Kurn's ship, the Hegh'ta, is heavily damaged and running from two attacking Klingon cruisers. Worf, tactical officer, is advising a complete retreat-Kurn has other ideas. He orders the ship dangerously close to a nearby star, and goes into warp just shy of the photosphere; the resulting distortion causes a wall of superheated plasma to form, which destroys both pursuers.

Meanwhile, Captain Picard is briefing Fleet Admiral Shanti, and points out that the Klingon civil war has had three major engagements in the past two weeks, all won by the Duras clan. He argues that although the war may technically not be Federation concern, the Romulan involvement in it most definitely makes it Federation concern. He tries to convince her to let him set up a fleet along the Klingon-Romulan border. The idea is to serve as a blockade, to prevent supplies from being shipped from the Romulans to the Duras family- or to catch Romulan ships in the act and reveal their connection. It has a chance of working because Geordi has worked out a way to catch cloaked ships-a set of tachyon beams sent between every ship in the blockade fleet, acting as trip-wires-a tachyon "net," if you will. He gets that permission. "I hope we know what we're doing." "So do I, Number One."

The fleet's stretched thin in that area, but he manages to assemble a fleet of 23 ships. Riker takes command of the U.S.S. Excalibur, and Data [initially passed over, and then given command at his own request] of the U.S.S. Sutherland. Meanwhile, Kurn, Worf, and other Gowron loyalists spend time in a bar with Duras loyalists, and Worf is shocked to find Kurn laughing and joking with people who recently tried to kill him in battle.

Kurn urges Worf to think of these people as fellow warriors for the evening, not as enemies- and Lursa and B'Etor look on, decided to make Worf a very appealing offer. Data formally assumes command of the Sutherland, but then must deal with objections from his first officer, Lieutenant Commander Hobson, who doesn't consider androids fit to command starships. (He requests a transfer, but is denied.) All ships being ready, the Fleet heads into the breach...

A short time later, the convoy of supplies to the Duras family is running late, and Lursa and B'Etor are seething, but the Blonde Romulan tries to ease their worries. All, however, are taken by surprise when they receive word of the approaching Federation fleet, with Picard in command. The Blonde Romulan orders Movar to return to Romulus and assemble a Romulan fleet in response-she doesn't buy into Lursa and B'Etor's claim that Picard must be bluffing.

After Worf's attempt to intercede in a challenge to Gowron's leadership (believing that their strength is needed against the Duras family, not each other) results only in Gowron getting a clear shot at his opponent and thanking Worf, the Fleet crosses into Klingon space and is deployed. Data, after a power coupling overloads, deals with Hobson challenging his authority, at least temporarily, and the tachyon "net" is established. The Blonde Romulan, seeing this, sets Movar to work on finding a way to counter it, and she herself orders her ship to intercept the Enterprise, to "convince Picard he should leave."

They reach the Enterprise, decloak, and hail. Picard reacts, as one might expect, with very visible shock at her appearance. "Tasha?" "No, Captain. My name is Commander Sela. The woman you knew as Tasha Yar-was my mother."

Sela continues on, saying that the Romulan Empire cannot tolerate an "invasion" fleet along their borders, and gives them 24 hours to depart. After they break communications, Picard confers with Troi and Crusher. Crusher is skeptical of Sela's claim, as they all are (after all, by Sela's physical age, Tasha would have to have been a young child when she was born)- but Troi sensed no deception at all. They depart, and Guinan enters.

She questions Picard about his knowledge of the Enterprise's predecessor, the Enterprise-C. He responds that it was destroyed in the battle of Narendra Three, and dismisses the stories of survivors from the Enterprise-C as rumors. Guinan disputes this. There were survivors, she says; and Tasha was one of them. Yes, Tasha was a child then-but nevertheless, Tasha was on board as an adult. Furthermore, Guinan thinks that Picard sent her. He can't just dismiss it as her vague intuition, she says; because if she's right, then Picard is responsible for this entire situation.

Meanwhile, Worf gripes to Kurn about Gowron's conduct, but Kurn will hear none of it. He stalks out-and two other Klingons come in, beat Worf senseless, and drag him away...

