Torres: Cold, patronizing, arrogant.
Chakotay: I know she can be difficult.
Torres: Difficult? She's impossible.
Chakotay: I'm getting tired of playing referee every time you two have a disagreement. If you have a problem, talk to her yourself.
Torres: Does the word irrelevant mean anything to you? She won't listen. She may look human, and she may sound human, but she's all Borg.
Chakotay: Part of the problem is your attitude. You've never tried to accept Seven as part of the crew.
Torres: And with good reason. Guess what she did this morning. She took an isolinear processor out of Engineering without asking, and when I went to Astrometrics to get it back she had locked the door, like that lab is her own private domain.
Chakotay: What do you want me to do? Throw her in the brig for the rest of the trip home?
Torres: I've heard worse ideas.
Seven: Seven of Nine to Chakotay.
Chakotay: Chakotay here.
Seven: Report to the Astrometrics lab at once.
Chakotay: On my way.
Torres: Did you hear that? She's giving orders now. I'm telling you, Chakotay. If she gets in my way again, I am not responsible for what happens.
Chakotay: You're a senior officer on this ship. Act like one. Find a way to deal with her.
Chakotay: Astrometrics?
Janeway: I've been summoned. Any guesses what this is about?
Chakotay: None.
Chakotay: Your call sounded urgent.
Seven: It was. I've been working to increase the range of the astrometric sensors, and I have detected something that you should find of particular interest.
Janeway: A ship. What's special about it?
Seven: I've analyzed the warp signature. It's a Starfleet vessel. The ship we're seeing is in the Alpha Quadrant.
Chakotay: You couldn't have extended the astrometric sensors that far.
Seven: No, but I increased the range far enough to detect a large network of relay stations. They're alien in origin, abandoned but still functioning. By establishing a sensor link with the nearest station I'm getting readings from the entire network. The Starfleet ship is within range of one of the farthest sensors near the outer edges of the Alpha Quadrant.
Janeway: It must be on a deep space mission.
Seven: I've extrapolated it's course.
Chakotay: It doesn't look like we'll be able to keep track of it very long.
Seven: The ship should move out of range in forty one minutes.
Chakotay: Can we use the network to transmit a message?
Seven: Yes, but we'll have to remodulate our signal to match the network's interlink frequency.
Janeway: We don't have much time. Get it done, Chakotay.
Seven: Seven of Nine to Ensign Kim.
Kim: Kim here.
Seven: I'm sending you the interlink frequencies.
Kim: Got it.
Janeway: Seven, how much longer do we have?
Seven: Sixteen minutes.
Torres: That should do it. The subspace transceiver is at two hundred percent output and online. We're ready.
Janeway: Open a channel.
Kim: Open.
Janeway: Starfleet vessel, this is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the starship Voyager. We are in the Delta Quadrant, at coordinates one eight, mark two oh five, mark four seven. Remodulate your signal to match our interlink frequency.
Tuvok: We're receiving a transmission.
Janeway: Let's hear it.
Janeway: Starship Voyager. We're in the
Janeway: Bridge to Seven. What went wrong?
Seven: I don't understand. My readings show that the station picked up our message and relayed it across the entire network.
Torres: We should try widening the subspace bandwidth and sending the message again.
Janeway: Do it.
Kim: Transmitting.
Seven: The signal is being relayed. No sign of interference.
Seven: Wait. It's being deflected back again.
Janeway: This is Captain Kathryn Janeway, starship Voyager, the Delta Quadrant.
Seven: I have a possible explanation, Captain.
Seven: As our carrier wave moves along the network, it may be degrading.
Paris: Can we try a different kind of signal? Something stronger?
Torres: A holographic datastream might work. It wouldn't degrade so quickly.
Chakotay: It would take too long to reconfigure the message, unless
Janeway: The Doctor.
Torres: Exactly.
Janeway: Bring him to Astrometrics and I'll meet you there. We don't have much time.
Torres: Doctor, you have to come with me, quickly.
Emh: Would you mind at least telling me what all this is about?
Emh: When I requested more away missions, this isn't exactly what I had in mind.
Janeway: You may be our only chance to communicate with that ship.
Torres: When you get there, you'll be downloaded into their EMH system. I'm sending an initiation code along with your program so you'll be activated immediately.
Seven: We have less than ninety seconds before that ship moves out of range.
Emh: How am I supposed to get back here?
Janeway: When you've completed your mission, instruct them to move within range of the sensor network. With any luck, they can send you back the same way you came.
Emh: Luck?
Janeway: I won't lie to you, doctor. A lot of things could go wrong. We're relying on an alien technology to send you across thousands of light years.
Emh: So there's a chance my program could be lost.
Janeway: Yes. I'm asking you to take that chance.
Seven: Thirty five seconds.
Janeway: Doctor?
Emh: Far be it from me to turn down an opportunity to become a hero. I'm ready.
Torres: Torres to bridge.
Chakotay: Standing by.
Torres: I'm downloading him into the transceiver array.
Seven: Ten seconds.
Janeway: Good luck, Doctor.
Emh: There's that word again.
Emh: Hello? Is anyone here? Computer, identify this ship.
Computer: This is the Federation starship Prometheus.
Emh: Are we in the Alpha Quadrant?
Computer: Affirmative.
Emh: Ah. Sickbay to bridge.
Emh: All right. this is Sickbay calling any crew member. Please respond. Computer, is the comm. system malfunctioning?
Computer: Negative.
Emh: Then why can't I reach anyone?
Computer: Access to the communications system has been restricted.
Emh: Restricted? But this is important. Isn't there some sort of emergency comm. channel available?
Emh: Try to lie still. You have severe phaser burns. What happened here?
Officer: Romulans. They've taken over the ship.
Nevala: Commander, there's a vessel approaching on an intercept course. It's Starfleet.
Rekar: I told you to mask our warp trail.
Nevala: I've been trying. These new systems are unfamiliar. We should have left some of the crew alive.
Rekar: You'd be surprised how stubborn humans can be.
Nevala: The Starfleet ship is closing.
Rekar: Raise shields and prepare to fire phasers.
Emh: Computer, how may Romulans are on board?
Computer: Twenty seven.
Emh: Are there any Starfleet crewmembers?
Computer: None alive.
Emh: Computer, display the design schematic of this ship and list general specifications.
Computer: USS Prometheus. Experimental prototype designed for deep space tactical assignments. Primary battle systems include regenerative shielding, ablative hull armor, multivector assault mode.
Emh: Multivector assault mode? Describe.
Computer: Access to tactical data requires level four clearance.
Emh: What can you show me at my clearance level?
Nevala: Shields are holding.
Rekar: Engage the multivector assault mode.
Nevala: That system has never been tested.
Rekar: Then we'll test it now. I gave you an order and I expect you to follow it. Multivector assault mode. Now!
Nevala: Yes, Commander.
Computer: Initiating decoupling sequence.
Computer: Autoseparation in ten seconds. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six.
Emh: Computer, what's happening? Computer?
Computer: Five. Four. Three.
Computer: Two. One. Separation sequence in progress.
Nevala: We're in attack formation. Each section is armed and responding to our command.
Rekar: Attack pattern beta four seven.
Computer: Specify target.
Rekar: The Starfleet vessel, bearing one six two mark seven.
Computer: Pattern and target confirmed.
