Recap / Star Trek The Next Generation S 7 E 11 The Pegasus

Riker doesn't look so pleased to see his first captain again. Granted, he is an admiral now, and admirals in Starfleet don't have the best track record.

Original air date: January 10, 1994

It's that time of year again, the holiday that brings joy to all the peoples of the ship: "Captain Picard Day." Naturally, he's uncomfortable being seen as a larger-than-life figure by the children - he even gets some ribbing from Riker over it - but he must continue the tradition and select a winner of the various drawings and sculptures of him. Thankfully, the day is interrupted by Vice Admiral Blackwell from Starfleet, who immediately reassigns the Enterprise, and informs Picard that they'll be taking on a passenger from Starfleet Intelligence. It turns out the passenger is Admiral Erik Pressman (played by Terry O'Quinn), who so happened to have been Commander Riker's captain on his first assignment out of the Academy: USS Pegasus. And as it also turns out, the Pegasus is the reason they're out here. The Romulans have found her.

Riker recalls his first assignment on USS Pegasus. There was a warp core breach, and the ship was presumed destroyed. Only nine members of the crew escaped. Recently, however, a Starfleet Intelligence operative in the Romulan High Command intercepted a transmission indicating that a warbird found a piece of the Pegasus and was then ordered to find the rest of it. Since the ship was a testbed for new and experimental systems, some of which were used in building the Enterprise, Starfleet cannot allow the ship to fall into their hands. They arrive at an asteroid field and are immediately greeted by the Romulan warbird. Picard and the Romulan captain share a tense conversation in which they trade Stealth Insults and pretend to be conducting innocent research.

Riker and Pressman share a drink in Ten Forward. Their enigmatic conversation references an experiment that might still be salvageable on the Pegasus, but Pressman orders Riker not to discuss it with anyone, even Picard. Obviously, this makes Riker uneasy. We later see Pressman having some tea with the Captain, who recounts how he selected Riker to be his first officer. Being one of fifty applicants with dry statistics and useless letters of recommendation, what caught Picard's eye about Riker was that he was willing to say "no" to his captain. Pressman interprets this as selecting someone who was disobedient, but it's here that the contrast between the two men is established: Picard wants someone who is willing to challenge him, while Pressman believes a first officer should always stand by his captain. It's also established that the official report about the incident aboard Pegasus preceding its destruction is a bit vague, containing gaps Pressman does not wish to fill.

Meanwhile, the search for Pegasus is proceeding slowly, until they find the warp core signature coming from inside a large asteroid. After tricking the Romulans into thinking there's nothing interesting inside, they resolve to come back later to investigate further. Pressman brings Riker into the ready room and chews him out for suggesting they destroy the asteroid before they find the ship. Afterwards, Picard summons Riker to his quarters. He reads from the official JAG report about the loss of Pegasus. As it turns out, there was a mutiny aboard just before they abandoned ship, and the report was deeply classified to the point that Picard needed to call in a few favors to look at it. Riker recounts what happened, saying there was an explosion in engineering and most of the crew rebelled against Captain Pressman afterwards. Nine of them ran to the escape pod, and after it launched, there was an explosion as the ship appeared to be destroyed. Furious that Riker withheld and is continuing to withhold information from him, Picard lets him go but notes that he's treading on thin ice.

The next morning, the Enterprise returns to the asteroid to find the Pegasus. Deep inside, they find the ship is still intact, appearing embedded in the rock. Pressman overrules Picard's order for an away team and beams just himself and Riker over. In engineering, Pressman finds the experiment, fully intact. Having had time to think, Riker decides to finally take a stand against the Admiral, something he was too inexperienced to do the first time around. As they argue, the asteroid becomes unstable, and they're forced to beam away. They return to the Enterprise with the piece of equipment and learn that the Romulans have "accidentally" sealed them in. The Romulans offer to beam the Enterprise crew aboard and bring them back to Romulus before returning them to the Federation, an offer that Picard considers through gritted teeth. Considering their options to escape, Riker reveals what the vital experiment was: a prototype for a cloaking device that can pass through solid matter. Pressman responds by threatening Riker's career over revealing classified information. Picard is aghast, as the Federation possessing cloaking devices was banned by a treaty with the Romulans. Nevertheless, it is their best hope of escape.

