Synopsis
First Encounter
On Stardate 45047.2, the Enterprise is traveling to the unpopulated system called El-Adrel, which Picard notes is near the territory of the Children of Tama. Some Tamarians have been in this system before the Federation got there, and have been sending a mathematical series of numbers toward Federation space since. Picard judges that this must be an attempt to communicate with the Federation.
However, even though there have been many attempts to connect with the Tamarians over the years, none have been successful. The notes don't go much beyond describing their language as "incomprehensible," leaving the crew to puzzle out exactly why. As usual, Worf assumes that the species may be threatening, while Counselor Troi believes their motives are more peace-oriented. Picard then says, "Are they truly incomprehensible? In my experience, communication is a matter of patience, imagination. I would like to believe that these are qualities that we have in sufficient measure."
Soon they rendezvous with the Tamarian ship...and are stunned. The apparent captain of the ship greets them with the phrase "Rai and Jiri at Lungha;" he looks friendly enough, but the words mean nothing to the Enterprise crew. Befuddled, Picard tries to communicate in regular English, but the Tamarians don't seem to understand him, either. One of the Tamarian crew, possibly the first officer, laughs and says "Kadir beneath Mo Moteh," but the Tamarian captain cuts him off with a swift "The River Temarc! In winter."
Clearly the Tamarians' references mean something, but the Bridge crew is at a loss, even as they attempt further communication; Riker and Picard confer, but still cannot make sense of anything. After a few moments, the Tamarian captain rises, saying "Shaka, when the walls fell," in a tone of mixed hopelessness and disgust. Then, inspiration apparently strikes--he exclaims, "Darmok at Tanagra!"
None of the Enterprise Bridge crew know how to react, but the Tamarian first officer visibly objects to this idea. He argues with his captain in their language, offering several other apparent suggestions ("Zima at Anzo", "Zima and Bakar", "Mirab, his sails unfurled"). The Tamarian captain, however, will not be moved from his original idea, and he silences his first officer with another "The River Temarc!." He removes a dagger from one of his officers' uniforms, faces the viewscreen, and holds up his own dagger and the officer's dagger, saying in formal tones, "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra." Then Picard vanishes--teleported by the Tamarian ship down onto the nearby planet of El-Adrel.
Immediately the Bridge crew reacts, but it's too late; Picard is already on the surface, as is the Tamarian captain, and the Tamarian ship is producing a particle scattering field to prevent transporting Picard back up. On the planet's surface, Picard and the Tamarian captain meet in an open field of grass and shrubs...and the Tamarian is holding two daggers up.
Attempting Communication
On the Enterprise, Riker is desperately trying to figure out what's happening and what will be the best way forward. Worf offers that perhaps there's a "contest of champions" happening on the surface, and though Riker does not openly agree, he worries aloud that because the Tamarian captain armed himself before beaming down, Picard is now in serious danger.
Meanwhile, on the planet, the Tamarian captain walks toward Picard, extending one of his two daggers toward Picard as if to give it to him. Picard thinks as Worf does, that he's being challenged to a fight--he didn't want to start a war, but apparently neither does the Tamarian. Instead, the Tamarian tries to explain again--"Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra," with an expression of patience, but Picard just isn't getting it. Finally the Tamarian captain tosses the dagger toward Picard, though not aggressively, as if trying to get him to pick it up. Picard, utterly uncertain of everything at this point, does pick it up, but tosses it back toward the other captain, not wanting to start a fight. The Tamarian gives up at this point, saying "Shaka, when the walls fell," as he picks the dagger back up and walks away.
On the Enterprise, Data is keeping track of both captains' general health and location on the planet's surface. Riker hails the Tamarian ship again, but can't get much out of the Tamarian first officer besides "Darmok at Tanagra," "Kiteo, his eyes closed," and "Chenza at court, the court of silence." They close the channel with nothing gained. Thus, Riker orders Worf to take a security team down to the planet by shuttle. Data warns him that the Tamarians can stop a shuttle, but Riker answers, shrewdly, that the Tamarians are not likely to fire on a shuttle unless they truly want to start a war between themselves and the Federation.
