Homeward (episode)
Worf's foster brother violates the Prime Directive by saving a group of villagers from a doomed planet.

Summary

Teaser 
"Captain's log, Stardate 47423.9. We have arrived at Boraal II in response to an emergency distress call from Lieutenant Worf's foster brother Nikolai Rozhenko. He has been stationed on the planet as a cultural observer."

The  has arrived at the planet Boraal II. Data reports that it is experiencing atmospheric dissipation and will be rendered uninhabitable in less than 38 hours. Lieutenant Worf is especially concerned with this recent development as his foster brother, Nikolai Rozhenko, is assigned to the cultural observation post on the planet. Worf asks Captain Picard for his permission to beam down and see if his foster brother is all right. Picard, concerned that Worf's visit may conflict with the Prime Directive, agrees, but says that to try to minimize the risk of contact with the inhabitants, Worf will go alone and must be surgically altered to pass as a Boraalan. After his alteration into a Boraalan by Dr. Crusher, Worf beams down to a cave where energy is detected. Shortly after, Worf finds Rozhenko and many Boraalans inside the cave and discovers that Rozhenko has broken the Prime Directive by shielding the cave, to help the Boraalans survive.

Act One 
When Worf enters the cavern protecting the Boraalans, he is questioned by a male Boraalan named Vorin, who assumes that the storm on the surface has stopped, since Worf was able to make it to the caves alive. Worf refuses to answer the question and only wants to speak to his brother. Once they are alone, Worf asks Rozhenko why he did this. Rozhenko says that he was unable to stay at his observation post and watch the Boraalans slowly die. Worf says that the captain will most definitely want to speak with him. Back on board the Enterprise, Rozhenko explains his actions to the senior staff, including Captain Picard. Rozhenko says that he wants to save the village by creating an atmospheric bubble over a small section of the planet, which will protect the Boraalans. Picard refuses to compound the damage that Rozhenko has inflicted upon the Prime Directive and the Boraalan culture. Rozhenko is at once disappointed about Picard's decision and asks to transmit his logs back to the ship, stating that the only way he will now be able to save the Boraalan culture is by preserving it in a museum. Picard denies his request to return to the surface but will allow him full access to the ship's computer, where he can set up a com-link and upload his logs to the Enterprise from the post. After Picard dismisses everyone, Worf tries to heal his brother's pain by offering to help him to transmit the logs to the ship, but Rozhenko refuses his assistance.

 
Later on the bridge, Rozhenko goes to the science station at the back on the bridge to transmit his logs to the ship's computer. There, the crew witnesses the imminent destruction of Boraal II. Picard reminds everyone on the bridge that this is one of the few times that they must face the ramifications of the Prime Directive and to honor it. Rozhenko tells the captain that he finds no honor whatsoever in what the crew is doing and leaves the bridge before Boraal is destroyed. Then, a plasmonic burst hits the ship and causes a power drain. Worf finds out that the drain is coming from Deck 10. Riker asks Worf to go down to the deck with a security team. Worf makes his way down to Deck 10, and then to Holodeck 5. Worf attempts to enter the holodeck, but the controls have been overridden. Suddenly, the doors slide open anyway, and Worf then hears Rozhenko's voice, drawing Worf towards the mouth of a cave. Rozhenko stands at the mouth with a PADD in his hand and reveals that one group of Boraalans did not die but were beamed aboard the Enterprise just before the destruction of their homeworld. Worf is shocked at his brother's actions, another blatant disregard of the Prime Directive.

Act Two 
Later, in a corridor, Rozhenko explains that he was able to make the plasmonic bursts look like they had overloaded the ship's sensors so he could beam up the Boraalans without anyone on the ship noticing. The plan worked perfectly. Worf is dismayed at his brother's increasingly delinquent behavior and says during a conversation in a turbolift as they head for the bridge that he wants nothing to do with him after his actions. Rozhenko is brought to Picard's ready room where he is berated by the captain for his actions, and is told that as well as destroying his career, the Enterprise now has a group of unaware Boraalans on board while the crew has no idea what to do with them. Rozhenko reveals that he did not beam up the Boraalans without a plan; he plans to find a new Class M planet for the Boraalans and to gradually change the terrain on the holodeck so it will appear that the Boraalans are traveling through the caves towards their new home. Although he is still very unhappy about the whole situation, Picard is forced to conclude that there are no alternatives, so they'll give the plan a try.

