From: aa396@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bill Henley)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
Subject: Re: COC summary wanted!
Date: 29 Dec 1992 19:06:13 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu


Don't have time for an EXTREMELY detailed summary of the
episode but let me see what I can do:

"Chain of Command Part 1":  Capt. Picard is relieved of command
of the Enterprise so that he, Worf and Beverly Crusher can be
sent on a commando-type mission to a secret base of the hostile
Cardassians, to find and destroy a dangerous "metagenic" weapon
which could destroy all life on Federation planets while leaving
the planets suitable for Cardassian colonies.  
  Command of the Enterprise is taken over by Capt. Edward Jellico,
a rather overbearing and arbitrary type who takes an instant
dislike to Riker and turns the ship upside down preparing the
ship and crew for a possible war with the Cardassians.
  Picard and his team reach the Cardassian base only to discover
that it is a trap set specifically for Picard (who was sent on
the mission because he is the only active Starfleet officer with
experience working with the "theta waves" the weapon supposedly
uses).  Worf and Crusher escape but Picard is captured and taken
for ruthless Cardassian interrogation.

Part 2:  Picard is interrogated with drugs and found not to
have the military information the Cardassians want, but the
Cardassian leader Gul Madred (David Warner) continues to
interrogate Picard using physical torture and psychological
manipulation, more to assert his will and break Picard than
to achieve a military benefit.  Madred allows his young
daughter to see Picard being tortured, telling her that
humans "aren't like us" and their pain is not important.
He reminisces about his young days as a starving street
urchin and boasts of the benefits military government has
brought to the Cardassians; Picard has spirit enough left 
to point out that Madred is still acting like the weak 
and helpless six-year-old he once was, trying to take
revenge on others for the hurts he suffered.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise gets word of Picard's capture,
but Jellico gives him up as lost and, when Riker strongly
objects, relieves Riker of duty.  Instead, Jellico lays
plans to intercept a Cardassian fleet by laying space
mines.  Because Riker is the best shuttle pilot on the
ship, Jellico is forced to ask him to pilot the mine-
laying mission; Riker agrees, after a hostile confron-
tation between them.  

Forgot to mention Madred's chief terror tactic against
Picard; he shows Picard a set of four lights and
simply demands that Picard say there are five; when
Picard insists there are still four, he is tortured.

The mine laying mission is successful and Jellico
now has the upper hand against the Cardassians; he
demands they withdraw and also (almost as an after-
thought) requires them to return Picard.  But before
releasing Picard, Madred makes a final attempt to
break him, telling him he will be a prisoner forever
but faces humane treatment if he sees five lights,
a lifetime of torment if he sees four.  Before
Picard responds, the guards show up to return
Picard to the Enterprise, and Picard shouts in
triumph.  He is returned to his command on the
Enterprise.  But he tells Troi that, if the
torment had continued, he would have given in;
he was reaching the point where he actually did
see five lights.

A quite good episode in my opinion, though
severely flawed by the implausibility of sending
a middle-aged Starship Captain on a commando
mission in the first place.  (Indications in
Part 1 suggested that Jellico and the Admiral
who set up the mission were traitors in on
the Cardassian plot; but these clues turned
out to be red herrings.)

This summary is a bit disjointed but I hope
it is of use to you.

-- 
Bill Henley, Assistant Sysop, Cleveland Free-Net Science Fiction
& Fantasy SIG (aa396)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current