Chakotay: Let's mark the coordinates of that trinary star. It'll be a good reference point for this sector.
Kim: Didn't we already pass a trinary system like this?
Chakotay: Not that I remember. Why?
Kim: It just seems familiar.
Tuvok: Perhaps you're experiencing a paradoxical state-dependant associated phenomenon.
Janeway: Deja-vu.
Kim: Yeah, I guess so.
Tuvok: Captain, there is a ship approaching, bearing two one five mark eight.
Janeway: On screen.
Tuvok: Their shields are down and their weapon systems are unpowered.
Kim: They're hailing us.
Alben: My respects to you. I'm Alben, Captain of the Narada.
Janeway: Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager.
Alben: I thought I was familiar with every type of ship in this sector, but I've never seen anything like yours before.
Janeway: We're not from around here.
Alben: In that case, let me welcome you to Nasari territory.
Kim: That ship's going to fire!
Chakotay: What?
Kim: Captain, we've got to defend ourselves.
Tuvok: I am detecting no threat. Tactical control has been moved to the Ops station. Our weapons systems are charging.
Kim: Raising shields and firing phasers.
Tuvok: Direct hit. They are returning fire.
Janeway: Red alert!
Janeway: Hail them. We've got to put a stop to this.
Kim: Captain, I had to act quickly.
Janeway: You will explain yourself, Mister Kim, but right now you're relieved. Commander, you're at Ops.
Tuvok: They are not responding to hails.
Torres: There's pressure building up in plasma conduit G six. Ashmore, open up the emergency vent. I'll try to reroute the plasma flow.
Tuvok: Shields are down to seventy percent.
Janeway: Get us out of here.
Chakotay: Warp engines are down.
Tuvok: They are in pursuit.
Janeway: Bridge to Engineering, what's the status of the warp drive?
Torres: The plasma injectors are offline, Captain. We're working on them now.
Chakotay: A plasma conduit just blew in Engineering. Propulsion systems are down. They're reporting casualties.
Janeway: Target their weapons array and fire.
Tuvok: They've suffered damage to their weapon systems and shield emitters. They are moving away.
Janeway: I want to know exactly what you thought you were doing.
Kim: Their weapons were charging. They were about to fire at us. We could have been destroyed.
Tuvok: Sensor logs indicate that their weapon systems were not powered.
Kim: Then they must have fooled our sensors somehow. I detected a tetryon surge coming from their ship.
Tuvok: There are many sources of increased tetryon emissions. It may have been an irregularity in their warp field.
Kim: No! It was their weapons. That whole welcome to Nasari territory was a trick.
Chakotay: How could you know that?
Kim: I can't explain that. I just knew. I was only trying to protect the ship.
Janeway: I trust your intentions, Ensign, but your actions are going to need a little more justification. I want you to analyze the sensor logs, and see if there's any basis for Mister Kim's hunch.
Tuvok: Aye, Captain.
Janeway: In the meantime I'm suspending you from duty. Go to Sickbay. Let the Doctor have a look at that cut.
Kes: Still no respiration. Her blood pressure's ninety over forty and dropping.
Emh: She has second degree burns on her lungs. I'll need to do a pulmonary regeneration.
Kes: Her neural tissues are starting to degenerate.
Emh: Oxygen deprivation. We've got to get her breathing. Try ten milligrams pulmazine.
Kes: No effect.
Emh: Twenty milligrams.
Kim: Is she going to be all right?
Emh: Yes. Another patient snatched from the jaws of death.
Kes: Let me take care of that.
Kim: B'Elanna almost got killed. It's my fault.
Kes: What do you mean?
Kim: I started that fight. I thought I was doing the right thing. For a moment I was absolutely sure.
Kes: And now you're not?
Kim: It's fading. What I did, and how I felt. It doesn't make any sense. And it could have been worse. What if they'd been more powerful than we were? I could have gotten everyone killed.
Kes: But none of that happened. B'Elanna got hurt, but she'll recover. Harry, you can't undo what's been done.
Kim: You're right. Thanks.
Kim: Raising shields and firing phasers. I can't explain it. I just knew. I never wanted you to get hurt.
Torres: That's supposed to make me feel better?
Kim: I'm sorry.
Kim'S Mother: Harry, I'm here. Don't worry, you'll feel better soon. I can make some soup for you, would you like that? I won't go away anywhere as long as you need me. We raised you to be a responsible boy.
Kim: I try to be.
Kim'S Mother: I'm suspending you from duty.
Kim: Mom!
Emh: Well, the good news is I won't have to quarantine you. There's no sign of an infectious agent anywhere in your body.
Kim: And the bad news?
Emh: If I don't find the cause of this rash, it will be difficult to treat.
Kim: Last night I had a dream about being sick with the Mendakan pox when I was nine. Do you think this could be a recurrence?
Emh: I've never considered dreams as a diagnostic tool before. Your unconscious mind sensed these developing symptoms and tried to provide an explanation? Such recurrences of this particular illness are rare, but I will consider the possibility. Hmm.
Kim: What?
Emh: In addition to your visible symptoms, your blood chemistry has been slightly altered.
Kim: Is that serious?
Emh: No, but it's not consistent with the symptoms of the Mendakan pox.
Kim: Doctor, you don't think there could be any psychological effects from this disease, do you?
Emh: Such as?
Kim: I've been having this strange deja-vu feeling. Then yesterday on the Bridge I had this sudden instinct, and I acted on it by firing without orders.
Emh: I'd certainly call that atypical behavior. Your scans haven't shown any neurological abnormalities, but I will run a closer analysis.
Kes: Doctor, she's regaining consciousness.
Emh: Good morning, Lieutenant.
Torres: Morning? What am I doing here?
Kes: There was an accident in Engineering. A plasma conduit exploded.
Emh: I've treated you for second and third degree burns and several broken ribs. I expect you'll make a full recovery
Torres: Ow!
Emh: after you've spent at least one more day in Sickbay.
Torres: This time Doctor, I'm not going to argue with you. Harry, what happened to your face?
Kim: We're still trying to figure that out.
Torres: It's kind of cute. Makes you look like a speckled targ.
Kim: B'Elanna, I'm really sorry you got hurt.
Torres: Hey, it's all part of the adventure of space travel, right?
Kim: I know, but, er
Torres: What. What is it?
Kim: Never mind. I'm glad you're going to be all right.
Torres: Thanks.
Emh: I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut visiting hour short. Ensign, you can go. I'll contact you with the results of my analysis.
Kim: Take care of yourself.
Torres: See you later, Spot.
Kim: Captain, I accept full responsibility for my mistake. I was completely out of line, even if I believed that other ship was charging weapons, which they probably weren't.
Janeway: Harry, they were charging weapons.
Kim: I was right.
Janeway: Tuvok has confirmed that the tetryon surge matched the energy signature of that particulate beam they shot at us. They would have taken us completely by surprise.
Kim: As soon as I saw their ship, I felt this sudden suspicion and loathing. I knew we were in trouble.
Janeway: Which brings us back to the larger question.
Kim: How did I know? I really wish I could tell you, Captain, but for the past few days this area of space has seemed more and more familiar to me. If I didn't know it was impossible, I'd swear I've been here before.
Janeway: We'll have to consider every possible explanation.
Kim: Oh, believe me, I have been. Space-time anomalies, alien telepathy, alternate realities. The list gets weirder as it goes on.
Janeway: Then there's your sudden illness, which may not be a coincidence.
Tuvok: Tuvok to Janeway. There are three ships approaching of the same configuration as the Nasari vessel.
Janeway: On my way.
Chakotay: They'll intercept in thirty six minutes.
Janeway: Can we outrun them?
Chakotay: I doubt it. Engineering's still working on repairs. We could manage warp three at best.
Kim: Let me see a star chart of this region. Head for this system. I think we can make it.
Janeway: Is this another hunch, Ensign?
Kim: We'll be safe there, I'm sure of it.
Janeway: Tactical status.
Tuvok: The aft shield emitter is offline, phasers are operational, but torpedo launchers are not. I strongly advise against a confrontation.
Janeway: Follow Harry's course. Speed, as fast as we can go.
Tuvok: The Nasari vessels will overtake us in two minutes.
Chakotay: We're coming up on that star system. We'll pass it if we stay at warp.
Janeway: Slow to impulse. We're making our stand here.
Chakotay: They'll enter weapons range in a few seconds.
Kim: Taresia.
Janeway: What does that mean? Do you know this place?
Kim: Yes. It was in my dream.
Tuvok: There is another ship approaching from the third planet.
Chakotay: Is it Nasari?
Tuvok: No, but they're on an intercept course and their weapons are fully powered.
Janeway: Prepare for evasive maneuvers.
Chakotay: Aye, Captain.
Kim: We'll be all right.
Tuvok: The unidentified vessel has disabled all the Nasari ships. They are retreating.
Chakotay: What's your next trick, Harry. Pull a shuttlecraft out of a hat?
Janeway: Open a channel to that ship.
Kim: They're already hailing us.
Lyris: Alien vessel, this is the Taresian starship. There you are! Our sensors detected you aboard your ship. I'm glad to see you're safe.
Kim: Do you know me?
Lyris: In a way. I know you are one of my people.
Kim: What?
Lyris: You're Taresian. Welcome home.
Janeway: Captain's log 50732.4. The Taresians have escorted us back to their homeworld so we can continue to investigate their claim that Ensign Kim is a member of their race.
Lyris: Welcome. We're so glad to have you here. This is a day of celebration. Another Taresian has returned.
Eliann: Welcome.
Malia: You're home now, Harry.
Kim: Er, wait a minute. I still don't understand how this is possible.
Janeway: We'd like to ask some questions before we start celebrating.
Lyris: Of course.
Kim: Our Doctor has found some genetic fragments in my DNA which could be part of an alien genetic structure.
Lyris: Yes, those are part of your Taresian genes. They're becoming active. We'd be happy to provide your Doctor with some DNA samples for comparison.
Kim: What I want to know is how I could have gotten them.
Lyris: You were conceived here, on this world. While you were still an embryo, you were placed in stasis and taken to Earth to be implanted in the womb of an Earth woman.
Kim: My mother. What did you do to her?
Lyris: She would have been completely unaware of the procedure. After the implantation process, the child begins to incorporate some DNA from the surrogate parent. You developed physically as a human, so she would have thought you were her natural child.
Kim: But you're saying I'm not.
Taymon: We understand how you feel. Everyone here was born on other worlds. We all found our way back home like you, and discovered we're not quite who we thought we were.
Rinna: Harry, maybe you'd like to sit down.
Eliann: Why don't you go get him something to drink?
Tuvok: All of your children are born to alien parents?
