Emh: Sickbay to the Captain. This is the Doctor speaking.
Janeway: You've brought us out of stasis. I assume you have news.
Emh: Yes. Our sensors show your vital signs are normal. How are you feeling?
Janeway: We're fine. How long were we in stasis?
Emh: A total of seventeen days.
Janeway: That long?
Emh: I wanted to exhaust every possibility of finding a cure.
Janeway: And?
Emh: I regret to inform you that I have been unsuccessful.
Emh: I have not been able to develop a counteragent for the virus, and I have no other options to explore.
Chakotay: What about keeping us in stasis aboard Voyager?
Emh: Something in the planet's environment is shielding you from the effects of the virus.
Emh: If you leave, you risk a recurrence of the disease, which would undoubtedly prove fatal. The only option I can think of at the moment is contacting the Vidiians. They have sophisticated medical technology. It's possible they might be able to help.
Janeway: We'll take it under advisement, Doctor. Thank you for your efforts. Janeway out. What do you think?
Chakotay: It's risky. The Vidiians have never shown any willingness to help us. It's more likely they'd attack Voyager and try to harvest body parts from the crew.
Janeway: Agreed. I just want to make sure we're not overlooking a possible alternative.
Chakotay: Could we live with ourselves, knowing we sent Voyager into that kind of danger?
Janeway: Janeway to Tuvok.
Tuvok: I'm here, Captain.
Janeway: You must be aware of the Doctor's report.
Tuvok: Yes.
Janeway: I'm turning over command of the ship to you on a permanent
Janeway: Basis. Your orders are to resume a course for the Alpha Quadrant.
Janeway: And regardless of the Doctor's suggestion, you are not to make contact with the Vidiians.
Tuvok: I understand.
Janeway: I'll prepare a message for the crew.
Torres: So we're just going to abandon them on this planet?
Tuvok: Those were Captain Janeway's express orders.
Paris: But you're captain now. You can rescind them.
Tuvok: To what end?
Torres: I can't believe we haven't been able to find a cure for an insect bite.
Kes: The Doctor hasn't deactivated himself for a month. He's tried everything. He searched every database, attempted the most drastic research. You can't fault him.
Neelix: I can tell you, the morale of the crew is going to suffer if we leave them behind.
Tuvok: Not if, Mister Neelix. When we leave them behind. The decision has been made. We will of course, provide them with everything they'll need for their survival and comfort. I am arranging for a modular shelter to be transported to the surface. They'll have all the technology they need. Weapons, tricorders, a replicator.
Torres: You talk as though it were a camping trip. They have to spend the rest of their lives down there.
Tuvok: That is not a certainty. Captain Janeway intends to continue researching the virus. She is an able scientist, and may eventually be able to effect a cure. They have a type nine shuttlecraft at their disposal if it becomes possible for them to leave the planet.
Paris: Type nine shuttlecraft has a top speed of warp four. It won't take them more than, oh, about seven hundred years to get home.
Tuvok: I'm not certain what it is you expect me to do, Lieutenant.
Paris: I guess clearly something you can't do, which is to feel as rotten about this as we do.
Tuvok: You are correct that I am unable to experience that emotion. And frankly, I fail to see what the benefit would be. If there is nothing more, you are all dismissed.
Janeway: Janeway to Tuvok.
Tuvok: Yes, Captain.
Janeway: We've received the transport. We'll check it over and let you know if we're missing anything.
Tuvok: I will remain in orbit until I hear from you. And after that, we can still remain in communication for approximately thirty six hours.
Janeway: I'll contact you before the day is over. Janeway out.
Chakotay: It looks like they transported the contents of the whole ship.
Janeway: We may have to be here for a while. Petri dishes, protein analyzer, DNA sequencers. Everything I need for my research is here.
Chakotay: Do you really think you can find a cure?
Janeway: It may take a while but yes I do. If I can find a specimen of the insect that infected us, I can begin analyzing protein cofactors. That might give us the information we need to find out what it is in this environment that's keeping us from being sick and how to replicate it.
Chakotay: Does it matter which way these things go?
Janeway: I guess it depends whether you're in a beige mood or a gray mood.
Chakotay: That's not much of a choice. Couldn't Starfleet have come up with something a little more cheerful?
Janeway: Like polka dots?
Chakotay: I was thinking more of a tasteful pinstripe, something in blues and greens. Well, I suggest we put the gray on the outside and the beige inside.
Janeway: I like that. I've always looked better in beige. Actually, it might be kind of interesting, roughing it for a while.
Chakotay: Roughing it? Let's see, we have shelter, furniture, research equipment, tricorders, a replicator. It's too rough for me.
Janeway: We don't have a bathtub.
Chakotay: A bathtub?
Janeway: I love a bath. It's my favorite way of relaxing.
Chakotay: Captain, I'm sure you can learn to love the sonic shower.
Janeway: You know, Chakotay, it occurs to me, we aren't exactly in a command structure anymore. Maybe you should call me Kathryn.
Chakotay: Give me a few days on that one, okay?
Torres: This diagnostic report looks like it was written by a first-year Academy cadet. There are mistakes. It's incomplete.
Swinn: I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I guess I've been distracted.
Torres: We've all been distracted, Ensign. That's no excuse.
Swinn: Yes, ma'am.
Torres: I can't get anything done here. Nobody can concentrate.
Kim: I know how they feel.
Torres: I'm not feeling so terrific myself, but I don't let that get in the way of my work.
Kim: B'Elanna, I've been talking with some of the Starfleet crew. They're not happy about what happened. I was wondering, how are the Maquis taking it?
Torres: How do you think they're taking it? This isn't a Starfleet issue, Harry. It's affecting everyone.
Kim: Then why don't we do something about it?
Torres: Do what?
Kim: I don't know. It seems like we shouldn't just accept this.
Torres: Well, that's all well and good, but frankly, I can't think of anything else we can do. If you have any ideas, I'll listen. Otherwise, I think we should take a deep breath and move on.
Chakotay: Catch anything?
Janeway: Just the same ones as yesterday, and they don't seem to carry the pathogen that's infected us. Where have you been?
Chakotay: Oh, in the woods.
Janeway: For the past two days, you've been spending a lot of time in the woods. Is something going on I should know about?
Chakotay: Not yet.
Janeway: Not yet? What's that supposed to mean?
Chakotay: It means when it's time for you to know, I'll tell you.
Janeway: Don't I even get hints?
Chakotay: I'm building something.
Janeway: Building. What could you be building? And why can't you tell me?
Chakotay: You can't stand it, can you? You're like a little kid wheedling.
Tuvok: Tuvok to Janeway.
Janeway: Janeway here.
Tuvok: We're about to move out of communications range. How are you faring?
Janeway: We're doing quite well. I'd like to speak to the crew now.
Tuvok: Your comm. link has been put through to the entire ship.
Janeway: This is Kathryn Janeway. I've never liked saying good bye, so I'll make this brief, but I want you all to know that serving as your captain has been the most extraordinary experience of my life.
Janeway: No captain could ask more than what this crew has given. Bravery, compassion and strength of character. But I think what I'll miss most is the fun. The times we joked together, the games on the holodeck. I'll remember the laughter more than anything. Although Commander Chakotay and I won't be with you for the rest of your journey, we know that you'll be the same steadfast crew for Mister Tuvok as you have been for us. We wish you a safe and a speedy journey home. Our thoughts will be with you.
Janeway: Janeway out.
Tuvok: Thank you, Captain, Commander. I am sure I speak for the entire crew when I say we will always remember your grace and courage. And I would like to add, it has been an honor serving with you. Live long and prosper. Kathryn Janeway's personal log, Stardate 49690.1. Day twenty four of our stay on the planet we've named New Earth. As yet I've been unable to make any progress in finding a cure for our illness, but a soak in the tub Chakotay built always helps me focus on possible solutions.
Janeway: Chakotay, are you there?
Chakotay: No, I left an hour ago.
Janeway: I was thinking. Maybe looking for protein cofactors is the wrong approach. Even if I can't find a specimen of the insect that infected us, I could try to learn something about the bio-molecular evolution of this planet's ecozystem.
Chakotay: Can't hurt to give it a try.
Janeway: Chakotay!
Chakotay: What?
Janeway: Someone's in the woods!
Janeway: Over there. It looks like some kind of primate.
Chakotay: I've detected primate life signs here, but I've never seen one.
Janeway: Hello. Are you hungry? Is that why you came here? I'm Kathryn, he's Chakotay. We've had to move into your neighborhood, but I hope we can be friends.
Janeway: Maybe he'll come back.
Chakotay: Looking for a pet?
Janeway: No. Looking for a clue about primate physiology on this planet. They must have to contend with insect bites too.
Chakotay: Well, excuse me.
Janeway: Maybe we should be out looking for other primates. I might be missing something important.
Chakotay: Kathryn, the Doctor worked for weeks trying to find a treatment for this disease.
Janeway: Yes?
Chakotay: You've been at it twelve hours a day, seven days a week since we got here, and we're still no closer to a cure than we were the day we were infected.
Janeway: I'm not sure what you're getting at.
Chakotay: My people have a saying. Even the eagle must know when to sleep. Maybe it's time we both considered that.
Janeway: You mean quit, give up?
Chakotay: Why do you have to see it as defeat? Maybe it's simply accepting what life has dealt us, finding the good in it.
Janeway: There may be a day when I'll come to that, Chakotay, but, I'm a long way from it right now. I need to keep looking. Acting
Janeway: Captain's log, supplemental. After six weeks, the decision to leave Captain Janeway and the First Officer behind still seems to weigh heavily on the crew.
Kim: Captain Tuvok?
Tuvok: Yes, Ensign?
Kim: I'm picking up a convoy on long-range sensors. It's Vidiian, sir.
Tuvok: Distance?
Kim: Approximately one point five light years.
Tuvok: Lieutenant, alter course to a different heading. I don't want to risk their detecting us.
Kim: Sir, the Vidiians.
Tuvok: Yes?
Kim: They're within hailing range. We could ask them if they know anything about the Captain's illness.
Tuvok: You're aware that Captain Janeway specifically told us not to risk contacting the Vidiians.
Kim: Yes, but it's not like we went out of our way to find them. We would just be taking advantage of an opportunity that's presented itself.
Tuvok: That bit of sophistry is not terribly persuasive, Ensign.
Kim: Sir, how can we turn our backs on this chance to do something? Don't we have to try? Don't we owe that to the Captain and the Commander?
Tuvok: The matter is closed, Ensign. Return to your station.
Kim: What's wrong with the rest of you? You know I'm right.
Tuvok: Ensign Kim.
Kim: We have a chance to help them. How can we ignore that?
Tuvok: Ensign, you are relieved of duty. Leave the Bridge at once or I will have you put in the brig.
Paris: Harry.