A short time later, Sela meets with Picard on the Enterprise. After a few comments back and forth about the military aspects of this situation, she addresses the question that's really on Picard's mind: how can she be Tasha's daughter? She gives her history:

Tasha was on the Enterprise-C and was one of the few survivors of the battle. She was captured, and was saved from execution by a Romulan general who was smitten by her, and offered to spare the lives of all the other prisoners if Tasha were to become his consort. She accepted, and Sela was born a year later. Tasha is now dead, killed when Sela was four years old in an escape attempt which Sela herself foiled. Sela claims that her human half died that day, and that she is now totally and solely Romulan. Picard is completely unconvinced that her story is true, and insists it won't affect his judgement in any way-Sela responds by reiterating her ultimatum and stalking out.

Worf wakes, only to find Lursa and a very aroused B'Etor near him. They tell him that Toral will be the next leader of the Empire, but that he needs help...a father-figure. They offer that position to him, as B'Etor's mate. Worf, completely appalled, refuses, and Sela, on a viewscreen, orders him dragged off to a cell while they concern themselves with Federation plans.

Picard convinces Gowron to launch a new attack now, hoping to force the Romulans to try to run the blockade before the deadline. Gowron accepts, and passes along the news that Worf has been captured. Picard and Riker confer, and outline a plan to open a "hole" in the net (having one of the ships "suddenly" get engine problems and drop back), only to have the Enterprise swoop in and catch whatever ships try to fly through it.

The attack begins, and Lursa and B'Etor, not surprisingly, call Sela for help. She and Movar see the hole form in the net, but Sela sees it for the ploy it is. She chooses an alternate strategy- fire a huge tachyon pulse at one of the ships, thus disrupting their ability to focus the net. They target the Sutherland, and fire.

Picard, realizing that the net is now leaking, orders the Fleet to fall back and regroup. They begin to do so, but Data quickly orders a full stop, realizing that Sela's tactic may have left the Romulans with a residual tachyon signature. Despite Hobson's multiple objections, and Picard's angered demands to know why he's disobeying orders, Data locates and reveals three ships with a photon torpedo burst. Sela realizes that the plot is foiled and orders a full- scale withdrawal. Lursa and B'Etor depart, leaving Worf to fight a Romulan centurion (whom he defeats) and Toral to face the justice of Kurn and Gowron.

Shortly thereafter, the Fleet has dispersed, and Picard is once again at the Klingon homeworld- this time, to report to Gowron on the whole affair. (First, however, he responds to Data's submitting himself for disciplinary action by commending Data for his independent thought and pointing out that "good soldiers" who blindly follow orders are a dime a dozen.) After the briefing, Gowron gives Worf Toral's life in exchange for the damage done to Worf by the Duras family. Worf, however, spares him, saying that he will not kill Toral for the crimes of his family, and he returns to the Enterprise.

Highlight Listing:

"Redemption II" - Picard risks all-out war with the Romulans when he involves Starfleet in a Klingon civil war.

Advertising Headline:

COMRADE IN ARMS! Will the Enterprise lose Worf to a Klingon civil war?

TV log listing:

Picard involves crew in Klingon civil war on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION

Operation SNAFU

In part one of this story, Worf said that he would be serving on the Bortas. Yet, in this episode, he is serving on the Hectar, with no explanation about the transfer. Also, Picard says to Guinan that Yar died a year prior to Guinan joining the crew. However, "Skin of Evil" was the fourth to last story of the season, and Guinan is first seen in the second season premiere "The Child", suggesting only 3-4 months between the two stories. Picard refers to the battle on Narendra III as taking place 24 years ago to Sela, and 23 years ago to Guinan. (V) But, of course, Guinan senses time differently... When Worf is given his family name back the blood on the knifeis red not pink as in Star Trek VI. (UV)

Technical design, graphic design, interactive features, HTML & CGI programming by Andrew Tong. || All materials Copyright © 1987-1995 by their respective authors. || Document created: January 28, 1995 || Last Modified: November 09, 2010