Lyris: Yes, and when they return, each child brings an infusion of new genetic material as well as of first hand experience about another culture.
Janeway: But Harry wasn't trying to return here. We came to the Delta Quadrant by accident.
Lyris: His DNA was encoded with certain instincts, including the desire to explore space. Your accident may have brought him here faster, but he always would have been driven to find his way back. You are the first to return from such a great distance.
Paris: Harry.
Kim: That's how Taresians say thank you, isn't it? But how could I know so much about a place I've never been?
Lyris: It's been encoded into your Taresian genes. As you've gotten closer to home and seen familiar sights, your dormant genetic memory has been reawakened.
Rinna: You'll remember more about us as you spend time here.
Eliann: I know it all seems strange now, but you are one of us, Harry. Can't you feel it?
Kim: Yes, I can.
Eliann: Then stay with us a while and celebrate. Come, have something to eat.
Paris: Is this the standard welcome home reception?
Taymon: For males it is. They're very rare. Our population is ninety percent female.
Paris: Really?
Janeway: I want to thank you again for your help in combating the Nasari. Do you have any idea why they tried to attack us?
Lyris: They probably detected a Taresian aboard your ship as we did. For the Nasari, that's reason enough to destroy you.
Tuvok: Are your people at war?
Lyris: We have no interest in fighting with them, but they seem determined to destroy us. Our defense capabilities prevent them from attacking directly, but they do everything in their power to stop our people from returning home.
Tuvok: I see. That might explain Mister Kim's instinctively hostile reaction to them.
Lyris: It's a defense mechanism we've programmed into all our children.
Janeway: Are the Nasari likely to attack us again when we leave your space.
Lyris: I think eventually they'll tire of waiting for you to come out. In the meantime, I'd advise you to simply stay here for a while.
Kim: These are words.
Rinna: Can you read them?
Kim: Almost.
Eliann: Our written language is very complicated. I can teach it to you if you're interested.
Paris: Ah, that looks good. What is it?
Malia: Spiced hatana. I prepared it myself. Harry, try some.
Kim: I'd like to find out if I have any relatives here. Maybe talk to my biological parents.
Eliann: I'm afraid none of us get the chance to meet our fathers. They're the ones who take the embryos to other worlds. Your father must have left here a very long time ago to make it all the way to the Alpha Quadrant.
Tuvok: Ensign, we're transporting back to the ship.
Kim: I'd like to stay for a while. I still have a lot of questions.
Janeway: Of course, Harry. Contact us when you're ready.
Paris: We'll see you later.
Emh: It's a positive match. These genetic fragments within Ensign Kim's DNA are clearly Taresian.
Janeway: Why haven't they shown up in his medical scans before?
Emh: I went back and checked his scans carefully. These fragments have apparently been disguising themselves as the recessive elements which normally within all DNA, but over the past few days they've become increasingly dominant over his human genes.
Tuvok: And they've provided him with new knowledge?
Emh: Yes, by forming neural connections in his brain. All humanoid babies are born with certain instinctive knowledge. How to recognize the shape of a face, how to hold their breath underwater. It all comes from their genes.
Janeway: The Taresians must have found a way to manipulate genetic material to implant very specific knowledge into their children.
Emh: It's scientifically plausible, but quite a feat of genetic engineering.
Janeway: So what the Taresians have been telling us appears to be true. Harry is one of their people.
Emh: And he's becoming more like them every day, both physically and neurologically.
Janeway: I wonder how that's going to influence him when Voyager's ready to leave? Of course, when that might happen is another question entirely. Are the Nasari still out there?
Tuvok: All three ships are holding position just outside the Taresian system.
Janeway: Even if we can wait them out, we'd only be postponing another conflict. I'd much rather find a way to convince them we're not their enemies.
Tuvok: Apparently the Nasari only consider Ensign Kim their enemy. Perhaps they would be more receptive to diplomacy if he were not aboard.
Janeway: Contact Harry. Let him know we'll be leaving orbit. With any luck, we'll be back in a few hours with this matter resolved.
Taymon: I joined the merchant fleet so I could get into space, because I wanted to explore every quarter of the galaxy.
Kim: Like me with Starfleet. All my life, that's all I ever wanted to do. Now I guess I know why. Strange to think that some alien DNA fragments have been controlling my life.
Taymon: Not controlling. Influencing, yes. You probably inherited some Taresian traits like a talent for math or music.
Kim: Yes, I always wondered why I loved music so much when my parents, my human parents, were practically tone deaf.
Kim: Wait, wait a minute. What is that?
Rinna: Something to make you feel good.
Taymon: It's just a mild mood enhancer. No side effects. You'll like it.
Kim: I think I'll pass, thanks.
Taymon: This is Malia. She's going to be my first wife.
Kim: First?
Taymon: Ah ha.
Kim: And you're already planning on a second?
Malia: And a third. We'll all be joined with Taymon tonight. What do humans call it when a man and women are joined?
Kim: It's called marriage, but it's usually one woman with one man.
Malia: How unusual. I hope you come to our ceremony.
Kim: I wouldn't miss it.
Taymon: Don't be afraid to indulge yourself, Harry. Everybody here wants you to be happy. You're important to us.
Kim: That's what my human parents used to say to me. How special I was. They'd been trying to have a baby for years until I came along. They called me their miracle child.
Taymon: They were right.
Kim: They spoiled me rotten, making sacrifices so they could give me everything I wanted.
Taymon: Sounds like you were pretty lucky. They loved you.
Kim: But I never felt like I deserved that kind of devotion. I didn't see what was so special about me. I used to imagine that I had these hidden powers. I'd grow up to be stronger than a Klingon or able to read people's minds. Anything to make me more than just an average kid.
Taymon: Turns out your parents were right about you. You have been special all of your life. Feels pretty good, doesn't it?
Kim: Yeah, it does.
Eliann: Let me relax your muscles for you.
Kim: That would be great.
Taymon: I think you're going to learn to like it here, Harry.
Kim: I already like it.
Eliann: Enough to stay?
Kim: I don't know about that. I'm happy where I am on Voyager.
Eliann: You could be happy here, too.
Taymon: It's nothing you have to decide right now. Just enjoy yourself while you're here.
Eliann: This uniform seems so restrictive. Why don't you let me find you something more comfortable?
Kim: Thanks. I mean
Alben: I agree with you completely, Captain. There's no reason for further hostility between us.
Janeway: I'm glad to hear it, and I hope you'll still feel that way when Ensign Kim is back on board.
Alben: I doubt we'll face that problem. Your crewmember won't be returning to you.
Janeway: What do you mean?
Alben: No one who comes home to Taresia ever leaves again. There are rumors about those people.
Janeway: I'm not interested in hearsay. Are there any facts you can give me?
Alben: I fire on any Taresian I see. If you take your crewmember back on board, I will attack your ship. My best advice to you is to forget him and be on your way. CHAKOTAY Do you think there's any truth to those rumors he mentioned?
Janeway: I don't know, but I'll feel better when we've got Harry back. Set a course back to the planet.
Tuvok: Captain, sensors indicate a high density polaron grid surrounding the planet.
Janeway: Polaron grid? It wasn't here before.
Tuvok: A network of satellites was activated to generate it.
Chakotay: Can we get through the grid?
Tuvok: Unlikely. The polaric density is too high.
Janeway: Hail them.
Tuvok: Our communications are being blocked.
Chakotay: I guess we're not welcome anymore.
Eliann: Don't worry, you'll remember everything you need to know about the ceremony once it begins.
Taymon: Amal ulat. Let us be joined.
Malia: The joining is complete.
Kim: Why did they tie him like that?
Eliann: It's tradition. It symbolizes binding their lives together, no longer looking for anyone else. Do you find it exciting?
Kim: I guess I hadn't really thought of it that way.
Rinna: You are going to stay for the celebration, aren't you?
Kim: Actually, I should check in with Voyager. They'll be back by now. Kim to Voyager. This is Ensign Kim calling Voyager, do you read?
Lyris: Harry, I'm glad you could be here for this.
Kim: It's been interesting. I was wondering if there's been any word from Voyager.
Lyris: Not that I know of. They probably haven't returned yet.
Kim: It's been a long time. I hope they didn't run into trouble with the Nasari.
Lyris: Try not to worry. Your Captain may need some time to convince those people to see reason.
Kim: Maybe so.
Lyris: Come, join the celebration while you wait. And of course you're welcome to stay the night.
Chakotay: We've been able to poke some holes in the tachyon grid but they're too small to squeeze Voyager through.
Janeway: Could a shuttle make it?
Chakotay: I doubt it. And even if one could, there's another problem. A Taresian ship is patrolling the other side of the grid.
Janeway: And we saw what they can do.
Emh: Ah, Captain. When you raised some concerns regarding the Taresians, I began questioning their story about Ensign Kim's birth.
Chakotay: I thought you'd confirmed that he has Taresian DNA.
Emh: I did, and he does. At least, he does now. But when I checked his previous microcellular scans, I found no traces of the Taresian genetic fragments. I can only conclude that he wasn't born with them.
Chakotay: Their whole story about embryo implantation was a lie. He's human.
Emh: Yes, although maybe not for long. The alien DNA is continuing to alter his genetic structure. Within a few days he'll be indistinguishable from a native Taresian.
Janeway: Do you have any idea how this new DNA could have gotten into his cells?
Emh: The most likely transfer method would be a retrovirus. He was probably exposed during an away mission.
Chakotay: Wouldn't the biofilters pick up the virus and eliminate it?
Emh: They may very well have, but once the virus transferred the DNA into his cells, killing the messenger wouldn't have helped.
Janeway: Is there any way to determine exactly when he was infected?
Emh: Indeed there is. The transporter buffer performs it's own version of a microcellular scan every time someone uses it. I reviewed the logs and found the first appearance of the alien genes in his molecular pattern on stardate 50698.
Chakotay: Our away mission to that planet where we found the vorillium. Harry was with us, and he was separated from the group for a while.
Emh: He might have been infected by something he ate or drank, even something he touched.
Janeway: So Harry gets infused with alien DNA which gives him the instinctive urge to come here. Then the Taresians tell him this elaborate story to make him believe he was one of them. Why?
Chakotay: Don't forget that welcoming committee on the planet. It sounds as if they're giving him every incentive to want to stay on Taresia.
Janeway: And by keeping us away, they're making the decision for him.
Eliann: Here you are. I hope you'll be comfortable here. Is there anything else that I can get for you?
Kim: No, I'll be fine, thanks. Goodnight.
Eliann: Get into bed.
Kim: You're going to tuck me in?
Eliann: Tuck you in?
Kim: It's a human custom. Parents tuck their children into bed, tell them a story or sing a lullaby to them to help them get to sleep.
