Admiral Jarok as a Traitor Essay examples -- Star Trek Essays Papers

Admiral Jarok as a Traitor Although a somewhat tacky and predictable program, Star Trek: The Next Generation, succeeds where other television shows don't. Beneath all the glitz and glamour, a very straightforward theme arises in each episode parallel to our own society. One such episode is "The Defector," wherein the intrepid crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise happens upon a Romulan renegade requesting asylum in Federation space. The Federation, (protected by its military organization Starfleet), and the Romulans, (governed by the Romulan Star Empire), are long-time foes. Throughout the episode the Romulan, (initially calling himself Cetol), skates around the truth before revealing his true identity as the notorious Admiral Jarok, and further explains his motivations for defecting to the Federation. Here one must ponder the fine line between vengeful treason and inspired salvation. Jarok is a traitor of the Romulan Empire, but not of his people; he reluctantly betrays state secrets to save Romulus from the bitter c onsequences of war. Jarok's betrayal commences when he flees into Federation space to inform Starfleet of the impending completion of a secret supply depot within the Neutral Zone, a "no-man's" boundary between Federation and Romulan space. Jarok claims that this depot, orbiting the planet of Nelvana III, will undoubtedly serve as the inception point of the Romulan Empire's invasion into Federation space. Convinced he is still loyal to the Empire, Jarok lies about his identity and his true intentions. Jarok attempts to act both as an Admiral of the Romulan Empire and a champion willing to abandon his rank for the sake of his race. Jarok destroys his shuttle, insisting that he will only reveal the bare minimum of Romulan... ...flicting administrative policy and wonder why nothing is ever resolved. Perhaps in a sudden epiphany, we will realize the same truth Jarok did on the holodeck: genuine peace is not possible without compromise and sacrifice. Works Cited Achim, Jo. "The Romulan Empire." TOS TrekMUSE - Romulan Empire. 1994 http://tos-www.tos.net/tos/romulan/romulan.html (1994) Tong, Andrew. "NCC-1701 Destroyed, Constitution Class Starships Withdrawn." The Star Trek Chronology. May 27, 1994. http://cruciform.cid.com/~werdna/sttng/trek6/trek6-3b1.html (15 Jan. 1995) "The Defector." Synopsis from The Vidiot's TNG Program Guide. (date unknown) http://cruciform.cid.com/~werdna/sttng/synopsis/defector.syn.html (15 Jan.1995) "The Romulans." The Starlog ST:TNG Official Magazine Technical Journal. (Date unknown). http://www.cms.dmu.ac.uk/AUG/StarTrek/romulan.html (12 Jun. 1995)