Firstborn (episode)

A mysterious family friend and advisor encourages Worf's son Alexander to become a warrior.
== Summary ==
=== Teaser ===
In his quarters, Worf rehearses, a little nervously, how he will explain to his son Alexander what it means to be a true Klingon warrior. Alexander dashes in, pursued by his friend Eric with a fullerene water balloon. He misses Alexander and instead hits Worf, who is not amused. However, he continues with his explanation.
He tells Alexander that there are actually two Rite of Ascension ceremonies; Alexander won't be required to pass through the second rite (the one with painstiks) until he is older, but is old enough for the first rite now. His fighting skills and his knowledge of the teachings of Kahless will be tested, and Worf promises to help him with this. The first step is lighting a kor'tova candle and declaring one's intention to be a Klingon warrior.
Alexander doesn't want to do it, reminding Worf that his mother K'Ehleyr told him he didn't have to do any "Klingon stuff" he didn't want to. Worf agrees that it must be Alexander's choice, and Alexander runs out of the room, declaring that he has no intention of becoming a warrior.
=== Act One ===
The is supposed to rendezvous with another ship, the Kearsarge, but it won't arrive for another four days, so the senior staff plan extra activities. Captain Picard wants to visit the Hatarian system where there's an archaeological dig, and Data suggests stellar dynamics can have more access to the lateral sensor grid to examine the Vodrey Nebula. Picard notices that Worf looks distracted during the briefing, and Worf explains afterwards about the problems he is having with Alexander. Picard suggests that the Enterprise detour to the Klingon outpost on Maranga IV where they'll be celebrating Kot'baval and Alexander can immerse himself in Klingon culture and folklore; this will also give Stellar Dynamics a chance to see the entire nebula, as the outpost lies on the other side of it.
On Maranga, the festival is in full swing; there is almost a county fair atmosphere, what with the vendors and the banners and the colorful re-enactments of Klingon history. Worf and Alexander watch one such drama, in which the story of how Kahless defeated the traitor Molor is shown. The actor playing Molor issues repeated challenges to bat'leth duels, and audience members are invited to participate. Alexander is caught up in the excitement and accepts a challenge. The actor takes a fall to let Alexander win.
After spending a full day at the festival and even making some friends among the Klingon children at the outpost, Alexander meets up with Worf, who is waiting for him. Alexander explains that he needs fifty darseks to see the mummified head of Molor but Worf believes the man who is offering this is simply trying to take his money. Worf tells his son it is time to go and promises they will return tomorrow. They are about to return to the Enterprise when a trio of armed Klingon warriors appear from the shadows, cornering them.
=== Act Two ===
Before the fight starts, an older Klingon man comes out of the shadows of an alley and fires a disruptor at one of the assailants. Worf takes on the other two, shouting to Alexander to run. The older Klingon helps to defeat them, and they run away. Worf recognizes the man as K'mtar, gin'tak or adviser to the House of Mogh.
They beam aboard the Enterprise where Commander Riker wants to question them, unhappy with K'mtar's reluctance to answer. K'mtar shows the dagger dropped by one of the assailants. It bears the insignia of the rival House of Duras, indicating that Lursa and B'Etor are behind the attack. They have not been heard from since they tried to sell bilitrium explosives to a Bajoran terrorist on Deep Space 9. They are after the seat on the Klingon High Council now held by Worf's brother Kurn, who has sent K'mtar to protect Worf and his child and put a stop to the sisters' treachery. Riker says the next step will be to track down the sisters. Riker offers to help find them and gives K'mtar quarters on the ship.
Worf and K'mtar leave to his quarters. K'mtar relates Kurn's concern about Alexander, as he has no male heir and so Alexander may have to lead the House of Mogh someday. Kurn believes in Worf's ability to teach him, but it can't be easy being the only two Klingons on a starship full of Humans. He inquires how Alexander is doing as far as his Klingon warrior skills, and Worf says he is not as good as he should be, because he doesn't take time to practice as all Klingon youths do. K'mtar promises to help, and Worf accepts. Very gently (for a Klingon), he approaches Alexander's bedside and speaks in warm, understanding tones, telling him that learning warrior's skills will help Alexander to feel that not only he, but his father, are safe from harm. Worf, around the corner, is a little uneasy that there is another voice influencing Alexander, but he does trust him.