Eliann: That's sweet. Lie back and relax. Lekaria san. Do you understand?
Kim: Pleasant dreams.
Eliann: Now close your eyes.
Kim: Mmm, that smells good.
Eliann: It's the essence of rikka flowers, it's very soothing. Lekaria san. Goodnight, Harry.
Lyris: You're Taresian. Welcome home.
Eliann: I think you'll like it here, Harry.
Chakotay: We've been lucky to have you, Harry.
Janeway: You really have been special all your life.
Kim'S Mother: You know where your real home is, Harry.
Eliann: I think you'll like it here, Harry. Stay with me.
Eliann: It's all right, it's all right. You were dreaming.
Kim: What are you doing here?
Eliann: We just want to help you relax and enjoy yourself.
Kim: Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather be alone.
Eliann: I don't believe that. I think you've been spending too many nights alone, Harry.
Rinna: You've got to stop holding yourself back. I know you have the same natural desires as any Taresian. Now you're free to act on them.
Eliann: You can't fight genetics.
Kim: I can try.
Eliann: I want you to choose me, Harry.
Rinna: Choose both of us, then you'll only have to find one more wife.
Kim: I'm not joining with you or with anybody.
Eliann: But that's the reason why you were drawn back home, Harry. To have children. Listen to your instincts.
Kim: No. Like I told you before, I'm going back to Voyager.
Rinna: You could never be as valuable to them as you are to us. We need you.
Eliann: You have a responsibility to your people to pass on your genes to the next generation. If there's anything your Taresian genes have given you, it's a sense of duty and loyalty.
Kim: My loyalty is to my crew and my family back home.
Eliann: You don't belong with them anymore. This is who you are. One of us. Your place is here.
Rinna: We'll make you glad you stayed. Think of Taymon, how happy he's been. Let yourself be happy.
Eliann: It's the right choice, Harry. This is the life you were always meant to have.
Kim: Maybe this life wouldn't be so terrible.
Rinna: It will be wonderful. You'll have everything you ever wanted, and a place of honor among your people.
Eliann: You'll never be alone again, Harry. We'll make sure of that.
Kim: Three wives. I've got to think about my choice.
Eliann: I know you're attracted to me. There's been a connection between us since the moment you got here.
Kim: You're right. I felt it too. I'm definitely considering you as one of my wives.
Eliann: What are you doing?
Kim: Well, it's like you said before. This could be exciting. Remember, you both want to make me happy, don't you?
Rinna: This is some kind of trick.
Kim: Sorry about that.
Kim: Taymon, it's Harry. I really need your help.
Kim: Are you in there?
Kim: So this is what I should expect on my honeymoon?
Malia: It would have been much easier for you if you hadn't seen this.
Kim: You mean easier for you to lead me to the slaughter. What'd you do to Taymon?
Malia: We must nucleate a large number of cells to collect enough genetic material for conception.
Kim: That's why there are no men here. They don't leave with their embryos in stasis. They're killed.
Malia: Any father should be willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his children, for the continuation of his race.
Kim: Was anything you told me true? About Taresians being born on other worlds? About my being one of you?
Malia: It's true male children are very rare here, and that we seek out new DNA to sustain our race. We need males of other species, like you, who can be transformed into compatible mates.
Kim: Transformed. That's what these genes are doing to me.
Malia: You'll be celebrated for your contribution.
Kim: Don't count on it. You're going to take me to a communications terminal where I can contact my ship.
Kim: Stay out of my way!
Malia: This won't work. You're too important to us. Whatever happens to me, they won't allow you to leave.
Chakotay: If we hit the grid here, we'll have a few seconds before the patrol ship can move in to intercept us.
Janeway: That doesn't give you much time to get a lock on Harry.
Chakotay: Then I'll have to be quick.
Janeway: Are the shields ready?
Tuvok: The new configuration is stable.
Janeway: Set a course for the target coordinates and engage at full impulse.
Paris: Aye, Captain.
Tuvok: We're disrupting the grid, but we need more speed to overcome the inertial resistance.
Paris: Increasing power. We're clear.
Chakotay: I'm not picking up Harry's comm. signal. Initiating level one bioscans of the surface.
Tuvok: Captain, the Taresian ship is on an intercept course.
Janeway: Battle stations.
Lyris: This could have been a joyous occasion. Amal ulat!
Kim: I won't let you do this to me!
Lyris: Harry, there's nowhere to go.
Chakotay: We've got him.
Paris: Setting a new course.
Tuvok: The Taresians are in pursuit.
Janeway: Return fire.
Tuvok: Aye, sir.
Paris: Captain, we've another problem. Three Nasari ships coming straight at us.
Janeway: Time to intercept?
Paris: Less than one minute.
Janeway: Harry.
Kim: Captain.
Chakotay: Welcome back. We could use your strategic intuition about now.
Janeway: I'm counting on the Taresians not to back off from those Nasari ships.
Kim: They won't.
Janeway: Good. Let's hope they're more interested in fighting with each other than with us.
Paris: Five seconds to intercept.
Tuvok: We are no longer being pursued.
Janeway: Let's not give them a chance to change their mind.
Kim: But Odysseus had been warned that these women, the Sirens, sang a song so beautiful that any man who heard it would be lured to his death.
Neelix: So how did he get the ship past them?
Kim: He told his crew to cover their ears so they couldn't hear the Siren's song. But he also had them tie him to the mast of the ship so he could listen himself without being led astray as they sailed past.
Paris: Anyone would have been drawn in by these Taresians. I have never seen so many beautiful women in my life.
Kim: It wasn't just the women. There was also something exciting about having a new identity, and being more than just young Ensign Kim.
Neelix: Well I for one am glad to have the young Ensign Kim back with us. Although I still say you should have kept some of those spots. I thought they were very distinguished.
Paris: I don't see what's so bad about being you. You're good at your job, everybody likes you.
Kim: Being likable is fine, but sometimes I wish I could be more, oh, confident with women. More like you.
Paris: Like me? You might want to reconsider that, Harry. There could be prison time involved. Actually, since I've been on Voyager, I've tried to be more like you.
Kim: That'll be the day.
Paris: I'm serious. You're my role model. You're reliable, hard working, extremely punctual. Did I mention polite?
Kim: Thanks a lot.


Charlene: Jeffrey, Belle, you're going to be late if you don't hurry. Come on now. Line up next to the door, children. Your father's ready to leave for work. All right, show me your fingernails. Very nicely done. Are your shoes polished? Perfect. I'm very pleased, children, and I'm sure your father will be too.
Belle: I want to be first to say goodbye to daddy. Jeffrey always goes first.
Jeffrey: You were first yesterday.
Charlene: Now, children, little birds in their nest get along.
Jeffrey: You're right, mother. I'm sorry, Belle, you can go first.
Belle: No, it's really your turn. I did go first yesterday.
Jeffrey: Here he comes.
Charlene: All right, now. Bright, happy faces.
Emh: The coffee was quite good this morning.
Charlene: I'm so glad you like it. I replicated a new blend from Paxau three.
Emh: I'll be home at the usual time.
Charlene: Now don't let them overwork you. You should save yourself for the important things. Others can do the busy work.
Emh: I couldn't agree more.
Jeffrey: I hope you have a good day, Father. I'll have my homework finished by the time you get back.
Emh: I'll look forward to reviewing it, Jeffrey. And is my little angel going to get an A on her history exam today?
Belle: Of course I will, daddy, and can we do some algebra problems when you get home?
Emh: Gladly.
Charlene: And don't forget, you're going to ask some of your friends from work to have dinner with us. I'd like to meet them.
Emh: I haven't forgotten. Well, goodbye all.
All: Goodbye, daddy.
Kes: How's the new holo-family, Doctor?
Emh: They're everything I could have hoped for.
Janeway: Captain's log, stardate 50836.2. We've had long range communications with a seemingly friendly race known as the Vostigye. We'll be rendezvousing within the hour at one of their space stations.
Tuvok: Ensign Kim, perhaps you could direct your attention to the sensors, and tell us if we're nearing the Vostigye space station?
Kim: We should be getting close. That's funny, I'm not detecting it.
Janeway: You've checked the coordinates they sent us?
Kim: Yes, and. Hold on. Now I'm getting something. It's debris.
Chakotay: Debris?
Tuvok: Confirmed. I am reading a debris field encompassing nearly eighty cubic kilometers.
Janeway: What's the composition of the debris?
Kim: Boronite, sarium, carbon 60 composites.
Paris: Sounds like it could have been a space station.
Janeway: On screen. What happened to it?
Chakotay: Something ripped it apart, and from the energy decay readings I'd say it was no more than an hour ago.
Kim: I'm not picking up any lifesigns, Captain. There don't appear to be any survivors.
Janeway: There were sixty Vostigye scientists on that station.
Tuvok: I don't read any recognizable weapons signatures.
Paris: Maybe somebody in this part of space has weapons that don't leave a traditional signature.
Janeway: I'd like to know who they are, and why they'd annihilate a science station.
Kim: Maybe we can find out, Captain. There's a strange pattern that seems to be emanating from subspace. Looks like some kind of plasma particles.
Chakotay: I've got it too. It's like a wake, leading away from the debris field.
Janeway: From a ship?
Chakotay: I can't tell.
Janeway: Set a course to follow it, Tom.
Paris: Yes, ma'am.
Torres: Optical processors, imaging array, they all check out. Doctor, you are in perfect health.
Emh: I'm sure I could have told you that.
Torres: Yes, I'm sure you could have, but with all the tinkering you've been doing with your program lately, I feel better giving you these little tune-ups on a regular basis.
Emh: The tinkering you speak of has been for the sole purpose of improving my performance as a physician. I can hardly be faulted for that.
Torres: I'm not faulting you for your intentions, Doctor. I think it's rather commendable that you want to improve yourself.
Emh: That's why I've created a family.
Torres: A family?
Emh: I've listened to enough patients talk about their families to realize how meaningful they are to biological beings.
Torres: Well, for better or worse, yes.
Kes: The Doctor has created a holographic wife and two children so that he can experience family life for himself.
Torres: Interesting. And how's it going so far?
Emh: Splendidly. From what I heard, I thought it would be difficult, but I'm enjoying the experience.
Torres: You are? Funny, I never thought of you as a family man, Doc. I'd like to meet them.
Emh: As a matter of fact, the little woman has been asking me to bring some of my colleagues home for dinner. Perhaps you and Kes would care to join us tonight? Charlene is a wonderful cook.
Kes: I'd like to meet them too.
Torres: Well, Doc, tell your wife to haul out the good china. You're having company.
Charlene: Please, have some more wild mushroom pilaf, B'Elanna.
Torres: Thanks, I've had two helpings already. It's delicious.