Rekar: I think we should consider that a successful test. Begin the reintegration sequence, then get me a full damage report.
Nevala: Yes, Commander.
Nevala: He's hurt.
Rekar: Take him to the medical bay.
Computer: Reintegration sequence complete.
Emh: Computer, is there any way for me to gain access to the communication system to send a message to another ship?
Computer: Negative. Communications access requires level four clearance or above.
Emh: Please state the nature of the medical emergency.
Nevala: Who activated you?
Emh: You did, automatically, when you entered Sickbay.
Nevala: Can you treat him?
Emh: Of course, that's my function. Third degree burns, hairline jaw fracture, and a ruptured blood vessel in his brain. I'll have to operate.
Nevala: You're a Starfleet program. Why should I trust you?
Emh: I'm a doctor. Whether my patient is human, or Romulan, I'll do everything in my power to save him. You're welcome to assist me if you like. Or maybe you'd just prefer to supervise.
Nevala: Report to me when you're finished.
Emh: Mmm hmm.
Emh: Computer, can I access this ship's EMH program or do I need some kind of clearance for that, too?
Computer: Access to that program is unrestricted.
Emh: Activate it.
Emh2: Please state the nature of the medical emergency. What the hell are you doing in my Sickbay? I've been programmed to identify every member of this crew. You aren't one of them.
Emh: That's because I'm
Emh2: State your rank and security clearance.
Emh: I don't have clearance. I'm an Emergency Medical Hologram. I've been sent here to
Emh2: Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. You're the mark one EMH. The inferior program.
Emh: Inferior?
Emh2: Beady eyes, terrible bedside manner. I recognize you. But you're not part of this database. What are you doing here?
Emh: If you'd disengage your vocal subroutines for one second, I'd explain. I was transmitted onto this ship by a Starfleet vessel over sixty thousand light years from here.
Emh2: Sixty thousand light years? We don't have ships that far out.
Emh: It's the starship Voyager. We were taken into the Delta Quadrant four years ago by an alien force. What are you doing?
Emh2: Activating intruder alert.
Emh: That's the last thing you want to do.
Emh2: Security.
Emh: Listen to me. This vessel has been taken over by Romulans. The crew is dead. You and I are the only Starfleet officers on board. Do you understand?
Emh2: I understand.
Emh2: Computer, deactivate EMH.
Emh: Computer, activate EMH.
Emh2: Please state the nature of the medical emergency. Now what?
Emh: I need your help.
Emh2: Starfleet security protocol twenty eight subsection D. In the event of hostile alien takeover, the EMH is to deactivate and wait for rescue.
Emh: I'm afraid you don't have that luxury. There are two ships at stake here, yours and mine. Now, I need to know more about what's happening. Is the Federation at war with the Romulans?
Emh2: No. The Romulans haven't gotten involved in our fight with the Dominion.
Emh: The who?
Emh2: Long story.
Emh: In any case, we need to take control of this situation.
Emh2: I'm a doctor, not a commando.
Emh: It's time you became a little of both.
Emh2: You don't understand. The Prometheus is an experimental prototype, and so am I. I, I, I haven't even been field tested yet. I'm not designed for this kind of duty.
Emh: Try to calm down. You'll do fine as long as I'm here. I have plenty of expertise in this area. Now, first things first. We've got a patient. You treat his burns, I'll repair the bone fracture.
Emh2: You're not serious.
Emh: I certainly am.
Emh2: He's the enemy.
Emh: He needs our help. I assume you're familiar with the Hippocratic Oath?
Emh2: You see? You see what's happening? The Romulans are using you.
Emh: Hmm.
Emh2: Hmm what?
Emh: Your holomatrix is unstable. It may explain your erratic behavior.
Emh2: I told you, I'm a work in progress! I was only installled six weeks ago.
Emh: Stable or not, I need you. And so does he.
Emh2: He'll live. I say we leave him and deactivate ourselves.
Emh: No! You're free to do as you please. Go cower inside the data processor if you'd like. I'll work alone.
Emh2: We're medical holograms. What can we expect to do against a ship full of Romulans?
Emh: I'm not sure. Not yet. But I've faced my share of challenges. Alien invasions, macro-viral infestations. I've crossed Borg space, traveled through time.
Emh2: Have you run a self-diagnostic lately? The EMH mark one is designed to function in Sickbay only.
Emh: Voyager lost it's Chief Medical Officer four years ago. I've been active ever since.
Emh2: Four years? No wonder you're delusional. Your program's degrading after being active for so long.
Emh: I assure you I am in perfect health. I was saving Voyager from annihilation when you were only a gleam in your programr's eye. Now, are you going to help me take back this ship or not?
Emh2: Get me the thrombic modulator.
Emh2: It's the cone shaped device. Hand it to me, please. Medical science has made a few advances while you've been off in the Delta Quadrant, did you say?
Emh: That's right.
Emh2: We don't use scalpels or leeches anymore. I suggest you let me handle the medical side of things. As for retaking the ship, I'll leave that in your experienced hands.
Chakotay: No word. Our link to the sensor net is stable. Seven of Nine is standing watch in Astrometrics. I tried to relieve her but she doesn't want to leave her post. She says she doesn't need to regenerate for the next few days. What are you doing?
Janeway: Letters home. I started them a year ago. One to my family, one to Mark. I'm making a few updates, just in case. I know. It's premature.
Chakotay: You're right. It's probably a mistake for us to get our hopes up at all. We've been through this before. All right, I'll admit it. I just finished a letter to my cousin in Ohio.
Paris: The doctor is in.
Neelix: Lieutenant, thank God you're here.
Paris: What seems to be the trouble?
Neelix: Well, one minute they were eating lunch, and the next they started perspiring and complaining of chest pain.
Paris: Hmm. No wonder. Acute functional dyspepsia.
Neelix: What's that?
Paris: Heartburn.
Neelix: Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I don't know how this could have happened.
Paris: I'll replicate some antacid.
Neelix: We'll have you feeling better in no time.
Neelix: They're going to be all right, aren't they?
Paris: It's heartburn, Neelix, not the Terrillian plague. What did you feed them, anyway?
Neelix: Rodeo Red's Red Hot Rootin' Tootin' Chili.
Paris: Where did you find that recipe?
Neelix: I've been brushing up on classic American cuisine. When we get back to Earth, I want to make sure I have marketable job skills.
Paris: Don't you think you're jumping the gun a little bit?
Neelix: The Doctor is going to make it back, and he's going to bring a plan for Starfleet to rescue us. I have complete confidence in him.
Paris: I hope you're right. If not, I'm going to spend the rest of this trip treating upset stomachs.
Neelix: Oh, believe me, this is never going to happen again. It's just a matter of perfecting the recipe. Next time I'll use a few less jalapenos.
Emh: I've accessed the navigational logs. We're at warp nine point nine, heading straight for Romulan space.
Emh2: This vessel was designed to go faster than anything in the fleet, so we'll never be rescued.
Emh: We've got to find a way to turn this ship around.
Emh2: How? Waltz on to the bridge and take over the helm?
Emh: Refresh my memory. Which of us has the terrible bedside manner?
Emh2: You're not my patient.
Emh: My first bit of good news. We have to incapacitate the Romulans somehow. What kind of anesthetics do you have handy?
Emh2: Only the best. Axonol, neurozine, anaesthazine.