Tuvok: Proceed on the altered course, Lieutenant.
Hogan: Excuse me. Ensign Kim, could we?
Kim: Sure. Have a seat.
Swinn: We just wanted you to know we heard what happened on the Bridge.
Hogan: And we think you're absolutely right. We've got to contact the Vidiians.
Swinn: It's a risk, but it's worth it.
Kim: That's what I think, but Captain Tuvok's made his decision. Two ensigns and a crewman won't change his mind.
Hogan: There are a lot more who agree with us.
Swinn: A lot.
Kim: Really.
Hogan: Everyone we talk to can't believe that Tuvok won't give this a try.
Kim: Come on.
Kim: Did you hear what happened this morning?
Torres: Sure did.
Kim: Three weeks ago, you said if I had an idea about what to do, you'd listen.
Torres: I'm listening.
Neelix: Is there something going on that I should know about?
Kim: Have a seat, Neelix. We might have come up with the biggest morale booster you could possibly imagine.
Tuvok: Come in.
Kim: Can I have a moment, sir?
Tuvok: It's zero one hundred hours, Ensign. Don't you have the early shift this morning?
Kim: Yes, sir, but this is important.
Tuvok: Very well.
Kim: First of all, I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday.
Tuvok: Apology accepted. I understand that this is a difficult situation for you.
Kim: I'd like to suggest a plan. It's something a lot of people have helped to develop. We have two big bargaining points when it comes to dealing with the Vidiians. First, there's the woman Doc treated, Denara Pel. They were very close, so I'm sure she'd help us if she could. And then there's B'Elanna. Her DNA might lead to a cure for the phage. We could offer them some, in exchange for their help with a cure for the Captain and Chakotay.
Tuvok: Those are, as you say, points in our favor. But there is also the fact that we were recently responsible for the destruction of a Vidiian ship, an act which killed over three hundred of their people. That alone makes it unwise for us to contact them.
Kim: Sir, I think you should know how many people on this ship disagree with you. Everyone I talk to thinks we should give this a try.
Tuvok: The people you talk to do not have the responsibility of commanding this vessel. I do. The safety of this crew is paramount, and I must do whatever I can to ensure that safety.
Kim: But if we're willing to take that risk in order to help the Captain
Tuvok: Ensign, I'm going to say this once and once only. If you ever question my orders again, you will be relieved of duty permanently. The next words I expect to hear from you are yes sir.
Kim: Yes, sir.
Janeway: I'm going to check the insect traps in beta four. What are you up to now?
Chakotay: Making headboards.
Janeway: Headboards?
Chakotay: I've noticed you sometimes sit up in your bed to read. I figured you might as well have a comfortable backrest.
Janeway: That's very thoughtful of you, Chakotay. You've done so many things to make our lives easier here. The cooking, for example. I hate to cook.
Chakotay: But what I do makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it? Every time I do something that adds a personal touch to the shelter, you resist it.
Janeway: Sometimes it feels as though you've given up, that you're focused on making a home here instead of finding a cure that will let us leave.
Chakotay: I can't sacrifice the present waiting for a future that may never happen. The reality of this situation is that we may never leave here. So, yes, I'm trying to make a home. Something that's more than a plain, gray box.
Janeway: Someday I may have to let go. But not today, okay? I've tried a new glucose bait in the traps. I have a feeling this might be the day I make a breakthrough.
Janeway: Hello? Chakotay?
Janeway: Hello again. Well, you certainly cover a lot of territory. Or are you following me? Do you understand me?
Janeway: There. Know what that is? That little insect just might be what gets me out of your backyard. What do you think of that, huh?
Janeway: What is it? What's happened to the sky? If you're suggesting I should get out of here, I agree.
Chakotay: Kathryn! Kathryn. Are you hurt?
Janeway: No. I couldn't keep my balance and carry the case.
Chakotay: Give it to me.
Janeway: What's happening?
Chakotay: It seems to be some kind of plasma storm. Our tricorders don't recognize it, but it sure packs a wallop!
Tuvok: Come in.
Kes: Do you have a moment?
Tuvok: Of course. Please sit down.
Kes: I'd like to talk to you about my father.
Tuvok: Your father?
Kes: He was a very wise man. More than anyone, he shaped the person I am. If it hadn't been for him I would have never questioned my people's beliefs. I would have never left our city. I would never have met all of you.
Tuvok: Then we owe him a debt. It is difficult to imagine this journey without you.
Kes: When he died, I had just turned one year old. I didn't know how I'd get through the rest of my life without him. But then I started working with you and I didn't miss him so much anymore.
Tuvok: I am honored by the comparison.
Kes: As Captain, the well-being of your crew is important to you.
Tuvok: Of course.
Kes: Their emotional well-being as well as their physical safety?
Tuvok: I cannot allow myself to become hostage to their feelings.
Kes: Tuvok, they are suffering because of this. Maybe you don't know what it's like.
Tuvok: If you are suggesting that I am not sensitive to the situation, nothing could be further from the truth. I have lost a valued friend. I am not immune to the effects of that loss.
Kes: Then try to imagine what it's like for those of us who feel things deeply. A lot of the crew are on the Bridge hoping you'll talk to them.
Tuvok: None of you can appreciate what it means to be in command of a ship until that responsibility rests squarely on your shoulders, as it does on mine. It has been suggested that I take an action which would require me to disobey an order, and knowingly put this crew into a life threatening situation. In general, I believe it demonstrates faulty leadership to be guided by the emotions of a distraught crew. However, as Captain, I must not ignore the sensibilities of those I command. We will contact the Vidiians. This is my decision and mine alone. You are all absolved of responsibility in the matter. I will accept any consequences which may ensue. Lieutenant, set a course for the Vidiian convoy. Mister Kim, let me know when we're within hailing range.
Janeway: Oh, no!
Chakotay: Let's check outside. Maybe some of the insect traps are still intact.
Janeway: None of this is salvageable either. There's no way I can continue to do my research.
Chakotay: I'm sorry.
Janeway: Well, that's one way of letting go. Captain's log, Stardate 49694.2. We have contacted the Vidiian convoy with encouraging results. They have promised to communicate with Doctor Denara Pel and ask if she will help us.
Kim: Sir, the Vidiians are hailing us.
Tuvok: On screen.
Denara: Hello, Lieutenant.
Tuvok: Dr. Pel. I didn't expect to see you this quickly.
Denara: When I heard what happened, I boarded the first ship I could. Tell me about this illness.
Tuvok: They were infected by a virus after being bitten by insects on a planet approximately seventy light years from here, in a system with a yellow dwarf star.
Denara: The third planet in a system of seven?
Tuvok: Yes.
Denara: I know it well. There's a particular kind of burrowing insect that carries the disease. Years ago, we developed an anti-viral agent to combat it.
Tuvok: Can we get some from you?
Denara: Of course. Our captain said we could rendezvous with you. He's transmitted the coordinates.
Kim: I have them, sir.
Tuvok: Thank you, Doctor. We appreciate your help.
Denara: I'm glad I can be of assistance.
Tuvok: Estimated time to the coordinates?
Kim: Approximately twenty hours.
Tuvok: Until then, I want a series of battle drills. We must be ready for whatever comes.
Chakotay: I've been thinking. There's plenty of wood available here. I could probably add rooms to the shelter, give us a little more living space.
Janeway: How would you mill it?
Chakotay: I could do a certain amount with a phaser, but I was actually thinking of logs.
Janeway: As in log cabin?
Chakotay: I built a few of them when I was growing up. My father thought it was important that I learn how.
Janeway: When I was young, my parents took us on backpacking trips. They thought we should all keep a connection to our pioneer roots. I hated it. No bed, no replicator.
Chakotay: No bathtub.
Janeway: No bathtub. I guess I was always a child of the twenty fourth century.
Chakotay: Well, maybe those camping trips helped prepare you for life here.
Janeway: Oh, no. Life here is much better than that.
Chakotay: I think that's the first time I've heard you say anything positive about being here.
Janeway: Well, hello there. I haven't seen you in a while. Where have you been?
Chakotay: Do you expect him to answer you?
Janeway: Not really. I just sense intelligence in him, and I could swear he came to warn me about the plasma storm. Come here, fellow. Come on.
Chakotay: I doubt that he can be domesticated, at least not very easily.
Janeway: Well, we have plenty of time. The rest of our lives.
Chakotay: That's a long time. At least I hope so.
Janeway: Well, I can't give you orders anymore but I suggest we get back to work.
Chakotay: Aye, aye, Captain.
Janeway: I guess I'm not used to that kind of work. My knots are getting knots.
Chakotay: Here, let me help.
Janeway: Oh, that feels good.
Chakotay: I've had a lot of practice at this. My mother used to get sore necks all the time. I was the only one she'd trust not to make it worse.
Janeway: That's much better. Thank you. Well, I'm going to go to bed now. I'll see you in the morning.
Chakotay: Sleep well, Kathryn.
Janeway: Yes. You too.
Kim: Got something. Vidiian ship, bearing three two five mark five.
Tuvok: Hail them.
Kim: They aren't responding. Trying on alternating frequencies.
Paris: I'm reading a second ship, one seven seven mark five.
Kim: I've got it. Now a third.
Paris: They're surrounding us!
Kim: None of them are answering hails and their weapons are powered.
Tuvok: Red alert.
Janeway: We have to talk about this.
Chakotay: All right.
Janeway: I think we need to define some parameters about us.
Chakotay: I'm not sure I can define parameters. But I can tell you a story, an ancient legend among my people. It's about an angry warrior who lived his life in conflict with the rest of his tribe, a man who couldn't find peace, even with the help of his spirit guide. For years, he struggled with his diskontent. But the only satisfaction he ever got came when he was in battle. This made him a hero among his tribe, but the warrior still longed for peace within himself. One day he and his war party were captured by a neighboring tribe led by a woman warrior. She called on him to join her because her tribe was too small and weak to defend itself from all its enemies. The woman warrior was brave and beautiful and very wise. The angry warrior swore to himself that he would stay by her side, doing whatever he could to make her burden lighter. From that point on, her needs would come first. And in that way, the warrior began to know the true meaning of peace.
Janeway: Is that really an ancient legend?
Chakotay: No. But that made it easier to say.
Kim: Shields down to fifty eight percent.
Tuvok: Rearm the forward phaser array and fire at will.
Kim: Firing.
Paris: Shields down to forty seven percent. Sir, there're just too many of them.
Tuvok: Load aft torpedo bays.
Kim: Torpedoes armed.
Tuvok: Fire number one. Report.
Paris: They're still coming.
Tuvok: Fire number two. Tuvok to Engineering.
Torres: Torres here, sir.
Tuvok: Listen carefully.
Kes: She has a broken arm.
Emh: Set it with the osteogenic stimulator.
Kes: I think there's someone on the monitor. This way.