Charlene: Well, I took a course in continental cuisine so I could replicate interesting meals for Kenneth.
Kes: Kenneth?
Charlene: My husband. What do you call him?
Kes: Oh, we call him Doctor.
Charlene: Oh, of course. Anyway, he works terribly hard and he's under such great stress, I want this home to be a sanctuary, the place he can come and have all the cares of the day disappear.
Torres: How nice for him.
Belle: My daddy's a very important man. He's the best doctor there ever was, and he saves people's lives all the time.
Emh: A slight exaggeration.
Belle: It is not. You said
Emh: Belle, eat your dinner. They're well aware of my talents. Jeffrey, why don't you tell our guests about your new project at school.
Jeffrey: I've designed a microfilter implant which will make it possible to cleanse blood of harmful micro-organisms too small to stimulate an immune response.
Emh: Jeffrey is extremely bright. He's in the accelerated physical sciences program at school.
Torres: A regular chip off the old block, right?
Charlene: And don't forget about our little Belle. She's already studying algebra and trigonometry, and she's quite the budding athlete.
Kes: You must be very proud of your family, Doctor.
Emh: Oh.
Charlene: Well, we're proud of him too. In fact, we think we have just about the most wonderful husband and father in the quadrant, don't we
Torres: Computer, freeze program.
Children: Yes, we do
Emh: Lieutenant, what are you doing?
Torres: I am stopping this before my blood sugar levels overload. Doctor.
Emh: Yes?
Torres: If you think that this is giving you an accurate impression of being in a family, you are sadly mistaken.
Emh: I don't understand.
Kes: They're kind of perfect.
Torres: They are ridiculously perfect. No one has a family like this. This is a fantasy. You're not going to learn anything being with these lollipops.
Emh: I provided the computer with my requirements for a mate and children. If I were to choose a real wife, my tastes would be the same. Intelligence, education, organizational skills.
Torres: There is nothing wrong with your premise, Doctor, it just needs a little tweaking to bring it closer to real life. I can help, if you'd like.
Paris: Captain, the particle wave we've been following is beginning to thin out.
Janeway: Is there any indication what caused it?
Tuvok: I am detecting no ships, no structures, no weapons signatures.
Kim: Wait a minute. Something.
Chakotay: I see it too. A subspace disruption.
Janeway: What's causing it?
Kim: Can't tell, but it's getting more intense.
Janeway: Shields up. Red Alert. Tom, back us off.
Kim: Something's coming out of subspace.
Janeway: Tom, move us away.
Paris: I don't have engines.
Kim: Propulsion is offline, so is navigational control.
Janeway: Bridge to Engineering. We need power.
Torres: I'm on it, Captain.
Tuvok: The anomaly is bearing down on us, heading zero four seven mark one nine.
Chakotay: Brace for impact!
Kim: It hit our starboard shields.
Tuvok: There's damage on deck three.
Janeway: Ready weapons. We're going to disperse it.
Tuvok: Phasers online.
Paris: Wait a minute.
Chakotay: I'm not afraid to say it. I've never seen anything like that before.
Janeway: Damage report.
Tuvok: Twenty percent loss of the starboard dorsal shields, and minor buckling of the hull on deck three.
Kim: No indication of casualties.
Paris: We've got propulsion systems back online. I think I can put some distance between us and whatever that was.
Janeway: Maybe we don't want to. We've just witnessed a phenomenon none of us has ever heard of before, much less experienced. On a purely scientific level, I think we owe it to ourselves to investigate.
Chakotay: I'm looking at the telemetry we've collected. It was an astral eddy that seems to have formed at the confluence of space and subspace.
Kim: It's highly charged with plasma. That explains the particle wake.
Chakotay: If we could harness some of that energy, we could go off replicator rations for a while.
Kim: Captain, we don't have any idea what caused that phenomenon, or what made it dissipate. So how do we investigate it if it's gone?
Janeway: I suspect there are conditions in this part of space that lend themselves to the formation of those eddies. Set sensors for continuous scans of subspace. Maybe we can anticipate the next one.
Emh: I thought for a long time about what Lieutenant Torres said, and I finally concluded she was right. If I'm going to have the experience of a family, it should be as authentic as possible.
Kes: What changes have you asked her to make in the program?
Emh: Oh, she's already made them. She's simply added some randomized behavioral algorithms to the program I constructed.
Kes: How will it affect your family?
Emh: Events will simply unfold as a matter of natural evolution of probabilities within the program, but there's no way to predict what those might be.
Kes: That could mean a few surprises. Are you sure you've ready for this?
Emh: My database contains everything there is to know about pediatric care and childhood development. I can't imagine a parenting problem I couldn't handle.
Kes: Your wife will have changed too.
Emh: Well, I have had some experience with romantic relationships. I don't anticipate any problems there.
Kes: Sounds like you have it all worked out. When do you plan on meeting this new, improved family?
Emh: Right now. I'm due home for dinner. Computer, initiate Doctor's Family Program Beta-Rho and transfer the EMH to holodeck two.
Emh: Hello, I'm
Emh: Home.
Charlene: There you are. I thought you'd never get here.
Emh: It was a busy day. I was quite challenged by the task of preparing a DNA probe to test Ensign Parson's glial cells. It seems he has a microbial infection. Rather unusual.
Charlene: Tell me about it when I get home. I'm late already.
Emh: Late?
Charlene: It's Wednesday, remember? I'm speaking at the Bolian embassy.
Emh: Ah. Right. Is dinner ready?
Charlene: It's your night to cook.
Belle: Mom! l can't find my ion mallet.
Charlene: If you cleaned your room you'd have better luck.
Emh: What is that noise?
Charlene: I've had to listen to it all day. Maybe you can do something about it.
Belle: Oh Daddy, you've got to help me. I'll be late for practice. Coach Morgan'll be furious if I'm late again.
Emh: If you put your mallet in your closet when you were done with it, you'd know where it was.
Belle: I know that, Daddy. Oh, tell Jeffrey to turn that off. It makes my eyes hurt!
Emh: Mine too. Jeffrey? Jeffrey?
Jeffrey: What?
Emh: What is that music?
Jeffrey: Klingon.
Emh: Well, turn it down. You can't do your homework with that noise.
Belle: Daddy, I can't find your mallet!
Emh: I know that, Belle.
Belle: They're going to send me down to the second team!
Emh: Well, perhaps that will teach you a lesson.
Belle: You don't understand anything!
Emh: Belle, you have to realize
Larg: Where's Jeffery?
Emh: Who are you?
Larg: Friends.
Emh: Do you have names?
Larg: Larg.
K'Kath: K'kath.
Emh: Well, Larg and K'kath, you'll have to come back later. Jeffrey's doing his homework.
Larg: He invited us.
Belle: Daddy! I need my iron mallet!
Emh: I! Just a minute. I'm sorry, but Jeffrey can't see friends until he has finished his homework.
Jeffrey: Dad, I asked them to come.
Belle: Daddy!
Emh: Jeffery, this is unacceptable.
Jeffrey: It'll only take a minute. We have some business we have to do.
Emh: Business?
Jeffrey: HIquoS, pos'tach.
Larg: NuqneH.
Belle: Where's my mallet? I need it now!
Emh: Young man!
Belle: You're mean! I want my mommy here! She'd help me find my mallet! I want mommy! I want mommy! I want mommy! I want mommy!
Neelix: Nothing striking your fancy, Lieutenant?
Paris: Isn't this the fourth day in a row we've had the same casserole?
Neelix: Pleeka rinds and grub meal. Very tasty, if I do say so myself.
Paris: Well, you did a great job with it, no question. It's just be nice to have a little variety.
Neelix: Well you're perfectly free to use the replicators.
Paris: Ah. I'm out of rations.
Neelix: Then, enjoy the casserole.
Paris: A beautiful woman should never have to eat alone. What are you reading?
Torres: It's nothing important.
Paris: Women Warriors at the River of Blood?
Torres: It's just escapist reading.
Paris: Rork turned his fierce eye upon her, and B'Neah felt her heart begin to quicken, even as her hand went to her dagger. She had intended to plunge it into his throat, but something about him made her hesitate. B'Elanna, is this a Klingon Romance novel?
Torres: Klingons do have what you might call a romantic side. It's a bit more vigorous than most.
Paris: I think I'll read it. Maybe it'll give me some ideas how to make your heart quicken.
Torres: It's not a technical manual, Tom.
Paris: Well, that depends what you mean by technical.
Torres: To an engineer, that means specializing in particular systems.
Paris: I think that definition works.
Torres: But I can't promise I won't put a dagger in your throat. Have you heard about the Doctor's new family?
Paris: How's it going?
Torres: I think he was a little overwhelmed at first, but I have to give him credit. He's sticking with it.
Paris: It's hard to imagine the Doctor with children.
Torres: What?
Janeway: Senior staff to the bridge immediately.
Janeway: Tom. I want to send a probe into that anomaly. Can you hold position close enough for us to get accurate telemetry?
Paris: I can try.
Chakotay: Be ready to move away quickly if it starts moving towards us.
Paris: Sorry about that. Just trying to find a way to ride the graviton waves it's throwing off. There, that's a little better. We're in as good a position as we're going to be.
Janeway: Tuvok?
Tuvok: The probe has been launched.
Paris: Actually, this is kind of fun.
Torres: Speak for yourself.
Kim: We're starting to receive telemetry. Captain, this is one weird disturbance. I'm reading a temperature gradient of nine million Kelvin's, massive discharges of plasmatic energy, and there's a perfectly calm eye at the center.
Tuvok: Apparently some of the matter inside it is being exchanged between space and subspace.
Chakotay: What about the plasma? Is there anyway we can transfer some of it to Voyager?
Torres: I don't see how. We can't transport with this kind of turbulence.
Janeway: Maybe we can try a
Paris: We lost it.
Chakotay: Where's the probe?
Kim: It's disappeared. It's still transmitting, but there's a lot of interference.
Torres: I'm detecting some kind of unstable interfold layer, not in space or subspace. It could be where the eddies originate, and where the probe is now.
Chakotay: We've got another particle wake. Since we can't get plasma directly from the eddies, maybe we can collect some from their wakes.
Tuvok: The Bussard collectors could be modified to gather plasma particles.
Torres: We could do that, but Voyager's energy emissions are so high they'd corrupt the particles. I'm not sure the plasma would be much use to us.
Paris: What if I took a shuttle out? The energy emissions would be a lot lower.
Janeway: That sounds like it's worth a try.
Torres: You'd be exposing yourself to radiation poisoning.
Janeway: Check with the Doctor. Maybe he can give you some kind of protection.
Paris: Yes, ma'am. I'll head to the shuttlebay as soon as I'm done.