Emh: Neurozine will do nicely. It can be distributed in gaseous form. Show me a schematic of the ship's ventilation system. Please.
Emh2: All primary systems have been rerouted to the bridge, including environmental control.
Emh: It looks like there are holo-emitters on every deck.
Emh2: There are. Unlike you, I'm not condemned to a Sickbay.
Emh: Get three canisters of neurozine. As a matter of record, I have free reign on Voyager, and I can even leave the ship as well.
Emh2: Leave your ship? How?
Emh: My mobile emitter. A little piece of twenty ninth century technology we obtained.
Emh2: Really?
Emh: I'm as close to a sentient life form as any hologram could hope to be. I socialize with the crew, fraternize with aliens. I've even had sexual relations.
Emh2: Sex? How's that possible? We're not equipped
Emh: Let's just say, I made an addition to my program.
Emh2: Before you leave, maybe you could download those subroutines into my database.
Emh: We'll see. It looks like the only place I can access environmental control is from the Ops console on the bridge.
Emh2: The bridge is swarming with Romulans.
Emh: That's the first thing you learn in the real world. Think on your feet.
Emh2: Well, good luck then. Computer, deactivate
Emh: Not so fast. You're going to Jefferies tube seventeen. The moment I unlock the controls you release the gas into the ventilation system.
Emh2: Jefferies tube seventeen? That's five decks up. What if I run into Romulans?
Emh: Improvise. Your journey begins here.
Emh: Traditionally, one crawls in headfirst.
Emh2: Thanks.
Nevala: There you are, Doctor. Have you completed the surgery?
Emh: Yes. Your friend is recovering nicely. However, I found something disturbing in his blood work. It seems that he's been exposed to a nasty strain of the Torothka virus. And if he was, you may all have been. I've come to run some scans.
Rekar: No one here is sick.
Emh: Not yet. I understand the stomach cramps are unbearable, although some say the rash is worse.
Rekar: Conduct your scans. How far are we from our border?
Nevala: At our present velocity, forty minutes.
Rekar: Alter our heading to one one eight mark two six.
Nevala: That will take us off our course to Romulus.
Rekar: There's been a change of plans. We're giving this ship to someone who'll make full use of it's potential. The Tal'Shiar. I've made arrangements to rendezvous with their fleet within the hour.
Nevala: But Commander, they're expecting us to be
Rekar: You have your orders. What are you doing?
Emh: I'm checking the biofilters for evidence of the virus.
Rekar: You haven't taken any readings at all.
Emh: Hmm.
Paris: Next time, order the chicken salad.
Paris: Oh, am I glad to see you.
Kim: What's the emergency?
Paris: Take a look around you, Harry. What do you see?
Kim: Sickbay?
Paris: Exactly.
Kim: So?
Paris: So, it's not the helm of a starship, is it?
Kim: Did you accidentally inject yourself with some kind of psychotropic agent?
Paris: I am a pilot, Harry, not a doctor.
Kim: This is a temporary assignment, just till the Doc gets back.
Paris: What if he doesn't get back?
Kim: He'll be back.
Paris: I need your help, Harry. Rescue me from medical exile.
Kim: How?
Paris: You're an expert in holotechnology. You have got to design a new doctor.
Kim: You really are delirious. It took the greatest holoengineers in Starfleet years to develop the EMH. I can't just design a new doctor.
Paris: Think of it as a challenge, Harry. A chance to make history and save your best friend all at the same time.
Seven: Lieutenant Torres. You are recalibrating the relay interface.
Torres: That's right.
Seven: State your reasons for making these modifications.
Torres: State your reasons, please. It's not what you say, Seven. It's how you say it.
Seven: I don't understand.
Torres: You may have noticed that some of the crew seem a bit on edge when you're around.
Seven: I was Borg. I elicit apprehension.
Torres: No, that's not what I mean. We're not afraid that you're going to assimilate us. We're just not used to. You just. You're rude.
Seven: I am rude?
Torres: Yes. Yes. You order people around, you do things without permission, and whether you realize it or not you come off as a little insulting. You don't even say please or thank you. Look, I don't expect you to change overnight but, try to remember that we are not just a bunch of drones.
Seven: Your attempt to recalibrate the interface is ill-advised. The risk of disrupting our link is too great.
Torres: In your opinion. That is exactly what I'm talking about. You haven't even been listening to me. I don't know why I try to talk to you if you don't even. Are we losing the link?
Seven: No. We're receiving a transmission from the relay station.
Torres: The Doctor?
Hirogen: What are you?
Torres: I'm Lieutenant Torres of the Starship Voyager.
Hirogen: You are using our technology.
Torres: You mean the sensor network? We thought that it was abandoned.
Hirogen: It belongs to the Hirogen. Terminate your link.
Torres: No, no, wait, please. We just
Seven: The link has been severed.
Rekar: What else have you done to this ship? I will deactivate you unless you start answering my questions.
Emh: If I answer them, you'll very likely deactivate me anyway, so I fail to see the point.
Rekar: You are nothing but a computer generated projection. I find it hard to believe you're capable of taking these actions independently.
Emh: How flattering.
Rekar: Tell me, who is operating your program? Is it someone on this ship? A Starfleet crew member we missed, or one of my own men?
Emh: Paranoia is a way of life for you, isn't it?
Nevala: The computer log shows the ship received an optronic datastream transmission approximately six hours ago. It contained a holographic subroutine.
Rekar: Who sent it?
Nevala: Unknown. The data pattern had a Starfleet signature.
Rekar: So, Starfleet has managed to sneak a holographic operative aboard. Very clever.
Nevala: Were you only sent to spy on us, or does your mission include sabotage?
Emh: The datastream you detected came from an alien sensor network. It transferred me from a Starfleet ship in the Delta Quadrant.
Nevala: The Delta Quadrant? That's absurd.
Rekar: This is pointless.
Emh: I couldn't agree more.
Nevala: Maybe there's a better way to retrieve information from a hologram. I suggest a complete algorithm extraction. We can analyze his subroutines one by one.
Rekar: Proceed.
Emh: Isn't there some kind of convention regarding the treatment of prisoners?
Emh2: Did it work? Sorry to interrupt.
Emh: Did you anesthetize the entire ship?
Emh2: I did. I did.
Emh: How did you manage to release the neurozine? I never opened the ventilation system.
Emh2: Trapped in the Jefferies tube, alone, nowhere to run, his smug comrade captured by Romulans, EMH mark two had to improvise. Inspiration. He accessed the main computer and simulated a ship wide biohazard, making the computer think there was a microbiotic contamination on all decks.
Emh: And the ventilation system opened automatically.
Emh2: Presto. He then crawled back out of the tube, accessed the holoemitters, transferred here, excused the Romulan, saw the dumbfounded look on his comrade's face
Emh: The end. You know, you really should keep a personal log. Why bore others needlessly? We have to get to the bridge. This ship needs a crew, and we're it.
Emh2: Oh, trouble. The Prometheus is a prototype. Top secret. Only four people in all of Starfleet trained to operate it. I hope your myriad adventures included piloting lessons
Emh2: Because there's nothing in my program that will help us fly this thing.
Emh: I've had my share of piloting experience. Actually, only two lessons, and they were in a shuttlecraft on the holodeck. But I showed great intuition. Where's the helm?
Emh2: You'd better intuit it fast. We're only about eight minutes from the Romulan border.