=== Act Three ===
The next day, on the bridge, Riker has Worf contact Deep Space 9 while Data searches records for the Duras sisters. Data does not find any more information, and so Riker turns to DS9. He bribes information out of the station's bartender Quark as to what the Duras sisters are doing and where they are. To get the information out of Quark, Riker offers to return his vouchers he received when he won playing dabo while at Deep Space 9 instead of latinum, which Quark did not have enough of to cover his winnings of twelve bars. Quark then explains he heard a rumor that Lursa and B'Etor were trying to buy some secondhand mining equipment to dig up a magnesite deposit (which actually belongs to the Pakleds) in the Kalla system. Riker promises to send the vouchers back to Quark, but he had them voided while they were speaking.
While the Enterprise travels to the Kalla system, K'mtar comes up with a holodeck simulation different from what Alexander is used to. Instead of just going through the exercises, he proposes a re-enactment of what happened on Maranga. As Alexander goes up against one of the attackers, K'mtar freezes the program at various points to illustrate how Alexander can take advantage of his opponent. Alexander knocks the attacker to the ground but won't kill him. When K'mtar angrily insists, Alexander gets disgusted and runs away.
When the Enterprise arrives at Kalla III and beams down an away team, they find a lone Dopterian, Gorta. In exchange for passage off planet, he tells them that the sisters have already left, taking everything of value with them (and stranding him). The plan had been to sell the magnesite ore to a Yridian trader in the Ufandi system.
In Ten Forward, K'mtar meets up with Worf. He apologizes for his anger earlier and suggests that Alexander be sent to a Klingon school on Ogat. Worf dislikes the idea because Alexander is at home on the Enterprise, but K'mtar says it is almost impossible to learn true Klingon ways under these conditions. He again gets heated and says he might have to invoke the ya'nora kor, a law which can remove a child from unfit parental custody. Outraged, Worf asks if he questions his fitness as a parent. K'mtar says that for the good of their House, yes, he is indeed. He only wants what is best for the boy. However, K'mtar is growing increasingly angry and frustrated with Alexander, who questions traditional Klingon stories and disagrees that it is so vitally important that he become a warrior.
=== Act Four ===
K'mtar sits Alexander down to try to teach him the Klingon ways, telling him more of Kahless and Morath. Alexander listens, but cuts him off, saying he already knows the story. K'mtar says it's important to tell it even if it's known, but Alexander starts questioning each statement like an inquisitive Human would. K'mtar is increasingly frustrated, saying those details don't matter, but rather the Klingon warrior interpretation. He then tells Alexander about the school, but he says he doesn't want to leave the Enterprise. He realizes K'mtar is just like his father, only caring about being a warrior, and leaves.
Meanwhile, Riker has tracked down the ore taken by the sisters to the Yridian trader Yog, and buys it from him for half a gram of Anjoran bio-mimetic gel. Instead of beaming it to the Enterprise, though, Riker blows up the ore in space with the ship's phasers, and discovers a cloaked Bird-of-Prey ship nearby. He has found the sisters, and soon brings them aboard. Telling them he knows the ore was stolen, he confronts them with the assassination attempt on Worf and shows them the dagger. They claim to know nothing about it, and Riker asks K'mtar about his other evidence which he claims to be on the homeworld. Riker prepares to set a course and K'mtar leaves to contact Kurn. However, after he leaves, B'Etor notices something on the dagger which clearly shocks her and Lursa, upon seeing it, claims that what's she's seeing is impossible. Riker asks what's going on, and B'Etor tells him the crest on the dagger has symbols representing the various members of the family… including Lursa's son. Lursa says she doesn't have a son, but she is expecting a child and only found out a few days previously and told no-one but B'Etor who furiously demands to know where the dagger came from. Based of their reactions and the evidence, it's now clear that the sisters weren't responsible for the assassination attempt, and the officers are left astounded by this mysterious turn of events. Worf decides to go and speak with K'mtar about the origin of the dagger.
Worf immediately goes to ask K'mtar about this, but discovers him apparently preparing to kill Alexander with his disruptor. After a brief struggle, he throws K'mtar to the ground and prepares to strangle him. But K'mtar cries out, calling him father and that he is actually Alexander himself.
