The obsession of Raffi Musiker with Admiral Janeway in Star Trek: Picard
Among the most fascinating characters in modern Star Trek is Commander Raffi Musiker, a key character Michelle Hurd brilliantly brings to life in the riveting universe of Star Trek: Picard. Many viewers, meanwhile, might have forgotten that Raffi's path veers somewhat unusual: she once pursued Admiral Kathryn Janeway, portrayed by Kate Mulgrew, in quest of answers about the catastrophic attack on Mars.
Knowing the Mars Attack and its aftermath
Renowned for her direction of the USS Voyager on its remarkable seven-year journey across the Delta Quadrant, Captain Janeway subsequently rose to the prestigious rank of Admiral in Starfleet. She stayed a major player and her legacy kept developing in Star Trek: Prodigy. But Prodigy's second season came to an unexpected end with a startling disclosure: the catastrophic attack on Mars, carried out by renegade synths, a story thread first mentioned in Star Trek: Picard season 1.
Fourteen years after the Martian catastrophe, fast forward reveals Admiral Jean-luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart) and Raffi struggling with the aftermath of this event. Since their star was about to supernovae, Starfleet had started a huge relocation effort for the Romulan people before the attack. With Lt. Commander Raffi Musiker at his side, their alliance developed in the furnace of crisis as Admiral Picard led these efforts. But the synthetic revolt destroyed their planet, claiming almost 100,000 lives and decimating 20,000 ships.
Admiral Picard resigned in protest when this terrible loss caused Starfleet to drop the Romulan relocation project. Deeply disturbed by this change of course, Raffi struggled following Picard's departure and finally decided to leave Starfleet as well.
Raffi's unflinching belief in a Starfleet conspiracy
Raffi grew convinced that the Romulan intelligence agency Tal Shiar was the mastermind behind the Mars Attack before cutting her links with Starfleet. Driven to stalk Admiral Janeway, maybe in search of someone who would pay attention to her ideas, this unwavering belief motivated her. Raffi first tried to follow official lines, but she lacked specific proof to back up her suspicions, and Starfleet turned down her requests for more resources.
Her paranoia and erratic behavior sprang from this denial. Raffi disobeyed orders, carried crimes fit for a court-martial, developed a drug abuse issue, and even broke into the Starfleet database. But her unrelenting search for Admiral Janeway turned out to be the last straw, and Starfleet ordered her into rehabilitation and therapy. She left behind a life she called "one long slide into humiliation," but after a year she decided to walk away from Starfleet.
The Reality Inside Raffi's Conspiracy Theories
Paradoxically, Raffi's apparently wild conspiracy theories were not without foundation. Actually, Commodore Oh, sometimes known as General Nedar (Tamlyn Tomita), the head of the Zhat Vash, a covert Romulan group that had crept into Starfleet, planned the attack on Mars. Driven by a single, evil goal—to eradicate all synthetic life in order to stop their extinction at the hands of artificial intelligence—this covert group had existed for millennia.
Oh, having deftly climbed the ranks of Starfleet, became the director of Starfleet Security, so giving her the authority to plan the catastrophic attack on Mars. After the attack, synthetic life was later outlawed; but, this ban was lifted when the Zhat Vash was eventually identified as the actual offenders.
Raffi's Star Trek: Picard Redemption and Rise
Raffi's path in Star Trek: Picard season 1 revealed the complex participation of the Zhat Vash in the Mars Attacks. Later, she returned to Starfleet assigned to the USS Excelsior and was ranked Commander. Her investigative ability brought her to Starfleet Intelligence in Star Trek: Picard season 3, where she shone in revealing the truth. A turning point occurred when a Starfleet recruitment center was destroyed on M'Talas Prime, once more inspiring her will to find the truth. Her unrelenting hunt of justice turned out to be successful finally.
Raffi joined the USS Enterprise-G at the conclusion of Star Trek: Picard season 3, first officer under Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). In Star Trek: Picard, her path from a haunted, paranoid officer to a trusted, respected leader epitribes the transforming power of truth and atonement.