Emh: Ah, there it is.
Emh2: This is all very complicated.
Emh: Stop breathing down my neck.
Emh2: My breathing is merely a simulation.
Emh: So is my neck. Stop it anyway.
Emh2: Is this a thruster control?
Emh: Don't touch that, we don't know what it does. It could be the self-destruct.
Emh2: You look worried.
Emh: I'm just concentrating.
Emh2: You don't know what you're doing, do you. This is not a shuttle and we are not on a holodeck.
Emh: Shush.
Emh2: Mister I can leave my ship. The Voice of Experience.
Emh: Let me think. Ah, here it is. This looks like the nacelle power control.
Emh2: So? So?
Emh: There's a little trick I saw Mister Paris do once. If I can generate a slight overload to the nacelle coils, it'll collapse the warp field.
Emh2: What happened?
Emh: I did it. We've stopped. Ah, All we have to do now is find a way to send Starfleet a distress signal and
Emh2: Beep beep beep? Beep beep beep? I've never heard that one before.
Emh: Oh, no.
Emh2: What?
Emh: I'm not sure, but I think whatever I did initiated a warp core overload.
Emh2: You mean the ship's going to explode? You've got to stop it.
Emh: No problem.
Emh2: What now?
Emh: Unless I'm mistaken, and for once I sincerely hope I am, there are three Romulan warbirds on an intercept course.
Torres: We're boosting the signal gain as high as it'll go. I think we can cut through the alien's jamming signal.
Hirogen: I warned you.
Janeway: I apologize for our intrusion. Allow me to explain.
Hirogen: No explanations.
Janeway: Your relay network gave us the unique opportunity to communicate with our people. They are very far away and we're expecting a message back from them.
Hirogen: All messages will be intercepted.
Torres: He's trying to jam the link again.
Janeway: There must be some room for negotiation. Isn't there anything you might accept in exchange for
Janeway: What happened?
Seven: I generated a feedback surge along our sensor link.
Torres: You killed him?
Seven: It was a mild shock. He will recover.
Janeway: And when he does?
Seven: He wasn't responding to diplomacy.
Janeway: Is the sensor link stable?
Seven: Yes, Captain.
Janeway: Keep watching for the Doctor. Let me know if our friend gives us any more trouble.
Torres: Mild shock? Not bad.
Seven: Thank you.
Kim: There. I've finished inputting the Doctor's physical characteristics.
Paris: Let's have a look.
Kim: Computer, activate the Emergency Medical Hologram Replacement Program.
Paris: Do you think we should give him a little more hair?
Kim: What do you say we try to get him working first, then we can worry about personal grooming.
Paris: Right. You're the boss. What do we do next?
Kim: I've downloaded the ship's entire medical library and compressed it into a single data file. It's got all the classics, from Gray's Anatomy to Leonard McCoy's Comparative Alien Physiology.
Paris: And once we transfer all the data into stoneface's matrix, we'll have ourselves a brand new medical expert.
Kim: That's what I'm hoping.
Paris: Harry, you are a genius.
Kim: Don't congratulate me yet. This is only the first step.
Paris: Yeah, but it's a step in the right direction.
Kim: I'm telling you, this probably isn't going to work.
Paris: What happened to all that youthful optimism?
Kim: Being a doctor is a lot more than knowing facts. We still have to create analytical subroutines to help him diagnose patients, tactile protocols so he can perform surgery, not to mention a personality profile.
Paris: Oh, you know, I've been thinking about that. Maybe we should make this one a little more pleasant than the old doc.
Kim: All right, ready to transfer the data. Computer, transfer medical library master file to Emergency Medical Replacement Hologram.
Computer: Transfer complete. EMH-
R: Chapter one, the animal cell. All the tissues of the body originate from a microscopic structure, the fertilized ovum, which consists of a soft jelly-like material enclosed in a membrane and containing a ves
Paris: What's he doing?
Kim: I think he's reciting Gray's Anatomy. EMH-
R: This may be regarded as a complete cell.
Paris: Can you stop him?
Kim: I'm trying. EMH-
R: Similar to it in nature but differing in external form. Paragraph.
Paris: Listen, this is all very fascinating. EMH-
R: In a higher organism a cell is
Paris: But would you please be quiet for a minute!
Kim: He doesn't have speech recognition protocols yet.
Paris: Well give him some, would you? EMH-
R: Material similar to that in the ovum and usually called cytoplasm, and a small spherical
Paris: What's happening?
Kim: It's an overload. His matrix can't accommodate all the data. EMH-
R: Contain no nuclei
Paris: What are you doing?
Kim: I'm downloading Gray's Anatomy chapter by chapter.
Paris: I thought you said it was too much data for his holomatrix to handle.
Kim: It's not for the EMH. It's for you.
Emh2: The Romulan vessels are closing in. Two minutes to intercept. Get us our of here.
Emh: I can't get this ship moving. Try rerouting power to the impulse engines
Emh2: Reroute power, reroute power. Here we go, I think I've found the relay controls. Hey, I'm finally getting the hang of this.
Emh: What's happening?
Emh2: Sorry, I must have transferred power from the holoemitters.
Emh: Well, be more careful. If I'm deactivated, this ship'll never get back to Starfleet.
Emh2: Okay, I'm taking power from life support. We don't need that. Try the engines now.
Emh: Nothing. Why isn't this working?
Emh2: Thirty seconds to intercept. They're right on top of us.
Emh: Hold it. I see the problem. The thrust initiator is offline. Stand by.
Emh2: Fifteen seconds. They're charging weapons.
Emh: See if you can access the shields.
Emh: I said, I said shields!
Emh2: Already done. Shields up.
Almak: This is the Warbird T'Met calling the Prometheus. Commander Rekar, respond. Commander.
Emh: This is the Prometheus.
Almak: Activate your viewscreen.
Emh: Our viewscreen is not operational. We've had some trouble with Starfleet commandos.
Almak: Where's Rekar?
Emh: In the medical bay. He's suffered minor injuries.
Almak: Identify yourself.
Emh2: You first.
Emh: You first.
Almak: Repeat your last statement. I don't understand.
Emh: State your identity.
Almak: This is Sub-Commander Almak. Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded.
Emh: They're already down. Maybe there's something wrong with your sensor readings. You'd better not try to transport until we can be sure it's safe.
Almak: Lower your shields immediately or I'll open fire.
Emh: Immediately? Yes. Prometheus out.
Emh2: Direct hit. Shields down to twenty percent.
Emh: Three more ships are approaching.
Emh2: We're doomed.
Emh: No. They're Starfleet.
Emh2: What are they doing?
Emh: Firing on us!
Emh2: They must think Romulans are on board.
Emh: They're right!
Emh2: Prometheus to any Starfleet vessel. Respond. Prometheus
Emh: It's no use, they can't hear us. The Romulans have scrambled the comm. frequencies.
Emh2: Doctor, something just went offline.
Emh: Specifically?
Emh2: The secondary gyrodyne relays and the propulsion field intermatrix have depolarized.
Emh: In English. EMH2 I'm just reading what it says here.
Emh: I'll try to stabilize the ship. Transfer auxiliary power to the maneuvering thrusters.
Emh2: Transferring auxiliary power now.
Emh: Good work, mark two.
Emh2: Thanks.
Emh: You'd better get to tactical. We're going to have to defend ourselves.