After installing the device, the Enterprise passes through the asteroid without incident. Against Pressman's objections, Picard decloaks right in front of the Romulans and informs them that there will be a full explanation later. He turns to Pressman and places him under arrest for his actions. Riker also asks to be arrested, as he partook in the crime. Picard later visits Riker in the brig, notifying him that he's reclaimed his loyalty, and releases him.

This episode infamously provided the Framing Device for the Star Trek: Enterprise Grand Finale "These are the Voyages...".

Tropes featured:

• Abandon Ship: Riker, Pressman, and several others did this before the (apparent) destruction of the Pegasus.
• The Atoner: Riker's felt guilt over his actions on the Pegasus for years. When Pressman is ordered to the brig, he notes he has to be jailed as well. When Picard visits him in the brig and tells him he'll be asked hard questions about his involvement, he silently nods; it's plain those "hard questions" will be easy for him to answer.
• Badass Arm-Fold: Pressman attempts to overrule Picard and take command of the ship. Worf responds to his order with one of these.
• Black-and-White Morality: Discussed and deconstructed. Pressed by Picard about the mutiny, Riker notes how he was just a young ensign concerned only with basic loyalty and duty to his captain. When the experiment caused a deadly accident and instigated the mutiny, Riker instinctively defended Pressman and considered the mutineers disloyal and self-serving. Having gained years of experience since then, though, he realized he was wrong—describing himself as too young and too stupid to know any better.
• Blatant Lies: Sirol claims to have "accidentally" sealed the Enterprise inside the asteroid during a simple geological survey.
• Brief Accent Imitation: When Riker is teasing Picard about "Captain Picard Day":
  Picard: [The children] seem to have a somewhat exaggerated impression of me.
  Riker: (holding up a Picard doll while imitating his voice) I don't know, I think the resemblance is rather striking. Wouldn't you agree, Number One?
  Picard: Isn't there something else you have to do?
  Riker: (still imitating Picard) I'll be on the bridge.
• Call-Back:
  • Picard is given permission to exceed the Warp 5 speed limit established three episodes ago.
  • A prototype Romulan version of a phasing cloak was a major plot element in season five's "The Next Phase." Interestingly, this shows that the Federation managed to field a working prototype of the device more than a decade earlier than the Romulan Empire. Both tests ended in disaster, but notably, while the Romulan cloak was defective, the Federation version apparently only failed due to operator error.
  • Picard recalls meeting Riker for the first time at Farpoint Station. In that episode, Picard's first conversation with Riker was the story of his principled insubordination.
• Commended for Pushback: Captain Picard reveals that the reason that he chose Riker to be his first officer is as incident that happened when Riker was serving on another ship. During a crisis, Riker's previous captain wanted to beam down, but Riker refused to let him leave the ship. He disobeyed a direct order and risked a court martial to protect the ship. Picard was impressed by that, he didn't want a Yes-Man, he wanted someone who would put the mission above his own career.
• Cut Lex Luthor a Check: A device that can make starships phase through matter would have plenty of useful applications for the Federation even without the cloaking aspect, military applications even. Pressman never argues this because what he cares about is that the Federation cannot use cloaking technology while the Romulans can.
• Didn't Think This Through: Nearly all of Pressman's own crew mutinied against him when they discovered his illegal activities, yet Pressman still expects Picard's crew (who, with the exception of Riker, have only known Pressman for a few days) to ignore his crimes when he tries to assume command of the Enterprise. Unsurprisingly, none of the crew feel any need to support Pressman.
• Faux Affably Evil: Sirol, the Romulan captain, is not necessarily evil, but he's clearly putting on a veneer of affability to avoid discussing the real issue at hand. Picard returns his affectation in kind, though it's obvious that each captain knows why the other is there.
• Growing the Beard: In-universe example and related to the Trope Namer rather than the Trope itself. Riker growing a beard during the interim between Seasons One and Two is finally given an in-universe explanation: he was tired of hearing people comment how young he looked.
• Humble Hero: Picard isn't too fond of "Captain Picard Day." Of course, Riker can't help teasing him about it.
