In the Star Trek pilot episode The Cage, the Enterprise crew have suffered tragedy. Captain Christopher Pike blames himself, believing he somehow should have prevented an attack which resulted in injuries and deaths, and cost his previous yeoman her life. He arrives at Talos 4 with an eager new yeoman from whom he constantly attempts to distance himself.
After the Talosians capture Pike, his crew strive to free him. The ship’s sensors detect readings suggestive of an underground generator. But when the landing party assembles in the transporter room, only Number One and Pike’s new yeoman dematerialize. The women arrive neither near the generator they had believed they had located, nor do they materialize in the aliens’ underground community. Instead, they find themselves trapped in Pike’s cell, along with Vena, the sole survivor of a scientific survey team who crashed on Talos 4 eighteen years ago.
Pike, angered by their capture, vows to fill his mind with such murderous hatred as to forever sour the Talosians’ hopes of his submitting to their control of his mind. When Vena counsels him against this course, Pike’s new yeoman grabs her arm and commands her to leave Pike alone. The yeoman doesn’t know what the aliens have planned for Pike, but she knows what Pike has suffered and is intent upon protecting him against this woman who aided the Talosians in his capture. She quickly assesses the situation, both from Vena’s references to offspring and the Talosian leader’s declaration that Pike may choose either herself or Number One instead of Vena. By the time the alien mentions the factors in her favor (namely youth and unusually strong female drives), she understands that the Talosians intend to mate Pike with someone in order to breed a human community, and dares to hope that someone might be her.
The new yeoman is young, and her lowly rank suggests this is her first tour aboard a starship. To have such unimpeded access to her captain must have come as a surprise; to suddenly be responsible for meeting his personal needs must have intimidated her. But to see him so depressed, so plagued with self-blame, must have aroused the maternal aspects of her “strong, female drives,” making her figuratively (if not literally) wish to hug him tight, assure him that everything would be all right, and protect him from all pain and disappointment. It is easy to see how she could have deluded herself into believing that Pike needed her, and that this new role might even evolve into a deeper, more meaningful relationship. What she fails to understand, due to her inexperience both in Starfleet and as a human being, is that deep depression and forging long-term relationships do not go together. Just as Pike must battle the Talosians for control of his mind, so must he take the time, on his own, to resolve the issues and feelings that bind him.
Ironically, in her desire to protect and care for him, she reveals how little she understands him, and thus demonstrates her inability to meet his current needs. In time she will no doubt learn the delicate balancing act of caring for others while still allowing them to retain their independence. Perhaps, by this time, she will be as experienced and capable as Number One, the woman whom Pike trusts and esteems so highly. She will certainly find someone to love and who will return that love. But right now, she is incapable of understanding her incapability of meeting Pike’s needs. She may be smart and a quick-learner, but she nonetheless lacks the necessary wisdom that only experience and maturity can instill in her.
After the Talosians capture Pike, his crew strive to free him. The ship’s sensors detect readings suggestive of an underground generator. But when the landing party assembles in the transporter room, only Number One and Pike’s new yeoman dematerialize. The women arrive neither near the generator they had believed they had located, nor do they materialize in the aliens’ underground community. Instead, they find themselves trapped in Pike’s cell, along with Vena, the sole survivor of a scientific survey team who crashed on Talos 4 eighteen years ago.
Pike, angered by their capture, vows to fill his mind with such murderous hatred as to forever sour the Talosians’ hopes of his submitting to their control of his mind. When Vena counsels him against this course, Pike’s new yeoman grabs her arm and commands her to leave Pike alone. The yeoman doesn’t know what the aliens have planned for Pike, but she knows what Pike has suffered and is intent upon protecting him against this woman who aided the Talosians in his capture. She quickly assesses the situation, both from Vena’s references to offspring and the Talosian leader’s declaration that Pike may choose either herself or Number One instead of Vena. By the time the alien mentions the factors in her favor (namely youth and unusually strong female drives), she understands that the Talosians intend to mate Pike with someone in order to breed a human community, and dares to hope that someone might be her.
The new yeoman is young, and her lowly rank suggests this is her first tour aboard a starship. To have such unimpeded access to her captain must have come as a surprise; to suddenly be responsible for meeting his personal needs must have intimidated her. But to see him so depressed, so plagued with self-blame, must have aroused the maternal aspects of her “strong, female drives,” making her figuratively (if not literally) wish to hug him tight, assure him that everything would be all right, and protect him from all pain and disappointment. It is easy to see how she could have deluded herself into believing that Pike needed her, and that this new role might even evolve into a deeper, more meaningful relationship. What she fails to understand, due to her inexperience both in Starfleet and as a human being, is that deep depression and forging long-term relationships do not go together. Just as Pike must battle the Talosians for control of his mind, so must he take the time, on his own, to resolve the issues and feelings that bind him.
Ironically, in her desire to protect and care for him, she reveals how little she understands him, and thus demonstrates her inability to meet his current needs. In time she will no doubt learn the delicate balancing act of caring for others while still allowing them to retain their independence. Perhaps, by this time, she will be as experienced and capable as Number One, the woman whom Pike trusts and esteems so highly. She will certainly find someone to love and who will return that love. But right now, she is incapable of understanding her incapability of meeting Pike’s needs. She may be smart and a quick-learner, but she nonetheless lacks the necessary wisdom that only experience and maturity can instill in her.
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