Picard, Geordi La Forge, Dr. Crusher, and Data meet in  to find a new home for the Boraalans. However, La Forge finds out that the holodeck is malfunctioning, its image processor has been severely destabilized by the atmospheric dissipation, and that it is not a question of how the holodeck will cease to function, but when. Rozhenko prepares to go back into the holodeck to prepare the Boraalans for their journey, but Picard is unwilling to leave him alone with them after all the trouble he's caused and asks Worf to accompany his brother. Worf is initially unwilling and suggests possibly sending someone else, like Counselor Troi, but Picard is unwilling to confuse the Boraalans further by introducing another new person to them. Worf is forced to agree.

Act Three 
Rozhenko and Worf return to the holodeck simulation and announce to the Boraalans that their village was destroyed and there is nothing left. The Boraalans are dismayed to hear this, but Rozhenko says that they will be able to find a new home and that it is a great distance from their present location, and they must hurry. Worf says that it will be very different from the home they knew; even the stars in the sky at their new home may look different. Vorin asks why they would be different and how Worf knows that they will be safe at their new home. Rozhenko backs up Worf by saying that Worf is a seer and knows that they will be safe. Suddenly, a woman named Tarrana screams because she sees the holodeck grid flashing in a pool of water. Worf tries to calm down the Boraalans by saying that it is an omen, the Sign of La Forge, supposedly a good omen. Through the com, La Forge understands Worf's predicament and fixes the problem. Rozhenko announces that their journey to their new home is blessed. He later goes over to Worf and says that they make quite a team. Worf says bluntly that they are not a team.

Meanwhile, in stellar cartography, Data and Dr. Crusher are searching space for a new homeworld for the Boraalans. They come up with two solutions, Draygo IV or Vacca VI in the Vaccan system, located in the Cabral sector. The Draygo system is located only three light years away from Cardassian space and there are constant border disputes in the sector, which rules it out, so Data and Dr. Crusher choose Vacca VI despite Crusher's worries due to the planet having a less hospitable environment than the Boraalans are used to. She also struggles with the profound importance on their selection of a new homeworld for the Boraalans – how will the Vaccan system be affected in the future by their society, will the climate be suitable for them, will they flourish on their new home? Data believes that they can make no guarantees on what the future may hold, they must simply make the best choice they can at this moment. Finally settling on Vacca VI, the Enterprise will reach the planet in 42 hours. In the holodeck, Worf notices that Rozhenko has become very close with a Boraalan named Dobara. As he is noticing them, Vorin is drawing a chronicle, which documents the history of his village, including Worf and Rozhenko leading them to safety. Worf then announces that they must leave now. Vorin then realizes that he is missing one of his chronicles. Worf asks him to leave it behind, but Vorin says that without their past, the village's future means nothing. Worf allows him to go. An elder Boraalan asks Worf to help him with his gear and asks him that if he does not make it to the Boraalans' new home, he wants Worf to become his daughter's husband. Worf assures the elder that they will make it.

Vorin finds his scroll, but just as he is about to leave, he sees the holodeck arch half embedded in a cavern of rocks. He puts his hand into it, which dissolves the holo-image surrounding the door. The door opens at Vorin's approach, and he steps out into the Enterprises corridors, shocked by what he sees.

Act Four 
Vorin, afraid and confused, makes his way to Ten Forward, where a group on onlookers begin to crowd around him. Fortunately, Deanna Troi and Commander Riker are in the lounge, and they quickly realize what has occurred. Riker asks everyone else to back away from Vorin. Troi explains that they are both friends of Rozhenko and Worf and that she will not hurt him. Vorin asks where he is and he is subsequently brought to sickbay, where Dr. Crusher announces to Captain Picard that his neuro-physiology is too complicated, so she cannot perform a memory wipe. Picard is now forced to explain that Vorin and the rest of his village has spent the last two days on the Enterprise and not on their homeworld.