• Hypocrite: Admiral Pressman considers his old crew to be cowards and traitors for mutinying against him because of his illegal activities, yet he has no problem expecting Picard's crew to betray their captain when he makes an attempt to assume control of the Enterprise.
• Hypocritical Humor: Riker enjoys teasing Picard over "Captain Picard Day," but he's not so amused when Picard arranges for "Commander Riker Day."
• I Have My Ways: Deconstructed. After Pressman declines to answer Picard's request for clarity about some of the Pegasus Incident's stranger details, the Captain uses his network of contacts and friends at Starfleet Command to get a copy of the JAG Report anyway. However, once he starts making calls, Picard quickly learns why nobody officially knows what exactly happened aboard Pegasus: because the JAG Report was classified and quietly buried by Starfleet Intelligence (to conceal the Mutiny, and with it the evidence of the illegal Cloaking experiments). Because of this coverup, even Picard, with all his connections and friends inside Command, can't easily get at the document. Picard admits later to Riker that he had to call in a lot of favors just to get a look at it.
• I Know You Know I Know:
  • Picard and Sirol do this back-and-forth when talking about what's brought them to the asteroid field. Neither of them are fooled.
  • Sirol also claims that it was merely an accident that his geological experiments on the asteroid sealed the Enterprise in.
• Insane Admiral:
  • Pressman. Couldn't let the final season pass without one more.
    Ron Moore: I am proud to say that I've written another insane admiral. They must put something in the water at Federation Headquarters.
  • Also the (unseen) Admiral Ranar, head of Starfleet Security, who is stated to have authorized Pressman's mission, as well as the secrecy surrounding it, so presumably she was also part of the conspiracy.
• Invisibility Cloak: Exaggerated with one that makes a starship not only invisible but also able to pass through solid matter.
• Jerkass: Admiral Pressman can put up a good front of professional courtesy, but he eventually reveals himself to be a cold, self-righteous, domineering officer who has no problem with throwing his weight around or with threatening Riker's career when Riker calls him out on his actions.
• Just Following Orders:
  • Discussed between Pressman and Picard. Pressman likes officers who shut up and do as they're told, while Picard chose his Number One to be someone who would stand up to him if necessary.
  • Invoked verbatim by Riker, to originally justify supporting Pressman twelve years ago. Nowadays, it's no longer working.
    Riker: I wasn't a hero, and neither were you. What you did was wrong. And I was wrong to support you, but I was too young and too stupid to realize it. You were the captain, I was the ensign. I was just following orders.
  • Also why Riker doesn't tell Picard what's really going on until the end, when he has no other choice.
• Just Think of the Potential!: Pressman tries to use this argument, saying that the phase cloak will be the greatest breakthrough in weapons research in decades. Picard and Riker still don't buy it.
• Karma Houdini: It's unknown whether the other officers who sided with Captain Pressman and Riker on the Pegasus twelve years ago were ever punished for their role in the conspiracy, though given that Picard notes the likelihood of Pressman and his co-conspirators facing a general court-martial, it's likely that they did face serious consequences.
• Lack of Empathy: Despite having been the ship's captain, Pressman doesn't show the slightest regret for the deaths of his crew, bluntly telling Riker "we're not here for a memorial service" when Riker wonders how many of the crew died when the Pegasus rematerialised inside the asteroid and being unmoved by Riker's remorse, writing off the mutineers as "cowards" whose deaths were their own fault.
  Riker: That's all you care about, starting these damn experiments again. Look around. This room is filled with dead bodies. These people died because of this thing!
  Pressman: Keep your self-righteous comments to yourself. I knew most of these people a lot longer than you did. Yes, it was tragic, but it was their fault!
  Riker: You don't know that. Neither of us knows what happened after we left.
  Pressman: Well, it's not hard to guess. They tried to shut down an experiment they didn't understand. Something went wrong, and it killed them.
  Riker: No. We killed them.
• Moral Myopia: Pressman believes the most important quality for a soldier is following orders from a superior without question. Meanwhile Pressman thinks his superiors were foolish for signing the Treaty of Algeron and tries to get around it. He also writes off his old crew as cowards and traitors for mutinying against him, but is quick to try and order Picard's crew to turn on their own Captain.
• The Mutiny:
