“Day of Honor” is episode three of season four of Star Trek: Voyager.
Seven if Nine is in her alcove in the cargo bay. After the events of the previous episode, “The Gift”, this is the only Borg technology left on Voyager; as Kes transformed she removed the rest of it, as well as sending Voyager thousands of light years closer to home. Chakotay enters the bay; Seven of Nine wanted to see him. Yes; Chakotay is the one who handles duty assignments. Seven of Nine is finding it difficult to spend so much time alone. She’s unaccustomed to it. Chakotay understands; how can they help? Seven of Nine would like a duty assignment. Does she have something specific in mind? She does.
Cut to engineering, where Vorik is working on a coolant leak. After he fixes it, he suggests something they could do to B’Elanna. She agrees he’s probably right; they will do it tomorrow. She said tomorrow. Tom arrives with data B’Elanna wanted. He asks if they are still on for dinner tonight. B’Elanna may have to work; Tom asks if she’s decided if she’s going through with it. She’s not. Today has not started very well. B’Elanna is not doing some obscure Klingon ritual. Even if she’s the one who suggested it. B’Elanna itemises all the things that have gone wrong so far. She’s in a bad mood and knows she’s being a little bit testy.
Chakotay arrives at this point and Tom warns him to be careful as he leaves. Chakotay tells B’Elanna that Seven of Nine wants to work in engineering. The Borg uses transwarp conduits, which could get them home faster. B’Elanna doesn’t know anything about them. That’s why Seven of Nine offered to work in engineering. B’Elanna is suspicious and doesn’t want the former Borg in engineering. That wasn’t a suggestion, though; it was an order.
The captain speaks to Seven of Nine first, and lays down some rules. Also, Seven of Nine is cumbersome; would it be okay to call her by her original given name? It would not. How about Seven then? Imprecise, but acceptable. Tuvok contacts them from the bridge; a ship is approaching.
The ship is damaged but functional; probably not warp capable. The ship hails them and Rahmin of the Caatati greets them. Most of his people were assimilated by the Borg a year ago. A few thousand on 30 ships are all that escaped. Could they spare some food and medicine? And how about some thorium isotopes; without that, their systems can’t function. Captain Janeway will see what she can do.
In engineering, B’Elanna asks Seven of Nine if she has any feelings of remorse about the Caatati. No. Nothing more than that? Acknowledgement, justification, guilt? Guilt is irrelevant. The parameters for the tachyon burst have been set; it will be several hours before it’s ready. Seven of Nine feels it would be best if she waited in her alcove. B’Elanna agrees. B’Elanna does not want Seven if Nine in engineering.
B’Elanna is playing with her food in the mess hall when Neelix comes over. He has cooked blood pie for the Day of Honor. No, Tom has not told him; Neelix makes a point of knowing about these things. B’Elanna has decided to ignore the tradition. Neelix comments that B’Elanna has a bit of a temper. Which she keeps reigned in, but it builds up until she explodes at someone. He is offering his services as a pressure valve. Use Neelix to blow off steam. When she’s angry, come see him and yell, scream, call him names. B’Elanna is actually a bit choked by this. She says that may be the nicest offer she has had in a long time. However, she couldn’t do that to him. She does decide to go ahead with the ritual, starting with the blood pie.
This decision to go ahead with it doesn’t last long. It doesn’t start well on the holodeck and, when a Klingon warrior tells her the full extent of the ritual, she changes her mind. B’Elanna didn’t want to do it before he described it; she certainly doesn’t afterwards. She’s leaving. Admittedly, she has to fight the Klingons because they weren’t going to let her leave. Which does prove her worth as a Klingon warrior, if you look at it a certain way. Tom finds her in her quarters afterwards, brooding. She doesn’t want to talk about it. Eventually, Tom leaves.
More Caatati ships arrive; these want more. Their leader speaks to the senior staff and attempts to guilt Voyager into handing over more supplies. Neelix takes exception to this. However, the captain will give them food and medical supplies. On the way out, the Caatati spies Seven of Nine. He isn’t happy to find out she’s former Borg.
The experiment to open a transwarp conduit to have a look in, rather than use it, does not go well. To the extent of having to eject the warp core not going well. B’Elanna thinks it’s the worst day of her life. During the mission to get the warp core back, Tom foolishly asks her what else could go wrong. Naturally, things get worse.
Seven of Nine is having problems integrating with the crew. The Caatati started off seeming helpless, but their requests get steeper and steeper on each appearance. They quickly burn through any sympathy that might be felt.