Emh2: Tactical. Right.
Emh: What are you waiting for? Shoot. Shoot.
Emh2: There are so many controls.
Emh: Find the one that says fire and push it.
Emh2: It's not working. It says here the phasers are offline.
Emh: Well then, fire a torpedo.
Emh: You hit the wrong ship.
Emh2: It wasn't my fault.
Emh: Whose fault was it, the torpedo's? You're supposed to tell it what to do.
Emh: Navigational control is offline.
Emh2: Everything's offline. Weapons, shields.
Emh: It gets worse. There are two Warbirds coming right at us.
Emh2: My brilliant existence cut short. No time to explore the universe, no time to smell the roses. No time for sex.
Computer: Initiating decoupling sequence.
Emh2: What's that? What have I done now?
Computer: Autoseparation in ten seconds.
Emh: Autoseparation? I think the Romulans did this before.
Emh2: How do we turn it off?
Emh: I don't think we can.
Computer: Five. Four. Three. Two.
Emh: If I recall correctly, this next part gets a little bumpy.
Computer: Separation sequence in progress.
Emh: Hold on.
Computer: Specify attack pattern.
Emh: Attack pattern alpha?
Computer: Specify target. EMH +
Emh2: Romulans!
Emh2: Bulls-eye! The Warbirds are in retreat. Doctor, we've done it. Two holograms, alone. Romulans on one side, Starfleet on the other. Alarms beeping everywhere.
Emh: EMH mark two, newborn but filled with courage.
Emh2: EMH mark one, armed with years of experience.
Emh: Together they emerged triumphant.
Emh2: The end. Or not.
Emh: Welcome to the Prometheus, gentlemen. It's about time.
Seven: I'm receiving a transmission through the sensor network. Origin, the Alpha Quadrant.
Torres: Does it contain a holographic subroutine?
Seven: Yes.
Torres: Transfer it to Sickbay. Torres to bridge. Captain, I think he's back.
Janeway: Doctor, report.
Emh: I, I did it.
Janeway: You completed the mission?
Emh: Yes. Once the Romulans were out of the way.
Tuvok: Romulans?
Emh: They'd taken over the Prometheus, he ship I was on. But I managed to turn the tables on them with help from a fellow EMH.
Chakotay: You got through to Starfleet?
Emh: I spoke directly with Headquarters. Apparently, Voyager was declared officially lost fourteen months ago. I set the record straight. I told them everything that's happened to this crew. They said they would contact your families to tell them the news and promised that they won't stop until they've found a way to get Voyager back home. And they asked me to relay a message. They wanted you to know you're no longer alone.
Janeway: Sixty thousand light years seems a little closer today.


Voice: USS Voyager. If you are receiving this message, please study it carefully. We have information
Janeway: What happened?
Kim: I'm not sure. The transmission just stopped.
Janeway: Locate the source. See if you can get it back.
Kim: It looks like. Captain, the transmission was sent along the same network of alien relay stations we used to send the Doctor to the Alpha Quadrant.
Chakotay: Starfleet Command must be using them just like we did.
Janeway: Harry, can you clear the interference from that message?
Kim: Yes ma'am.
Paris: They said they wouldn't stop until they found a way to get us home.
Tuvok: Nonetheless, we can't assume they've been able to devise a plan this quickly.
Janeway: They're communicating with us. That's a big step.
Kim: Okay, I've reprocessed everything we've received. I've cleared out most of the interference. Here it is.
Voice: This is Starfleet Command to the USS Voyager. If you are receiving this message, please study it carefully. We have information that
Kim: That's all we got. It looks like the bulk of the transmission is lodged in one of the relay stations.
Janeway: Can you tell which one? Kim: It's about three point eight light years from us on a heading of two seven four mark one three.
Janeway: Set a course, Tom.
Chakotay: Last time we used one of those stations the people who build it weren't too happy.
Janeway: We'll deal with that if we have to, but I'm not going to lose this opportunity. We're going to find out what the rest of that message says.
Voice: This is Starfleet Command to the USS Voyager. If you are receiving this message please study it carefully.
Alpha: Who sent this message?
Beta: Unknown. It comes from across the galaxy.
Alpha: Locate the ship receiving it.
Beta: It's on a course to one of our modules.
Alpha: Intercept.
Kim: Maybe they've figured out a way to get us home.
Paris: How can they get us home from sixty thousand light years away?
Kim: Who knows what technological advances Starfleet has come up with since we've been gone. They might have developed a whole new way of traveling through space.
Tuvok: Since it was technology that brought us to the Delta Quadrant in the first place, it's a reasonable assumption. Technology could bring us back again.
Chakotay: Starfleet found a stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. Maybe they've discovered one that leads here.
Janeway: This kind of speculation can be intriguing, but be careful about setting yourselves up to be disappointed.
Kim: I'm just happy my folks know I'm alive.
Janeway: I imagine there were quite a few celebrations when people got the news.
Chakotay: Probably. But I can see where it might make things more difficult for some. I'd guess a lot of people had given up on us, done their mourning, gone on with their lives, found some kind of resolution. Now they get word that we're alive, but so far away that we might as well be dead.
Kim: Some people might feel that way, but not my mom and dad.
Janeway: At the very least, we know the relay stations extend almost all the way to the Alpha Quadrant. If Starfleet has found a way to use them to transmit messages, we'll be able to stay in constant contact with people at home. That has to be comforting.
Kim: I'm sure it is, but I think it's more comforting to think that Starfleet is going to get us home. If no one objects, that's what I'm going to do.
Emh: You were supposed to report to Sickbay this morning for your weekly check-up. Where have you been?
Seven: Here, doing my job.
Emh: And just what is this pressing task?
Seven: I'm trying to retrieve more of the message transmitted from Starfleet Command.
Emh: Your devotion to duty is admirable, but you must remember that your implants have to be monitored regularly.
Seven: I'm fine.
Emh: No, you're not. I'm detecting reduced levels of erythrocytes in your blood. How long has it been since you regenerated?
Seven: Fifty eight hours
Emh: Well, that explains it. We've discussed this before, Seven. You must regenerate in your alcove for at least three hours a day.
Seven: I have gone as long as two hundred hours without regenerating
Emh: That was when you were a Borg. You seem to forget you're a good deal more human now.
Seven: I assure you, I have not forgotten. Another one.
Emh: I beg your pardon?
Seven: I have retrieved another word of text. That makes six.
Emh: Six words in fifty eight hours? Wouldn't it be more efficient just to wait until we arrive at the relay station?
Seven: This message is important to the captain
Emh: I'm aware of that. In fact, if it weren't for me, this transmission wouldn't have been possible in the first place. I was the one who risked my matrix in order to go to the Alpha Quadrant. If we ever get home, I expect I'll become quite the hero. Emergency Medical Hologram instrumental in the return of Voyager crew. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
Seven: On the other hand, it is entirely possible that your program will be deleted and you'll be upgraded to conform to the most recent standards.
Emh: Unlikely. I've accomplished things no EMH ever has. In fact, most likely I'll become an object of intense study and discussion. Possibly even veneration. What's that?
Janeway: Report.
Kim: We're encountering some kind of gravimetric forces.
Chakotay: Source?
Kim: Looks like it's coming from the relay station we're heading for.
Janeway: That station is still two light years away. How could it project a gravimetric field this far?
