“Loud as a Whisper” is episode five of season two of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The Enterprise is in orbit around Ramatis III as the planet Solais V has petitioned Starfleet to transport a mediator, Riva, to them. The planet has been torn apart by conflict for years and both sides gave requested Riva. Riker enters the captain’s ready room, where Picard is looking at a hologram of a star system, Lima Sierra, which has a technically impossible, yet stable, orbit. Picard has no clue what it means. Riker had entered to tell him they had arrived.
Data is given command of the bridge and the captain and Commander Riker head to a transporter room. Riker is uncomfortable with the captain leading an away team; he’s reassured that it’s a ceremonial function and not going would suggest a lack of interest. If they can assist to end the bloodletting, they should; Riker tells Picard that it isn’t their job to police the galaxy and the captain asks if that isn’t his own speech.
Worf and Troi are waiting in the transporter room. Troi senses Worf having strong emotions. He denies this but she insists he is. She’s never known such emotions from him other than when he was expecting to do battle. Riva negotiated the first treaties between the Klingons and the Federation. Before him, there was no Klingon word for peacemaker.
Worf, Troi and the captain beam down to an apparently deserted area. Riker contacts the, and Picard tells him they have arrived safely. Then a man enters and looks at each of them before standing on a pedestal. Two men and a woman enter and all three start speaking. Troi looks at the first man, Riva, and one of the other three asks if she’s empathic. Riva, through the three, seems to be acting a bit flirty with Troi.
The woman explains that Riva is deaf, born that way. They speak for him as his thoughts and emotions. One is the Scholar/Artists, another the Warrior/Adonis and the woman is Harmony/Balance. And they are to address Riva directly, not the translators. Captain Picard is curious; Riva explains that the gene for hearing is not in his planet’s ruling line, recounting similar examples. Riva’s chorus is attuned to hear his thoughts and translate. Their ancestors did this for his ancestors.
After beaming up, Riva and his chorus are taken to the bridge. The captain explains the chorus to Riker and Riva is introduced. He is fascinated with Geordi’s VISOR, seeing something similar to his chorus. Picard offers to have Riva shown to quarters and Riva asks if Troi will show him there. Warrior/Adonis who represents passion and lust heads with Troi and Riva but the other two remain. At times like this, they are not needed. In Riva’s quarters, he tells Troi that they do similar things. He’d like to share a meal with her. Yes, his chorus will accompany them – until they find their own method of communication.
A briefing has been prepared for Riva but he isn’t interested in the details. The specific issues of the conflict have no relevance. The material put together will indicate the conflict is over some tangible asset, but they know that’s not the case. The war has been going on for so long, it has become personal. The real question is what, given the war has been going on for 15 centuries, has changed? Something must have. This isn’t known although Riker suggests that they have run out of people to kill. To date, Riva has never failed. He leaves the meeting, so that he can go and see Troi.
Troi and Riva do have a definite connection but the situation on the planet is problematic. The cease fire has already been broken and fighting has broken out again. The first part of the episode is pretty slow-paced, as the Enterprise makes its way to Solais V and Riva and Troi spend time with each other. Things do not go smoothly when they arrive.