| “ | Hello, Alpha Quadrant. Independent captain, Nick Locarno here with a message for anyone who feels like an afterthought. You may have been told scary of ships being destroyed these past few months, but that was a lie! They weren't destroyed. They were liberated. They're part of the first totally independent, unaligned fleet in the Alpha Quadrant. If you're tired of risking your life for souless, bureaucratic captains who don't even know your name, if you fear following the orders of incompentent commanders who failed into seats of power, if you're stuck on the lower decks, then I invite you to join us in the Detrion system. Detrion, a forgotten system now protected by my indestructible trynar shield. And in case anyone wants to try and force their way in, I've acquired a little insurance, a black market Ferengi Genesis Device. The Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Empire. Everyone has to respect Nova Fleet. | „ |
| ~ Locarno's speech to the Alpha Quadrant. |
Nick Locarno is a minor antagonist in Star Trek: The Next Generation and a major antagonist in Star Trek: Lower Decks, serving as the main antagonist of Season 4.
He is a former Starfleet Cadet, who, after he got his friend Joshua killed in a flight maneuver, decided to form a fleet independent of any outside power for him to lead.
He was portrayed by Robert Duncan McNeill.
Biography[]
As a Starfleet cadet, Locarno was an exceptional pilot and became the commander of Starfleet Academy's Nova Squadron. To mark his graduation, he convinced the rest of the squadron that they should end their exhibition flight with a Kolvoord Starburst, a dangerous manoeuvre in which ships fly close together and ignite their plasma stream, which had been banned since the last attempt resulted in the deaths of all the cadets involved. The attempt ended in disaster when Cadet Joshua Albert, who had been the most reluctant to perform the manoeuvre, lost his nerve and collided with one of the other ships, starting a chain reaction that destroyed all five ships. Locarno and most of the others managed to beam to safety but Albert was killed. Locarno convinced the other survivors to keep quiet about what they were attempting.
Since Wesley Crusher was a member of Locarno's squadron, the investigation drew the attention of Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew. During the enquiry, the cadets stuck to their story even though surveillance evidence contradicted it. Picard worked out what had happened and confronted Wesley, threatening to reveal the truth if he didn't. Wesley told Locarno, who insisted Wesley should keep quiet and, if Picard accused them, they should just deny it, adding that if Wesley's conscience troubled him, he should leave the academy. Instead, during the final session, Wesley admitted the truth. Locarno took responsibility and was expelled.
Over the next decade, Locarno's resentment about his treatment by Starfleet built. In the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks fourth season, "The Inner Flight", he was revealed to be the one behind a number of disappearances of ships. Locarno had been contacting similarly disgruntled junior officers and convincing them to mutiny against their superiors. The senior officers were stranded on a planet, with the ships, now commanded by the junior officers, joining Nova Fleet, a non-aligned fleet commanded by Locarno, who had stolen a decommissioned Starfleet vessel, the USS Passaro, to act as his flagship. He also acquired a Genesis Device from the Ferengi to stop anyone moving against him.
Locarno contacted Lieutenant Beckett Mariner, an acquaintance from the Academy with a history of insubordination, who he believed would be a willing recruit to his fleet: Since she was the daughter of a Starfleet captain, he saw it as a coup to turn her. However, Mariner still held true to the beliefs of Starfleet and knew that Locarno wasn't trustworthy, meaning she wanted no part of Nova Fleet. She ended up warning every lower decker in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants that Locarno was a reckless narcissist with no regard for the lives of others and stealing the Passaro with the Genesis Device on board. Locarno and the rest of Nova Fleet pursued her, with Locarno chasing her into an ion storm and beaming over. Mariner activated the Genesis Device as the two of them fought. Mariner's crewmates from the USS Cerritos had tracked her down and beamed her to safety but Locarno raised shields and refused evacuation, believing he could disarm the device. He nearly succeeded only to learn the Ferengi had programmed it to request a payment of two bars of gold-pressed latinum to complete the disarmament. He was killed when the Device detonated. The resulting detonation created a new planet that Starfleet began studying to determine if it was stable or not with the intention of settling refugees on the planet if it was stable. The planet ended up being named after him.
Appearance[]
In the novel The Ashes of Tomorrow Wesley Crusher mistakes Tom Paris for Lorcano due to the strong resemblance between the two men. Paris responded that he got that a lot.
Personality[]
| “ | "I've read your file. I hate command structure just like you." "No, I don't always agree with orders, sure, but I believe in the mission." |
„ |
| ~ Nick Lorcano and Beckett Mariner arguing. |
As a not-so-well-intention extremist, Nick Locarno positions Nova Fleet as being an improved alternative to Starfleet where lower deckers won't have to pointlessly risk their lives. It becomes very clear that it's ultimately a vanity project for Locarno, who simply wants to feel like he's accomplished something after ruining his own career.
He's charismatic to a convincing degree but ultimately he's only concerned with his own ego and the mask quickly drops once things start going wrong for him.
During his final moments Nick Locarno repeatedly refuses opportunities to redeem himself and is ultimately killed by his own bomb but his death is treated rather somberly. Mariner in particular is deeply saddened that she couldn't get through to him before he died, recognizing she could’ve easily turned out like he did.
Quotes[]
| “ | It may be hard for you to believe, but we are a coalition of equals–one that has you surrounded. | „ |
| ~ Locarno, upon him and his so called Nova Fleet cornering Mariner in front of the ion storm. |
| “ | Ha! Next time, set a shorter timer. (Ferengi-made Genesis Device voice: "To deactivate detonation, please insert two bars of latinum.") They put a paywall on a bomb?! Stupid Ferengi... | „ |
| ~ Nick Locarno's final words before his inevitable demise. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
The character of Tom Paris was inspired by Lorcano. Both men were portrayed by Robert Duncan McNeil, and it was the original intent of Voyager producers to have McNeil reprise the role of Lorcano. However the producers came to believe that Lorcano was irredeemable, and they wanted to have Paris spend the series on a journey of redemption. The producers instead created the character of Tom Paris to serve as the primary helmsman onboard Voyager.
McNeil himself saw Lorcano and Paris as two fundamentally different people. He once stated that deep down, Lorcano was a bad person while Paris was a good person who had made some mistakes earlier in his life.
