“Mortal Coil” is episode twelve of season four of Star Trek: Voyager.
In the mess hall, Neelix gets some coffee for Harry then is approached by Chakotay. He wants Neelix’s help; they are near a Class 1 nebula in which protomatter has been detected, which Chakotay knows Neelix has dealt with before. Indeed; it’s one of the best energy sources in the quadrant. Neelix will help. Next, Seven of Nine says her nutritional supplements are unacceptable; they are too pungent. Neelix has been spicing them up to broaden her palate. She feels her palate is sufficiently broad. Why settle for sufficient? Neelix also mentions Prixin, the Tallaxian celebration of family which they celebrate every year and Seven is part of their family.
Then, Ensign Wildman contacts him. Her daughter, Naomi, is having problems sleeping. Seven of Nine doesn’t recognise a crewmember by that designation. Neelix tells her Naomi isn’t crew; she’s the first child born on Voyager. He’s her godfather and the only one who can currently get her to sleep. Neelix checks Naomi’s room for monsters, then tells her about the Great Forest, a place where all your loved ones watch over you when you sleep. Neelix thinks of the forest when he is afraid.
The next day, Neelix is looking for a cylinder in the cargo bay when Seven of Nine asks him if he needs her. No; he’s just looking for a cylinder. Neelix is calling for it and Seven comments that he is a peculiar creature. Neelix finds the cylinder and mentions the Kazon. Species 239, according to Seven. They were unworthy of assimilation; their biological and technological distinctiveness was unremarkable.
Chakotay, Neelix and Tom are on a shuttle heading into the nebula; Tom really wants Neelix to make some pizza. Protomatter is beamed onboard, then energy bolts start flying from the nebula. The shuttle’s shields go down and an energy bolt passes through the port and strikes Neelix. Tom checks him. He’s dead. The damage is too severe. Chakotay needs Tom’s help in the cockpit.
Voyager is looking for the shuttle and, when it’s found, detect only two lifesigns. They are beamed directly to sickbay and the shuttle tractored in. The Doctor says that Tom could have done nothing and they are discussing what to do next when Seven of Nine enters. She wants to know how long he’s been dead. 18 hours. Then it isn’t too long; the Borg assimilated species with much greater medical knowledge than the Federation. They have reactivated drones as much as 72 hours after what they would call death (frankly, in “Unity”, it looked like a lot longer).
Neelix isn’t a Borg drone but the process can be adapted. It will use Seven of Nine’s nanoprobes. She says Neelix’s function in the crew is diverse – which was shown at the beginning. If they wish to salvage him, they need to proceed immediately. The captain agrees and tells the Doctor to assist. He comments that people complain about his bedside manner, after Seven refers to Neelix as the cadaver. The process works. Neelix asks what happened. He was dead for getting on for 19 hours. Congratulations; a new world record. No; he wasn’t in a coma. He is dead. He will need injecting with nanoprobes daily until it’s certain he can live without them. Neelix decides that, as long as he doesn’t start assimilating the crew or sprouting Borg implants, he can live with this.
They didn’t get the protomatter and Janeway tells Neelix another mission won’t be sent until they know what happened. He should take it easy; he was dead, after all. When Neelix returns to his quarters, it sounds as if he didn’t see what he expected when he was dead.
Seven of Nine speaks to Tuvok about the human attitude towards death. They attach too much importance to a biological truth. When a drone is damaged beyond repair, it is discarded, but its consciousness lives on within the Collective. Tuvok points out that Seven is no longer part of the Collective, and is mortal like the rest. Does this disturb her? The Collective still has her and in a sense she will always be there.
Neelix sees himself die in a simulation Chakotay runs of the accident. He says he died and there was nothing. No Great Forest, no afterlife. He always took comfort knowing he would be together with his loved ones one day. But it’s not true. Neelix is having a crisis of faith. Seven of Nine is baffled by Prixin and needs a lot more work when it comes to small talk.