=== Act Five ===
Worf demands proof and asks him what his mother's last words were. K'mtar tells him of how he witnessed the death of K'Ehleyr, and that all she said was his name, and she put his hand in Worf's. "And then you howled in rage, and said 'Look at her. Look upon death, and always remember.' And I always have." He reluctantly lets him go and picks up the disruptor. Alexander explains that he has come back from forty years in the future, with the assistance of a man that he met in the Cambra system. Alexander did not want to end his own life, but rather to change things, to influence his younger self to follow a different path. He explains that he never became a Klingon warrior, but a diplomat and peacemaker, who sought to put an end to the centuries of struggle and feuding between the Great Houses. He had declared that the House of Mogh would no longer engage in vengeance or blood feuds. Worf warned him that this was a show of weakness, but Alexander insisted this was the way of the future. Almost immediately thereafter, Alexander witnessed Worf's murder on the floor of the Great Hall of the Klingon High Council. He thought that, if he had become a warrior, he'd have been able to stand with his father and defeat the assassins. So he came back to persuade his younger self to follow that ancient path, first by staging the assassination attempt on Maranga, then by trying to awaken young Alexander's interest in being just like all the other Klingons, as well as in protecting his father. He despaired when he saw that he had failed.
Worf says that Alexander has already changed history by coming back in time, and that things may not at all happen the way he fears. Worf explains that he must die with honor, and he cannot do that unless his son is true to himself and his beliefs. This means that Alexander must return to the future and continue to work for peace. Even a Klingon can see that peace is a worthy and just cause, and Worf believes Alexander has a noble future ahead of him. K'mtar says that he has failed, because the boy he was remains the same. Worf says that Alexander is the same, but Worf has changed, and now he understands that Alexander will have a noble future even if he is not a warrior. K'mtar embraces him and says, "I love you, father." Worf replies, "And I you, Alexander."
Later, young Alexander is waiting for Worf and K'mtar in the holodeck to begin bat'leth practice. Worf explains that K'mtar had to leave suddenly, but asked him to say goodbye, and that he will always respect Alexander no matter what he decides to do with his life. Worf, too, has come to respect Alexander, and suggests that they simply spend time together as father and son.
=== Log entries ===
* First officer's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
== Memorable quotes ==
"Sorry. I didn't mean to hit you!"
:- Eric Burton, after throwing a fullerene full of water at Worf
"As time passes, a boy inevitably becomes a man but what is not inevitable is that a man becomes a sword."
"What?"
"No, I meant… warrior."
:- Worf, misplacing his words while preparing Alexander for the First Rite of Ascension
"The path of a warrior begins with the first rite of ascension…"
"Is that when they hit you with pain sticks?"
"No, that is the second rite."
"Oh."
:- Worf to Alexander
"Is, um… that what this is about? You're on your way and you're calling to reserve a holosuite program?"
:- Quark, on the reason why Riker contacted him on Deep Space 9
"What are you doing on this planet?"
"I… crashed here."
"Then you are denying involvement in illegal mining activities?"
"Mining? So that's what all this equipment is here for."
:- Worf, Gorta, and Data, on Kalla III
"We know you're dealing in stolen ore, but I want to talk about the assassination attempt on Lieutenant Worf."
"What assassination attempt? This is the first I've heard of it."
"Too bad it didn't succeed!"
"Ha!"
:- Riker, speaking to B'Etor and Lursa
"Yes, Lursa and B'Etor… big talk, small tips."
:- Quark
"I love you, father."
"And I you, Alexander."
:- Future Alexander and Worf
== Background information ==
=== Production history ===
* Final draft script: 
* Premiere airdate: 
* First UK airdate: 
=== Story and script ===
* Mark Kalbfeld's original premise did not involve Alexander at all. Rather, it dealt with a Romulan ship with Federation markings from a future where the Federation and Romulan Star Empire were supposedly at peace. However, both the ship and the future version of Riker on board it would turn out to be hoaxes, part of a plot by the Romulans. ()
* Jeri Taylor recalled, "We had bought that story and he wrote it, but it just seemed a little ordinary so we started messing around with it during one of our brainstorming sessions and then we hit on the idea that Alexander comes back from the future to kill his young self. That seemed wonderful but for a long time that's all we had. We didn't know why he did this." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 303)
* The notion of using Alexander in a time travel plot had originated with an unused premise created by Joe Menosky earlier in the season. Menosky had proposed a story where Alexander accidentally fell into a time portal and permanently aged into a bitter twenty-five year-old. Michael Piller hated the idea, commenting that "I think it's a hideous thing to steal somebody's youth from them." (; Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 303) Although not used here, that plot would eventually be recycled into . ()
* The notes the finished episode's plot is similar to both and the science fiction film .