Emh: I've given you a combination of hyronalin and lectrazine. That should give you temporary protection, but I can't guarantee it's duration.
Paris: That's all right, Doc. I don't think I'll be out there too long.
Emh: If I know you, you'll push it to the limit. You enjoy flirting with danger.
Paris: You know me too well.
Emh: You were undoubtedly one of those children who had to climb the highest tree, scale the tallest cliff.
Paris: That was me.
Emh: I can only imagine what you must have put your parents through.
Paris: How's the family, Doc? I hear they're a real handful.
Emh: Indeed. However, I have analyzed the situation and come up with a solution. There should be no more problems.
Paris: You make it sound like you're treating a sick patient. I'm not sure you can diagnose and cure a family.
Emh: We'll see. You're in fine physical shape, Lieutenant. You may go ahead and engage in this reckless activity.
Paris: Thanks, Doc.
Emh: Where's Jeffrey?
Charlene: He's coming.
Emh: I asked everyone to be here at sixteen hundred hours precisely.
Belle: Jeffrey was asleep.
Emh: Asleep? In the middle of the afternoon?
Emh: Is this true? Were you asleep?
Charlene: Are you sick?
Jeffrey: I had a late night.
Emh: That's one of the matters I want to discuss. Thank you all for coming. I thought it would be a good idea if we had a family meeting. In fact, I'd like to do this on a regular basis.
Jeffrey: That's something to look forward to.
Emh: If you have something to say, Jeffrey, say it so everyone can hear.
Jeffrey: Nothing.
Emh: I've been feeling that this family is beginning to spin out of control. As husband and father I believe it is my duty to set some parameters. It's part of good parenting.
Belle: What are parameters?
Emh: Limits, boundaries. To that end, I have drawn up a revised family schedule and a list of rules and regulations. I'd like you all to study them carefully.
Charlene: You've rearranged my lecture nights.
Emh: I had to do that in order to make everything work. Everybody has had to make some sacrifices.
Belle: Daddy! You changed Pareses Squares from Monday, Wednesday, Friday to Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. That puts me on the second team. I'm good enough to be on the first team.
Emh: You shouldn't be on the first team. You're not old enough. As I said, Belle, we must all make sacrifices.
Jeffrey: What sacrifices did you make?
Emh: I will make dinner on the nights your mother lectures.
Belle: You do that anyway. That's not a sacrifice.
Jeffrey: What's this about no Klingon friends?
Emh: Exactly that. They're a bad influence on you. They're prone to violence, they keep you out till all hours. Why don't you find some nice Vulcan friends?
Jeffrey: You can't just decide who my friends will be.
Charlene: Hold on. Kenneth, that may be a bit unreasonable.
Emh: Charlene? You know very well how important it is to keep a united front. I expect you to support me in these decisions.
Charlene: Well, if that's what you expect then maybe you should have asked my opinion before you started unilaterally deciding things. I'm not one of the children, after all. I believe I should have some say in just what rules and regulations are established. And I think it's unfair for you to tell Jeffrey what friends he can and cannot have.
Jeffrey: Right. This whole meeting is a Vulky idea, and you can have it without me.
Emh: Jeffrey, you are not excused!
Charlene: You've upset him. Let him go. I don't want to argue this in front of the children. We'll discuss it later.
Belle: You really made a mess of things, didn't you, Daddy?
Emh: Apparently so. Although I fail to understand their reaction. I'm just trying to help the family function better.
Belle: How does it make the family function better if I go to Pareses Squares Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday?
Emh: Belle, you've been playing with children two and three years older than you. That's much too dangerous.
Belle: But that's what's fun about it.
Emh: You're not old enough to realize how hazardous that game can be. It's up to me to keep you safe. I'm just trying to be a good father.
Belle: If it'll help, Daddy, I'll be on the second team.
Emh: Thank you, Belle. That's very grown up of you.
Belle: And I think you're a very good father.
Emh: Why, thank you.
Belle: I love you, Daddy, even if you did make a mess of things.
Janeway: Voyager to Shuttlecraft Cochrane. Do you read?
Paris: Loud and clear, Captain. I'm about three thousand kilometers from the eddy. As soon as it dissipates
Paris: I'll head for the particle wake.
Janeway: If this one follows the pattern of the others, it should begin to collapse within a few seconds.
Paris: That's good.
Paris: I'm beginning to wish I hadn't had that second helping of French toast
Paris: This morning.
Kim: Captain, the eddy is starting to dissipate.
Janeway: Stand by, Tom.
Paris: I'm ready.
Paris: I'm in position, Captain. Activating the Bussard collectors. It's working.
Paris: This may save us from Neelix's pleeka rind casserole after all.
Janeway: We'll all thank you for that.
Kim: Captain, subspace disruption.
Janeway: Is another eddy forming?
Kim: It looks that way.
Janeway: Tom, get out of there.
Janeway: Now.
Paris: I'm going.
Janeway: Harry, can you beam him out?
Kim: Transporters are offline.
Torres: I'm working on them.
Janeway: Tom, are you there? Say again.
Paris: It's pulling me in! I don't have enough power!
Janeway: Where are the transporters?
Torres: I can't access them.
Kim: The shuttle's being drawn inside the eddy.
Janeway: Janeway to Paris, do you read me?
Tuvok: Captain, the astral eddy is beginning to dissipate.
Janeway: Harry, when the probe disappeared it kept transmitting. What about Tom's shuttle?
Kim: Getting a lot of interference. Can't tell if it's a transmission or not.
Janeway: See if you can clean it up.
Kim: I've adjusted the encoding filter. Try it now.
Janeway: Voyager to Tom Paris. Can you hear us? Respond. Calibrate to a theta band frequency. Maybe that'll help.
Paris: I can't hear you, Captain. There's a lot of plasma interference. I can't clean it up.
Janeway: Say again, Tom. You're breaking up. Adjust your transceiver lock and try again.
Paris: I can hear you. Is that better?
Janeway: Yes, a little. Where are you?
Paris: Captain, I wish I could tell you.
Kes: Doctor? Can I help you with something?
Emh: Oh, no, no. Perhaps. I've been trying to do an immunogenicity analysis on Ensign Parson's cell culture, and I can't seem to get the measurements right.
Kes: I'd be happy to give it a try.
Emh: Thank you, I'd be grateful.
Emh: Actually I've been having a few problems at home. I can't seem to stop thinking about them.
Kes: Well, there's nothing important going on here. Why don't you take the afternoon off and spend some time with your family.
Emh: I'm not sure they'd appreciate it.
Kes: Doctor, you can't just ignore them.
Emh: Computer, initiate Doctor's Family Program Beta-Rho and transfer the EMH to Holodeck two.
Larg: Then everything is done exactly
Jeffrey: Dad. What are you doing here?
Emh: I live here, Jeffrey, in case you've forgotten.
Jeffrey: I mean, you're home early.
Emh: Am I interrupting something?
Jeffrey: No, no, just talking with my friends.
Emh: I'd like to get to know your friends. Larg, K'kath, please sit down. What is that?
Larg: What?
Emh: You're holding something.
Larg: This?
Emh: Yes. What is it?
Jeffrey: It's a knife. What does it look like?
Emh: Why do you boys have a knife?
Larg: A d'k tahg knife is an important part of our culture. Every Klingon is given one at preparation for his Rite of Ascension.
Emh: Hmm.
Emh: I happen to know something about Klingon rituals, and I believe this is actually a dagger of kut'luch. Isn't it? Well?
Larg: Yes.
Emh: This dagger is used in a ritual of violence. A first blood-letting in preparation for becoming a warrior. Who's supposed to use this? Well? Is one of you preparing for the kut'luch ceremony? I'm waiting for an answer.
Jeffrey: Dad, you're making something out of nothing.
Emh: I don't think so. I'm going to have to ask you boys to leave.
Jeffrey: Dad.
Emh: And don't bring a weapon into this house again.
Larg: I told you. Humans are weak, cowardly.
Jeffrey: Call me later.
Jeffery: Now look what you've done. You've ruined it!
Emh: What exactly have I ruined?
Jeffrey: Nothing. Never mind.
Emh: You were going to use that knife, weren't you? Did they talk you into some kind of ritual violence?
Jeffrey: They didn't talk me into anything. I asked them. It's an honor to get to perform the kut'luch. They don't just let anybody do it. They trusted me, and now you've made me look like a, like a human.
Emh: You were going to attack someone, draw blood, just so you could appear daring in the eyes of your friends?
Jeffrey: I was doing it to become honorable. Something that you wouldn't understand.
Emh: Jeffrey, how can I make you understand that what you are going to do is wrong.
Jeffrey: It isn't wrong, it's just the custom of another culture! Who are you to say there's something wrong about it.
Emh: I am your father and I expect you to be guided by my ethical standards.
Jeffrey: Well I'm not going to be. Your standards are human standards. They're weak and inferior. Klingon ideals are much nobler, and they are the one's I'm going to follow.
Emh: If you expect to live in this household you will abide by the rules.
Jeffrey: If that's the way you want it, then I won't live here.
Emh: Jeffrey, think about this.
Jeffrey: Oh, I've thought about it. I'm going to become a warrior, and I can't do that if I'm being led around on leash by some bloodless petaQ.
Charlene: Kenneth?
Emh: What is it? What's happened?
Charlene: It's Belle, there's been an accident.
Charlene: How is she?
Emh: Doctor Findlay and I operated on her for three hours. We've tried everything. We shut down one hemorrhage and another starts.
Charlene: I don't understand. She just hit her head on the corner of the court. How could that have injured her so badly?
Emh: She suffered severe cranial trauma. It's compromised her brain stem and motor cortex. No matter how we try to control the vascular injuries, blood clots keep forming. The hemorrhaging is intractable.
Charlene: Then what do you do? What's the treatment?
Emh: Unfortunately, the brain is still a somewhat mysterious organ.
Charlene: What does that mean? What's going to happen to her?
Emh: There's nothing more to be done. Nothing medical, anyway.
Charlene: But there has to be. Kenneth, you can do something. You have to. You can't just let her. No. No, I won't accept it. I'm going to talk to Doctor Findlay.
Emh: Belle.
Belle: Daddy?
Emh: Yes, I'm here.
Belle: Everything's all blurry. What's the matter?
Emh: You took a tumble, hit your head.
Belle: It doesn't hurt.
Emh: No, because we gave you some medicine.
Belle: Is that why I can't feel my legs?
Emh: Yes.
Belle: What's going to happen? When will I be able to see again?
Emh: Computer, end program!
Kes: Oh, you're back.
Emh: Yes.
Kes: Did you find the culture I did on Ensign Parson's glial cells?
Emh: I did, thank you. Good job.
Kes: How's the family?