First Glimmers of Understanding
Down on the planet, night has fallen, and so have the temperatures; Picard is trying to start a fire some distance away from the Tamarian captain, because he is still unsure of the other captain's motives. The Tamarian has a good campfire going, since the fire is close to a cliff face, but Picard can't get one started because of strong wind. The Tamarian captain points this out, laughing--"Shaka, when the walls fell..." Picard agrees, and wonders aloud if the Tamarian will attack him in his sleep, or if he'll freeze to death first.
After a moment, the Tamarian gets up and says "Darmok of Kenza. Jalad at the Kiteo?" His posture and tone is patient, as if trying to explain as simply as possible. Picard wants so badly to understand, but can come up with nothing; instead, in exasperation with himself and the situation, he answers with "Picard of the Federation, of the starship Enterprise, of the planet Earth." Now it is the Tamarian captain's turn not to understand, and after a few more rounds of this, he mutters "Kadir beneath Mo Moteh" and turns back to his campsite. Picard sits near his ill-fated fire again, hugging his arms close to himself...until he notices the Tamarian captain tossing a set of small metallic objects down to his feet a few times, as if casting runes. After three repetitions, the Tamarian moves around the four points of his small campsite, laying one of the small objects at each point as if to consecrate the campsite or secure it. Then he makes a strange salute, touching the metal of his dagger and then touching his forehead. Once that is done, he lies down and attempts to sleep (with the dagger tucked under his arm).
Unfortunately, Picard still can't get his own fire started, and the Tamarian lies in his own campsite for a little bit, listening to Picard struggle. Finally the other captain gets up, lights a large stick from his own fire, and tosses it Picard's way, saying "Temba" and "Temba, his arms wide." Picard tries to puzzle out what that means--does it mean the Tamarian is giving him something, or expecting something in return? The Tamarian answers with the same line, patiently, and seems to have no malice. Picard takes the fire-bearing stick gratefully, and thanks the other captain--and though the Tamarian doesn't apparently understand the words "thank you," he smiles, as if to say "I think we're finally getting somewhere."
During a Standoff, Progress
As this is happening on the surface, Riker sends the shuttle out, with Lieutenant Worf and a security team onboard. The Tamarian ship makes no move to stop them until they get close to the D region of the ionosphere (the area with the scattering field). Then, the Tamarian ship fires a beam of green plasma energy at the shuttle...but instead of destroying the ship, it only targets the starboard nacelle and thrusters. Riker realizes that this has been done deliberately, as if the Tamarians are just trying to stop them interfering. He recalls the shuttle, and remarks that the Tamarians made a "nice shot."
In a senior crew meeting, LaForge mentions that he is working on a way to get the transporter beam through the particle scattering field, but it'll take a full day to do it. Troi worries Picard could be dead by then; Worf is assured, however, that Picard has a good "warrior's ability," and further advises Riker to fire on the Tamarians to shut off their scattering field. Riker, however, doesn't want to do anything that would incite a war. Instead, he instructs Data and Troi to start studying the Tamarian language.
Down on the planet, it's day again, and Picard has awoken, stirring the cooling embers of his fire. The Tamarian captain is no longer at his own campsite, so Picard enters the campsite to try to learn anything about the man or his culture. He finds the Tamarian's fire pit still smoldering, and the bits of metal still arranged around the campsite; he investigates, not sure what he's holding. He also finds a flat metal-covered object of some sort--he opens it, and it looks like a journal, possibly a good source of information for the language.
Back on the ship, Data and Troi are going through the logs of their communications with the Tamarians; they first try to puzzle out what "Darmok" means. Troi understands the recorded conversation between the Tamarian captain and first officer to be a disagreement over a serious issue. Considering this, she then has the computer search for the word "Darmok" in local linguistic databases. Data reads off the results: there are 47 instances of "darmok" as a word in this sector alone, including a frozen dessert, a colony name, a 7th dynasty emperor, and a mytho-historical hunter, all on different planets and places. Troi laments, "All of our experience with other cultures, and we can't even say hello to the Tamarians." It's hard to know which of the instances could be correct.
Then Data looks up the word "Tanagra," coming up with another innumerable list of entries...but one comes from the planet Shantil III, the same one mentioned by one of the "Darmok" entries. Troi has the computer cross-reference the two searches, and realizes that Shantil III is quite possibly the jumping-off point, as it contains both a mytho-historical hunter named Darmok and an island called Tanagra!
