Introduction

“Lineage” is the 158th episode of the TV series Star Trek: Voyager, the 12th episode of the seventh season.

B’Elanna and Tom Paris struggle through an event, the pregnancy of B’Ellanna with Tom’s child.

Outline

B’Elanna Torres is in a good mood, until she arrives at work in Engineering and almost faints. Icheb scans her and states that she has a parasite within her. Seven of Nine also scans Torres and comes up with a different diagnosis: B’Elanna is pregnant.

The Doctor confirms Seven’s diagnosis. The fetus is seven weeks old, and perfectly healthy, except for a genetic defect that causes abnormal spine curvature in Klingon females. B’Elanna, who is half Klingon, had surgery as a baby to correct this defect. The Doctor says that nowadays genetic re-sequencing is the preferred treatment and that he can perform the procedure the following day. He also shows Tom Paris and B’Elanna a holographic projection of what their daughter will look like. Tom thinks she is beautiful but B’Elanna is distressed to learn her daughter will have Klingon facial ridges.

During the procedure the next day, B’Elanna reminisces back to her childhood as a Klingon girl on the colony in which she grew up. She blames herself, especially her Klingon half, for her human father leaving her, and her teasing and harassment by other children for being half klingon, and resolves to not let the same happen to her daughter. She proposes further genetic re-sequencing to delete various Klingon genes in order to make her daughter fully human, but the Doctor and B’Elanna’s husband Tom Paris disagree.

During one of the couple’s arguments, Torres mentions Voyager has 140 humans on board (not intended as a full crew count, as Vulcans, Bolians and Bajorans and other aliens are also part of the crew). She claims that if her daughter is even one quarter klingon, human society will treat her as a “monster”. They can not reach a consensus, so they speak to Janeway, who tells them that their problem is not about ethics, it is about marital affairs. As a friend, she’ll offer them advice; but as the captain, she will not overrule the Doctor. They still can not work it out, so Paris ends up staying the night in Harry’s quarters. The next day, they have seemed to make up, but just then, the Doctor calls them.

In Sickbay, the Doctor reveals that he has changed his mind and believes that the procedure will be required. Tom is disturbed by this and seeks a second opinion from Icheb. Icheb disagrees with the Doctor’s new assessment and Seven discovers that the EMH’s programme has been tampered with. Tom stops the procedure in the nick of time, and he and B’Elanna have an argument. She tearfully admits what she fears will happen to her daughter; that Paris will leave them like her father left her and her mother, and Tom reaffirms his commitment to his growing family. The Doctor’s alterations are removed, and B’Elanna apologises to the Doctor and asks him to be the godfather. The Doctor accepts, and B’Elanna feels the baby kick. She then sees the holographic projection one more time and admits that she is cute.

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Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): Peter Lauritson.
• Writer(s): James Khan.
• Release Date: 24 January 2001.
• Running Time: 45 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.