Did Star Trek’s Wesley Crusher Kill A Fellow Starfleet Academy Cadet? – SlashFilm

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Within the “Star Trek: The Subsequent Era” episode “The First Responsibility,” Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) is summoned to Starfleet Academy to provide a graduation handle when he receives some disturbing information. Evidently one of many Starfleet cadets, a younger man named Joshua Albert, lately died throughout a typical flight coaching train. The identical coaching train additionally injured cadet Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), the son of Picard’s chief medical officer. 

Wesley was a part of Nova Squadron, a flight staff that additionally included Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill), who has a connection to Mariner on “Star Trek: Decrease Decks,” Jean Hajar (Walker Brandt), and the chief of the pack, Nick Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill). The way in which the accident occurred, so the Squadron claimed, was that Josh was nervous about flying, however Nick pressed him to take action anyway. Whereas performing an area flight maneuver known as the Yeager Loop, Josh panicked and two of the cadets’ ships collided, inflicting all of them to finally crash. Everybody however Josh was transported to security on the final minute. 

Nonetheless, not all the things is kosher. Starfleet manages to get a satellite tv for pc picture of the crash — which occurred close to Saturn’s moon Titan — and the cadets’ ships weren’t within the Yeager Loop configuration as they claimed. Somebody is mendacity about one thing. There are additionally a couple of scenes in “The First Responsibility” of Locarno, Wesley, Sito, and Hajar conspiring and “getting their story straight.” Captain Picard opens an investigation of his personal into the matter, and finds that the crash wasn’t Josh’s fault. Certainly, Wesley was not directly answerable for the accident. Worse but, Wesley lied to cowl up particulars in regards to the accident. 

So, no, Wesley did not straight homicide anybody, however he did assist in getting a buddy killed.

Picard finds that the Nova Squadron was not performing a Yeager Loop, however a really harmful flight maneuver known as the Kolvoord Starburst. The maneuver includes opening one’s plasma vents and burning the plasma in house, inflicting a spectacular starburst sample within the sky. The issue is that the plasma tends to burn again into the ship, inflicting it to blow up. The Kolvoord Starburst had been banned a century earlier, because the final try killed all 5 pilots required to carry out it. Picard confronts Wesley in regards to the Starburst, and could be very upset. Picard says that if Wesley does not point out the reality on the following day’s listening to, he’ll. 

Nick Locarno, we finally be taught, is the dangerous man right here. He was the one who wished to carry out the Kolvoord Starburst, saying that he aimed to carry out a grand stunt for the upcoming graduation ceremony, giving him legend standing amongst his class. Locarno did certainly stress Josh into performing the maneuver, however after Josh died, he aimed to guard his fellow squadron members by asking them to lie about Josh’s loss of life throughout any inquiries. If anybody asks, it was all Josh’s fault, which might permit the surviving cadets to skate by.

“The First Responsibility” was a take a look at of Wesley’s ethics, and it was a take a look at he failed. He did lie, and he did comply with Nick’s orders. It wasn’t till Picard busted him that Wesley determined to inform the reality to the Starfleet Academy inquiry board. Wesley went together with a harmful stunt, which he knew was unlawful, bought a buddy killed, after which tried to get away with it with out dealing with any penalties. Understandably, Picard was very upset. 

Wesley is held again a yr as punishment, and he is aware of that staying at Starfleet Academy will probably be troublesome, as phrase will unfold about what he did. Wesley decides to remain on the Academy, aiming to do penance. Worse than all that, nevertheless, resides with the truth that Picard is now upset; Picard is a kind of authority figures that one admires a lot, one by no means needs to see him crestfallen. 

As for Nick Locarno, Trekkies will level out that he truly suffered two fates. Actor Robert Duncan McNeill would go on to play a really Nick Locarno-like character, Lieutenant Tom Paris, on “Star Trek: Voyager” a couple of years later. Trekkies perpetuated rumors for years that Tom Paris was truly meant to be Nick Locarno, and that Paramount modified his identify to keep away from paying character rights to the authors of “The First Responsibility,” Ron D. Moore and Naren Shankar. In reality, whereas Locarno was briefly thought-about as a personality for “Voyager” (as said within the historical past e-book “Star Trek: Voyager: A Imaginative and prescient of the Future”), the present’s builders modified their minds as a result of Locarno was not redeemable they usually wished a personality who was. After which, as a result of Tom Paris was Locarno-like anyway, getting Robert Duncan McNeill was simply simpler casting. 

Nick Locarno finally returned a few years later, on “Star Trek: Decrease Decks.” Newer Trekkies met him as a bitter ex-officer who had come to resent Starfleet Academy for not coaching him effectively sufficient to carry out his Starburst maneuver. The characters on “Decrease Decks,” in a cute meta joke, do certainly pause to remark that Nick Locarno appears an terrible lot like Lieutenant Tom Paris.