Synopsis: Ensign Mariner’s relationship to Captain Freeman is revealed and Cerritos is confronted by very powerful Pakled vessels.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of what it can happen when the conscious ego acknowledges bits of unconscious material into itself and what can happen when the bits of unconscious material are ignored.
In “No Small Parts,” Ensign Brad Boimler tells Ensign Beckett Mariner that he knows that she is Captain Carol Freeman’s daughter while her comm badge is open, so the whole crew hears it. The U.S.S. Cerritos then responds to a distress call from the U.S.S. Solvang. When the Cerritos arrives at the Solvang’s location, they see a huge Pakled ship harvesting the parts from the Solvang. The Cerritos is then also attacked by this ship. The Pakleds have now acquired the weapons of over thirty species, making them very powerful. The Cerritos is about to be carved up for parts when the U.S.S. Titan, commanded by Captain William Riker, arrives and drives the Pakleds away. Later, Freeman and Mariner talk. Mariner expresses her thoughts about the limitations of Starfleet and Freeman suggests that they work together for the common good, because as captain, she is bound by Starfleet regulations.
In this episode, when Freeman and Mariner talk and Freeman suggests that they work together, this can be compared to when the conscious ego, acknowledges and then integrates bits of unconscious material into itself, to make the ego stronger and the psyche more whole. Conversely, Starfleet in ignoring the Pakleds believing that they are no threat, gave them the opportunity to acquire weapons from thirty different species and become quite a sizeable danger to Starfleet vessels. This can be compared to when the conscious ego suppresses bits of unconscious material, causing a psychic wound, which in turn leads to a complex being formed. A complex, in the theories of Carl (C. G.) Jung, being something that can lead to self-knowledge. Here, that self-knowledge came in the form of Starfleet learning that neglect after first contact with a species can have some serious repercussions. Sometimes, as in “No Small Parts,” the lesson can be painful and costly, but if it is learned, this too can lead to psychic healing.
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