- For other uses, see The Choice.
"The Choice" was the first of three TNG comic stories in DC Comics' Star Trek: The Next Generation Special, Issue 2, accompanying "Cry Vengeance" and "Out of Time" in April 1994. Written by Michael Jan Friedman, the story focused on Ensign Ro Laren, particularly the crisis on Garon II that led to her court martial prior to joining the crew of the USS Enterprise.
Summary[]
The Enterprise is called to investigate the destruction of an unmanned Starfleet observatory on Naxus IV. A plasma storm will hit the site in half an hour, but Riker thinks that'll give them plenty of time. On the surface, a tricorder reveals traces of a particle beam weapon that implicates three races. One is the Seriphami, whom Ensign Ro Laren has tangled with before. Geordi La Forge and William T. Riker recall Ro ended up in a penal colony after disobeying orders on Garon II and getting her team killed. Ro walks away in deep thought, recalling the incident...
Years earlier, the USS Wellington investigated Seriphami terrorist attacks at the Federation colony on Garon II. Ro sees parallels between the Seriphami and her Bajoran heritage as a freedom fighter, but Captain Waid points out that the Seriphami are aggressively expanding, not protecting their territory. The away team is treating survivors when a group of Seriphami emerge from a hillside and start shooting, killing Connors. Running for cover, they see their attackers disappear with cloaking technology. The officers hide behind the debris of a shattered building. Waid tries hailing their starship, but the signal is blocked. Lieutenant Caputo thinks she can disrupt the cloaks with her tricorder. Searching for frequencies, she broadcasts on the right one, and six of the terrorists become ghostly visible.
Waid orders a flanking maneuver. While Caputo and Ro shoot back as if they're ten people, Waid circles behind the terrorists. Strangely, it gets quiet. Caputo's tricorder says the Seriphami have deactivated their cloaks and gone into hibernation, a natural function of their biology when injured. They're now extremely vulnerable – a phaser stun would kill them. If Waid isn't stopped, he'll unknowingly kill a bunch of defenseless people. While Caputo warns that this could be a trick, Ro spots Waid atop a slope and impulsively shoots him. The Seriphami fire at Ro, and Caputo knocks her out of the line of fire. It was a trick after all. With Waid's location exposed, terrorists storm his position and kill him. Ro is in shock. Caputo tries to rally her to action as reinforcements beam down from Wellington, ending the assault.
At Ro's court martial, Caputo describes what happened, but the presiding admiral cuts her off – he isn't interested in Ro's compassionate reasoning, just that her actions led to Waid's death. Ro accepts her guilt, feeling that she'd acted stupidly, and is taken away in shackles.
Years later, back on Naxus IV, Ro's reverie is broken when Riker saves her from sudden weapons fire. Communications are now blocked, and Ro recognizes the attackers as Seriphami. La Forge can't see through their cloaks. Ro adjusts her tricorder the way Caputo had years earlier, and the intruders become partially visible. Riker realizes they're outnumbered and proposes the same flanking maneuver Waid did. Riker thinks it'll work and heads off, telling Ro not to dwell on past events. As she and La Forge blanket the area with weapons fire, lightning from the plasma storm incapacitates one of the intruders. The shooting stops, and La Forge's tricorder shows the Seriphami hibernating. She explains their vulnerability, and that it's exactly what happened on Garon II. La Forge tells her she's more seasoned now, a better officer, and wouldn't repeat a mistake. She runs off through a clearing and jumps over cover to where the Seriphami had been. To her surprise, she finds that they are indeed all unconscious. She sees Riker approaching atop a ridge, and from his vantage point, with the Seriphami backs to him, she believes they'll still appear menacing. She yells out, but discharges from the plasma storms drown out her warnings, so she stuns him.
La Forge arrives, and sees the hibernating Seriphami. Ro assumes she'll be court martialed again.
- Personal log, Ensign Ro Laren
- Turning off the Seriphami's energy blanket wasn't difficult – once we found the device that generated it. With that done, we were able to contact the ship for reinforcements – not to mention medical assistance. Seriphami terrorism is going to be a problem for some time, it seems. But at least today, they were beaten. They'll get medical assistance on the Enterprise – which is a lot more than they deserve. But being who we are, we can't just let them rot here. If I'm lucky, maybe we'll all be in the same penal facility, then they can thank me for their kind treatment personally. After all, when it comes to shooting your commanding officer, two times has got to be the charm.
Back aboard the Enterprise, Riker tells her he's grateful that she stopped him from slaughtering the helpless Seriphami. La Forge said charging the enemy was incredibly brave. Riker gave her a commendation, but suggested next time that a near miss would do.
- Personal log, supplemental
- It's funny the way things work out. Commander Riker gave me a second chance... and this time I somehow managed not to blow it.
References[]
Characters[]
- Caputo • Connors • Beverly Crusher • Geordi La Forge • William T. Riker • Ro Laren • Waid • Worf • unnamed Seriphami • unnamed Starfleet personnel (court martial officers, USS Wellington crew) • unnamed USS Enterprise-D personnel (transporter chief • away team crewmembers)
- Referenced only
- Cliff Kennelly
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
- Garon II • Naxus IV
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Science and classification[]
- android • carbonization • cloaking device • commbadge • communications • lifeform • observatory • particle beam weapon • phaser • sensor • starship • stun • technology • technology • time • transporter • tricorder • universe • weapon
Occupations and titles[]
- admiral • captain • cloaking device • colonist • commanding officer • commander • ensign • engineer • first officer • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • terrorist
Other references[]
- beam • commendation • court martial • government • hibernation • history • hour • humanoid • lightning • log entry • military • observation lounge • penal colony • personal log, Ro Laren • plasma storm • prison • races and cultures • rank • science • shackles • space • Starfleet uniform (2350s-2366) • Starfleet uniform (2366-2373) • state • terrorism • title • transporter room • type-2 phaser • weather
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- TNG episode: "Ensign Ro" – Ro's experience on Garon II and subsequent court martial were cited in the episode, events which happened sometime between her graduation from Starfleet Academy in 2362 and 2366, based on the Starfleet uniforms worn during the flashback on pages 4-13.
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous story: first story |
TNG comics (DC TNG Special - 1994) |
Next story: Cry Vengeance |
| Previous story: Mother of Madness |
Stories by: Michael Jan Friedman |
Next story: Out of Time |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: Cry Vengeance |
DC Comics Timeline | Next adventure: Inheritance |
| Previous adventure: Cry Vengeance |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Inheritance |
| The above chronology placements are based on the primary placement in 2370. The Memory Beta Chronology places events from this story in 1 other timeframe(s): | ||
| Previous adventure: not yet placed |
mid-2360s Garon II flashback |
Next adventure: not yet placed |
External links[]
- The Choice (TNG comic) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.