  • Most of the crew of the Pegasus mutinied against Captain Pressman, who was violating the treaty with the Romulans to develop cloaking technology, though Pressman does have permission from certain higher-ups in Starfleet. Riker acknowledges the ambiguity of the situation during his confrontation with Pressman, though he's now firmly in the camp of the mutineers.
  • Pressman, ironically enough, tries to instigate one against Picard after Riker has exposed his crimes, trying to remove Picard from duty and take command of the Enterprise. Much like the mutiny on the Pegasus, Pressman finds himself very much in the minority; no one on the Enterprise makes a move to assist him.
• My Greatest Failure: Over the years, Riker has come to deeply regret siding with Pressman during the mutiny on the Pegasus, admitting that, if he had it to do over again, he'd have drawn a phaser against Pressman, rather than the mutineers.
• Never My Fault: When called out by Riker, Pressman completely brushes off any blame in what happened aboard the Pegasus, writing off his crew as a bunch of "mutinous cowards" for interfering in Pressman's blatantly illegal activities. While he and Riker are aboard the Pegasus, Pressman doesn't show the least bit of care for his dead former subordinates, blaming them for their own deaths when they tried to shut down his experiment. It's later revealed that it was a result of technical failure (meaning it was more than likely Pressman's fault, and even if the crew hadn't mutinied, everyone aboard would likely have died anyway).
• No MacGuffin, No Winner: Riker suggests destroying the asteroid with the Pegasus so that the Romulans can't claim it, but Pressman overrules him (and then yells at him in private).
• No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: Apparently, there were no schematics anywhere else than the Pegasus, since the conspirators couldn't recreate the device elsewhere. This might be because it was a secret even within Starfleet due to the fact that it violated a treaty.
• Oh, Crap!: Riker has this look on his face when Pressman beams aboard.
  Riker: It's good to see you, sir.
  Pressman: Yeah, sure it is. You look like you're about to faint.
• Once More, with Clarity: A variation with the Altair III Incident. That's been part of Riker's character backstory since the TNG Pilot and the broad strokes were well established there. What this episode does, instead, is to expand on those broad strokes by finally providing the context for Riker's behavior during the incident. The Pegasus mutiny — and how a much younger, less-experienced Riker blindly followed Pressman's illegal orders and most of his shipmates died — is revealed to be why the older and more experienced Riker refuses to blindly follow orders, and why he was willing to stand up to DeSoto and then later to Picard if he felt they were in the wrong.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Picard is shocked to learn that a mutiny occurred on the Pegasus, saying that such an action on a Starfleet vessel is unthinkable.
• Plot Parallel: The episode recalls "The First Duty", which had Wesley Crusher put in a similar situation with a far shorter time scale.
• Rage Against the Mentor: Riker feels ashamed about supporting Pressman twelve years ago.
  Pressman: Now that doesn't sound like the same man who grabbed a phaser and defended his captain twelve years ago.
  Riker: I've had twelve years to think about it. And if I had it to do over again, I would have grabbed the phaser and pointed it at you instead of them.
• Remember the New Guy?: Pressman was Will's first commanding officer, but he's never been mentioned before now. Justified, as the Pegasus mutiny was hushed up, they haven't seen each other in that interim, and Will doesn't like dwelling on the incident.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: When his crimes are exposed at the end of the episode, Pressman warns Picard that he has a lot of friends at Starfleet command. Unintimidated, Picard simply says that Pressman will need them, and it's strongly implied that these connections will ultimately do Pressman no good.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: The theme of the episode. Pressman thought he was doing this by violating the Treaty of Algeron. Riker regrets following orders and not joining the mutiny against Pressman's immoral orders. When Pressman and Picard discuss the ideal qualities of a First Officer, Picard wants someone who will do what he feels is right regardless of whether he'd be technically insubordinate in doing so. Riker has done this in the past, which is why Picard chose him. By the end of the episode, he finally gains the courage to disobey Admiral Pressman. Ironically, however, Pressman was himself breaking rules, so Riker will find himself in trouble for ever having followed his orders in the first place.