Emh: Odd. Why wouldn't they just use the comm. line? I don't think this is coming from our ship.
Denara: Shmullus. Shmullus, can you hear me?
Emh: Denara!
Denara: Shmullus, I have to do this quickly. I'm on one of the Vidiian ships.
Emh: Do they know you're contacting me? Are you in any danger?
Denara: No. Everyone's too focused on the battle. Oh, Shmullus, I swear I didn't know they planned to attack. I thought we were on an errand of mercy.
Emh: I believe you.
Denara: I have the anti-viral serum here. If you can use your transporter to get it to your ship.
Emh: Our shields are up. We can't transport anything through them.
Denara: I don't know what else to suggest.
Emh: All right. I'll see what I can do.
Kes: Maybe we can lower the shields long enough to transport the serum.
Emh: Sickbay to Bridge.
Tuvok: This is Tuvok. We're rather busy here, Doctor.
Emh: Doctor Pel is on one of the Vidiian ships.
Emh: If we can drop our shields briefly, we can beam aboard the serum.
Tuvok: Keep this comm. line open, Doctor. When you hear me order the shields down, you must complete a site-to-site transport yourself. We will be busy with the Vidiians.
Emh: Understood.
Tuvok: Bridge to Engineering.
Tuvok: Report.
Torres: We're ready to eject the antimatter container.
Tuvok: Stand by for my command. Here is the sequence of events. We will drop shields to transport the medicine. At the same moment, the antimatter container will be ejected. As soon as it's clear, Mister Kim will detonate it with a photon torpedo. Simultaneously, Mister Paris will jump to full impulse so that we will not take the brunt of the explosion. Is everyone clear on this? Timing is of the utmost importance. We won't get a second chance.
Paris: Understood.
Kim: Aye, sir.
Torres: We're ready down here.
Tuvok: Doctor?
Emh: I've set up to make the transport.
Tuvok: Stand ready then. Lower shields.
Emh: Initiating transport.
Torres: Ejecting the antimatter container now.
Emh: We've got it. Raise shields.
Tuvok: Mister Kim, Mister Paris, go.
Kim: Firing torpedo.
Tuvok: Report.
Kim: The Vidiian ships are all disabled, sir. They're not pursuing.
Paris: Ready to go to warp, sir.
Tuvok: Set a course for the planet where we left the Captain and Commander Chakotay. Warp six.
Paris: Aye, aye, sir.
Chakotay: How are they coming?
Janeway: Very nicely. We should have vine-ripened Talaxian tomatoes in a couple of months, unless this planet has the equivalent of tomato bugs. Oh, they're awful.
Chakotay: I would never have thought of you as a gardener.
Janeway: I grew up around farmers. My parents insisted we learn some basic gardening skills.
Chakotay: Did you hate that as much as camping?
Janeway: Of course. Who wanted to muck around in the dirt when you could be studying quantum mechanics? But I find it very satisfying now, watching the seeds sprout and grow.
Chakotay: If your tomatoes could spare you for a minute, I'd like your opinion on something in the house.
Janeway: Well, you've come to the right person. I always have an opinion.
Chakotay: Really?
Chakotay: What do you think?
Janeway: A boat!
Chakotay: You said you wanted to explore the river. I think I could build this.
Janeway: We could go on a camping trip.
Chakotay: I'm not sure we could fit the bathtub in the boat.
Janeway: Well, that's all right. I'll have the river.
Tuvok: Do you read me? Repeat.
Janeway: Do you hear that?
Chakotay: Yes.
Tuvok: To Captain Janeway, do you read me? This is Tuvok calling Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay. Please respond.
Janeway: This is Janeway.
Tuvok: Captain, it's good to hear your voice. We have news.
Janeway: What is it?
Tuvok: We have medicine which we believe will effectively treat your condition. We plan to be in orbit within thirty hours.
Chakotay: Ready?
Janeway: There you are. At least I get to say good bye. Feel free to use the house. Janeway to Voyager. Two to beam up.
Tuvok: Welcome back, Captain, Commander.
Janeway: The Doctor tells me you contacted the Vidiians after all.
Tuvok: I disobeyed your order, Captain. I am prepared to accept the consequences.
Janeway: If I didn't know you better, I'd say your decision was almost emotional. Thank you all. Well, we've lost time with all this. Let's see if we can make some of it up. Mister Paris, warp eight.
Paris: Aye, Captain.
Janeway: Commander, we'll need to review the ship's systems. I'll handle propulsion, environmental and communication. You'll be responsible for sensors, weapons and transporters.
Chakotay: Aye, Captain. I'll have a report to you by eighteen hundred hours.
Janeway: Check with phaser maintenance. See if they solved that problem with the pre-fire chamber temperature.
Chakotay: Yes, ma'am. I'll see to it.


Emh: Activate the bio-temporal chamber.
Andrew: Is she going to be all right?
Emh: Not if you don't all clear out of here and let me do my work.
Linnis: She's my mother. I'm staying.
Emh: This is a very delicate procedure, and I could use some peace and quiet.
Paris: The Doctor's right. Let him do his work.
Linnis: All right.
Emh: I wish I'd told you this before, but better late than never. You're the finest friend I've ever had. Prepare to bring the bio-temporal chamber online. We'll begin in approximately five minutes.
Andrew: Grandma? Are you awake? I brought you a present. Grandma Kes? I finally finished your birthday present. Sorry it's late, but I wanted to get it right.
Kes: I don't know you.
Andrew: What do you mean? I'm Andrew, your grandson.
Kes: I don't know you.
Andrew: Doctor? Doctor Van Gogh?
Emh: What is it?
Andrew: She doesn't recognize me.
Emh: Kes? How are you feeling?
Kes: Where am I? What is this place?
Emh: You're in Sickbay. Do you know who I am?
Kes: No. Yes. I've seen you before.
Emh: Do you know my name?
Kes: The boy, he called you Doctor Van Gogh.
Emh: That's right.
Kes: You said I was your finest friend.
Emh: Well, I'm not sure I've ever said that, exactly, but, that doesn't mean it's not true.
Kes: How could I be your friend? I don't know you.
Emh: Tell me what you do remember.
Kes: Er, people around me, crowded around me. You, the boy, a young girl. I was in a chamber. A bio-temporal chamber.
Emh: Good.
Kes: I was inside it and you told someone to activate it.
Emh: I'm afraid you're confused. I discussed the bio-temporal chamber with you, but we're not ready to put you inside it just yet. Can you recall anything else, besides those people you saw? Anything else about your life?
Kes: No.
Emh: Go find the rest of your family.
Chakotay: Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's the big hurry?
Andrew: I'm sorry, Captain, I have to go.
Chakotay: What was that all about?
Emh: I'm afraid Kes is getting worse, Captain. Her amnesia is near total. Fewer than one percent of her engrams remain intact. It's as if her memory were wiped clean.
Chakotay: Is it some sort of senility?
Emh: Maybe. I've never treated a nine year old Ocampan before. For all I know, it's a perfectly normal part of their aging process.
Chakotay: It's hard to believe that she performed microsurgery on my elbow just a few weeks ago.
Emh: A few weeks ago she was a healthy woman, but this morilogium comes on abruptly and then progresses with a rapidity I've never seen before.
Chakotay: How are you coming along with the bio-temporal chamber?
Emh: As I told you, it's a completely revolutionary procedure. I have no idea if it'll work. Under normal circumstances I'd want to perform extensive tests on the apparatus, but we're losing her too fast. If I don't try it now, it may be too late.
Chakotay: If you really believe it will prolong her life?
Emh: If we're lucky it may buy her another year.
Chakotay: I think you have the family's consent. You should go ahead and do it.
Kes: So cold. I'm cold.
Emh: No wonder. Your temperature has dropped to fourteen point eight, almost two degrees below normal.
Chakotay: What does that mean?
Emh: I'm not sure. CHAKOTAY? What?
Emh: Her cells are in a state of bio-temporal flux. I don't understand how that could be happening before I put her in the chamber.
Kes: I'm cold.
Andrew: Look mom, I'm almost finished with Grandma's present.
Linnis: It's wonderful, sweetheart. I'm sure Grandma will think it was well worth the wait.
Andrew: I hope so. I still feel bad for not having it ready in time for her party.
Linnis: Hello. How was your nap?
Kes: Andrew?
Andrew: Grandma, don't look. You'll spoil the surprise.
Linnis: Why don't you sit down. I'll get you some tea.
Kes: Where am I?
Linnis: In your quarters.
Kes: What quarters?
Linnis: Aboard Voyager. What's wrong?
Kes: I don't know who you are. But you, I know who you are. Tell me what's happening. How did I get here?
Linnis: Andrew, get your grandfather and father. Tell them to meet us in Sickbay.
Kes: Yes, Sickbay. I remember that place. I was just there.
Linnis: When?
Kes: Just a few minutes ago. Doctor Van Gogh asked me some questions. I couldn't remember anything.
Linnis: You haven't been to Sickbay for over a week, since you stopped working there.
Kes: Working? What kind of work?
Linnis: Don't you remember? You were one of the ship's doctors. I worked there with you.
Kes: Who are you?
Linnis: I'm your daughter, Linnis.
Kes: But I don't remember you.
Linnis: Do you remember anything at all?
Kes: Just people crowded around me. Voices. The Doctor told everyone to leave and then he told someone else to activate the bio-temporal chamber.
Linnis: He's been working on that. He may have mentioned it to you.
Kes: And then I woke up and there was a boy, Andrew, standing over me with a present, calling me Grandma.
Linnis: Andrew hasn't finished your present yet. You just saw him still working on it in your quarters.
Kes: But he was there. The Doctor sent him to get my family, and I was cold and I woke up in that bed in the quarters, and
Linnis: Maybe you were dreaming.
Kes: I don't think so.
Linnis: Well, none of the things you remember before waking from your nap have happened.
Kes: How do you know?
Linnis: Listen to me, mother. You're confused right now and I'm sure that's very frightening, but you need to trust me. I'm your daughter and I love you. Now please, come with me. Come.
Emh: I've been expecting this.
Linnis: The onset of morilogium.
Emh: She's lost more than ninety eight percent of her memory engrams.
Kes: Morilogium?
Linnis: The final phase of the Ocampan lifespan, mother.
Kes: Are you saying that I'm dying?
Emh: Not if l can help it.
Linnis: What do you mean?
Paris: Kes, it's me, Tom. Your husband.
Emh: Tom, we're losing her.
Paris: How long?
Emh: If we do nothing, a matter of weeks. But I'm working on something to extend her lifespan. It involves treating her with a bio-temporal field in order to push her cells back to an earlier stage of entropic decay.
Emh: It's highly experimental, but if it works, it might buy her some time.
Linnis: No. My mother's always accepted that she would only live nine years. If she's reaching the natural end of her life she wouldn't want extraordinary measures taken to extend it. Especially not in the state she's in now.