In the holodeck, Worf finds out that Vorin was able to exit the holodeck and informs Rozhenko that Vorin will have to make a choice: if he wants to stay on the Enterprise, or to return to the holodeck and forever keep his knowledge a secret. Worf then accuses Nikolai of having never changed from the disobedient man he was when he was younger, always causing chaos wherever he went, refusing to take any responsibility for his actions and causing their parents Sergey and Helena to always worry about what kind of trouble he would be getting in next. Rozhenko argues that Worf was the perfect son and that he has become too involved in Starfleet protocols to think of others, but Worf counters that at least he didn't make their mother cry all the time. Soon after, Worf realizes that the holodeck malfunctions are increasing and talks to La Forge through his combadge. Later, Dobara approaches Worf while he is alone to tell him that Rozhenko is deeply distraught from their arguments. Dobara then informs Worf that she wishes to consider Worf a part of her family, as Dobara is carrying Rozhenko's child.

Act Five 

The Enterprise arrives at Vacca VI, but it will be a few hours before the transporter will be able to beam down the Boraalans, and Picard has one more problem to take care of: Vorin. Picard goes to Vorin's quarters and asks him what he wants to do. Vorin announces that he wants to go back to his people, but he does not know what to tell them. Picard asks what would happen if Vorin if he intends to tell the truth, and reminds him that his fellow villagers might think that he was hallucinating or that he is insane, which Vorin cannot live with; but if they believed him, it would completely destroy his people's beliefs. Vorin knows that he cannot tell the truth, but he also cannot live with the secret. Picard offers Vorin to stay on the Enterprise but Vorin tells Picard that he will need more time to make his decision.

Worf and Rozhenko get into yet another argument, this time about Rozhenko's upcoming fatherhood. They are about to come to blows when the holodeck begins to malfunction and is about to fail. Worf contacts Commander La Forge and asks him to generate lightning storms and thunder, so that it looks like a massive storm. After all of the Boraalans have been herded into their tents by Rozhenko, Worf tells La Forge to beam down the Boraalans to Vacca VI. A few seconds later, the Boraalans, including Worf and Rozhenko, beam down in an identical spot on Vacca VI, where the "storms" have suddenly stopped. "As I said he would, my brother Worf has saved us all," Rozhenko proudly tells the villagers.

"Captain's log, Stardate 47427.2. The Boraalans have safely reached the site of what will eventually become their new village. None of them suspect they ever left their home planet. However, our success has come at a high price."

Picard notes that the mission was a success, but their success has come at a high price; Vorin, utterly unable to make a choice, committed an apparently ritualistic suicide in his quarters. Picard states to Dr. Crusher that he wishes Vorin could have bridged the gap between their two cultures and that he could have gotten to know the Boraalan man better.

Worf returns to Vacca VI to say goodbye to his brother. Rozhenko announces that he will replace Vorin as the new village chronicle and he will stay with the Boraalans. Worf smiles and jokes that Rozhenko was never an artist, after which the brothers embrace. Worf asks if he may take Vorin's chronicle away with him to which Rozhenko assents. Rozhenko does not think that their parents would not understand his actions, but Worf promises he will explain to them that Rozhenko is happy. The Enterprise then warps away from the Boraalans' new homeworld.

Memorable quotes 
"Are the two of you close?"
"We are brothers."
 - Crusher and Worf, discussing Nikolai Rozhenko

"…They deserve the chance to survive. And isn't that what the Prime Directive was truly intended to do? To allow cultures to survive and grow naturally?"
"Not exactly. The Prime Directive was designed to ensure non-interference."
"But aren't we interfering either way? If we take no action, it's a conscious decision to let the Boraalans die."
"Exactly. We have the power to save some of them. All we have to do is exercise it."
 - Nikolai Rozhenko, Deanna Troi, and Beverly Crusher during the staff meeting

"This is one of those times when we must face the ramifications of the Prime Directive and honor those lives which we cannot save."
"I find no honor in this whatsoever, Captain."
 - Jean-Luc Picard and Nikolai Rozhenko

"I wasn't going to let those people die just because your captain started quoting Federation dogma."
 - Nikolai Rozhenko

"Duty? That's all that really matters to you, isn't it? I refuse to be bound by an abstraction."
 - Nikolai Rozhenko

"How can we grow when everything that made us who we are is gone?"
 - Vorin, discovering his homeworld has been destroyed

"This is my brother, Worf! He's come to help us."
 - Nikolai Rozhenko, to the Boraalans

