Alliances

*** (3 stars out of 5)

Can't we all just... get along? Well, OF COURSE NOT!

Will anyone around here in the Delta Quadrant be Voyager's bosom companion? Or at the very least stop trying to explode them all the time?

Despite the futility of it all, Janeway tries and fails to find common ground with rapacious Seska and her killer boyfriend Cullah, while Neelix looks for friends by perusing a gentlemen's club on planet Sobras. 'Nope, no alliance on THIS greasy stripper pole. Best check the next one...'

Oh, did I mention Seska has an inside man? Maquis Engineer Michael Jonas keeps drunk-dialing his Cardie lady friend and for very poorly explained reasons is secretly helping her hunt the ship that is keeping him alive.

Who should Neelix return with but Mabus, Governor of the Trabe! The plan is to get the Kazon and Trabe to be chums. Now, in case it somehow eluded you as it apparently eluded Janeway and NEELIX (who's lived with these jackholes all his life) it cannot be overstated that THE TRABE ENSLAVED THE KAZON. This ended in violent overthrow less than 30 years earlier.

For some reason, a six minute chat fails to mend any fences.

In point of fact, the chat ends with absolutely no "Alliances" and most of the Kazon leadership dead in a blaze of Trabe lasers.

Unfortunately they missed Cullah. (I never do.)

Then Janeway jumps up on her high horse and pouts off into the sunset. Don't get me wrong, I like Janeway. This particular speech just seemed WAY too preachy.