Paris: If the Doctor has a way to keep your mother with us, even for one more day, we have to let him try.
Linnis: We're not talking about a tested medical procedure here, we're talking about a radical experiment.
Kim: Sweetheart, I understand how upsetting this is, but if it were you on that biobed, I'd feel just like Tom does.
Kes: Everyone listen to me, please.
Andrew: Yes, listen to her.
Linnis: Mother, tell us what you want.
Kes: I want to know what's going on here. Maybe the morilogium is causing my amnesia, but that doesn't explain how I seem to suddenly jump from Sickbay to my quarters, or how I remember being in a bio-temporal chamber.
Emh: Kes, it's possible the morilogium is causing you to experience delusions.
Kes: No. They're not delusions.
Emh: I want you to lie down.
Kes: No.
Andrew: Leave her alone.
Kim: Your grandmother's very sick, son.
Andrew: Maybe, but she's not delusional. She's the smartest person I know. We should listen to her.
Kes: I'm cold.
Emh: Her body temperature has dropped two point seven degrees.
All: For she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny.
Neelix: Happy ninth, Kes. Go ahead, make a wish. Well, what are you waiting for? Blow out the candles. It's good to see that old lung is still working, Kessie.
Paris: Happy birthday, sweetheart.
Neelix: Well, you know, I haven't made one of these since, well, since I became security officer.
Tuvok: Perhaps you would care to relinquish your commission and return to the scene of your former triumphs.
Neelix: You keep working on that sense of humor, Commander Vulcan. You'll get it one of these days. Jibelian fudge, your favorite. Some of us ought to be watching our calories, but after all, it is a special occasion.
Kes: Andrew.
Andrew: I'm sorry I don't have a present for you, grandma. I've got an idea for something special I'm going to make, but I've been too busy with school work, I haven't had a chance to start it.
Kes: I think it'll be worth the wait. Come and talk to grandma for a minute, will you?
Andrew: Sure.
Kes: I'm going to ask you a few questions and I want you to think very carefully before you answer them, all right?
Andrew: I always think before I speak. You taught me that.
Kes: Where were you before you came to this party?
Andrew: At my physics lesson in Engineering.
Kes: And then you came directly here?
Andrew: No, I stopped at your quarters to get you. Don't you remember?
Emh: Andrew, stop monopolizing your grandmother's time. There are other people who'd like to wish her happy birthday, you know.
Andrew: She's all yours, Doctor. Excuse me. That cake looks great.
Emh: It's amazing to think that you weren't even a year old when we first met. Not much older than Andrew.
Kes: Doctor, there's something wrong with me.
Emh: What is it?
Kes: Promise to hear me out and not assume I'm delusional.
Emh: Why do you think I'd ever make such an assumption?
Kes: Promise!
Emh: Of course.
Kes: I've lost all but a few of my memories, and the memories I do have don't coincide with anyone else's.
Emh: Can you be more specific?
Kes: Well, I was in Sickbay, and you and a woman, my daughter, were arguing about prolonging my life. And then I suddenly appeared in my quarters and then I simply appeared here.
Emh: As far as I know, none of that happened. Is it possible you were dreaming?
Kes: No. I was awake, I'm sure of it. But nobody else remembers the things I do.
Emh: I hate to say this, but it's possible these strange experiences you're having are related to the onset of the morilogium.
Kes: You talked about that. You wanted to put me in a bio-temporal chamber to stop my aging process.
Emh: How could you possibly know about that?
Kes: Because you told me.
Emh: I only came up with the idea for the bio-temporal chamber this morning. I was going to tell you about it today, here at the party, as a sort of birthday surprise.
Kes: If that were true, then how could I already know about it.
Emh: I don't know, but we'd better get you to Sickbay and find out.
Emh: She appears to have lost more than ninety five percent of her memory engrams.
Paris: Is that symptomatic of the morilogium?
Emh: I don't know. I have no basis for comparison. No other Ocampans on board.
Paris: Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this.
Kes: I do have memories, they just don't coincide with anyone else's. First Andrew gave me a belated birthday present, then he said he was working on the present, and now he just apologized for not starting it yet.
Paris: It's almost as if you're experiencing events in reverse.
Chakotay: Maybe there's some kind of time paradox at work.
Emh: There is another possibility. Given that Kes has knowledge of a treatment I have not yet devised, it's possible she's developed some sort of precognition.
Kes: Are you saying I can see into the future?
Paris: Well, you've demonstrated some pretty extraordinary mental powers over the years. Telepathy, telekinesis.
Emh: And precognition wouldn't be unprecedented. Some species, including the Yattho of the Beta quadrant, have been known to predict future events with uncanny accuracy.
Chakotay: See if you can confirm this theory about precognition. In the meantime, Tom and I will begin scanning for temporal anomalies.
Paris: We'll do everything we can to help you.
Kes: I'd like to do something to help myself.
Chakotay: What did you have in mind?
Kes: Well I seem to have lived quite a full life on this ship. Maybe if I have a look in my medical files, or check other record of my activities, I might be able to fill in some of the blanks.
Emh: Well you may have lost your memories, but you certainly haven't lost your determination.
Paris: Hi.
Kes: Oh, hello.
Paris: How's it coming?
Kes: I've had a busy life. It's hard to know where to start. How about you?
Paris: Well, we've tried every kind of temporal scan Harry could think of, but we still haven't been able to find anything to explain what's been happening to you. Your initial physical exam. I remember when you came on board. I had a crush on you right from the beginning. I tried to hide it, but Neelix sensed it and boy, was he ever jealous.
Kes: Neelix?
Paris: You don't remember? You and he were involved for quite a while. One of your prenatal exams. We listened to Linnis' heartbeat. That was quite a day.
Kes: What about this. It says I got some kind of radiation poisoning on stardate 50973.
Paris: That was the beginning of the Year of Hell.
Kes: Year of Hell?
Paris: That's what some of us call it now. We were under virtually constant attack by a race called the Krenim. The ship almost didn't make it. The Doctor was offline for months, and we lost a lot of good people. Captain Janeway, Joe Carey, B'Elanna.
Kes: B'Elanna?
Paris: I keep forgetting that you don't remember any of them. B'Elanna was someone who was very special to me. When she died, I felt like I wanted to die too, but you, you helped me through it.
Paris: I'm sorry.
Kes: No. No, it's my fault. You haven't done anything wrong. It's just
Paris: You don't remember any of our life together? Well, that's all right. I've got enough feelings for both of us.
Kes: Maybe the feelings I had for you will come back.
Paris: You were asking about the radiation poisoning. A lot of us were exposed. During the first Krenim attack one of the chroniton torpedo fragments leaked radiation into the ship.
Kes: Chroniton torpedoes?
Paris: They were able to penetrate our shields because their torpedoes were in a constant state of temporal flux. Wait a minute. Think we may be onto something. We'd better go talk to the Doctor. Come on.
Kes: If I was infected with these chroniton particles, then there might be a connection to what's happening to me now.
Paris: Exactly.
Kes: Maybe we should try scanning for residual
Kim: Say cheese!
Linnis: I think he's got your nose, Mother.
Kim: So how does it feel to be a grandfather?
Paris: A lot better than it does to have you for a son-in-law.
Kes: What's the date?
Paris: The date?
Kes: Yes, the stardate.
Kim: It's 56947. Why?
Kes: Over six months.
Linnis: Mother, what's going on?
Kes: Tom, we have to talk to the Doctor. Come on.
Kes: As far as I can tell I've jumped backwards a total of five times so far.
Emh: Is there any diskernable pattern to these jumps?
Kes: No, they're apparently random. One time it seemed to span for a few weeks, and the last was half a year. Each time I arrive I seem to exist in temporal synch with the rest of you for a while, but before I can make anyone understand what's happening I find myself in am earlier time of my life. And just before it happens I seem to experience a sudden drop in body temperature.
Emh: Hmm. Now this could explain a thing or two.
Kes: What is it?
Emh: I'm detecting high level chroniton radiation in your cells.
Kes: So I was right. There is a connection.
Paris: But Kes was inoculated along with the rest of the crew over three years ago.
Emh: Yes. However, everyone was left with trace amounts of the radiation in their bodies. For some reason, those residual chronitons have reactivated in Kes.
Paris: Why?
Kes: The bio-temporal chamber.
Emh: My thinking exactly.
Paris: Would you two mind explaining?
Emh: It's really quite obvious, Lieutenant. Your wife is traveling backward through time.
Kes: It's as though I came into existence at the moment of my own death, without any memories. I've been living my life backwards ever since, jumping progressively to earlier moments in my life. accumulating memories and experiences as I go. Your past has become my future.
Chakotay: Doctor, any theory about what's causing this?
Emh: In approximately six months, I will apparently expose Kes to some type of bio-temporal field in a highly experimental but nonetheless brilliant attempt to stop her aging process.
Tuvok: And it's this attempt which leads to Kes's current predicament?
Emh: What I will apparently fail to realize is that the bio-temporal field is going to reactivate the dormant chroniton particles in her cells, bringing Kes out of temporal sync with the rest of us.
Chakotay: Is there any way to stop Kes from continuing these jumps?
Emh: Yes. Purge her completely of the chroniton poisoning.
Kim: To do that we'd need to know the precise temporal variance of the specific torpedo which contaminated the ship.
Tuvok: Tactical sensors were not functioning at the time. There is no data regarding the torpedo in question.
Paris: Let me get one thing straight, Doc. Is it possible if this keeps happening to Kes that she might actually jump back into a time before she knew any of us?
Emh: Worse than that, Mister Paris. It's possible she may eventually jump back to a time before she even existed.
Janeway: Captain's log, stardate 55836.2. Kes has remained in temporal sync with us for two days now, but since we don't know when she may jump again, we can't afford to rest until we've found some way to help her.
Linnis: I'm going to try running a hypothalamic scan. Maybe we can establish a pattern to the drops in your body temperature.
Kes: You're very good at this, aren't you.
Linnis: I had a very good teacher.
Kes: Doctor Van Gogh?
Linnis: You.
Kes: I'm sorry. All this must be taking you away from your baby just now. You must be wanting to spend every second with him.
Linnis: Actually I feel a little awkward around him sometimes. Harry's always singing to him and playing with him, but, well, I seem to be much more comfortable with a molecular scanner than I am with a diaper.
Kes: Now, Linnis, I don't think it's
Emh: Kes, I may have found a way to prevent your next jump. I've erected a containment field that may keep you here. It's going to require your confinement in Sickbay.
Linnis: I'll keep working here.
Kes: Linnis, you must be a good mother. I happen to know that Andrew grows up to be a wonderful child.
Kes: Hello, Tom.
Paris: I thought maybe you could use some company.
