone a long time without having "taken a lover". Even if you assume that Boimler's state of mind is warped by the parasite, it still doesn't square with Mariner mentioning Boimler's numerous fake holodeck girlfriends.
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* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: This episode depicts Boimler as a romantic sad-sack going through a lengthy dry spell. He would subsequently be depicted as something of an unwitting ChickMagnet who is oblivious to the many women all but throwing themselves at him, which is hard to reconcile with the same character who had gone a long time without having "taken a lover".
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* SanitySlippage: Mariner suffers a minor version of this, becoming visibly dishevelled and sleep-deprived as the episode progresses and she tries to prove that Barbara is not what she seems with increasingly flimsier proof.
