“Tattoo” is episode nine of season two of Star Trek: Voyager.
An away team is on a moon examining some rocks. They’re looking for polyferanide, but B’Elanna says the deposits are contaminated. As Tuvok calls Chakotay over, the latter tells B’Elanna that they will find something better down the line. She hopes it’s soon, before the warp nacelles burn out. What Tuvok is found is evidence of other visitors to the moon; signs of a fire and a symbol on the ground. Chakotay recognises the symbol. It triggers a memory of, as a teenager, being in the South American rainforest with his father, Kolopak. The symbol, which young Chakotay saw on a tree, is a blessing on the land, an ancient healing system for cutting down the tree.
They are looking for a tribe, the closest thing known to the ancient rubber tree people. Both this tribe, and Chakotay’s, are descendants of the original one. The local tribe has chosen to live the way they do to honour the Sky Spirits. Young Chakotay is not that impressed. In the present, he suggests the symbol is a blessing on the land for the damage caused by the campfire.
In sickbay, the Doctor and Kes are examining Ensign Wildman, who was revealed to be pregnant in “Elogium”. Kes is not impressed with the Doctor’s bedside manner, and tells him so afterwards. For once in his life, she’d like the Doctor to know what it’s like to be ill so that he would understand. After she leaves, the Doctor comments he doesn’t have a life; he has a program.
Chakotay is explaining to Captain Janeway about the expedition he went on with his father, which he hated. Kolopak had been tracking down the origins of the tribe for years. Chakotay shows the symbol found on the moon and the one from Earth. They are definitely similar. The ancient legends said the Sky Spirits came down from above and created the tribe in their own image and led them to the sacred land. There’s a warp signature leading away from the moon, and the captain is willing to follow it. They still haven’t found the polyferanide, and those who left the trail may be able to help. Plus, they are in the business of exploring.
The warp signature leads to a planet, but there are no life signs. There is something that might be an energy source, and the suggestion of cloaking. B’Elanna can detect high concentrations of polyferanide below the surface. The captain wants them to take a look, and Chakotay, Tuvok, Neelix and B’Elanna are going to transport down. Only, they can’t. Every time the transporter locks onto a site, an electromagnetic storm forms there. The storms dissipate and reform elsewhere when the site is changed.
So, they take a shuttle down. Through a storm that formed when they started re-entry. Chakotay has another flashback to his youth, where he is not having fun. His father apologises for bringing him and young Chakotay is sorry he can’t be what Kolopak wants. In the storm in the present, Chakotay sees a face in the storm
On the ground, Tuvok is not having any luck finding the power source. Chakotay finds a flower, an orchid he has only seen before on Earth. Tuvok, a breeder of prize Vulcan orchids, recognises the species. Neelix breeds orchids too. To eat. B’Elanna has found the polyferanide, but they will need to be careful extracting it. Above, a bird that looks like a hawk screeches.
Neelix finds something but get attacked by the hawk and has to be beamed out. Successfully, as it happens. Chakotay saw the face again during the attack, but neither Tuvok nor Voyager can detect anything. What Neelix had found was habitation. Chakotay wants the three of them to put down their weapons to look peaceful. Tuvok is not happy about this.
Chakotay has more memories from the expedition, during which he told his father he was leaving to join Starfleet. Young Chakotay had far less interest in his ancestors and history than adult Chakotay does. These memories turn out to be useful in the present.
On Voyager, Kes activates the Doctor. After a query about why he is still using his original opening message, when it was deactivated – the Doctor had difficulty in coming up with a replacement, so reactivated it – the Doctor sneezes. He has programmed himself with a 29-hour flu, so he will get to understand what it’s like being ill. Kes thinks it will be education for the Doctor. The Doctor thinks it will be educational for the crew, when they see how he deals with illness without whining. You can guess which one so going to be right.