Kes: I feel like I'm in a cage. Doctor Van Gogh says
Paris: Doctor Van Gogh? I thought you settled on Mozart.
Emh: Evidently my interest in the great figures of art and culture will be an ongoing process.
Paris: Well, Vincent, how about letting me inside this thing?
Emh: I'm afraid that wouldn't be advisable.
Paris: Okay then, how about another installlment of Tom and Kes, the Early Years?
Kes: I'd enjoy that.
Paris: Well, there was our wedding reception. Harry was my best man. He got so nervous when he stood up to give the toast that he spilt champagne all over my dress uniform.
Kes: What is it?
Paris: At the time, I thought that was the happiest day of my life, but every day it just got better and better.
Kes: Oh, it means so much to have you here now.
Linnis: I think I may have found something.
Emh: What is it.
Linnis: Well, I was studying the effects of the chronitons on other crew members and I
Paris: What's that?
Emh: Kes' temperature has dropped one point nine degrees. Linnis, monitor the containment field. I'm going to try to elevate her temperature.
Emh: Her temperature's still dropping.
Linnis: We're losing containment.
Emh: Increase the field amplitude.
Paris: Kes?
Linnis: It's not working.
Emh: We're losing her. Set field polarization to maximum.
Paris: Do something!
Paris: The sac is opening.
Kes: What's happening?
Paris: What do you mean, what's happening? You're having a baby. Hold still.
Kes: Where am I?
Paris: Exactly where I told you not to be, on a shuttlecraft.
Kes: I have to see the Doctor.
Paris: Well, that'd be nice if he were still around. I told you you were in no condition to come on a supply mission, but did you listen to me? I can see the toes, it's coming. Yes! It's a girl! Ah, she's beautiful.
Kes: Yes, she is.
Paris: Yes, just like her mother.
Kes: Tom, listen.
Paris: I love you, Kes.
Kes: We need to talk.
Paris: Just a minute.
Kes: What is it?
Paris: Voyager's under attack.
Neelix: Congratulations.
Paris: Thanks, but it looks like the celebration'll have to wait.
Neelix: I'll get Kes and the baby to the Mess hall. Captain Chakotay wants you to go to the weapons array and modulate the targeting scanners to a parametric frequency. He's going to try to knock out the chroniton torpedo launchers before they're fired.
Kes: Chroniton torpedoes. The Year of Hell.
Paris: What?
Kes: You told me that the crew referred to this time as the Year of Hell.
Paris: When did I tell you that?
Kes: It's a long story.
Paris: You'll have to tell me later. I've got to get to the weapons array. Neelix, get her to lie down, will you?
Kes: Neelix, listen very carefully. There's something very important I have to tell you.
Paris: Neelix told us what's been happening to you, Kes. How are you holding up?
Kes: We're both fine.
Chakotay: That's quite a story.
Kes: Just before the last jump we were close to a solution. The Doctor was working on
Paris: The Doctor?
Chakotay: Well it's good to know we'll eventually get him back online.
Paris: Eventually may be too late. We've got to help Kes now.
Kes: We discovered that what's been happening to me is related to the chroniton poisoning I suffered during a Krenim attack. We have to determine the exact temporal variance of the torpedo, so that
Chakotay: The main computer's been offline for weeks. Even if the sensor logs contain that information, we can't access them.
Kes: You have to put me in the bio-temporal containment field. I know it didn't work last time, but with a few modifications
Chakotay: We've only got life support on three out of fourteen decks, and we've had to divert all remaining power to knock out the Krenim's torpedo launchers. We don't even have a Sickbay anymore, much less the resources to create a bio-containment field. I'm sorry.
Paris: We've got to do something to help her.
Chakotay: I'm open to suggestions.
Kes: I'm cold.
Paris: I'll get you a blanket.
Kes: No, you don't understand, I'm about, I'm about
Kes: Tom.
Paris: Hey, Kes, some party, huh?
Kes: I have to talk to you.
Torres: Tom, I'm sorry I'm late.
Kes: You must be B'Elanna.
Torres: Well, the last time I checked.
Paris: Something wrong?
Kes: Actually, there is something wrong.
Janeway: Red alert. All hands to battle stations.
Janeway: Tuvok, fire phasers.
Tuvok: Acknowledged.
Chakotay: Who the hell are they?
Kes: They're called the Krenim.
Janeway: How do you know that?
Kes: Captain Janeway?
Janeway: What is it, Kes? What do you know about them?
Tuvok: Shields down to thirty nine percent, Captain.
Chakotay: I don't understand how these torpedoes are ripping right through our shields.
Janeway: Evasive maneuvers, Mister Paris. B'Elanna, can we reroute power to the forward shields?
Torres: Already trying.
Kes: Captain, these torpedoes are chroniton based. They're passing through our shields because they're in a state of temporal flux.
Kes: They're dead.
Paris: B'Elanna!
Kim: Hull breach on deck seven. We're losing life support.
Chakotay: Evacuate the deck. Tom, I need you at the conn.
Paris: Aye, sir.
Tuvok: Commander, they're arming their torpedo launchers again. We cannot sustain another direct hit.
Chakotay: Kes, you seem to know something about these weapons. Do you have any idea how we can stop them?
Kes: I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with remodulating the targeting scanners.
Kim: That could work. If we remodulate the scanners to a parametric frequency we might be able to destroy the torpedo launchers before they fire.
Chakotay: Mister Tuvok, you heard the man. Tom, bring us about.
Tuvok: Ready, Commander.
Chakotay: Fire!
Chakotay: Do you have a casualty report?
Kim: Including Captain Janeway and B'Elanna, we lost eleven people.
Chakotay: What about the ship?
Kim: Starboard shield generators and warp drive are offline, and power is down on decks four through twelve.
Chakotay: Make deck five your priority. We've got to get Sickbay up and running again.
Kim: Aye, sir.
Chakotay: Kes, as far as what you say is happening to you
Kes: I understand my condition can't be a priority now.
Chakotay: Tom, I'm going to need you to stay here and treat these people. When this is over, we're all going to have a lot of grieving to do.
Kes: How are you doing? Tom, I know it doesn't seem possible now, but you're going to be all right.
Paris: I wish I could believe you.
Kes: You can.
Paris: Thanks.
Neelix: Kes, we've got radiation leakage coming from one of the Krenim torpedo fragments. People are starting to complain of nausea.
Kes: Chroniton radiation. This is it. I'm infected. Where's the radiation coming from?
Neelix: It's lodged in a Jefferies tube on deck eleven, section two.
Kes: I've got to get down there.
Neelix: You can't. The entire deck is sealed off.
Kes: I have to find the exact temporal variance of that torpedo.
Neelix: You can't go near that thing. You'll be burnt to a crisp.
Kes: I know what I'm doing. You stay here and help Tom, all right?
Neelix: Yes, but
Emh: Kes, how are you coming with those analgesic compounds?
Kes: Doctor, you've lost your hair.
Emh: I beg your pardon?
Kes: It's a long story. The important thing is, the temporal variance of the chroniton torpedo was one point four seven microseconds.
Kes: As far as I can determine, I've jumped a total of six years into my past.
Tuvok: Do you have any theory as to the cause of these jumps?
Emh: According to Kes, she and the rest of the crew will be infected by chroniton radiation in approximately eleven months from now. Everyone will be inoculated and the effects will appear to vanish. However, some five years later, when I attempt an experimental and, I might add, ingenious procedure to extend her lifespan, the bio-temporal field I expose her to will trigger dormant chroniton particles, taking Kes out of temporal sync and causing her to begin her backward journey through time.
Janeway: In all my years in Starfleet I've never come across a phenomenon quite like this.
Emh: Kes has been able to provide us with the precise temporal variance of the torpedo which infected her.
Torres: Since Kes is moving backward in time, she's already been infected by the radiation poisoning. If we can set up a bio-temporal chamber and expose her to a precisely modulated field of anti-chroniton particles, we feel this may purge her system and bring her back into temporal sync with there rest of us.
Janeway: Well, we'd better get moving. For all we know, Kes's next jump will take her back to a time when we're not here to help her.
Kes: Captain, there's something else I have to tell you. In about six months you're going to enter a region of space controlled by a race called the Krenim. You must avoid them at all costs.
Janeway: Tell me more.
Torres: I'm ready to bring the chamber online.
Janeway: Synaptic relays are operational. How are her vital signs?
Emh: Pulse normal, body temperature fourteen degrees, chroniton level at seventy nine roentgens. Go ahead and activate the chamber, Lieutenant. Increase the bio-temporal field stress.
Torres: Bringing field stress to twenty five kilodynes.
Emh: Alright, let's try the anti-chronitons.
Torres: Whenever you're ready, Doc.
Emh: Initiating anti-chroniton burst, ten MEVs, five second pulse. Pulse steady, body temperature at fourteen point two degrees, and rising.
Janeway: What about her chroniton count?
Emh: Chroniton count is seventy one roentgens and dropping.
Janeway: It's working.
Emh: Lieutenant Torres, increase the field strength to thirty kilodynes.
Torres: Right.
Emh: Initiating another burst. Fifteen MEVs, five second pulse. Body temperature fourteen point nine degrees, chroniton count sixty eight roentgens, sixty, fifty seven, fifty two.
Neelix: You need a cook. You haven't lived until you've tasted my angla'bosque. It will be my job to anticipate your needs before you know you have them.
Kes: Oh, not again.
Neelix: And I anticipate your first need will be me.
Kes: I'm sorry. I know this is going to sound strange to you both, but I don't belong here.
Neelix: But we discussed this.
Kes: You don't understand, I'm traveling backwards in time, getting younger. We have to lower my chroniton levels. You've got to get me into the bio-temporal chamber right away.
Neelix: I, I, I'm sorry Captain. I didn't quite anticipate this.
Kes: Listen to me, please.
Neelix: Sweeting, try to calm down. I assure you, Captain, she's never behaved this way before.
Janeway: Hold on a minute, Mister Neelix. Kes, why don't you start over, slowly.
Kes: It begins about eight years in the future, when I'm about to die. No!
Benaren: Time for dinner. What's wrong, Kes?
Young Kes: Who are you? What is this place?
Benaren: We don't have time to play our guessing game right now, Kes. You know how your mother gets when we're late to the table.
Young Kes: You're my father.
Benaren: That's right, and you're my favorite daughter, but don't tell anyone.
Young Kes: Listen to me, something terrible's been happening to me.
Benaren: What's wrong?
Young Kes: There might not be much time so I've got to explain this quickly. Please try to believe me. I've been living aboard a starship called Voyager.
Benaren: A starship. I see. So now it's not only the surface you're dreaming about exploring.
Young Kes: Listen to me. I did go to the surface, or rather, I will go there, and the people aboard the ship are going to rescue me from the Kazon and take me with them.
Benaren: We can talk about your adventures after dinner.