Chakotay: It would have to have an incredibly powerful energy source.
Kim: I've compensated for the disturbance. We should be all right. At least until we get closer.
Tuvok: I'm detecting a ship, Captain. Eight hundred thousand kilometers off the port bow.
Janeway: On screen.
Tuvok: It's adrift, no propulsion systems, no weapons, no life support.
Kim: I'm picking up one male humanoid aboard. He's dead.
Janeway: As soon as we're close enough, beam the body to Sickbay. I want to know how he died.
Janeway: What's happened to him?
Emh: He appears to have suffered a complete osteotomy. He's been gutted. Apparently some kind of surgical procedure was used to remove the entire skeleton, as well as the musculature, the ligaments and tendons, and the internal organs.
Janeway: How long ago did this happen?
Emh: It's difficult to say. Somewhere between a week and a month.
Seven: I've seen this before. The Borg encountered a small ship of species five one seven four. They were also destroyed in this fashion.
Emh: Did you ever determine who did it, and why?
Seven: No. It was irrelevant.
Janeway: Return the body to his ship. His people may be able to retrieve him.
Emh: Very well.
Janeway: When we get closer to the station, we can use the data processors in Astrometrics to download the message.
Seven: Yes, Captain.
Janeway: Captain's log, stardate 51501.4. After two days at high warp, we're close enough to the relay station to see it on long range visual sensors.
Paris: Not exactly what I expected. It looks ancient.
Kim: Radiometric decay rations indicate it's at least one hundred thousand years old.
Chakotay: Scan for lifeforms.
Kim: Negative, sir. Looks like there's nobody home.
Chakotay: Oh, that's good news.
Chakotay: Here we go again.
Tuvok: The gravimetric field.
Kim: Commander, if my sensors are right, that station is using a quantum singularity as a power source.
Paris: A black hole?
Kim: It's a tiny one, probably about a centimeter in diameter, but it's putting out almost four terawatts of energy.
Chakotay: That someone's managed to contain a singularity and construct a space station around it and tap it's power. That's fascinating.
Paris: Can we take the ship any closer?
Kim: I wouldn't recommend it. Voyager would take a beating from the gravimetric eddies.
Chakotay: All right, Tom, back us off.
Paris: Aye, sir.
Chakotay: Bridge to Janeway.
Janeway: Go ahead.
Chakotay: We're as close as we're going to be able to get.
Janeway: Okay.
Janeway: We'll see if we can download the message from here.
Seven: The datastream degraded during transmission. Elements have been dislocated, rearranged. It's going to require some time to decompress the message and rearrange it in the proper sequence.
Janeway: Don't worry about the sequence. Get it out in bits and pieces if you have to. We can put it together later.
Seven: I've accessed a block of data. I'm downloading the text.
Janeway: How much we miss you. We talk about you often. Wondering about your day. Sounds awfully personal from Starfleet Command. The children have grown so much you wouldn't. These are letters. These are letters from home.
Janeway: You'll be the official mail carrier, Neelix. We'll get you the letters as quickly as we can download them.
Neelix: A task I'm happy to perform, Captain. I can tell you, I've never seen the crew this excited.
Janeway: This is the closest they've come to their families in almost four years.
Neelix: I promise to treat these like gemstones.
Janeway: By the time you've delivered them, we should have more.
Seven: Captain. I've discovered something odd. There seems to be more here than just letters.
Janeway: What do you mean?
Seven: There's a latent datastream buried under the message. It's heavily encrypted.
Janeway: Encrypted?
Seven: It appears to contain a large block of text and what may be maps
Janeway: Can you retrieve any of it?
Seven: Not immediately. When more of the letters have been cleared out, I should be able to access the coded message.
Janeway: Well, I might just hope that it contains a plan for bringing us back to the Alpha Quadrant. I'm curious, Seven. What do you think about all this? Messages, the possibility of getting home?
Seven: It lacks any emotional resonance for me. I've never even been to Earth.
Janeway: You realize you may have family there?
Seven: That had not occurred to me.
Janeway: You could have cousins, grandparents. There might be more emotional resonance than you think.
Neelix: Ahem. I am happy to announce that I have the first letters from home.
Kim: Who are they for, Neelix?
Neelix: Ah, this one is addressed to Commander Chakotay. Who's it from, Commander?
Chakotay: An old friend. The person who recruited me into the Maquis. Maybe I'll read this in private. Tom, you have the bridge.
Kim: Neelix, wait a minute. Aren't there any more?
Neelix: No. No more for the bridge crew. Not yet. Be patient.
Tuvok: Come in.
Neelix: Good news, Mister Vulcan. This one's for you.
Tuvok: Thank you, Mister Neelix. You can put it on the desk. Was there something more?
Neelix: Aren't you going to read it?
Tuvok: Of course.
Neelix: I, I mean, aren't you going to read it now?
Tuvok: I'm finishing my weekly tactical review. When it's completed, I'll read the message.
Neelix: You're going to wait until you finish the tactical review?
Tuvok: Do you have any reason to believe the content of the message will change during that time?
Neelix: That's not the point. It's a letter from your family. Don't you want to know what it says?
Tuvok: I fully intend to find out what it says.
Neelix: It has some important news.
Tuvok: You mean you've read it?
Neelix: Well, only the first few lines. When I was seeing who it was addressed to, I, I couldn't help it. Would you like me to read it to you?
Tuvok: Very well.
Neelix: My husband, we have been given the news that you are alive. Your children and I have asked the priests at the temple of Aymonk to say prayers for your safe return. That's very sweet.
Tuvok: Amonak.
Neelix: Pardon?
Tuvok: The temple of Amonak. One of the most sacred on Vulcan.
Neelix: Amonak. Of course. The most significant news is the fact that your first son, Sek, has gone through the Pon Farr. He mated and has become a father. You are now the grandfather of a healthy female who they have named T'Meni, after your mother. You're a grandfather. Isn't that wonderful? Congratulations. What should we call you now? Grandpa? Gramps?
Tuvok: I think Commander Tuvok will suffice. Thank you, Mister Neelix. I'll read the rest to myself.
Neelix: Just so long as you read it right away. No procrastinating. Who knows what else might be in that letter?
Kim: Is that a letter to you, Captain?
Janeway: Yes. Seven just downloaded it. I'll be in my ready room.
Paris: Yes, ma'am.
Chakotay: Have you gotten a letter yet?
Torres: Don't expect one.
Chakotay: Do you remember Sveta?
Torres: Of course.
Chakotay: I got one from her.
Torres: Why would she be writing you? Chakotay, what is it?
Chakotay: Something terrible has happened. I read that letter for an hour before I could accept it. Now I have to tell everyone else and I'm not sure how to do it. It's over, B'Elanna. There are no more Maquis. (For details, click the link to read DS9 Blaze of Glory)
Torres: What are you saying? There are thousands of us.
Chakotay: All wiped out. It seems the Cardassians have an ally, a species from the Gamma Quadrant who supplied them with ships and weapons.
Torres: K'Tarra? Roberto? Everyone except us is dead?
Chakotay: Just about. Sveta and a few lucky ones are in prison.
Torres: No.
Chakotay: B'Elanna.
Torres: Don't! Don't try to console me. I don't want to be comforted. Those were our friends, good people willing to put their lives on the line for something they believed in and now you're telling me that they are gone, that they are slaughtered.