Emh: I suppose they're fine. I've actually finished the program.
Kes: Finished? Already?
Emh: Well, I got what I needed from the experience. It was thoroughly pleasurable, of course, but to continue would be a waste of time.
Kes: I was hoping to visit them again. I really enjoyed our dinner together.
Emh: Well, if I ever create a new family, I'll be sure to invite you.
Torres: The communications bandwidth is as wide as I can get it.
Janeway: Janeway to Paris. How's the transmission now?
Paris: Loud and clear, Captain.
Paris: I've been analyzing the shuttle's sensor readings, and as nearly as I can figure, I'm in the interfold layer that we talked about
Paris: Somewhere between space and subspace.
Janeway: That's why we can't find you on any of our scans.
Paris: Harry was right.
Paris: This looks like the spawning ground for the astral eddies.
Paris: There are thousands of baby ones in here.
Janeway: That's very interesting, Tom, but it doesn't address the problem of how to get you out of there.
Paris: Well, I've been giving that some careful thought, Captain, and it seems to me the only way to get out is the same way that I got in.
Janeway: Inside one of the eddies?
Paris: Exactly.
Paris: I've been watching one that seems about ready to erupt into normal space.
Paris: If I can position the shuttle on it's leading edge I should be able to ride it back.
Janeway: If I had another idea I'd suggest it, but I don't. It's your call, Tom.
Paris: I don't see that there's much choice. So far so good, Captain. I'm almost inside the eye. I think this one is just about big enough to enter normal space.
Kim: Here he comes.
Paris: Captain?
Janeway: Yes, Tom.
Paris: I think you should get Voyager away from here.
Janeway: What's wrong?
Paris: This one's turning out
Paris: To be a whopper. The biggest one we've seen by far. I don't think you should put the ship in danger.
Janeway: I'm not leaving, Tom. We've got to stay in close if we're going to beam you out.
Tuvok: The eddy is moving towards us at a velocity of three hundred kilometers per second.
Janeway: Chakotay, take the conn. Keep us ahead of it, but stay within transporter range.
Chakotay: Right.
Paris: I'm going to try to get out of this.
Janeway: Harry, can you get a lock on him?
Kim: Not yet. Everything's too unstable.
Janeway: Tom, how much longer before you clear the eddy?
Paris: It'd better be soon. The hull is beginning to buckle.
Torres: I've got the shuttle on sensors. The hull is breaching.
Janeway: Harry, can you get a lock on him yet?
Kim: I'm trying. Hang on. Got it! The shuttle's aboard, Captain. One life sign.
Torres: He's injured.
Janeway: Beam him to Sickbay. Chakotay, move us away.
Chakotay: Yes, ma'am.
Emh: Your hard head has protected you again, Lieutenant. It was only a mild concussion.
Paris: It was worth it, though. That was one wild ride.
Emh: I'm sure it was. And it's a wonder you're not dead. People like you who court danger should be thrown into the brig.
Paris: Doc.
Emh: You never think of the consequences of your actions, the effect they might have on others. Oh, no, live for the moment, take risks you shouldn't. I'm sorry.
Paris: Are you all right?
Emh: I. It's my family. My daughter Belle had an accident. She's a child who tends to take risks. She's going to die.
Paris: I'm so sorry.
Emh: I'll be all right. I shut down the program. I'm not going back.
Paris: Maybe you should think about that, Doc.
Emh: I couldn't begin to face it. It was too difficult.
Paris: I guess all of us would avoid that kind of pain if we could, but most people don't have that choice.
Emh: Well, fortunately, I do.
Paris: Is it so fortunate? You created that program so you could experience what it's like to have a family. The good times and the bad. You can't have one without the other.
Emh: I fail to see why not.
Paris: Well, think about what's happened to us here on Voyager. Everyone left people behind, and everyone suffered a loss, but look how it's brought us all closer together. We found support here, and friendship, and we've become a family in part because of the pain we shared. If you turn your back on this program, you'll always be stuck at this point. You'll never have the chance to say goodbye to your daughter, or to be there for your wife and son when they need you. And you'll be cheating yourself of the chance to have their love and support. In the long run, you'll miss the whole point of what it means to have a family.
Emh: Computer, continue Doctor's Family Program Beta-Rho, from the last point of deactivation.
Belle: Daddy, what's going to happen to me? When will I be able to see again?
Emh: I'm not sure. You're a very sick girl.
Belle: Am I going to die?
Emh: You, you're too sick to get better.
Belle: So I'm going to die?
Emh: Yes.
Belle: If you'll stay with me, I won't be afraid.
Emh: I'll stay right here, I promise.
Jeffrey: Dad.
Jeffery: Here you go, shorty. It's your blanket.
Charlene: We're here, Belle. We're all here.
Belle: It's getting darker. I'm sleepy.
Emh: It's all right. Go to sleep. We're all right here.


Veer: Is there a genetic match?
Gegen: Yes. Let's gather the find and bring it back to the ship.
Veer: Could this be it? The proof?
Gegen: If it is, we've just made the most important discover in Voth history.
Veer: Opposable thumb. Multiple articulation of the digits, as expected from a technologically advanced species.
Gegen: His cranial capacity is twenty two percent smaller than ours, and he appears to be lacking a dilitus lobe.
Veer: He had no sense of smell?
Gegen: If he did, it was rudimentary. I doubt this fellow would have enjoyed the sulfur lagoons of Hokath. His cartilaginous microstructure is extremely porous. Most likely warm-blooded. I believe this was a non-saurian.
Veer: Non-saurian? Doesn't that weaken our case?
Gegen: No. No, the genetic markers we share with this being are undeniable. We are related, however distantly. The question we must answer is, what was our endotherm doing in this part of space?
Veer: Was he on an expedition? Did he have a ship? Crewmates?
Gegen: This material. It's composed of synthetic polymers, and the molecular structure suggests replication technology. And consider the garment itself. Is this marking purely decorative, or does it have a symbolic function. Could it indicate status?
Veer: Possibly a military uniform.
Gegen: At the very least, we can assume he was part of a social infrastructure. That would imply a ship. Did your eyes see the planet of our origin, the true home of our race? Was it beautiful? Was it covered by oceans, by sand? Were there nine moons above your head? Were there none? He appears to be at a loss for words. His ship and the people on it hold the key to where we came from. We've got to find it.
Veer: I'll contact our supporters at the Circle of Archeology. They might be able to spare a research vessel, perhaps a few assistants.
Gegen: This isn't a field trip, Veer! We need to mount a sector wide expedition, and that means a fleet of ships. We have to go directly to the Ministry of Elders.
Veer: Professor, don't you think that's a little precipitous?
Gegen: Bone decalcification indicates he died more than a year old. His ship could be thousands of light years away by now! Time is running out. You must remember, Veer, from the moment you were initiated into my Circle, you made a commitment to the pursuit of scientific truth. Before this, all we had was a theory. Now we have proof. We simply have to get them to open their eyes and see it. We're going to set a course for the City Ship, present our friend here, and let him do the talking.
Gegen: For millions of years our people have believed that we were the first intelligent beings to evolve in this region of space. The first race. This assumption underlies everything that we hold dear. But that belief has been questioned in recent years, not only by the Circles of Science and Philosophy, but by common people as well. Lying before you is proof of the Distant Origin theory. These remains demonstrate beyond doubt that we arose elsewhere in this galaxy, that we evolved on a far away planet, and traveled to this space millions of years ago, our true history lost.
Odala: A pile of bones. Impressive.
Gegen: This pile of bones belonged to a being who died approximately one a year ago, from a species found nowhere in known space, and yet we share forty seven genetic markers with this being. We are undoubtedly related to him, and I intend to prove to you that we evolved on the very same planet he did.
Odala: And that planet is the long lost world of the Distant Origin theory?
Gegen: Yes, that's exactly right. And to find that planet, our planet, we must find a living member of his kind. I've created a computer extrapolation. We're looking for a race of bipedal endotherms, spacefaring but technologically limited. Based on their cranial capacity I'd say they're no more advanced than most endotherms.
Haluk: Endotherms. You're proposing we're related to a mammalian species?
Gegen: Yes. Which is why I ask your permission to launch an expedition.
Odala: Let's talk about your discovery. I enjoyed the colorful tale of how you found these remains. It says here that you paid a substantial sum for their location.
Gegen: I was dealing with traders. They knew the location of the cave. I had no choice.
Odala: Have you considered you were the victim of a hoax?
Gegen: I have analyzed every micron of the skeleton. I assure you it's authentic.
Odala: Professor Gegen, have you considered the wider implication of your theory?
Gegen: What do you mean?
Odala: By challenging Doctrine, you're suggesting that everything we believe about ourselves, our history, our ancient and rightful claim over this region of space, the authority of this Ministry itself, is a lie.
Gegen: That's not what I'm saying at all. However, in the light of my discovery, some of our beliefs may have to be re-evaluated.
Odala: Re-evaluated. We will consider your request for an expedition.
Veer: Well done, Professor.
Gegen: Hardly. I failed to anticipate the level of ignorance I would be facing.
Veer: What do we do now?
Gegen: I want you to arrange a meeting with the Circle of Exobiology. We have supporters there.
Frola: Father, I'm concerned.
Gegen: Unnecessarily.
Frola: I don't think they were very receptive.
Gegen: They don't need to be. The evidence will speak for itself. And word of my discovery is already traveling. If enough people confront the Ministry
Frola: Mathematics was never your strong point, Father. You might be overestimating your support.
Gegen: You don't believe me either, do you.
Frola: I, I want to. Our ancestors came from somewhere else. We don't even belong here? It all just seems so incredible.
Gegen: I'm disappointed in you.
Frola: Father, please, let this go. You're chasing a fantasy and you're wasting your genius. I'm worried about what's going to happen to you if you don't stop.
Gegen: What's going to happen to you if I do stop? To your children, to all of Voth. You'll continue to live in ignorance, progress held back by ancient myth. The truth must be known.
Veer: We've got to leave. Now.
Gegen: What's happened?
Veer: I met with the Circle of Exobiology. They're concerned. There have been rumors.
Gegen: About what?
Veer: The Ministry has seized your research and they're planning to detain you.
Gegen: On what charge?
Veer: Heresy against Doctrine.
Gegen: I'll fight it!
Veer: It's too late. Your supporters are frightened. No one will back you.
Gegen: I'll have to do this on my own, then. Go back to your family. As long as you're with me, you're at risk.
Veer: I'm not leaving you, Professor.
Gegen: I've run an analysis on the uniform marking. I found what appears to be a microscopic identification code. The translation matrix indicates it's most likely a proper name.
Veer: A name?
Gegen: Yes. I believe it's the name of the endotherm's vessel. We're looking for something called Voyager.
