How did Voyager (the ship) get it's bad reputation?

In Cold Fire we're told Voyager is the ship of death, as it's reputation states. Thing is - Voyager was always at warp, heading in one direction. How did they get a reputation if they kept leaving people behind? Were we meant to take it as Voyager hadn't progessed very far from Ocampa at that point (which much of Season's One & Two would have us believe)?

 

Probably because they always messed around with places where they didn't have any business in the first place.

I'm constantly amazed how they do all these stops all the time and not just hold max warp

 

It doesn't surprise me that they'd have to regularly stop for maintenance, and for getting their bearings in a strange environment. It does surprise me that we catch them at impulse in basically every teaser during the first few seasons...

But rumors travel faster than starships. After all, even the Delta Quadrant has interstellar communications networks. Subspace messages would outpace the ship even at her maximum speed. And bad press is something you don't want to transmit in person: it's much more efficient to spam it through a comm channel, perhaps even anonymously.

Timo Saloniemi

 

Voyager, the bad reputation. Going into space they had no right to be there. Janeway, we are right you are wrong.

 

I thought it was from the Kazon?

In Dreadnaught the Prime Minister at first doesn't believe Janeway and Voyager will help them stop the missle from destroying their planet because of their bad reputation. Janeway replies: "We're aware of the lies the Kazon have been spreading about us."

Their bad reputation continued when Janeway helped the Borg stop Species 8472.( Hope & Fear ) Many races and cultures in the Delta Quad. were hoping Species 8472 would rid them of the Borg. By Janeway helping the Borg to survive, Voyager made more enemies. Then she did it again in Child's Play.

However, I wonder if by delivering a crippling blow to the Borg in Endgame, it changed Voyager reputation.

 

It was. The Kazon wanted that ship and its technology. By badmouthing the ship and crew their aim was to prevent Voyager from forming any alliances. This made them more vulnerable.

Fortunately, they were able to maintain ties with the Talaxians which enabled them to get the ship back in "Basics".

 

Thanks, that's what I thought.

 

Weren't the Kazon considered scum? Who'd believe their stories?

 

Think about how the Mob works.

The Mob works with people who seem reputable on the surface but do underhanded dealings with them to cut corners. If the Kazon spread the word thru that type of network, allot of people would end up believing them. Back that up with other stories of Voyager being told by the Vidiians, The "pleasure" people Janeway was rude too because they did share technology with Voyager and on & on.

Plus, the Prime Directive often causes clashes with other cultures who are in need of help but aren't warp capable. It often makes Voyager seem selfish & evil.

 

Well take a minute to look at what was actually said people.

Tanis: "Have you any idea how your ship is regarded? You kill the caretaker, declare war on the Kazon, raid planets for their coffee. Your crew with their sinister smooth foreheads. A Talaxian cook whose leola root stew is feared throughout the Quadrant. The Borg whose tight catsuit makes resisting her futile. The unkillable Harry Kim." He stuck out an accusing finger at Janeway. "Yours is known as a Glare of Death!"

So as you can see it was actually Janeway's glare that was the problem. Whenever the captain sent transmissions ahead to negotiate with aliens whose territories they were going to pass through, the Glare would be used for it's intimidation factor, especially for those who wouldn't give up their coffee.

 

Why did people think the VOY crew killed the Caretaker? He died of natural causes!

 

Personally I think the corn killed him off in the end. One too many barn dances in my opinion.

As for Voyager you know what it's like when you have the flash car, the cool tech and everyone bitches about you because they are jealous? It was the same deal here.

 

Yes, but the last thing anyone outside Voyager (i.e. the Kazon) saw was Voyager firing photon torpedoes into the array. Only the people on Voyager knew that the Caretaker had told them to do it, and it was clear that the 'evolved' Ocampa and the female Caretaker had such a contemptuous attitude towards Voyager's crew that they never bothered trying to find out what their version of events was.

 

Yuppity-yup. And speaking of witnesses...

Who'd be there to see it? And of course it would be a bit late anyway as regards the relations our heroes would have with Deltans.

I wonder whether the Kazon really were considered scum. They apparently didn't interact with aliens much, having been so burned by the Trabe. So they wouldn't necessarily hurt any aliens much, either. And they were everywhere and (despite internecine squabbling) were a force to be reckoned with. They'd know a lot about galactic affairs, much like the Talaxians. And many people would like to get second opinions after having heard the Talaxian view.

Really, who would dare accuse the Kazon of lying? Or of being scum, for that matter. The people in "Dreadnought" didn't sound like the sort that could laugh at the bad Kazon hair...

Timo Saloniemi

 

The Deltans? I'd didn't know Voyager encountered a race of bald-headed nymphomaniacs? Damn me for missing that episode!

 

Well they had no qualms about kidnapping and abusing Kes after she wandered to the planet's surface. Yes, the Kazon were burned by the Trabe and this made them suspicious of other races. They had no qualms about using force to secure their own security even if it was at the expense of others.

 

Haven't heard that one before, but it kinda makes sense...

 

Voyager had a bad reputation, well ... it did go into space of a number of different political and military powers. Just because the federation would let one ship travel into its space just to get to the other side ... other people do not think that way. Really, would the federation put up with a single ship going from one planent to the next and doing whatever they want ... force their rights to whatever they wanted ... demanding in a winny way we are working to get home. Please let us travel and if you do get in our way we have weapons. How selfish is the crew of Voyager.

 

They had to stop for supplies/repairs, as well as investigate civilizations and anomalies that might've gotten them home faster.

But yeah, in retrospect the Voyager crew were a nosy and vaguely overbearing bunch.

 

Through Kazon blogs and messageboards, naturally. Image the furor they whipped up on the Quadrant Wide Web. Voyagers teh sux! Voyagers killed myah bruhda! The Federations want our women! They dun stole our water! Nistrum pwns Federations!

And there's always the Kazon News Channel.
O'Reilius: "Tonight, we discuss the shipload of vile, contemptuous aliens rampaging thru our territory. Starship Voyager, Terror of the Spacelanes...Next on the Factor!"
KNC-We report, you decide.