Freedom of Speech by Norman Rockwell and referencing TNG s7e12 "The Pegasus"
this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2025
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It's worth noting that Pressman wasn't alone in this, he had approval, it was just kept hushed.
I'm going to do something a little different from the rest of the comments here and think about it from a strategic realpolitik perspective: the Federation played an absolute blinder with the phased cloak device. It was a genuine strategic and political masterstroke.
They knew the Romulans, who they signed a treaty with not to develop cloaking technology in exchange for peace, were becoming emboldened and expansionist... they were gearing to break the peace anyway. They knew the Romulans, in their arrogance, thought the treaty held them back. That their agreement to peace was a mistake, and that their empire was suffering because of it.
So the Federation says yes, develop this cloaking tech that is vastly beyond anything the Romulans (or Klingons) have.
The Romulans see it, and they can't believe it. They can't believe how woefully outmatched they are.
Suddenly it dawns upon them that breaking the Treaty of Algeron is something they really don't want to do, and that confrontation is not in their interest.
The Federation then says, so how about this treaty, eh? Should we scrap it, slap this phased cloak on all of our ships, then go to war? Or should we bin this cloak and both agree stick to the treaty? Put yourself in the Romulans' shoes... what would you do when you're faced with that choice? The Federation have just given a clear demonstration of their technical prowess... would you want to go up against that? The Romulans had no real choice but to tuck their tail between their legs and put out a statement saying they're committed to the treaty.
Both parties silently agree that the event didn't happen. But the Federation comes out of it top dog. Their enemy has been put in their place and knows that a war would not go well for them.