Gegen: Across the vastness of space to find one ship among sea of stars is no simple matter, and for many weeks we found nothing. And then fortune glanced in our direction. A trader from a space station bordering the Nekrit Expanse informed us of a curious group of explorers, claiming to be from the other side of the galaxy. The merchants there spoke of a vessel called Voyager. They were able to help us clarify certain details. With this new information, we began to acquire other items and new evidence. Our most significant find, a canister of warp plasma from Voyager's engines. So now we are scanning space for a matching signature. Little is known about these explorers, but they call themselves human.
Gegen: and they claim to be traveling home to a distant planet. My thoughts are with you, Frola, as are those of my colleague, Veer. Ah, I've just sent a transmission to my daughter.
Veer: Was that wise?
Gegen: I encrypted the carrier signal. There's no way to trace it.
Veer: I hope you gave her my regards.
Gegen: Of course I did. I've seen the tint on your scales when she's around. I've let you into my academic circle, but now you wish to enter my family as well.
Veer: No, Professor, I would never presume.
Gegen: You should know your place. Traditionally, my family mate with the family of Towt.
Gegen: But traditions are meant to be broken.
Veer: It's the plasma signature. Scanners have found a match. A ship ninety light years away. There are one hundred forty eight lifeforms aboard, traveling at warp six point two.
Gegen: I'm engaging spatial displacement It's unlikely their primitive sensors will be able to detect us once we're out of phase. Take us out of transwarp, we don't want to pass them.
Veer: Done. I have an image. What do we say to them?
Gegen: Nothing. Not at the moment. We stand to learn more by observing. Once we've collected the information we need, and if they appear non-violent, we'll make contact.
Veer: Entering portation range.
Gegen: We'll be looking for their data storage devices, analyzing their behavior, anything that can tell us who and what these people are. Eyes open, Veer.
Gegen: Interphase is stable.
Veer: Curious. I didn't expect the smell.
Gegen: Well, they are mammals, after all. Ah, over here. This appears to be a computer access terminal. Simple binary system. I've downloaded their database.
Paris: I'll bet you it's an anodyne relay.
Torres: No way. A plasma conduit.
Paris: Relay. I'm telling you. I checked the conduit network.
Torres: My point exactly. You're not an engineer.
Paris: I'll bet you.
Torres: Name it.
Gegen: Male and female interacting. Let's observe.
Paris: Well?
Torres: Well, go ahead and gloat.
Paris: The anodyne relays. Who would have guessed?
Torres: Just a shot in the dark.
Paris: And it hit the bulls-eye. Tonight, you pay up. Holodeck two, Klingon martial arts program, no getting out of it this time.
Veer: Courting behavior?
Gegen: Exactly. Note how the female through the feigned antagonism encourages the male in his attempt to mate.
Veer: There's no sign of vasodilatation in their skin.
Gegen: Obviously they never evolved that ability, which would explain their reliance on crude verbal interplay.
Paris: I'll see you tonight. BYOB.
Torres: What?
Paris: Bring your own bat'leth.
Janeway: Report.
Chakotay: We've completed long range scans. If we maintain our present course we'll enter a region of heavy tetryon radiation within two days.
Janeway: What's the alternative?
Chakotay: A three month detour.
Janeway: Tuvok, enhance the shields. Lieutenant, hold our course. Harry, continue your long range scans.
Kim: Yes, ma'am.
Janeway: Let's access everything known about tetryon radiation. I want to take every precaution.
Gegen: Well, Veer, what can you observe about their social structure?
Veer: It's obviously hierarchical, with clear differences in status and rank. The males appear to be subordinate to that female. Perhaps a matriarchy.
Gegen: My conclusion exactly.
Kim: This is strange. I'm picking up spatial fluctuations. They're coming from the bridge.
Chakotay: Source?
Kim: Not sure, but they're highly localized, with modulating phase variance. Looks like some kind of cloaking technology.
Janeway: All stop. Intruder alert.
Gegen: We've exceeded our welcome. Let's get back to the ship.
Veer: What's wrong?
Gegen: Some sort of forcefield.
Tuvok: I've erected a level ten containment field around the bridge, Captain.
Kim: Scanning on all subspace frequencies. I'm picking up two lifeforms.
Chakotay: Localize them.
Kim: Mission Ops one.
Veer: Professor?
Gegen: The forcefield is disrupting our interphase. I'm compensating. I can at least get us off this deck.
Janeway: Show yourselves.
Kim: Captain, the lifeforms left the bridge. They're now on deck two, section thirteen. Mess hall.
Chakotay: Seal off the deck.
Tuvok: Deck two sealed. Security team to the mess hall.
Neelix: Intruders? I don't see any intruders?
Gegen: It would appear we've underestimated our endotherms.
Veer: We should make contact. Explain ourselves.
Gegen: It may come to that.
Kim: Captain, I've analyzed the spatial phase variance.
Janeway: Bridge to Chakotay.
Chakotay: Go ahead.
Janeway: Adjust hand phasers to a dispersion frequency of one point eight five gigahertz. That should disrupt their cloaking technology.
Chakotay: Acknowledged.
Gegen: I've matched the frequency of their shields. I think we can get off this
Tuvok: Spatial fluctuations. There.
Chakotay: Neelix, get down!
Emh: Minor phaser burns to the upper thoracic region. Nothing serious. But I want to check for cellular damage.
Kes: I'll run a microcellular scan.
Emh: Begin a DNA analysis as well, I'd like to know more about his molecular physiology.
Janeway: A belated welcome aboard. I'm Captain Janeway. Now, who are you and what have you done with my First Officer? You must have a ship. Is it cloaked? I'm not going to hurt you, we just want to know why you
Emh: His heart rate and body temperature have dropped. His metabolism is almost completely shut down.
Tuvok: Is he dying?
Emh: I don't think so. His autonomic nervous system is still fully functional. He's gone into some sort of protective hibernation.
Janeway: Treat his injuries, then see if you can revive him. Examine his technology. I want to know what we're up against.
Gegen: Don't be alarmed. You're on my research vessel.
Chakotay: Chakotay to Voyager.
Gegen: Your instinct is to flee, but I must warn you, there's a confinement field around the table. Just stay calm and you won't hurt yourself.
Chakotay: What do you want from me? Why did you invade our ship?
Gegen: It wasn't an invasion. We were on a field expedition to learn more about your species. We meant no harm. I'm a molecular paleontologist.
Chakotay: Do you always harpoon the local wildlife?
Gegen: An unfortunate mistake. Veer is inexperienced and he panicked. Your people were firing at us. I couldn't get to him.
Chakotay: So you took me instead.
Gegen: Yes. A living specimen of human. I've been studying your computer database and I have many questions. The planet of your origin, correct?
Chakotay: That's right. Earth.
Gegen: Are there any of my kind there? Any of my species?
Chakotay: Who are you?
Gegen: Please, answer the question.
Chakotay: Look, drop the forcefield and tell me what's going on. Then maybe we can make first contact in a civilized way. For what it's worth I'm a scientist, too. Maybe I can help you find whatever it is you're looking for. I won't bite. Thanks. My name's Chakotay.
Gegen: Gegen.
Chakotay: All right, Gegen, let's talk about Earth.
Janeway: Your call sounded urgent.
Emh: With good reason. I've analyzed the alien's DNA. There are forty seven genetic markers identical to those found in human DNA.
Janeway: That's more than coincidence.
Emh: I thought so too. I ran a search for those markers in Earth's paleo-ontological database. Take a look at this.
Janeway: Incredible!
Emh: That's one way of putting it.
Janeway: It says here that those markers appeared in hundred earth species, dating back tens of millions of. Their species evolved on Earth?
Emh: Apparently so. And from the look of it, you and he are distant cousins.
Janeway: I wonder how distant? Transfer yourself to Holodeck two. I think it's time we took a stroll through primeval history.
Emh: I've entered the genetic markers into the holo-database.
Janeway: Let's see if we can find our closet relative. Computer, analyze the genetic markers and search Earth's fossil record. Identify any ancestors common to both humans and the alien in sickbay.
Computer: Life form found. (A small quadruped._
Janeway: Display.
Computer: Genus Eryops. Devonian Era.
Emh: Eryops. This creature lived over four hundred million years ago and is thought to be the last common ancestor of cold blooded and warm blooded organisms.
Janeway: Yes, yes. Let's take the next step in out little stroll. Computer, what's the most highly evolved cold-blooded organism to develop from the Eryops?
Computer: Genus Hadrosaur. Cretaceous Era.
Janeway: Display the life form.
Janeway: As I recall, the Hadrosaur vanished when a mass extinction occurred at the end of the Cretaceous period. What if the Hadrosaur didn't die off? What if some of them survived that extinction and continued to evolve?
Emh: I could well imagine this creature giving rise to a more complex life form. Certainly the building blocks are there. Bipedal, grasping hands.
Janeway: Computer, run a genome projection algorithm. If the Hadrosaur had continued to evolve over the last sixty five million years, extrapolate the most probable appearance.
Computer: Extrapolation complete.
Janeway: Display life form.
Emh: That creature napping in Sickbay is a dinosaur.
Janeway: The question is, why have we never seen him in the Natural History museums?
Chakotay: If a saurian species had developed a language and technology, you'd think they would have left something behind. But, what if it evolved on am isolated continent?
Gegen: A land mass that was destroyed.
Chakotay: Earth has been devastated by countless natural disasters over the course of it's history. Asteroids, volcanoes, earthquakes. All evidence of your race could be at the bottom of the ocean or under kilometers of rock.
Gegen: Obviously not all of my people became extinct. Some of them must have developed spacefaring technology and left the planet.
Chakotay: And ended up here, in the Delta Quadrant.
Gegen: Our true origin on Earth lost over the eons, replaced by Doctrine, the myth that we were the First Race. Now you understand why I had to find your ship.
Chakotay: Next time you might try a simple hello first.
Gegen: Eyes open. I'm afraid I let my own prejudice get in the way. I was wary of you. We have very poor relations with non-saurian races. Mammals in particular are considered to be a lower life form, but I must admit I've never gotten to know one before.
Chakotay: I hope I've made a good impression.
Gegen: In fact, you have.
Chakotay: Well I suggest we get back to Voyager. Your friend Veer is probably sick of the mammalian food by now.
Gegen: I can't do that.
Chakotay: Why not?
Gegen: I've already made arrangements to meet my supporters on the Fourth Colony. They're waiting for us.
Chakotay: Tell them we'll be late.
Gegen: You don't understand what I'm up against. I'm being charged with heresy against Doctrine. You're my only evidence. If enough people see living proof of my theory, even the Ministry will be forced to acknowledge the truth. I can't let you go now. Not until it's over. I'm sorry.