Fighting Together, Torn Apart
On the planet, Picard is looking through the Tamarian's metal-covered journal, but it's full of indecipherable diagrams rather than words. Just then, the Tamarian comes running up to the campsite, calling "Darmok!" in a distressed tone. He tries to get Picard to take the second dagger again, but Picard refuses it, thinking the captain is challenging him to fight. Then there's a loud roar, like some kind of large animal is nearby on the mountain. Now it's become a little clearer: the Tamarian captain needs Picard to help fight whatever it is. The other captain repeats "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra," as if he's saying "Well, we have to work together and I don't even know if you'll have my back." Then he offers Picard the dagger one last time as the roaring gets closer, and this time Picard takes it gratefully, watching the mountainside.
On board the Enterprise, Worf picks up an electromagnetic presence moving toward Picard, and analyzes it as a lifeform. Riker wants to use the transporter to get Picard out of there, but LaForge is still working on making it strong enough to pierce through the scattering field. After a few moments, Riker decides to chance using the teleporter anyway.
On the planet, the monstrous life form finally appears and approaches; Picard backs up, and the Tamarian looks at him incredulously, saying "Mirab, his sails unfurled?", like "Are you really running from this?" Picard keeps backing up, and the Tamarian captain says scornfully, "Shaka, when the walls fell!" Then the creature vanishes, so the two of them can't catch it. The Tamarian captain repeats, with exasperation: "Shaka, when the walls fell."
Despite their failure at fighting the creature, Picard realizes he may be able to understand what the Tamarian is saying. In response to his speech, the Tamarian asks "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra?" as if he's asking "Do you get it? Do you get that we have to work together?"
While the crew of the Enterprise works to teleport Picard off the ship, Picard and the Tamarian advance slowly through the landscape. The life form appears again, and the Tamarian captain shoves Picard a little further from him, saying "Uzani, his army at Lashmir!" Picard starts to work it out: "was it like this at Lashmir? A similar situation to the one we're facing here?"
The other captain answers him patiently, using gestures as if explaining to a child: "Uzani, his army with fist--open. Uzani, his army with fists--closed." Then and only then, Picard gets it, and he says, "This is how you communicate, by citing example--by metaphor!" So Picard suggests "Uzani, his army with fists...open!" In exultation, the Tamarian shouts "Sokath, his eyes uncovered!", which needs no translation!
At that moment, the life form appears again; Picard strikes it once with his dagger, but the blade glances off. The creature rushes the Tamarian captain, and Picard tries to strike at its back, but it turns and slashes at him, throwing him backwards. Then the creature pins the Tamarian down and begins to strike him over and over. Picard tries to defend the Tamarian...but just then the Enterprise transporter goes into effect, freezing him in place, unable to help while the Tamarian captain suffers blow after blow.
Despite all the Engineering crew's work, the transporter cannot pull Picard back to the ship; Riker hails the Tamarian ship again in desperation, but all the Tamarian first officer will say is "Kailash, when it rises." Finally the transporter beam lets Picard go, and he goes to help the Tamarian captain, who is badly wounded and weak. "Shaka, when the walls fell" is a very fitting statement indeed.
The Last Conversation
On the Enterprise, Riker is holding another senior crew meeting to determine what to do next. He is impatient; Picard is fine for the moment, but they can also tell that the Tamarian is injured, and the Enterprise cannot attack the Tamarian ship's field generator without starting a battle. He worries that Picard may soon be facing the entity alone, and decides that they will try to use the Enterprise's phasers to target the Tamarian ship's amplifiers instead.
Next, Data and Troi report on their language findings, and quickly outline how abstract language can be, using the example of narrative imagery; Dr. Crusher makes the connection when Troi uses the example "Juliet on her balcony," answering "an image of romance." But, Troi explains, if one doesn't know the character of Juliet or the plot of Romeo and Juliet, the image is useless--it needs its context, as does "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra." All they know is that Darmok was a hunter and Tanagra was an island.
On the planet, night has fallen again, and Picard has brought the Tamarian captain back to the campsite, trying to stabilize him. The other captain repeats, weakly, "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra," then follows it up with "Darmok on the ocean." Picard tries to understand this single new image as a metaphor for being alone. Before he can explain more, the Tamarian suffers an attack of pain, but when Picard tries to help, he waves it off, saying "Kiazi's children, their faces wet."