"I can't tell them the truth… but I don't think I can live with a secret."
 - Vorin, explaining his dilemma to Picard

"Worf, very good work. Apparently, we don't make such a bad team after all."
"We are not a "team"!"
 - Nikolai Rozhenko and Worf

"How could you have mated with a Boraalan? What were you thinking?!"
 - Worf, discovering Nikolai is the father to Dobara's child

"It is the sign of La Forge."
 - Worf, in the role of a Boraalan seer, explaining a holodeck malfunction as an omen

"If I had been more like you… We wouldn't have had so many problems."
"No. If you had been more like me, these people would not be here now. You gave them a chance at a new life."
 - Nikolai Rozhenko and Worf"The storms will not return."
"As I said he would, my brother Worf has saved us all."
 - Worf and Nikolai Rozhenko, after the Boraalans have been beamed down to Vacca VI

"The village will need a new chronicler. Someone has to begin it. My child will need a father. My place is here, I'm finally taking responsibility."
 - Nikolai Rozhenko

"I will have to explain this to Mother and Father."
"They won't understand."
"They may. I will tell them that you are happy."
 - Worf and Nikolai Rozhenko, saying farewell

 Background information 
 Production history 
 First draft script: 
 Final draft script: 27 October 1993 
 Filmed: 28 October 1993 – 
 Premiere airdate: 
 First UK airdate: 

 Story and production 

 "Homeward" was filmed between Thursday  and Monday  on Paramount Stage 8, 9, and 16 and on location at Griffith Park's Bronson Canyon.
 During the location shooting in Griffith Park's Bronson Canyon in which the location stood in as surface of Boraal II the crew had to break the filming on  because of the heavy wildfires in that area. According to line producer Merri D. Howard, director Alexander Singer was thankful that the area they'd chosen did not burn down and that it was not necessary to search for a similar location. ()
 Spike Steingasser's story is based on material by William N. Stape.
 This is the last episode of the series to be directed by Alexander Singer.
 First UK airdate: 3 April 1996

 Continuity 

 This is the first time on the series that Michael Dorn (Worf) appears without Klingon make-up. However, it is not until DS9's  that he wears no prosthetics at all, in his role as Willie Hawkins (an episode which also featured Penny Johnson).
 The footage of the planet Vacca VI is a reused image of Qo'noS from .
 The idea of using a holodeck to transplant an alien race without their knowledge would later be used in , when the Son'a work with the Federation to remove the Ba'ku from their homeworld, although in this case the relocation is motivated by the Son'a desire to render the planet uninhabitable and control its youth-restoring properties rather than being motivated by necessity to save the people. During early development of the film, Michael Piller and Rick Berman referred to this plot point as a "Sorvino Switch" after "Homeward" guest star Paul Sorvino. (Fade In: From Idea to Final Draft)
 The stardate for this episode would have it taking place before the previous episode , that episode taking place on Stardate 47457.1.

 Reception 
 Keith R.A. DeCandido, a reviewer for Tor.com, gave this episode a rating of "Warp Factor 1" which is considered a poor rating. He explained his low rating: "I lost considerable respect for Jean-Luc Picard as a character in this episode, as he spews tons of self-righteous twaddle in defense of making sure people die the way they were “supposed” to. The Picard of this episode is compassionless, heartless, and despicable. The point of the Prime Directive is to avoid imperialism, basically—to keep from contaminating two cultures (the ones being interfered with and the ones interfering). But the equivalency between that level of protection (and self-protection) and letting an entire culture die for no good reason that this episode postulates is appalling. There is something seriously wrong with your Star Trek episode when your theoretical heroes are trying to kill people (well, okay, let them die, but it amounts to the same thing) and your antagonist whom the script desperately wants to paint as the bad guy is the person who’s actually saving lives." 
 Zack Handlen, a reviewer for the A.V. Club, had a much more positive outlook on the episode: "Maybe that’s also why Picard and the others spend so much time talking about the Prime Directive, and reminding each other of the importance of noninterference at the drop of a hat. They’re faced with situations which test their resolve on a regular basis, and these are really tough tests. We’re talking living, breathing sentient beings, and playing God, and not being able to see the consequences of your actions in the long term. That’s the really scary part right there, and the reason why staying aloof, even when it seems impossible, makes the most sense in the long run." Cast and characters 

 Penny Johnson later went on to play the regular role of Kasidy Yates in .
 Brian Markinson also appears in DS9 as Elias Giger in  and on  as both Pete Durst and Sulan in .
 Several of the Boraalan background performers appeared previously or in later Star Trek episodes, including Pam Blackwell, Uriah Carr, Gunnel Eriksson, , Ted Parker, and Toni Taylor.