Young Kes: No, there's no time. You've got to believe me. One moment I was this old woman and then, and then
Benaren: Kes, we're late.
Young Kes: Father, please.
Benaren: I can see the toes! Keep going, Martis. It's a girl.
Martis: Oh, Kes.
Benaren: It's a girl.
Martis: Oh, she's so, she's so beautiful. Kes. I think one day she'll see the sun.
Emh: Fifty one roentgens, forty six, thirty four. Another anti-chroniton burst, twenty MEVs.
Torres: Right.
Emh: Levels are continuing to drop. Pulse normal, body temperature steady at sixteen point three degrees, chroniton levels are at zero roentgens. Welcome back, Kes.
Kes: What's the date? How old am I?
Emh: The same age you were when we put you into the bio-temporal chamber. A healthy three years and two months. And due to an extraordinary display of medical heroics, you're back in temporal sync with the rest of us.
Neelix: So, I'm going to become a security officer. How about that?
Tuvok: Fortunately, Mister Neelix, what Kes has been describing is merely one possible future. On each occasion that she jumped to a previous time, her subsequent actions most likely altered the future from that moment on.
Neelix: Good point, Tuvok. Maybe I'll turn out to be Chief Security Officer.
Kim: So, Kes, have you regained all your memories of the past?
Kes: I remember last month's supply of replicator rations that you borrowed, that you owe me, if that's what you're asking.
Kim: Don't worry, I haven't forgotten.
Emh: I realize it's only hypothetical, but still I'd be curious to know what sorts of medical breakthroughs I'm going to make in this possible future.
Kes: It's not as if I've seen everything that's going to happen over the next six years. I only remember short periods I experienced between jumps.
Torres: Even so, I bet you found out some pretty interesting things.
Paris: Yeah, Kes. Tell us what you know.
Chakotay: Careful, Tom. You may find out that you leave Voyager only to join a monastery.
Kim: Hey, give him a little credit. I bet he gets married and has a family.
Paris: Thank you.
Kim: Don't mention it.
Torres: Are you telling?
Kes: Well, as Tuvok said, I've only seen pieces of one possible future.
Paris: You know what? Don't tell me. I don't want to know. I like a little mystery in my life.
Janeway: Tom's right. I think we should all leave the future to the future.
Tuvok: While I agree it would not be wise for Kes to make all of her experiences public, a report on anything she knows about these Krenim might be useful.
Kes: I'll get started right away.
Janeway: Hang on a minute. I didn't mean now. Stay and enjoy your party.
Kes: If there's one thing that this experience has taught me, Captain, it's that there's no time like the present.


Tuvok: Direct hit.
Kovin: The target buoy is solid monotanium, ten meters thick, shielded by a chromoelectric forcefield.
Janeway: Impressive.
Kovin: I'm glad you agree. It's not wise to travel this region without adequate defenses. I've seen scuttled ships with more firepower than Voyager.
Janeway: I'm sure you have.
Kovin: Imagine what you'll be capable of once the isokinetic cannon is integrated into your defensive systems. One projectile can penetrate the shields of any heavily armored vessel. Hostile species will know to avoid Voyager by reputation alone.
Janeway: You've made your point, Mister Kovin. I want the cannon, and I'm prepared to give you astrometrics charts spanning twelve sectors. You'll find them unusually precise.
Kovin: Even the most sophisticated charts become obsolete. One random anomaly and they're no longer accurate. However, I could be persuaded if you were to include the mapping technology that created them.
Janeway: Sorry. Our Astrometrics sensors were designed specifically for this ship. They'd be of no use to you. What I can offer you is a generous supply of isolinear processing chips. We'll even show you how to integrate them into your existing sensor technology.
Kovin: How generous a supply?
Janeway: One hundred chips.
Kovin: One hundred and fifty.
Janeway: One fifteen.
Kovin: One twenty five.
Janeway: Done. Escort our guest to Engineering. You'll be supervising the installlation of the cannon?
Kovin: Of course. For a modest fee.
Janeway: Five additional chips, no more.
Kovin: It's good to see the art of negotiation isn't lost on you, Captain.
Paris: That guy is worse than a Ferengi
Janeway: Assign Seven of Nine to work on this. She's got a knack for adapting alien technology.
Chakotay: Should I give her complete access to the engineering control systems?
Janeway: I'm ready to give her some latitude. She's been behaving herself lately.
Chakotay: What are you working on?
Seven: I'm trying to decode the message Starfleet Command sent us several weeks ago.
Chakotay: Any progress?
Seven: None. I'm working on a new decryption algorithm.
Chakotay: I'd like you to set it aside for a while. I have another assignment for you.
Seven: What is it?
Chakotay: The Captain wants you to help Kovin integrate the new weapon system.
Seven: I'd rather not. I find him inefficient.
Chakotay: Maybe so, but you seem to work well with him. You've been asking for more responsibilities, I thought you'd be pleased.
Seven: The captain gives me greater liberty only when she needs my expertise.
Chakotay: You violated her trust, and if you want it back, you're going to have to earn it. One step at a time.
Seven: I will report to Engineering.
Kovin: You'll need to installl isolinear buffer circuits here and here.
Seven: The main power relay should be protected by a containment field.
Kovin: Unnecessary. All the buffer circuits would have to fail simultaneously for there to be any danger.
Torres: We prefer to play it safe. I'll check the inventory logs to see if we have a field generator available.
Kovin: What are you doing?
Seven: I'm reconfiguring the tactical control systems.
Kovin: The isokinetic circuit requires a specialized protocol. Let me take care of it.
Seven: That won't be necessary.
Kovin: No, no! The subroutines need to be arranged in cascading sequence. Let me show you.
Torres: Seven, stop.
Emh: There's a hairline fracture of the premaxilla bone.
Kovin: Do you see this, Captain? She shattered it.
Emh: It's easily repaired.
Janeway: Do you have any idea why Seven attacked you?
Kovin: It was unprovoked. She came at me like an animal!
Torres: Oh, I wouldn't put it like that. I was at another console about ten meters away. I heard Kovin raise his voice and when I looked around I saw that he was holding her arm.
Kovin: I barely touched her. A gentle gesture to move her out of my way so I could get to the console, then she turned on me, attacked me.
Janeway: What did you say to her?
Kovin: I told her how to reconfigure the tactical control systems properly.
Janeway: Is that all?
Kovin: That's all!
Torres: And that's when she knocked him down. Ashmore and I had to hold her back.
Kovin: She would have killed me. That woman is dangerous.
Emh: It's a miracle you survived. Now hold still or this won't heal properly.
Kovin: Why are you questioning me on this? You should be diskiplining your crew member.
Janeway: Believe me, I'll deal with it. Please accept my sincere apology. Now, if you'll excuse me.
Emh: Good as new.
Janeway: Come in.
Janeway: Here we are again. Oh, I'm tired of having this conversation. You know what I'm going to say. I know how you're going to respond, so it seems pointless to say anything.
Seven: Shall I consider my privileges restricted and confine myself to the Cargo Bay?
Janeway: I think we've established that traditional diskiplinary actions don't work with you. The question is, what will?
Seven: Are you asking for my opinion?
Janeway: I suppose I am. Because frankly I'm running out of options. Throwing you in the brig isn't going to solve anything, neither is slapping you on the wrist. And it's not as though I don't understand your feelings about Kovin. There have been a few times when I'd have liked to pop him on the nose myself. But you have to start learning the difference between having an impulse and acting on it. Does that make any sense to you?
Seven: I believe so. I will give it more thought.
Janeway: Well, that's a start.
Emh: I hear there was some excitement this morning. When I started helping you improve your social skills, I'm fairly certain I didn't include a boxing lesson. You weren't hurt, were you?
Seven: No.
Emh: Still a bit tense?
Seven: Perhaps.
Emh: I understand the burden you carry. Constantly being obligated to deal with those who fall short of excellence. I often find my own patience being tested by someone like Mister Kovin. Of course I generally respond with a devastating quip rather than a left hook. We must both accept the fact that very few lifeforms will ever meet our high standards. So, when you get irritated, just try to be tolerant, and remember, they can't help being what they are. Hmm. I'm reading some increased engrammatic activity, and your adrenalin levels are slightly elevated.
Seven: What does that indicate?
Emh: It's consistent with a state of heightened tension. Lie down and I'll run some scans. In a typical human, I would consider this a mood swing. But with your unique physiology, I'd like to rule out the possibility of a chemical imbalance.
Emh: Have you been experiencing any other symptoms? Headaches, disorientation?
Seven: No.
Emh: Physiological scans seem normal. I'm going to check your Borg implants now.
Emh: Seven? What's wrong?
Seven: Let me out.
Emh: I will. Stay calm.
Seven: No more procedures.
Emh: All right.
Seven: Stay away. You mustn't do this.
Emh: Do what? Seven, what are you so afraid of?
Seven: I don't know.
Emh: She experienced an episode of acute anxiety with all the trimmings. Intense apprehension, shortness of breath, dizziness. I finally managed to sedate her.
Janeway: Could this have been caused by her cortical implants?
Emh: I don't think so. I think the problem has to do with memory suppression. I've detected a high concentration of biogenic amines in Seven's hippocampus, a substance I haven't noticed before. It's blocking portions of her memory center.
Janeway: Do you know where it came from?
Emh: No, but it seems to be dissipating.
Emh: Seven's unusual behavior may be the result of the blocked memories beginning to surface. Memories which she can't identify yet.
Janeway: Can you treat her?
Emh: Treatment would involve integrating the repressed memories into Seven's consciousness. I may be able to use a standard therapeutic regression technique.
Janeway: I wasn't aware that you were programmed for psychotherapeutic capabilities.
Emh: I wasn't. But in the absence of a ship's counselor, I've been developing a psychiatric subroutine to add to my program. I'll be even more valuable to you than I am now.
Janeway: Keep me informed, Doctor.
Emh: A Jungian therapist would attempt to retrieve unconscious memories by exploring synchronicities in recent events. On the other hand, Amanin of Betazed would argue that a combination of sensory isolation and focused breathing techniques would be more effective. I've integrated the finer points of both to create my own approach to memory reconstruction.
Seven: What does this approach involve?
Emh: First, putting you at ease by performing the treatment here, in your own environment. Once the cortical probes have reinforced the neural pathways, I'll use a directed imagery technique to guide you through the regression.
Seven: You may proceed.
Emh: Please, close your eyes. Clear your mind. Try not to think or to analyze.
Seven: My mind is now clear.
Emh: Seven, this isn't an exercise in efficiency. Close your eyes, breathe deeply. Now concentrate on the sound of my voice. Let go of the present, leave the cargo bay behind. Allow yourself to drift. Describe the first image that enters your mind.
Seven: A medical tricorder. Duritanium casing. Seven point six centimeters by nine point eight centimeters by three point two centimeters. Alphanumeric display.