Despite the remaining difficulties in translations, Picard is piecing the story together, with the help of a drawn map on the ground and a rock as a prop. The Tamarian continues to tell the story: "Darmok on the ocean, Tanagra on the ocean...Jalad on the ocean, Jalad at Tanagra." Slowly the story becomes clearer: Darmok and Jalad arrived at the same place, an island called Tanagra, and faced "the beast at Tanagra." When Picard says "They arrive separately, struggle against a common foe...", the Tamarian finishes, reverently, "Darmok and Jalad...on the ocean." Picard smiles with understanding. "They left together." He finally understands the story and why the Tamarian worked so hard to do this.
As Picard has this realization, the Tamarian captain struggles with pain again, apparently worse than before--he sobs, "Zinda! His face black, his eyes red!" When it passes, he relaxes against the stones, saying "Callimas at Bahar" and making calming gestures toward Picard, as if to say "don't worry about me." Now Picard says aloud what he's been thinking: the Tamarian captain planned this interaction, knowing that there was a "beast" on El-Adrel, figuring that common adversity would bring the two captains together (as indeed it did).
Though the Tamarian does not understand Picard's speech, he understands enough to want to hear from Picard now; he says, "Kira at Bashi. Temba, his arms wide." The meaning, to Picard, is quite clear: "I've talked enough, I want to listen--your turn!" So, a little hesitantly, Picard begins to tell a simplified version of The Epic of Gilgamesh, making sure to stop and emphasize certain phrases that the Tamarian would latch onto, such as "Gilgamesh and Enkidu at Uruk" (an image of unlikely friends). The Tamarian listens and responds, but is clearly growing weaker, and his eyes begin to close. When Picard reaches the end of the story, where Enkidu dies, he quotes Gilgamesh, saying, "He who was my companion through adventure and hardship is gone forever." As he speaks these words, the Tamarian gently passes away.
Peace and Connection at Last
On the Enterprise, Riker is readying to fire on the Tamarian ship when they learn that the Tamarian captain appears dead on scans. Not only that, Picard is now threatened by the monstrous entity, even as he is attempting to honor the Tamarian captain's body in death. Riker gives the order to fire phasers only on the Tamarian ship's particle scatterers, just enough to enable transporters so they can get Picard off the planet. While this is successful, the Tamarian ship fires back--but again, not to destroy, only to render the Enterprise stationary. But Riker has had enough, and a volley of shots flies between both ships. Shields on the Enterprise fail, and it looks like this will finally end in war...
...and then Picard enters the bridge from the elevator, saying "Hail the Tamarian vessel." When the viewscreen comes up, the Tamarian first officer seethes at them, saying "Zinda, his face black, his eyes red!" Picard responds with a "River Temarc" command, and the first officer replies, dubiously, "Darmok...?" as if to say, "Did this crazy plan actually work?" Picard continues: "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra; Darmok and Jalad on the ocean."
Jubilant, the Tamarian first officer cries to his crewmates, "Sokath, his eyes open!" Then Picard continues: "The beast at Tanagra? Uzani, his army. Shaka, when the walls fell." Picard's tone alone tells the Tamarian crew of their captain's death, and they react with great sorrow.
Then Picard holds up the captain's journal, and the Tamarians transport it back. The Tamarian first officer holds the journal as if it is sacred, and speaks in solemn and formal tones, "Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel," as if to say, "We see your efforts and we honor them." Then he commands, "Mirab, with sails unfurled." Before they can leave, Picard attempts to give Dathon's dagger back, saying "Temba, his arms open?" The Tamarian first officer holds up a hand, smiles, and says "Temba, at rest." Then the Tamarian ship departs. Riker asks, "New friends, Captain?" "I can't say, Number One," Picard replies, and then studies the dagger. "But at least they're not new enemies."
Later, Picard is reading the Homeric Hymns in his ready room when Riker comes in to give his damage report. They talk briefly of the stories of Earth, and Picard says, "More familiarity with our own mythology might help us to relate to theirs. The Tamarian was willing to risk all of us for the hope of communication...connection. Now the door is open between our peoples. That commitment meant more to him than his own life."
When Riker departs, Picard picks up Dathon's dagger and studies it as he walks to the window of his ready room...then, while looking out at the stars passing by, he makes the slow, solemn salute that Dathon made at the campsite, touching the metal and then touching his forehead.
