Real World article
(written from a Production point of view)


Summary Edit


Starfleet Command sends a communication to the USS Enterprise-D about a disturbance in the Neutral Zone, a battle. There are no Federation vessels in the area, and William T. Riker suggests that the Ferengi are involved. On arriving at the location of the battle, they find a vessel adrift without power. Data scans the debris from the explosions and speculates that the weapons used in the battle may have been Romulan in origin. The drifting vessel is identified as the Talarian freighter Batris, a cargo vessel. Riker has an away team consisting of Data, La Forge and himself beam over to the Batris after Worf detects life signs aboard.

Act OneEdit

Ken Gildin, Heart of Glory

La Forge's view of Data

Riker, La Forge, and Data go to transporter room 3. The away mission to the Batris gives La Forge a chance to test out his visual acuity transmitter. The device transmits what his VISOR sees, but only has a range of a few kilometers.

The away team beams over, and finds the ship in ruins. La Forge switches on the transmitter, and the viewscreen shows an image of flashing colors and indistinct shapes, a visual frenzy. Captain Picard is intrigued by the images, and asks La Forge how he is able to filter out all the extra information. La Forge compares it to listening to an individual conversation in a noisy room; mentally "filtering out" information that isn't wanted. Picard also has trouble identifying Riker and Data. They move off down the corridor, dodging falling beams amid smoke and deuterium gas. La Forge spots a fissure in the bulkhead, and reckons they only have five minutes until the hull breaches, which will have catastrophic results given its proximity to the engineering section. The bridge loses the transmission from the VISOR.


Act TwoEdit

Rescued Klingon crew

Rescued in the nick of time

They all make their way out of the engineering section, as the ship's superstructure begins to collapse. Tasha Yar tries to get a lock on them, and tells them to get further away from engineering, but Worf says that there is no time; the Batris is a matter of seconds away from exploding. Picard yells that they have no further options and to beam them out immediately, and Tasha tries to do so, but the transport fails and drops them back on the Batris. The away team and Klingons are alarmed to see an explosion racing toward them from the engineering section, and seconds later the entire ship explodes. For a terrible few moments it appears that the away team has been lost, but Tasha is able to materialize them on the transporter pad, having gotten them off right as the ship exploded.


In the Klingons' quarters, they get something to eat. Worf tells them as far as he knows, he is the only Klingon in Starfleet, and they mock him, saying he has become soft and docile living among Humans. Then they reassure him, telling him they are only trying to anger him to see if it is still possible. Worf assures them it is. Then the captain calls from sickbay, where the third Klingon, Kunivas, is dying. They go to sickbay, and Korris opens Kunivas' eyes and looks into them. Then all three howl at the ceiling. They leave again, Korris telling Crusher that the body is now only an empty shell, and to treat it as such.

Act ThreeEdit


Starfleet security team, 2364

The cavalry arrives

Worf is initially outraged by this revelation, but Korris placates him and then asks to be shown around the ship. On the bridge, Data comments that this was the first time outsiders have witnessed the Klingon death ritual. The howling is a warning to the afterlife that a Klingon warrior is about to arrive. He then detects a ship approaching, though is unable to yet discern what type. Meanwhile, Worf shows Korris and Konmel around main engineering. Konmel wonders of the battles they could wage if they had command of the Enterprise, but Worf tries to persuade his two fellow Klingons that their desire for battles and glory is something that does not fit the modern era. Korris, however, remains resolute in his desire to return to the old ways.

The approaching ship is in visual range – it is a Klingon K't'inga-class cruiser. Picard hails and Commander K'Nera answers. Picard tells him they rescued three Klingons. K'Nera asks if that is all that is left of the IKS T'Acog. Picard tells him that they were on the freighter and K'Nera replies that they are criminals who have stolen a freighter and destroyed a cruiser. He wants them delivered to him when he arrives.

Picard sends a security team led by Yar to arrest the fugitives, who are in a corridor talking with Worf about the ship's saucer separation capabilities. Just as Worf comments that the Enterprise is an "exceptional weapon" when relieved of the bulk of the saucer section, Yar and her security team arrive. Worf asks what's going on. The Klingons appeal to Worf for help, saying he is one of them.

Act FourEdit

Potential hostage situation

"Cowards take hostages. Klingons do not."


