In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Balance of Terror, which aired on December 15, 1966, Star Date 1709.1
Enterprise investigates the lack of response from Earth outposts 2 and 3, monitoring the Neutral Zone between planets Romulus and Remus and the rest of the galaxy. The Earth outposts have been constructed on asteroids and were authorized by treaty following the atomic war with the Romulans more than a century earlier. No human or Romulan, however, has ever seen the other.
As the Enterprise communicates with Outpost 4, Commander Hansen reports an attack underway by an unknown weapon from a spaceship which subsequently vanished. The Romulan commander questions his mission of starting a war and discusses it with his Centurion. The Enterprise and Romulan ship exchange fire. The Enterprise then sits motionless, hoping the Romulan ship will make a move and reveal itself. They do so, and the Romulan ship is rendered inoperative, and its captain self-destructs.
Compliance Takeaways:
- As a CCO, you are the keeper of institutional fairness and justice in your organization.
- Does your speak-up culture include training on how to listen?
- #MeToo means that if, as a bystander, you see something, it is your responsibility to report it.
Resources:
Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein for Balance of Terror
MissionLogPodcast.com-Balance of Terror