* Originally, René Echevarria wanted to include K'Ehleyr as Alexander's rescuer at the end of the story. While Suzie Plakson was interested in reprising her character, she declined due to other acting commitments. Echevarria noted, "The truth is, it was a blessing. There was enough exposition to explain at the end of the show as it is!" () Piller noted, "I know Rick breathed a sigh of relief because he did not like the idea in the first place. But for better or worse, that might have helped the episode." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 303)
* In the original script, Riker mentions that he has talked to Benjamin Sisko and that it was Sisko who suggested that Riker ask Quark for information on a possible location of the Duras sisters. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion - A Series Guide and Script Library)
=== Cast and characters ===
* Armin Shimerman makes his first appearance as Quark on a Star Trek series other than . He later appeared in the pilot , in a scene cut from , and . This episode airs between where Quark became involved in an arms deal with Sakonna, a Maquis operative, and with Quark and Sakonna's business continuing.
* Prior to this episode, James Sloyan appeared as Alidar Jarok in and in Deep Space Nine as Mora Pol in , a role he reprised in . He also played Doctor Ma'Bor Jetrel in .
* Rick Berman and Michael Piller were hesitant to cast Sloyan as K'mtar, coming as it did so soon after his first appearance as Doctor Mora Pol in . However, Jeri Taylor convinced them that the Klingon makeup would hide this fact. She recalled, "I finally went to Michael and said, 'Look – we can take a lesser actor in this part or we can cast the actor who should be cast." ()
* This episode marks the final appearances of Alexander Rozhenko (Brian Bonsall), Lursa (Barbara March), and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh) on the series. The Duras sisters were previously seen in the episode . They later appeared in . Alexander is later seen in Deep Space Nines sixth season, although he is played by Marc Worden.
* Joel Swetow had previously appeared in Deep Space Nines pilot episode as Gul Jasad.
=== Production ===
* Originally, the two actors playing in the Kot'baval Festival grunted their lines on stage. After filming, it was decided to make the Klingon opera more lyrical. Composer Dennis McCarthy provided the new melody, and both actors were good enough singers to reloop their lines to accompany it. Producer Wendy Neuss recalled, "It was one of our biggest jobs all year – figuring out what the on-camera instruments would sound like, breaking down all the syllables, figuring where the offstage line would be." ()
=== Sets and props ===
* The chair in Worf's quarters was also seen in the episodes , , , , , , , , , and and was used as the command chair aboard the Tarellian starship in the first season episode . It was designed by Peter Opsvik. 
* Worf's quarters also feature the Kahless and Morath statue, previously seen in the episodes , , , , and and the Kahless shrine from the episode .
=== Continuity ===
* Riker makes reference to the events of in which the Duras sisters tried to sell bilitrium explosives on Deep Space 9. K'mtar says that this happened months ago, but it had in fact been well over a year.
=== Reception ===
* Writer Ronald D. Moore, who is well-known for his Klingon episodes, praised Echevarria's different take on the major race. He remarked, "The stuff he did sixth season in "Birthright" and then what he did with them here is very interesting. Worf and Alexander celebrate at a Klingon outpost and they have this sort of mock opera singing, heroic fights and re-enactments of things in the streets and banners and this was a whole different cultural flavor to these guys that I hadn't thought of. My take on the Klingons was sort of more Shakespearean with the House of Mogh and that kind of stuff, and the rise and fall of political players. René brings in a much different element which I think serves them well." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 303)
* On the events of this episode, Michael Dorn opined, "We don't really know what happens now. Just that the future is uncertain. It's just like real life, but Worf is still a terrible father. He hasn't got a clue." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 303)
* Michael Piller commented, "I fell in love with the idea of 'Firstborn' in which we address the psychological implications of a man who feels a failure, who comes back to his own youth to destroy himself at a young age, in order to avoid the pain that he had caused and suffered. There is a tremendous science-fiction premise in that. And if you have been in on any of my therapy, you know that I've dealt with this on a number of different levels." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 303)
=== Apocrypha ===
* In the novel A Time for War, A Time for Peace, when Worf recommends Alexander to replace him as Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire, Worf tells Alexander that when he was young, Worf received a vision of Alexander's future and that it showed him to be an ambassador and excelling as such. Worf does not tell Alexander the source of his vision, but it is stated in the novel that Worf is clearly thinking of the visit from the future Alexander he is referring to as seen in this episode.
* The novel Watching the Clock implies that the future Alexander traveled through time through the use of a chrono deflector acquired from Korath, by identifying the prime Korath of 2382 as hailing from the Cambra system.
* In the mission "The House Always Wins" in Star Trek Online, set in 2409, Alexander sacrifices himself to save Worf's life in the Great Hall, preventing the future that K'mtar had revealed to Worf.
=== Awards ===
* This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series.
=== Video and DVD releases ===
* UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 87, .
* As part of the TNG Season 7 DVD collection.