The prisoners are in the brig when the Klingon ship arrives. K'Nera tells Picard that they will be tried and executed for their crimes. Worf appeals to him, saying their words have stirred something inside him, and asking him to allow them to die an honorable death on a remote planet in the Halee system. K'Nera says he feels the same, but he must follow orders. In the brig, Korris and Konmel assemble a disruptor from their belts and other components of their uniform. They disable the force field and kill security guard Ramos. The second guard hits Konmel three times before he dies, but then Korris kills him too. He runs, and Yar arrives on the scene. She informs the captain what has happened. Korris gets to engineering and climbs onto the second level around the core. He points his phaser at the dilithium crystal chamber and says he will only talk to Worf.

Act FiveEdit

Worf and Picard go down to engineering. Yar wants to wait him out, but Worf says that Korris will fire his phaser the moment he feels the situation is not to his advantage, destroying the Enterprise-D and taking everyone with it. Worf goes up to talk to Korris. He wants Worf to separate the ship and come with him in the stardrive section. Worf says that won't happen. He pulls out his phaser and points it at Korris. He can't believe what is happening and appeals again to Worf.

Worf death yell

Worf yells for Korris

Worf tells him he is looking for battles in the wrong place, that the true test of a warrior lies within. He hasn't mentioned duty, honor, or loyalty, the things a true warrior must have. Korris doesn't respond to this, saying that Worf has become weak like the Humans. Worf makes one last attempt to talk Korris into surrender, but this causes Korris to completely lose his temper and angrily tell Worf that he is no true Klingon, momentarily pointing his weapon away from the warp core as he does so. Worf admits that Korris is right, and then blasts him with his phaser, mortally wounding him as well as sending him reeling forwards and down through the glass floor to the second level. Worf returns down, and performs the death ritual for Korris.

He and Picard return to the bridge and tell K'Nera that the fugitives are all dead. Worf adds that they died well. K'Nera is impressed with Worf, and invites him to join his ship when his tour of duty is finished aboard the Enterprise-D. Worf says he would be honored. K'Nera leaves, and Worf assures Captain Picard he doesn't want to leave the Enterprise-D, he was just being polite. Picard replies that the bridge wouldn't be the same without him.

Log entry Edit

Memorable quotesEdit

"It is only a empty shell now; please treat it as such."

- Beverly Crusher and Korris

"And Number One? Everything about this seems wrong."
"Agreed, it smells like a trap. Let's go."

- Picard to Riker, shortly before he beams over to the Batris

"Now, I'm beginning to understand him."

- Picard, after viewing what Geordi La Forge sees through his VISOR on the Enterprise-D's viewscreen

"What do you see, Number One?

- Picard and Riker, finding Klingons on the Batris

"Cowards take hostages, Klingons do not."

- Worf

"Standing here we will never know."

- Korris, Worf, and Konmel


- Worf


- Worf

"Starship Enterprise! I am Commander K'Nera! What is your purpose here in this sector?"

- K'Nera to Captain Picard

Background information Edit

Production history Edit

Story Edit

Cast and characters Edit

Robert Bauer and Michael Dorn

Robert Bauer and Michael Dorn on the set

Production Edit

  • Stock footage from Star Trek: The Motion Picture was evidently used to depict the Klingon battle cruiser in this installment.
  • Rob Bowman found "Heart of Glory" was very enjoyable to direct. "That episode was, I think, one of the easiest of my shows, because everything worked so well," he reminisced. "Once I got the script, ideas on how things should look came very quickly. For instance, the final battle in Engineering was supposed to be played on the first deck. Worf shoots the Klingon, he falls down and that's it. However, nobody had shot vertically in the chamber before, so we did some things in the end with the camera that hadn't been done on the show. One thing I added is that it took three phaser hits to take care of a Klingon. I wanted to make these guys as tough and as bad as I could." ("Rob Bowman – Director of a Dozen", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine issue 10, pp. 17-18) Bowman also reminisced about the episode, "I had a lot of fun with Michael [Dorn] on that." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 12, p. 21)
  • The scenes showing Riker and Data through the visual acuity transmitter were filmed with the photo doubles of Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner: Richard Sarstedt and Ken Gildin.