Chakotay: Those are the risks we all took. We all knew where it could lead.
Torres: It's not right and you know it. I will make someone pay, I swear I will. If we ever get back.
Kim: Tom, I heard there are at least thirty more letters that have been downloaded.
Paris: Oh yeah?
Kim: Neelix is supposed to on his way here now.
Paris: What do you suppose this is, anyway?
Kim: What was is?
Paris: This mystery dish. It tastes vaguely like chicken, but it has the consistency of corn husks.
Kim: Is that all you can think about? What you're eating?
Paris: Well, I don't like guessing at what I put in my stomach
Kim: Tom, we're getting letters from home. Doesn't that mean anything to you?
Paris: Not particularly.
Kim: I don't believe you.
Paris: You know, it's really not that bad.
Kim: Here he comes.
Neelix: Good news. Seven has been able to download some more letters. This one is for Susan Nicoletti. Is she here?
Nicoletti: Oh! Yeah.
Neelix: Fitzpatrick?
Fitzpatrick: Right here.
Nicoletti: Thank you.
Neelix: Kyoto? Golwat? Ashmore? Dorado?
Dorado: I'm here.
Kim: There's not going to be one for me
Paris: He's not done yet. Hang on.
Neelix: And finally, Parsons. I'm sorry if your name hasn't come up, but Seven is still working.
Kim: Neelix. I thought you had over thirty letters.
Neelix: Thirty? Where did you hear that?
Kim: That's what was going around.
Neelix: Don't pay any attention to rumors.
Kim: Right.
Paris: Aren't you going to eat your lunch?
Kim: I'm not hungry
Paris: You shouldn't get your hopes up, Harry. No hopes, no disappointments.
Kim: I'm not you.
Janeway: Come in.
Seven: Captain, I'm beginning to have trouble accessing the datastream. The longer it remains lodged in the relay station, the more it degrades.
Janeway: If we could get near enough we could try to stabilize the containment field. But I can't risk taking the ship in any closer.
Seven: A shuttle could withstand the gravimetric eddies more easily than Voyager. I'd like to try it.
Janeway: I'd want Commander Tuvok to go with you.
Seven: For what reason?
Janeway: It isn't my custom to send an away team of one.
Seven: As you wish.
Torres: Hi.
Kim: Hi. I thought Seven was working in here.
Torres: She's gone with Tuvok to shore up the station's confinement field. I've taken over for her. Disappointed?
Kim: Of course not. Would you stop that? I've told you, there's nothing between us.
Torres: I know there's nothing between you. It's purely a one way attraction.
Kim: Very funny.
Torres: Harry, you might as well wear a big sign that says, I'm in love. Everyone sees it.
Kim: Look, I'll admit that for a while. Well, she's a very attractive woman, but I've gotten over that.
Torres: Okay.
Kim: Fine. Believe whatever you want.
Torres: If you didn't come down here to see her, why did you?
Kim: I wanted to know if I'd gotten a letter yet.
Torres: Sorry. I haven't seen anything so far.
Kim: Do you think there's going to be one for everybody?
Torres: I'm sure that Starfleet contacted the families and friends of everyone on the ship. They know how important that would be.
Kim: I hope so.
Torres: Harry, you'll get one. Try to be patient.
Seven: Commander, am I correct in assuming that Vulcans are incapable of lying?
Tuvok: We are capable of telling lies. However, I have never found it prudent or necessary to do so.
Seven: You have never lied?
Tuvok: Only under orders from a superior officer.
Seven: Then I must ask you something. Is it the captain's custom to send at least two people on an away mission?
Tuvok: It's not only her custom, it's recommended Starfleet protocol.
Seven: I see.
Tuvok: Is there a purpose to your question?
Seven: I am wondering if the captain still doesn't trust me. If she feels I require supervision.
Tuvok: I am not certain how the captain regards you, but her decision to have me accompany you on this mission shouldn't be taken as evidence of any particular attitude.
Seven: I believe we are close enough to emit a polaron pulse.
Tuvok: Bring the main deflector online.
Seven: Ready.
Tuvok: The variance in the containment field is now at point two nine.
Seven: That should prevent further degradation of the signal.
Tuvok: Let me ask you a question, Seven. Is the captain's opinion important to you?
Seven: My understanding of the hierarchy on Voyager is that the captain's opinion is important to every member of the crew.
Seven: What's happened?
Tuvok: We have just been scanned by a sub-neucleonic beam of some kind.
Seven: The navigational sensors have been disrupted.
Tuvok: We must get Voyager to send out a directional beacon to guide us back. Tuvok to Voyager. Voyager, please respond.
Seven: Commander, we've lost other systems as well. We have no communications, no warp engines and no weapons.
Tuvok: I suspect this was done intentionally by the ship that's approaching rapidly off out port stern.
Seven: They're at fifty thousand kilometers and closing.
Tuvok: Our shields are losing integrity.
Seven: I'll try to get at least one phaser array back online. Commander, one more hit and we'll be susceptible to a hull breach.
Tuvok: That ship is larger than ours. If we lure it closer to the station, it will be far more vulnerable to the gravitational eddies than we are. A tractor beam. We are being pulled toward the ship.
Seven: I'll try to disrupt it. Unsuccessful.
Tuvok: Launching a distress beacon.
Torres: Torres to the bridge.
Janeway: Go ahead.
Torres: Captain, could Lieutenant Paris come
Torres: Down here? I think I've got something he'd want to see.
Janeway: He's on his way.
Torres: It's a letter for you. It's coming through right now.
Paris: For me?
Torres: It's right here.
Paris: Who's it from?
Torres: I can't tell yet.
Paris: Maybe it's from the rehab colony, telling me I've violated probation.
Torres: Why are you acting like this?
Paris: I just want to know who the letter's from, okay?
Torres: You should know in a minute.
Paris: I'll be on the bridge.
Torres: What, you're not going to wait?
Paris: I'm on duty.
Torres: Voyager is hanging in space. There's not a lot to do at the helm.
Paris: I just thought that I should be at my post.
Torres: You may be able to fool someone else with that ploy, but you're talking to me, Tom.
Paris: Just download the letter, okay?
Torres: A little more has come in. It's from Starfleet. From an Admiral Owen. Do you know him?
Paris: Admiral Owen Paris. It's my father.
Torres: That's wonderful.
Paris: Yeah. Maybe. I don't know exactly why, but the more everybody gets excited about these letters from home, the more I don't want any part of it. Maybe because what I have on Voyager is so much better than anything I ever had back there. I just don't want the reminder.
Torres: You're not the same person you were four years ago. What makes you think he is?
Paris: No, you don't know him.
Torres: At least give him a chance. He's obviously reaching out.
Paris: When he forms an opinion about something, nothing can change his mind.
Torres: Fine. Excuse me if I can't feel terribly sorry for you. I learned this morning that a lot of my friends are dead. And I've gone from being so angry that I wanted to kill someone to crying for an hour. And now I'm just trying to, to accept it and move on.
Paris: B'Elanna, that's awful. I am so sorry. And here I am going on about something that doesn't even matter anymore.
Torres: No, I'm sorry. It obviously does. You care what he thinks about you.
Paris: Yeah. Yeah, I guess I still do.
Torres: I'll let you know when I get the whole letter.
Janeway: Come in.