 Apocrypha 
 In the non-canon Star Trek: The Next Generation - Starfleet Academy'' novels written by Peter David, Worf's foster brother was named Simon.

Video and DVD releases 
 UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 83, 
 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 
 Penny Johnson as Dobara
 Brian Markinson as Vorin
 Edward Penn as Kateras

Special appearance by 
 Paul Sorvino as Nikolai Rozhenko

Co-stars 
 Susan Christy as Tarrana
 Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited co-stars 
 Pam Blackwell as Boraalan
  as Boraalan
 Michael Braveheart as Martinez
 Debbie David as Russell
 Uriah Carr as Boraalan
 David Paul Christian as Ten Forward waiter
 Tracee Lee Cocco as Jae
 Keno Deary as Boraalan
 Elliot Durant III as operations division ensign
 Gunnel Eriksson as Boraalan
 Keith Gearhart as operations division ensign
 Bill Hagy as operations division officer
 Fumiko Hamada as command division officer
 Kerry Hoyt as operations division ensign
 Gary Hunter as science division officer
 Mary Marshall as Boraalan
 Lorine Mendell as Diana Giddings
 George Michael as Boraalan
 Michael Moorehead as science division ensign
 Ted Parker as
 Boraalan
 Command division officer
 S. Reed as
 Boraalan
 Burton
 Joycelyn Robinson as Gates
 Noriko Suzuki as operations division ensign
 Toni Taylor as Boraalan
 Oliver Theess as command division officer
 Nick Trisko as Boraalan
 Unknown performers as
 Female command division officer
 Female security officer
 Five civilians in Ten Forward
 Gates (voice)
 Science division officer

Stand-ins 
 David Keith Anderson – stand-in for LeVar Burton
 Debbie David – stand-in for Brent Spiner
 Claudette – stand-in for Penny Johnson
 Michael Echols – stand-in for Michael Dorn
 Nora Leonhardt – stand-in for Marina Sirtis and Susan Christy
 Lorine Mendell – stand-in for Gates McFadden
 Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Jonathan Frakes and Paul Sorvino
 Dennis Tracy – stand-in for Patrick Stewart

References 
47; 19th century; 22nd century; 2366; ability; abstraction; acceleration; accusation; atmosphere; atmospheric dissipation; Boraalan; Boraal II; Boraal II sector; Boraal II/Vacca VI transformation; Cabral sector; campsite; Cardassian sector; career; cave; chef; chronicle; chronicle (title); class M; cultural observer; day; Dobara's unborn child; dogma; drawing; Draygo IV; Draygo IV moons; EPS distribution net; EPS system; EPS transfer link; Federation; Federation space; foster brother; Galaxy class decks; Gault; Gault colony; generation; holodeck; hologrid; holo-programs; hour; illusion; interspecies reproduction; ion storm; leader; log recorder; madman; materialization error; memory wipe; mesosphere; minute; neurophysiology; number one; place; plasmonic energy burst; Prime Directive; radiation storm; resolution failure; ritual suicide; ; ; seer; Sign of La Forge; Starfleet Academy; stratosphere; Starbase 87; surgically altered (surgical alteration); synchronous orbit; traveler; troposphere; Vacca VI; Vacca VI moon; Vaccan system; village; weep

Other references 
 Class M Planet Search – 1126: carnivore; desert; forest; fresh water; habitable sector; humidity; land mass; mountain; oxygen; polar region; rotation; salt water; square kilometer; tidal flow; TLM; TWM; volcanic activity; water mass
 Holodeck Systems 265 26.28: character function; distribution matrix; ; EPS subsystem; imagery subsystem; imaging processor; matter conversion; processor simulation; stabilization
 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
 
 
 
 

de:Die oberste Direktive
es:Homeward
fr:Homeward (épisode)
ja:滅びゆく惑星（エピソード）
nl:Homeward
TNG episodes