"Do you understand?"

When the Crew of the U.S.S. starship Voyager is stranded in the Delta Quadrant, they meet up with an alien from a planet called Talax whose name is Nelix. Nelix is a wanderer, having lost his family in a war previously; and he joins Voyager as a guide. He brings with him a companion, a young Ocampa woman named Kess.

Eventually, Voyager reaches the limit of the area of space known to Nelix, and Nelix begins to fear that he will no longer be able to contribute anything useful to the crew. In search of a map, he makes a deal with an old friend. In return for the map, he assists in the delivery of illegal drugs.

Captain Janeway confronts him about this behavior at the end of the episode. Anticipating punishment, he says, "I'm prepared to leave the ship."

Janeway explains that he doesn't get off so easy. "You're part of a family now, and we all have responsibilities. Do you understand"

Nelix answers, "Yes," and Janeway orders him to scrub the plasma manifolds for the next two weeks.

I couldn't help considering Nelix's reaction from various perspectives... My background is in child care; and it was always hard for me to discipline children whose misbehavior was a sign of their insecurity. In many situations, I found that addressing the emotional situation behind the behavior was crucial to effecting lasting change in the classroom and in the child's life. Incidentally, this works with adults, too. Growing up doesn't change the fact that insecurity makes us behave with poor judgment. We might be able to do what is asked of us with better understanding; but it is amazing what can change when emotional understanding is part of the equation as well.

Watching this episode, I found myself wondering if Nelix really would have understood what Janeway was talking about. If this had been a Star Trek book, I could see this scene as the climax that reveals the secret of Nelix's past and opens the door to a new, deeper relationship of trust between him and Janeway. Of course, we were out of time on the episode; so this did not happen. (Two-parter, anyone?)