Music Edit

Continuity Edit

  • La Forge's VISOR is tied into the Enterprise-D's viewscreen during the away mission, allowing the bridge crew to see what he saw. It wasn't used again until "The Mind's Eye", although Dr. Tolian Soran later used it against the Enterprise-D in Star Trek Generations. The appearance of images varied in each occurrence, so much so that it seems no different than normal visual perception in Generations.
  • While in the engine room, Korris says the following: "I would rather die here than let the traitors of Kling pick the meat from my bones." The writer of that line intended for "Kling" to be the name of the Klingon homeworld, but it was later officially changed to "Qo'noS" in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, since it was decided that "Kling" sounded a bit odd. The Star Trek Encyclopedia lists "Kling" as the name of the First City, but this connection isn't considered canon since it was never established in any episode.
  • While investigating the damaged freighter, a matte painting originally made for Star Trek: The Motion Picture can briefly be seen over La Forge's shoulder. The painting is a forced-perspective depiction of a series of arches, and was originally part of the main engineering set for the refitted USS Enterprise.

Reception Edit

Video and DVD releases Edit

Links and references Edit

Starring Edit

Also starring Edit

Guest stars Edit

Featuring Edit

Uncredited co-stars Edit

Stunt doubles Edit

Stand-ins and photo doubles Edit

References Edit

address; adrenaline; adversary; Age of Inclusion; alliance; "a lot"; android; answer; area; "as yet"; "as you wish"; "at least"; attack; aura; auxiliary turbolift; away team; Batris; Batris personnel; battle; battle bridge; biobed; birthright; blood; boarding party; body; bone; "bred in the bone"; brother; bulkhead; cadaver; chance; chest; choice; cloaking device; "come on"; commander; commandeering; communication; company; compartment; comrade; conquest; control mechanism; convulsion; coordinates; corridor; course; coward; criminal; custody; death; debris; deflector; Deimos; desire; destiny; destruction; deuterium; device; dilithium crystal chamber; dishonor; door; dream; drifting; dust; ear; effect; enemy; engineering section; execution; experience; eye; farming colony; fear; feeling; field of fire; feet; Ferengi; Ferengi cruiser; fire; fissure; food service; force field; fork; foster brother; freighter; friend; Galaxy-class decks; gas; Gault; general cargo vessel; glory; "go back"; ground; guest; hailing frequency; heart; heat; Halee system; Halee system planet; hand; heart; "hello"; helm; home; hostage; hostage situation; hour; hull; hull integrity; Human; hunter; hypospray; illusion; impulse; idea; infidel; information; injury; "in order to"; instinct; interference; K'Nera's battle cruiser; "keep an eye on"; Khitomer Massacre; Khitomer outpost; kilometer; kindness; Kling; Klingon; Klingon cruiser; Klingon death ritual; Klingon Defense Force; Klingonese; knee; knife; knowledge; K't'inga-class; leader; legend; life sign; life support system; location; long range sensor; loyalty; M-Zed-5; main engineering; main viewer; Mars; meat; medical tricorder; Merculite rocket; message; metal fatigue; Milky Way Galaxy; minute; mister; MSD; name; nature; navigation; Neutral Zone; Neutral Zone sector; night; number one; O'mat Gri T'M pffiots; "of age"; "of course"; opponent; order; outpost; outsider; painting; passenger; patient; permission; phaser; photon; place; point of departure; power; prey; prisoner; problem; propulsion; Quadrant 9; quarters; range; renegade; repent; replicator; report; result; Romulan; room; Rozhenko, Helena; Rozhenko, Nikolai; Rozhenko, Sergey; rubble; saucer separation; scar; Science II; sculpture; search; second; sector; security chief; security team; Security Three; sensor; shield; sickbay; signal; skant; skin; sleep; "so far"; soul; sound; spectrograph; speed; standard procedure; Starbase 84; Starfleet; Starfleet Academy; Starfleet uniform; "steady on"; subspace frequency; surrender; survivor; T'Acog, IKS; tactical officer; Talarian; Talarian freighter; territory; "thank you"; thing; tour of duty; trace; training; traitor; transfer; transmission; transporter lock; transporter range; transporter room 3; trap; tricorder; turbolift; type 1 phaser; type 2 phaser; "under control"; unnamed plants; utility uniform; vein; viewscreen; VISOR; visual acuity transmitter; visual contact; voice; warp core; warp drive system; warrior; weapon; word; yellow alert

External links Edit

Previous episode:
"Coming of Age"
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 1
Next episode:
"The Arsenal of Freedom"