• Series Continuity Error: A minor example—Riker tells Pressman that he's had the beard for "about four years." Since each season takes place over a year within the show, and Riker grew it at the start of season two, it would be about five and a half years.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!:
  • Pressman and Picard's exchange.
    Pressman: I have a lot of friends at Starfleet Command, Captain.
    Picard: You're going to need them.
  • Worf does a nonverbal one before that when he crosses his arms and refuses to follow Pressman's orders.
• Smug Snake: Sirol could give Tomalak a run for his money in the smarm department.
• Status Quo Is God: The episode ends with Picard visiting Riker in the brig (at his own insistence, as he was taking responsibility for helping Pressman all those years ago). During their talk, Picard informs him that Pressman and others are to be court-martialed for violating the treaty. While they make a point of saying that Riker will be spared that, Picard suggests that this may damage his career. Come the next episode, it's just business as usual. This is acknowledged by Picard noting in the brig how Riker stepping forward when it truly mattered is what counts.
• Suddenly Shouting: When Picard presses Riker for specifics about what really happened aboard the Pegasus:
  Riker: Sir, may I suggest you take this up with Admiral—
  Picard: I'M TAKING THIS UP WITH YOU, WILL!
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The fallout's effect on Riker's career. Picard makes it clear that while Riker won't be cashiered out of the service, his role in the original coverup will likely cost him much of the respect he's earned with Command in the 12 years since the incident. It's telling that following this episode (and despite obvious manpower shortages due to the Dominion War), Command won't offer Riker another Captaincy until nearly a decade later.
• Teleporter Accident: The phase cloak device on the Pegasus allows the ship to pass through solid rock. Unfortunately for most of the crew of the Pegasus, the device was shut off in the middle of an asteroid (although the novels at least tone down the Fridge Horror by revealing that everyone who remained on the ship was already dead by that point).
• That's an Order!: Pressman orders Picard to take the Enterprise into the asteroid with the Pegasus. Picard complies, but not without protest.
  Picard: (Beat) Mr. Data, will you please note in the ship's log that this action is being taken over my explicit objection?
  Data: It is so noted, sir.
• Truce Trickery: Pressman's research violated the Treaty of Algeron, which keeps the peace between the Federation and the Romulan Empire. It's worth noting, however, that in several previous episodes the Romulans didn't show terribly much respect for the treaty either.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Pressman, who believes the Federation is naïve for adhering to the Treaty of Algeron.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Picard tells Riker that he will bounce back from the revelation that he was complicit in a crime because of the respect he has since earned, and because he came froward when it truly mattered. No word on how this will affect Lt. Riker from "Second Chances", who was just as guilty as Commander Riker, but never had the chance to earn that same respect or come forward when it mattered.^note The point probably became moot when Thomas Riker left Starfleet and took up with the Maquis, eventually stealing the Defiant from DS9 and getting handed over to the Cardassian authorities.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Picard chews Riker out for taking part in what looks like a conspiracy to conceal the truth about what happened to the Pegasus. Riker looks like he's been slapped at the end of it.
  Picard: He's an Admiral, I'm a Captain— I cannot force you to disobey his orders. Therefore, I will have to remain in the dark on this mission, and I will just have to trust that you will not let Pressman put this ship at unnecessary risk. And if I find that that trust has been misplaced, then I will have to re-evaluate the command structure of this ship.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Picard to Riker at the end, when the latter is dealing with his guilt over supporting Pressman.
  Picard: You made a mistake twelve years ago, but your service since then has earned you a great deal of respect. But this incident may cost you some of that respect.
  Riker: I can't help but feel I should have come forward a long time ago.
  Picard: When the moment came to make a decision, you made the right one. You chose to tell the truth and face the consequences. So long as you can still do that, then you deserve to wear that uniform. And I will still be proud to have you as my First Officer.