Ruon Tarka (Shawn Doyle) fell from grace as a Starfleet scientist while trying to defeat the Dark Matter Anomaly (DMA) in season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery. His actions ranged from highly questionable to outright illegal. From kidnapping Discovery’s engineer Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) to stealing local bad boy Cleveland Booker’s (David Ajala) ship, Tarka made it hard to root for him. He made it even harder to understand what made him do it all in the first place. Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) initially had a similar air of volatile mystery until audiences got his full backstory. With that context, viewers got the chance to watch Rayner grow into a dependable officer on the USS Discovery crew.
Tarka, on the other hand, never got to leave his bad choices behind. He showed up in season 4, episode 5, “Examples,” as a promising Starfleet officer. His genius-level intellect made him an asset to trying to figure out how to defeat the DMA. Unfortunately, it couldn’t save him from his own hubris in the end.
Science Officer Ruon Tarka
Star Trek: Discovery had a knack for introducing ridiculously intelligent characters, and Tarka was no different. He conducted his first successful science experiment at five years old. While many of his peers on the renowned pleasure planet of Risa concerned themselves only with having fun, Tarka’s keen mind often left him isolated. It also gave him a superiority complex a mile wide. He later told Jett Reno that he grew up “surrounded by idiots.” Unfortunately, his skills also put him on the radar of the galaxy’s biggest crime family before the Federation could get their hands on him.
The catastrophic events of The Burn left the Orion crime syndicate, the Emerald Chain, without the dilithium needed to power their warp drive. Instead of finding alternatives on their own, their leader Osyraa (Janet Kidder) enslaved talented scientists to do it for them — including Tarka. They put a control device in his neck and threw him in solitary confinement for 4–5 years. This did wonders for his productivity, especially when he was joined by fellow scientist Oros (Osric Chau). But it was absolute hell on his mental health, though it took a while for the signs to show.
Tarka Goes Rogue
On the surface, Tarka’s downfall appeared to start with his introduction to the DMA issue in Star Trek: Discovery season 4. Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) was impressed by Tarka’s lecture on advanced warp drive technologies, which led to his work with Starfleet. He was recruited for his brilliance, which he put to use in various scientific missions. He later found himself working alongside Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) on the spore hub drive until their research shifted to stopping the planet-eating DMA.
Unbeknownst to the team, however, Tarka wasn’t just in it for the love of science or the desire to help. This became apparent when he went off the rails in season 4, episode 7, “…But to Connect.” Worse, he took advantage of Booker’s grief over the DMA’s destruction of his home planet Kwejian to get him caught up in his mess. So, what kept Tarka running down such a dark path despite all the destruction and chaos in his wake?
The Legend of Kayalise
Tarka’s true motivation was being reunited with his friend Oros in the mythical parallel universe of Kayalise. When they were both held captive by the Emerald Chain, the two not only worked together, but developed a profound emotional connection and desired to escape together. They believed that an interdimensional transporter would take them to this mythical realm of eternal happiness. Star Trek has always rejected the idea that this kind of joy is real or sustainable. Then again, Voyager once turned Starfleet officers into slugs, then had them mate. So, it wasn’t too far-fetched to think that Discovery might deliver on this seemingly impossible world. At least, that’s what Tarka seemed to think when he returned to his former cell — only to find the symbol of Kayalise in place of his dear friend and partner Oros.
Tarka became obsessed with the idea that his alien friend had done what they’d worked so hard to achieve. This misguided hope of their impossible reunion drove him to a level of desperation that made him dangerous. He wanted a way into paradise, and didn’t care who got hurt along the way. While the two had different motivations, Tarka’s actions weren’t that different from those of Matt Decker (William Windom) in The Original Series. He took on one of Star Trek’s coolest ships in season 2, episode 6, “The Doomsday Machine.” Like Tarka, he was unwilling to listen to reason, and it cost him his life.
Many Discovery fans have speculated about the nature of Tarka’s relationship with Oros. Some think that their shared trauma bonded the two characters, similar to Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and La’an (Christina Chong) in Strange New Worlds. The Emerald Chain kept them enslaved for a large chunk of their lives. All they had was each other. An unhealthy codependency seems almost inevitable under such horrible circumstances. Others think Tarka’s manic desire to find his way back to Oros stemmed from a romantic connection. In various flashbacks, the two can be seen cuddled up on a dingy cot, or staring wistfully into each other’s eyes as they attempt to science their way to freedom. Discovery had plenty of LGBTQ+ characters on the show, and it wouldn’t have been strange if these two were among them. In fact, their ability to find love in such a hopeless place might have even been inspiring.
Regardless of whether it was romantic or not, Tarka’s love for Oros motivated him to extremes, and he never looked back. He lied, stole, and almost killed millions along the way. He ruined his reputation as a Starfleet officer. At times, it was hard to understand why he insisted on doing what he was doing, even when it was clearly the wrong thing. Others have crashed and burned in Star Trek: Discovery. But the collateral damage caused by Tarka’s actions in the name of love takes the cake.