Emh: That's enough. So, you're in Sickbay. How does the tricorder make you feel?
Seven: It disturbs me.
Emh: Why does it disturb you?
Seven: I'm afraid it will hurt me.
Emh: Is there anything else there that causes you to anticipate pain?
Seven: The diagnostic bed. It's closing around me.
Emh: You feel restrained, confined? SEVEN Yes. I am uneasy.
Emh: About what?
Seven: It's Kovin.
Emh: What is he doing?
Seven: He's restraining me. I want to get away from him but I can't. Kovin's using some kind of instrument on me.
Emh: Seven?
Seven: I didn't recall this before.
Emh: Recall what?
Seven: Kovin. He performed a surgical procedure on me. He extracted Borg technology from my body. He violated me.
Emh: We're making progress. Now tell me, this surgical procedure, when did it happen?
Seven: I don't know. The details are vague. There are only images.
Emh: And you're sure it was Kovin? Did you see Kovin?
Seven: Yes.
Emh: You said he was restraining you, using an instrument of some sort.
Seven: He was.
Emh: Were you on Voyager when this happened?
Seven: No. It must have been when we were testing the weapons on the surface.
Emh: Then concentrate on that away mission. Focus on the first image that enters your mind. Describe it for me,
Seven: A large granitic stone, approximately one half meter high.
Emh: Now, allow that memory to develop beyond the image. Integrate it into your consciousness. Let the memory take shape.
Seven: I'm at the weapons range. Kovin had taken us there to evaluate various hand held firearms he wished to offer in trade.
Seven: He attempted to impress us with a demonstration of the weapons' destructive capabilities. My role was to provide a more objective analysis.
Kovin: Terawatt powered particle beam rifle, four microsecond recharge cycle, ten kilometer range.
Paris: Definitely not standard Starfleet issue. What do you think?
Seven: Seventy two percent fragmentation, twenty eight percent vaporization. Crude, but efficient.
Paris: It's not as accurate as our compression rifles, but it's a lot easier to handle. I wouldn't mind carrying one of these the next time we run into the Hirogen.
Seven: Targeting mechanism could be augmented with a thermal guidance sensor. That would improve accuracy by twenty four percent.
Kovin: I can do that now. Care to join me? You can make sure the adjustments perform to your specifications.
Paris: If you don't mind, I'd like to test some of the other firearms.
Kovin: Go right ahead. This way.
Seven: Kovin took me to a small laboratory.
Emh: Describe it.
Seven: It was poorly illuminated. I saw various instruments, technology unfamiliar to me. I assumed this was where he developed new weapon designs.
Seven: This weapon is thoron based.
Kovin: Most of these hand-held disrupters are.
Seven: Thoron can be unstable in weapons.
Kovin: Not if you polarize the emitter matrix. That compensates for any instabilities. Watch.
Seven: What are you doing?
Seven: He turned the weapon on me.
Emh: He fired?
Seven: Yes, I remember it now.
Emh: What happened next?
Seven: I'm not sure.
Emh: Concentrate. See the laboratory in your mind.
Seven: There was a light in my eyes.
Emh: Was Kovin still in the room with you?
Seven: Yes.
Kovin: Restrain her, quickly.
Seven: And another Entharan was assisting him.
Scharn: This is Borg technology.
Kovin: That's what I've been telling you.
Seven: Let me go.
Seven: They bound me to an examination table.
Emh: What did they do to you? Did they scan you?
Kovin: The bio-ablation pump is engaged and pressurized.
Scharn: The growth medium is activating the implants. The nanoprobes are multiplying.
Seven: They put a device near my head.
Seven: They removed my ocular implant.
Seven: Then some of the implants in my arm were activated.
Emh: Which ones? Can you be more specific?
Kovin: Use the maximum setting of the metagenic pulse to stimulate the implants.
Scharn: The assimilation tubules are ready.
Kovin: Prepare to harvest the nanoprobes.
Seven: They extracted nanoprobes through my assimilation tubules. I was powerless, unable to stop them.
Emh: You couldn't be expected to. You were restrained. Then what happened?
Seven: They took the nanoprobes to another subject, also restrained. Then they, they assimilated him.
Scharn: Well done.
Seven: The next thing I remember I was back in Kovin's lab. He claimed the particle beam rifle overloaded, that it had burned my hand. But it was a lie. They had attacked me.
Kovin: I'm sorry. I should have been more careful.
Seven: Do you have a dermal regenerator?
Kovin: Of course.
Emh: I'll inform the captain.
Emh: There's no doubt that Seven was the victim of a brutal assault.
Janeway: How is she?
Emh: As well as can be expected. She's regenerating in her alcove. I predict her emotional recovery will take some time. I certainly hope you intend to hold Kovin responsible for what he's done.
Janeway: First I want to know how much of her story we can corroborate. Tom, you were with her on the planet. How long was she alone with Kovin?
Paris: At least two hours.
Janeway: And when she came back, did she say anything about what happened?
Paris: Only that they'd finished their work on the rifle. She seemed fine.
Emh: Clearly Mister Kovin used some artificial means to suppress her memory of the event. That would explain the unusual engrammatic activity I found in her neurological scans.
Janeway: Did you find any other physical evidence of the medical procedures she described?
Emh: No. I suspect Mister Kovin used Seven's own nanoprobes to repair any cellular damage. She distinctly remembers Kovin extracting them.
Tuvok: You seem to be accepting Seven's recovered memories as fact.
Emh: Are you suggesting otherwise?
Tuvok: Historically, recovered memories have often proven unreliable.
Emh: Yes, in cases where a traumatic experience has been repressed for years. But we're dealing with a very recent memory here, that was blocked by artificial means. When I removed that mechanism, Seven remembered everything that happened.
Tuvok: Human memory is rarely perfect.
Paris: What are you saying, Tuvok? That Seven is making this up?
Tuvok: No, but we must remember that she's experienced hallucinatory images before.
Emh: That was in direct response to a signal from the ship where she was assimilated. She's not having hallucinations now. She's remembering what happened to her. I've confirmed this by analyzing the specific engrammatic activity in her hippocampus. We're not talking about conjecture, we're talking about science.
Janeway: Let's not get bogged down. Seven's made serious accusations and I won't dismiss them. If Kovin assaulted her, took a sample of her Borg technology, we can't stand by and do nothing. In the wrong hands a single nanoprobe could lead to disaster. Doctor, I want you to keep searching for any physical evidence to back up Seven's claim. I will talk to Kovin. Dismissed.
Kovin: This is offensive and absurd. She's obviously lying.
Janeway: Why would she do that?
Kovin: Maybe you can answer that. She's your crewmember. First she attacks me, then she invents these ridiculous stories, and you try to place the blame on me. Is this some kind of negotiating tactic?
Janeway: I have no hidden agenda. I'm simply trying to clarify what happened.
Kovin: I told you already. We went to my laboratory to adjust the guidance system on the particle beam rifle.
Janeway: And that took two hours?
Kovin: She insisted absolute precision.
Janeway: We've confirmed that Seven was exposed to an intense thoron discharge.
Kovin: She was, after the rifle's power cell overloaded. We reported the accident immediately.
Janeway: She now remembers that you fired the weapon at her deliberately.
Kovin: That's preposterous.
Janeway: The Doctor now tells me the blast could have been enough to render her unconscious.
Kovin: But it didn't. We were both startled for a moment. And after I apologized for the accident, she asked if I had a dermal regenerator, which I did, and I used on her arm. The one with the mechanical implants.
Janeway: Which you recognized as Borg.
Kovin: I was aware she'd been a Borg. She told me herself.
Janeway: Did you ever express curiosity in that technology, or try to examine it more closely?
Kovin: No.
Janeway: You never considered the potential value it might have as a weapon?
Kovin: Is that what you think I've done?
Janeway: You may not realize how dangerous Borg technology can be. If you've taken even a single nanoprobe, I need to know about it right now.
Kovin: I haven't taken anything.
Janeway: I'd like to examine your laboratory to be absolutely sure.
Kovin: No. This has already gone too far.
Janeway: Then I'll have to contact the authorities. Maybe they'll be more helpful.
Kovin: Are you willing to risk our trade agreement all on the basis of one crew member's delusions?
Janeway: Yes. Now, are you going to cooperate with our investigation?
Kovin: I don't seem to have much choice.
Tuvok: You stated that the rifle's power cell overloaded as a result of a faulty oscillator adjustment.
Kovin: That's right.
Tuvok: Can you describe in more detail how that occurred?
Kovin: I was showing her how to polarize the emitter matrix. I must have tuned the induction frequency too high.
Tuvok: Were you unfamiliar with that procedure?
Kovin: No. I have done it a hundred times. It was a careless mistake. How many times do I need to apologize?
Tuvok: I am not seeking a statement of remorse.
Kovin: Then what do you want? Are you trying to catch me in a lie? Trick me into confessing? You can't, because there's nothing for me to confess! I haven't done anything wrong.
Tuvok: One of our crew members claims that you have.
Kovin: Your crewmember, Seven of Nine, she's very fortunate.
Tuvok: How so?
Kovin: She has an entire crew leaping to her defense. I have no one.
Tuvok: The Entharan representative will be here shortly.
Kovin: You mean the Magistrate? He won't help me. He's more interested in protecting diplomatic relations with people like you.
Tuvok: Surely he'll want to know the truth. That's all we're seeking.
Kovin: You don't understand. On my world, we depend on trade with alien species. There are strict protocols about those relationships. Even being accused of violating them is a serious offense.
Tuvok: You will have the opportunity to refute any charges.
Kovin: It won't matter. Once they're made, the damage is done. I won't be trusted any longer. I'll be ruined. Please, I never hurt your crew member. Don't do this.
Tuvok: I'm afraid I have no choice. But I assure you our investigation will be conducted in a fair and impartial manner.
Kovin: You strike me as a man of your word. If you tell me I won't be prejudged, then I believe you.
Emh: How are you feeling?
Seven: I am undamaged.
Emh: But how do you feel? Seven, your physical scars have healed, but the psychological effects are still there. You'll have to deal with them.
Seven: For what purpose?
Emh: In order to heal. Kovin attacked you, violated your rights as an individual. It's important that you recognize that, so you can understand any hostility or resentment you might be feeling.
Seven: Resentment is a human trait. It has no structure, no function. I want no part of it.
Emh: You're going to have to begin accepting the fact that your human feelings exist, and that suppressing them can damage you.
Seven: If I am not aware of these feelings, how can I express them?
Emh: Let me ask you this. What would have happened if Kovin had tried to take Borg technology directly from the Collective?
Seven: He would have been assimilated.
Emh: Precisely. Which is why he chose you. He could get what he wanted without running any risks.
Seven: It was my individuality which made me vulnerable.
Emh: Exactly. He violated that individuality. What he did is an affront to everything you are, Borg and Human.