== Links and references ==
=== Starring ===
* Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
* Jonathan Frakes as Cmdr. William T. Riker
=== Also starring ===
* LeVar Burton as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
* Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf
* Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher
* Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
* Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data
=== Guest stars ===
* James Sloyan as K'mtar
* Brian Bonsall as Alexander Rozhenko
* Gwynyth Walsh as B'Etor
* Barbara March as Lursa
* Joel Swetow as Yog
* Colin Mitchell as Gorta
;And
* Armin Shimerman as Quark
=== Co-stars ===
* Michael Danek as Singer
* John Kenton Shull as Molor
* Rickey D'Shon Collins as Eric
=== Uncredited co-stars ===
* David Keith Anderson as Armstrong
* Arratia as Alfonse Pacelli
* Steve Blalock as Klingon assassin
* Chuck Borden as Klingon assassin
* Debbie David as Russell
* Cullen Chambers as command division officer
* Tracee Lee Cocco as Jae
* Debra Dilley as command division ensign
* Gunnel Eriksson as science division officer
* Jasmine Gagnier as Human Deep Space 9 operations division officer
* Keith Gearhart as operations division ensign
* Thomas Griep as Klingon musician
* D. Kai as science division officer
* Dennis Madalone as holographic Klingon warrior
* Lorine Mendell as Diana Giddings
* Michael Moorehead as science division ensign
* Tom Morga as Klingon assassin
* Pauline Olsen as operations division ensign
* Suzie Plakson as K'Ehleyr (still picture)
* Keith Rayve as civilian
* Joycelyn Robinson as Gates
* John Saint John as Klingon bystander
* Talbot as Ten Forward waitress
* Oliver Theess as terrorist assassin
* Mikki Val as operations division officer
* Anne Verrier Scatolini as Klingon bystander
* Unknown performers as
** Command division officer
** Eight Klingon bystanderss
** Holographic Klingon warrior
** Operations division ensign (voice)
** Operations division officer
** Operations division officer
** Ten Forward waitress
=== Stunt doubles ===
* Rusty McClennon as stunt double for Michael Dorn
* Tom Morga as stunt double for John Kenton Shull
=== Stand-ins ===
* David Keith Anderson – stand-in for LeVar Burton
* Debbie David – stand-in for Brent Spiner
* Michael Echols – stand-in for Michael Dorn
* Nora Leonhardt – stand-in for Marina Sirtis
* Lorine Mendell – stand-in for Gates McFadden
* Christopher Ogden – photo double for Brian Bonsall
* Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Jonathan Frakes
* Dennis Tracy – stand-in for Patrick Stewart
=== References ===
2410; ability; advisor; Age of Ascension; Alexander's cousins; Anjoran bio-mimetic gel; assassin; assassination; ; Bar'el; bilitrium; buyer; Cambra system; code of conduct; Corvallen; d'k tahg; dabo; darsek; Deep Space 9; Dopterian; Duras sisters' Bird-of-Prey; Federation; fire; fullerene; gin'tak; gram; Great House; Hatarian system; heart; Hitora colony; holoprogram; House of Duras; House of Mogh; Ja'rod; K'Ehleyr; K'mtar Alpha-One; K'Nor; Kahless the Unforgettable; Kalla system; Kalla III; Kearsarge; Klingon; Klingon bird-of-prey; Klingon Civil War; Klingon Council Chamber; Klingon Empire; Klingon opera; Klingon training academy; Klingonese; Kot'baval Festival; kor'tova candle; Kurn; Kurn's house; lake; latinum; magnesite; Maranga IV; mining; mining expedition; Molor; money; Morath; Ogat; Pakled; path; peacemaker; Qo'noS; Quark's; Rom; standard orbit; Starfleet; Stellar Dynamics; swimming; tarnish; tempering; tip; tyrant; Ufandi III; Ufandi system; Vodrey Nebula; voucher; warrior; Ya'nora kor; Yridian; Yridian freighter
==== Library computer references ====
Starship mission status: ; Alderaan; Alpha Laputa IV; ; ; ; Beta Cygni system; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; : pulsar; ; ; Romulan Neutral Zone; sector; Sector 21396; Sector 21538; Sector 22358; Sector 22846; Sector 22853; Sector 23079; Starbase 134; Starbase 434; ; ; ; Vulcan Science Academy; warp drive; 
Spacecraft Systems Status: Bussard collector; captain's yacht; class M; gross vehicle mass; impulse engine; main shuttlebay Mars; navigational deflector; observation lounge; phaser bank; service docking port; shuttlebay 2; shuttlebay 3; torpedo launcher; umbilical connect port; Utopia Planitia; warp nacelle
=== External links ===
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