While Chakotay is alone on a shuttlecraft to perform a private indigenous ceremony celebrating the birthday of his father, he is attacked by a young Kaizon (Aron Eisenberg; ‘Nog’ on Deep Space Nine) who is trying to earn his warrior name by killing an enemy. Chakotay destroys his ship and saves the lad by beaming him aboard. Then, captured by the Kaizons, Chakotay learns that the boy has been disgraced throughout life and death and will now be sacrificed – by Chakotay – for his failure. Chakotay escapes and the boy comes with him. Over the course of the next few hours, they get to know each other, and, when rescue is imminent, Chakotay, realizing that the boy will not come with him, tells the young Kaizon to kill him so that he can earn his name and re-enter Kaizon society – and Chakotay assures him that even if he is brain-dead he can be revived within two minutes of death in sick bay. However, the boy turns his phaser on the Kaizon who would have killed him, and offers himself to the next in command. The final scene is very touching, as Chakotay resumes his ceremony, this time in his quarters, and asks his father to continue to protect him.
Of course, there are a couple of nits. One is that someone is going to have to explain to me why killing a fellow Kaizon would get the boy accepted back into society. The other is this practice the Kaizon have of only allowing a warrior one chance to prove themselves, and if they fail, even allowing the enemy to kill the failed warrior. Sure lose a lot of potential warriors that way.
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