Seven: It was the act of a coward.
Emh: Yes! Someone who was willing to use you in the cruelest way so that he could create new weapons and sell them.
Seven: I believe I'm beginning to experience anger. Anger toward Kovin.
Emh: Good. That's a perfectly healthy, normal response. And when Kovin gets what he deserves, you're going to feel much better.
Kovin: Right this way, Magistrate. My laboratory.
Emh: There are no examination tables.
Kovin: I told you, just work benches.
Tuvok: Is this the entire facility?
Kovin: Yes.
Emh: We should scan for signs that the room may have been altered recently. During her regression, Seven described instruments similar to these.
Kovin: Of course she did. She was here.
Emh: She said a device like this was used to remove her optic implant.
Kovin: That's a micro-caliper. I used it to remove the casing over the guidance system on the particle beam rifle.
Emh: And isn't this an electro-dynamic probe?
Kovin: Yes.
Emh: Hmm. It's equipped with a monofilament stimulator. Could it be used to manipulate the neurotransmitter levels in a human brain?
Kovin: Not as it is.
Emh: But with the proper modifications?
Kovin: With the proper modifications I could reconfigure your comm. badge to manipulate neurotransmitters. What's your point?
Emh: I believe you've just made it. There is cellular residue on many of these instruments. It matches Seven's genome. With your permission, sir, I'd like to take these tools back to Voyager where I can run more conclusive scans.
Magistrate: Take whatever you need.
Tuvok: Doctor, there are a number of Borg nanoprobes on the surface of this table.
Emh: I'll just collect a sample. Hmm.
Kovin: That's where her arm was hit when the rifle overloaded.
Tuvok: The dispersal pattern is consistent with a dermal rupture.
Emh: These nanoprobes were recently regenerated. If this were nothing more than cellular residue from Seven's injury, the nanoprobes would be dormant. But these have been activated in a very specific pattern.
Magistrate: I've seen enough. Kovin, there is sufficient evidence here to detain you pending official proceedings.
Kovin: No. Please. No.
Kovin: Stay where you are.
Magistrate: Kovin, don't!
Kovin: I trusted you. You said it would be an impartial investigation. But you're all determined to find what you want to find. Well, I'm not going to let this happen.
Tuvok: Tuvok to Voyager.
Janeway: Janeway here.
Tuvok: Mister Kovin has transported out of the laboratory.
Tuvok: Can you track his present position?
Janeway: Stand by.
Kim: I'm picking up a transporter signature, three hundred kilometers above the surface.
Paris: Captain, there's a ship powering it's engines at those coordinates.
Janeway: Magistrate, do you want us to follow him?
Magistrate: Yes, but I'd like to join you.
Janeway: Very well. We'll beam you to Voyager. Stand by.
Paris: Kovin's ship is on a heading of one eight mark two five.
Janeway: Set an intercept course. Get ready to lock on a tractor beam.
Chakotay: He's only at half impulse. His ship may not have warp engines.
Paris: We're at nine thousand kilometers and closing.
Chakotay: I'm engaging the tractor beam.
Paris: I can't find him. All of my sensor readings have disappeared.
Kim: He generated a photonic pulse. It took them offline. We'll have to reinitialize the entire sensor array.
Janeway: Do it. Our investigation has suddenly turned into a manhunt.
Chakotay: The fact that he's running shows that he's got something to hide. Until we find out what that is, we can't risk letting him go.
Janeway: Captain's log, stardate 51679.4. We've detected the warp signature from Kovin's ship and we're now in pursuit. In the meantime, Tuvok and I have been examining the tools from Kovin's lab.
Janeway: This isn't getting us anywhere. Seven's cellular residue is on everyone of these, but that would be true if she simply handled them.
Tuvok: My examination of the rifle is equally inconclusive. It may have overloaded accidentally, or not.
Janeway: I'm getting a bad feeling about this, Tuvok. We aren't finding anything that implicates Kovin.
Tuvok: I told him our investigation would be impartial. I believe it has been.
Janeway: It has, but I'll admit I had some preconceptions about him. They may have influenced my judgment. The strongest evidence so far is the batch of nanoprobes the Doctor found. The fact that they were regenerated suggests that Kovin was experimenting with them.
Tuvok: We don't know a great deal about the interaction between nanoprobes and Borg physiology. It might be worthwhile to simulate the effect of the rifle blast on Seven's arm and see what happens to the nanoprobes.
Janeway: Good. Maybe that'll give us some answers.
Emh: Is this really necessary, Captain? She's suffered enough trauma already.
Janeway: We don't want to make accusations against an innocent man. We have to do everything we can to find some concrete evidence.
Seven: He's not an innocent man. I know what he did to me.
Tuvok: But we must have proof, and this experiment may provide us with it. We've configured this hypospray to simulate the energy of a thoron blast. We'll collect thin layers of your skin tissue and examine the effects. It won't be painful.
Seven: I'm not afraid. I am angry.
Janeway: I know. Try to be patient. We may have some answers soon.
Janeway: All right, let's see what we've got.
Janeway: I think you'd better take a look.
Seven: What do you see?
Emh: The nanoprobes are regenerating in exactly the same pattern we saw in Kovin's laboratory. It appears to be a spontaneous response which could have been caused by the energy released from the thoron weapon.
Seven: It doesn't matter. Kovin is guilty.
Janeway: Seven, there's no doubt in my mind that you believe what you're saying. But is it possible, just possible, that the memories you and the Doctor recovered aren't accurate?
Seven: How could that be?
Janeway: During your time with the Borg, you were subjected to invasive medical procedures. You undoubtedly witnessed other victims being assimilated. Could that be what you're remembering?
Seven: You know that's not right. Tell them.
Emh: Everything led me to believe that you were a victim. Your extreme response to Kovin in Engineering, your irrational fear when I was examining you. Something prompted that behavior, and I believed it was a repressed memory of your ordeal with Kovin.
Seven: That is what it was.
Emh: But if I'm to be impartial, I have to acknowledge that your neurology is still something of a mystery to me. I can't be certain what triggered those memories, and we can't ignore the fact that this evidence supports Kovin's story, and not yours.
Seven: You were the one who helped me to understand what happened and now you're denying it.
Janeway: Seven, no one's abandoning you, but we have to do what's right. We have to find Kovin and tell him what we've learned.
Seven: The Doctor told me I would feel better when Kovin gets what he deserves. I want him to be punished. I won't settle for anything less.
Janeway: Mister Paris?
Paris: He's in range.
Janeway: Visual. Hail him.
Tuvok: No response. He's charging weapons.
Janeway: Open a channel, all frequencies. Mister Kovin, this is Captain Janeway. We believe we've made a mistake in accusing you. We only want to correct the situation. Stand down your weapons.
Tuvok: He's responding.
Kovin: Stop your pursuit. I can damage your ship.
Janeway: We're not here to take you by force.
Kovin: Then let me go.
Magistrate: Kovin, listen to me. The proceedings must be resolved.
Kovin: This is a trap.
Janeway: No. We've discovered information that supports your story.
Kovin: I don't believe you.
Emh: We've re-examined the evidence. Finding the nanoprobes led us to the wrong conclusion. We know now that your thoron rifle did overload. Please.
Tuvok: He's firing a spread of photon pulses.
Kim: Shields down to eighty two percent.
Janeway: Back off. Give him some breathing room.
Paris: He's coming about, heading right for us.
Chakotay: Direct hit to the power grid.
Magistrate: Innocent or not, he's going to destroy your vessel.
Chakotay: Captain?
Janeway: He's come under enough fire from us already. Harry, try to beam him off his ship.
Kim: He's thrown up a scattering field. I can't get a lock.
Janeway: Keep trying.
Chakotay: Shields are down.
Tuvok: He's shunting all power to his photonic emitters.
Magistrate: We must protect ourselves. Disable his ship.
Janeway: No! Evasive maneuvers. Hard to port, full thrusters
Paris: Aye.
Kim: I've almost got a lock on him. A few more seconds.
Tuvok: He's charging weapons again. Captain, his emitters are overloading. All his systems are destabilizing.
Janeway: Open a channel. Kovin, shut down your scattering field. Let us beam you aboard. Kovin!
Chakotay: He's firing.
Janeway: Harry?
Kim: I can't find anything to lock onto, Captain.
Magistrate: There's nothing more we could have done.
Janeway: Stand down Red alert. Mister Paris, set a course back to the Entharan colony. Chief Medical Officer's log, stardate 51658.2. I've spent the past three days being cross-examined by the Entharan authorities, but the matter is finally resolved.
Seven: Doctor.
Emh: Yes.
Seven: I'm here for my weekly maintenance.
Emh: Oh, of course. This way, please.
Emh: Metabolic rate is stable. Electro-optic implant is aligned. Your blood pressure is slightly off, but within tolerance. You're in perfect health. See you next week.
Seven: I do not feel perfect.
Emh: What do you mean?
Seven: I am preoccupied by Kovin's death.
Emh: Join the club. It's all I can think about.
Seven: As a Borg, I was responsible for the destruction of countless millions and I felt nothing. But now, I regret the destruction of this single being.
Emh: It's called remorse, Seven. It comes into play when you make a mistake, and you feel guilt about what you've done. Another new emotion for you to experience.
Seven: I do not enjoy this remorse any more than I enjoyed anger. Will the feeling subside?
Emh: Yes. But not quickly.
Seven: I would rather not have to wait.
Emh: I'm afraid you don't have much choice.
Emh: But maybe I do.
Emh: I've isolated the algorithms responsible for my desire to expand beyond my original programming. I want to delete them.
Janeway: Why?
Emh: It was my urge to experiment, my infatuation with improving myself, that led to this tragedy. I fancied myself a psychologist, a ship's counselor. But I wasn't prepared for the complexities that come with such a responsibility. In my enthusiasm to help Seven of Nine, I lost my medical objectivity. I became a self-righteous advocate. I didn't stop to think for one second that I might be wrong. That mustn't happen again.
Janeway: You want to go back to the state you were in when we first activated you?
Emh: I'll still be capable of treating any and all medical conditions, but without the risk of overstepping my bounds. It's for the best, Captain.
Janeway: Oh, I'm not so sure. This crew has benefited greatly from your improvements over the years. Request denied.
Emh: Captain.
Janeway: I won't turn back the clock because of one mistake, no matter how serious. And no matter how you might feel.
Emh: I'm a physician. I'm supposed to preserve life, not destroy it. I can't live with the thought that I might do it again.
Janeway: With any luck, that knowledge will prevent it from happening again. We all rallied around Seven, Doctor, myself included. I wanted her to know she was part of this family, that we would support her, fight for her, no matter what. We let our good intentions blind us. We all bear responsibility for Kovin's death, and we all have to live with it. But to delete that burden would be the last thing any of us should do.