Paris: This should do the trick.
Tuvok: An apple.
Paris: You said you wanted an organic test subject.
Tuvok: I was referring to a bio-cylinder. But the fruit will suffice.
Paris: Let's give it a try.
Tuvok: Fascinating. This alien device is apparently pushing the apple slightly out of phase with our space-time continuum.
Paris: A personal cloaking device.
Tuvok: More advanced than any cloak I have ever seen.
Janeway: Mister Kim.
Kim: I'm reading a massive spatial displacement dead ahead.
Janeway: Red alert.
Kim: We're being probed.
Janeway: Shields at maximum. Hail them.
Kim: No response. They're locking onto the ship with an energy beam. It's cutting right through our shields. It's some sort of transporter.
Janeway: Report.
Kim: We've been beamed inside the alien vessel.
Janeway: We're losing power. Switch to auxiliary.
Kim: I'm locked out of command control. All systems are shutting down.
Janeway: Arm yourselves.
Tuvok: Tuvok to Bridge. Captain Janeway, respond.
Paris: Turbolifts are offline. Let's get to a Jefferies tube.
Paris: Tuvok, I hope that's your stomach.
Tuvok: My tricorder's not working. There appears to be a dampening field
Paris: Tuvok?
Tuvok: Go!
Paris: I'm not going to leave you.
Tuvok: That's an order, Lieutenant.
Kim: I can't get a single relay back online. Somehow they've locked us out of all primary systems.
Janeway: Let's get down to main Engineering. We can access the manual override from there, and
Haluk: Your vessel is under our control.
Gegen: It's an automated message from the Ministry of Elders. It says that they've captured the Voyager. That if I don't return to the City Ship and face my accusers they'll destroy my evidence, kill everyone on board.
Chakotay: What are you going to do?
Gegen: I won't be responsible for those deaths. But if I go back now without my support, they'll diskredit my theory, suppress the truth.
Chakotay: That might be difficult with the evidence standing right beside you. They've taken my ship. It sounds to me like we're all on trial here.
Gegen: I've just laid in a course for the City Ship.
Haluk: We are looking for two of our own kind. One was found in your medical bay. Where is the other?
Janeway: I don't know. He took my First Officer and disappeared.
Haluk: Our scans indicate that your ship is alone. Where do you come from?
Janeway: If you want my co-operation, I suggest you release my vessel.
Haluk: You are non-indigenous beings. You have no rights under Doctrine. Where do you come from?
Janeway: Apparently, we're from the same place you are. Earth.
Haluk: I see that Gegen has begun spreading his lies.
Paris: Paris to Janeway.
Paris: Captain, if you can hear me, I've got weapons control, and I've armed a full spread of torpedoes.
Haluk: Who's that?
Janeway: My helmsman. Sounds like he's about to blast a hole in the side of your ship. Lieutenant Paris, fire. You might want to hold onto something.
Computer: Launch protocols have been disrupted.
Paris: Switch to auxiliary protocols.
Computer: Unable to comply. Weapons systems are offline.
Paris: How?
Computer: Method unknown.
Paris: Paris to Janeway.
Janeway: Go ahead.
Paris: Captain, someone on the alien vessel detected my launch sequence. I don't know how they did it, but I'm completely locked out.
Janeway: Nice try, Tom.
Haluk: Haluk to Command. Voyager's Captain is proving uncooperative. I request an interrogation surgeon to assist with
Voth: That won't be necessary. Gegen is in custody. Remain in the Voyager and wait for further instructions.
Odala: Professor Forra Gegen, you are accused of heresy against Doctrine. Do you wish to retract your claims regarding the Distant Origin theory?
Gegen: I do not.
Odala: Then we will proceed. Three months ago you circulated a study criticizing what you call resistance to truth, once again disputing Doctrine.
Gegen: I apologize if I wrote anything that offended the Elders, but I never even mentioned the word Doctrine.
Odala: You didn't have to. Your meaning was clear. For nearly a decade, you've used the Distant Origin theory to attack and undermine the guiding principles of our society.
Gegen: Not so. I've been pursuing a scientific investigation. I'm not concerned at all with Doctrine.
Odala: My point exactly. Your disregard for the effects of your casual theorizing is why you stand accused. You are reckless and irresponsible, and you are a destructive influence to our society. But it is not too late for you to redress the damage you have done. Disavow your claims, acknowledge your mistakes and this Ministry will show you leniency.
Gegen: I'm sorry. I can't deny the evidence. The proof is standing right beside me.
Odala: Proof. Really. Our scientists have analyzed your data. Their conclusion? These creatures are not related to us at all. The genetic similarities are a result of random convergence, nothing more.
Chakotay: If I may speak? Voyager's database contains a complete fossil record of my planet. Your genetic markers appear not only in humans but in hundreds of species throughout our history. That's a lot of random convergence. If you'd take a look at the data
Odala: We have. The data is not in question. Your interpretation is. Professor Gegen, I don't want to be here any more than you do, and frankly I would prefer not to be responsible for disgracing one of our most venerable scientists. All I ask is that you admit the possibility that your interpretation is wrong. Will you at least do that?
Gegen: I will admit that there are still questions. The picture is incomplete. But I am certain of this. We are from the planet that these humans call Earth.
Odala: There are those who disagree.
Odala: Tova Veer, you are an accomplished young scientist. You were initiated into the Circle of Archeology with the highest of honors.
Veer: Yes, Minister.
Odala: And you have been Professor Gegen's assistant for six years.
Veer: I have had that privilege.
Odala: You are familiar, intimately involved with all of your mentor's research regarding the so-called Distant Origin theory?
Veer: That is correct.
Odala: In your expert evaluation, what is the validity of the Professor's analysis.
Veer: It is flawed, Minister.
Gegen: Veer!
Odala: You're saying you and Gegen were mistaken?
Veer: Yes. I've reviewed all of his research, including data from the Voyager's computer. I've checked and rechecked the procedures. I now believe that we were overzealous. We saw an evolutionary connection when in fact there was none.
Odala: Enthusiasm and passion are never wrong, Veer. Your only mistake was allowing them to distort your judgment. You may go. Professor Gegen, I will ask you again. Could you be mistaken?
Gegen: What did you say to him. That you'd take away his honors if he didn't cooperate? That you'd send him to a detention colony?
Odala: Could you be mistaken!
Gegen: Did you threaten his family?
Odala: Respond to the question!
Gegen: No! Why should I? You've already made up your mind! This inquiry isn't about evidence and proof, it's about keeping you in that chair!
Chakotay: Gegen!
Gegen: It's about maintaining a myth that keeps the Ministry in power. You'd do anything to silence me. Well, it won't work. I'll never retract my claims. I'd rather go to prison than help you perpetuate ignorance.
Odala: Your true scales are finally showing.
Gegen: You're right, Minister. I was mistaken. I thought you might actually care about the truth, even if it called into question some of our deepest beliefs.
Odala: We are not immigrants! I will not deny twenty million years of history and Doctrine just because one insignificant Saurian has a theory. One last time. Could you be mistaken?
Chakotay: It's you who are mistaken, Minister.
Odala: What?
Chakotay: You accuse Gegen of having his objectivity clouded by wishful thinking, but aren't you guilty of the same charge?
Odala: I am not on trial here.
Chakotay: I understand, but in a way your beliefs are. How you think about yourselves, your place in the universe, that is on trial. And this isn't the first time.
Odala: What do you mean?
Chakotay: I've had the opportunity over the last few days to learn something about your culture, your great accomplishments. Consider the breakthrough into Transwarp, an incredible achievement, and yet, your ancient Doctrine predicted terrible disasters if it were even attempted. That held your race back for millennia, until someone took a chance and challenged that prediction. They succeeded, and your society entered a new chapter of exploration, and your Doctrine was changed accordingly. I know from the history of my own planet that change is difficult. New ideas are often greeted with skepticism, even fear. But sometimes those ideas are accepted, and when they are progress is made. Eyes are opened.
Odala: When I open my eyes to this theory, what I see appallls me. I see my race fleeing your wretched planet, a group of pathetic refugees crawling and scratching their way across the galaxy, stumbling into this domain. I see a race with no birthright, no legacy. That is unacceptable.
Chakotay: I see something very different, Minister. An ancient race of Saurians, probably the first intelligent life on Earth, surrounded by some of the most terrifying creatures that ever lived. And yet they thrived, developed language and culture and technology. And when the planet was threatened with disaster, they boldly launched themselves into space, crossed what must have seemed like unimaginable distances, facing the unknown every day. But somehow they stayed together, kept going, with the same courage that had served them before, until they reached this quadrant, where they laid the foundation of what has become the great Voth culture. Deny that past, and you deny the struggle and achievements of your ancestors. Deny your origins on Earth, and you deny your true heritage.
Odala: Do you retract your claims?
Gegen: No. I stand by them.
Odala: Very well. It is my judgment that you will suffer the consequences of your obstinacy. Gegen, you are guilty of heresy against Doctrine, and will be placed on a detention colony. For as long as you breathe you will neither teach or engage in research. Your life as a scientist has ended.
Gegen: As you wish.
Odala: Chakotay of the Voyager starship. You, your captain and her crew will join Professor Gegen.
Gegen: Why? You have nothing to gain by imprisoning them. Let them go.
Odala: You will spend the remainder of your lives on a detention colony. Your ship will be destroyed.
Gegen: Minister.
Odala: You will surrender your vessel immediately and inform your crew that this judgment will be
Gegen: Stop this, please!
Odala: Are you offering me an alternative?
Gegen: I have reconsidered, and I retract my claims regarding the Distant Origin theory. My analysis of the data was obviously flawed. I was mistaken.
Odala: You are prepared to refute your work publicly before the Circles of Science?
Gegen: Yes.
Odala: You will then be assigned to another area of research. Surely paleontology has become tiresome to you after so many years. Perhaps metallurgical analysis would be a more rewarding vocation for you.
Gegen: Perhaps.
Odala: I am not unreasonable. You were drawn into this situation through no fault of your own. You are to be returned to your ship, where you will set course away from our territory. It would be in your best interest if I never saw you again.
Gegen: I am not so good at chemistry. My career as a metallurgical scientist is likely to be undistinguished.
Chakotay: I'm sorry.
Gegen: I was foolish, arrogant, and I lost everything.
Chakotay: You were courageous, just as the Voth have always been from the first time they left Earth.
Gegen: And you, Chakotay, have been a colleague, a friend. I will not forget you.
Chakotay: There's something else I hope you never forget.
Gegen: Some day every Voth will see this as home.
Chakotay: Some day. Eyes open.
Gegen: Eyes open.
Chakotay: Chakotay to Voyager. Energize.