Chakotay: Looks like Tuvok and Seven pulled it off. The containment field has stabilized quite a bit. B'Elanna says she'd downloading the letters much more easily now.
Janeway: That's good news.
Chakotay: We don't have the shuttle on sensors yet, but they should be back soon.
Janeway: I've learned a few interesting things about that relay station. It's generating as much energy every minute as a typical star puts out in a year.
Chakotay: It's amazing to me is that someone a hundred thousand years ago was harvesting microsingularities.
Janeway: If nobody shows up to protest, I'd like to stay here for a while. Try to find the answers to some of these questions. This is the kind of archeological puzzle that's always fascinated me. Want a cup?
Chakotay: No, thanks. You haven't mentioned your letter. Who was it from?
Janeway: It was from Mark, the man I was engaged to. He told me about the litter of puppies my dog had, and how he found homes for them. How devastated he was when Voyager was lost. How he held out hopes we were alive longer than most people did until he realized that he was clinging to a fantasy. So he began living his life again. Meeting people, letting go of the past. About four months ago, he married a woman who works with him. He's very happy.
Chakotay: How do you feel about that?
Janeway: Well, I knew he'd eventually move on with his life. But there was such a finality to that letter.
Kim: Kim to the captain. Can you come to the bridge?
Janeway: What is it?
Kim: We've picked up an automated distress signal from Tuvok's shuttle. Sensors show there's no one on board.
Tuvok: Seven. Seven of Nine.
Seven: Where are we?
Tuvok: I assume we're on the alien ship.
Seven: This is most uncomfortable. Have you seen anyone?
Tuvok: No. If we can reach one of those blades perhaps we can cut through these bindings.
Alpha: You were pathetic prey. Easily taken.
Alpha: The hunt was not satisfying. I want information. Why do you violate our property? I could snap your puny neck with one twist. Hardly worth taking. Answer me. Why do you use our modules?
Tuvok: We're trying to retrieve important messages from our home. Return us to our ship and we'll be on our way without trespassing again.
Alpha: I took you in a fair hunt. I claim the relics of the chase.
Alpha: Are the others on your ship able to put up more of a fight than you?
Seven: You will find our captain a formidable opponent and our ship heavily armed.
Alpha: Good. Strong prey makes for a better hunt.
Tuvok: Release us now and you'll be safe. Otherwise we will destroy you.
Beta: Pitiful relics.
Alpha: They 'are the first of their kind. I will be envied.
Beta: I've located their ship. It's four thousand ketriks from the module.
Alpha: We'll be there within the hour. Go to stalking mode. Why do you hesitate?
Beta: The rest of the group is on its way.
Alpha: I wanted to claim this prey for myself.
Beta: We may not be able to take them alone. We need the strength of the others.
Alpha: I won't share prey with the others. These two must be the only relics. Prepare them.
Kim: Captain, it's tricky to scan through the interference, but I think I'm detecting a ship.
Janeway: What kind of ship?
Kim: Let me reconfigure the sensor array. It's Hirogen, and Tuvok and Seven are on it.
Janeway: Hail them.
Kim: On screen.
Janeway: I'm Captain Janeway of the starship Voyager. You have two of my crew on board.
Alpha: Disconnect your link with our module and leave this space.
Janeway: Not without my people.
Alpha: They are my relics.
Janeway: I'm prepared to offer you something for their safe return. Surely we can come to an agreement?
Alpha: If the rest of my group arrives, you will be taken as well. I'm giving you a chance to run.
Janeway: We don't run.
Kim: Captain, I've got three more ships on sensors, coming towards us at high warp.
Alpha: Don't be foolish. Leave now and save yourselves.
Janeway: Give me my people and we'll do just that.
Alpha: They're mine.
Janeway: Then get ready for a fight. Red alert.
Alpha: Are they prepared?
Beta: Yes. But now is not the time for it. We should wait until the others arrive and take the ship.
Alpha: I want to make the first kill. You will verify it.
Beta: If there's a battle, we must join it.
Alpha: The others can wage the battle.
Beta: Perhaps you are more interested in collecting relics. Perhaps your judgment is clouded.
Alpha: Don't question me again. We do it now.
Tuvok: I suggest you think carefully about your decision. If you kill us, our captain will hunt you down and show no mercy.
Alpha: I'm not concerned. Lower the harness. A long, coiled intestine. An interesting trophy.
Seven: What possible use could you make of my intestines?
Alpha: Unusual relics are prized. Yours will make me envied by men and pursued by women.
Seven: You are a crude species. Only your size makes you formidable.
Alpha: Your insults are as pitiful as your efforts to escape. This one first. I want the female to witness what will happen to her. Their bone structure makes cutting through the back difficult. This will take time.
Janeway: Bridge to Torres.
Torres: Torres here, Captain.
Janeway: How much longer?
Torres: I'm getting out piece by piece. At least another half hour.
Janeway: How are you coming?
Kim: The ship has some kind of monotanium armor plating. It's scattering the targeting beam.
Chakotay: The other three ships are closing. They're within six thousand kilometers.
Paris: Captain, those ships have massive weapons. They've definitely got us outgunned.
Janeway: Harry, let me see those ships in relation to the relay station.
Kim: Yes ma'am.
Janeway: Maybe we can use that quantum singularity to our advantage.
Kim: How?
Janeway: If we can boost the effect of the singularity, increase the gravitational pull, we might be able to stop them.
Kim: The pull would increase if we could weaken the station's containment field. An antithoron burst might do it.
Paris: If we're not careful we might be pulled in as well.
Janeway: Don't worry, we're going to be ready for it. Harry, create a low level warp field around Voyager. Sublight energy level. That should help counteract the gravitational pull.
Chakotay: If the field is too strong, we won't be able to beam Tuvok and Seven aboard.
Janeway: Then you'll have to find the right balance, won't you, Harry?
Kim: Yes, ma'am.
Janeway: On my mark, direct a level eight antithoron burst towards the station. Have thrusters ready for full reverse, Mister Paris.
Paris: Understood.
Kim: I've established a low level warp field, Captain.
Chakotay: Antithoron system is online.
Paris: I'm ready with thrusters.
Janeway: Do it.
Chakotay: It's working.
Janeway: Try the transporter lock again, Harry.
Alpha: Stabilize the ship.
Beta: I can't. The gravity well is pulling us in.
Beta: That vessel is weakening the module's containment field.
Alpha: Ready weapons. Signal the others to attack/
Torres: Torres to the bridge.
Janeway: Go ahead.
Torres: The antithoron burst collapsed
Torres: The signal. I've gotten as much of the message as I'm going to get.
Janeway: Acknowledged. Hail those ships.
Kim: Channel open.
Janeway: This is Captain Janeway. Agree to retreat, and we'll restore the containment field.
Paris: Captain, they're firing.
Chakotay: Their weapons are destabilizing the containment field.
Janeway: This is Janeway. Stop firing. You're putting yourselves in grave danger.
Kim: The field is going. The singularity is about to be exposed.
Chakotay: Captain, the ship with Tuvok and Seven is still being pulled in.
Janeway: Get a tractor beam on it.
Kim: I have Tuvok and Seven targeted, but if we try to transport them now the gravity well could scatter their patterns.
Chakotay: The tractor beam is weakening. We're going to lose them.
Janeway: Harry, we have to risk it.
Kim: Activating the transporter.
Alpha: Full reverse. Increase power to the engine.
Beta: No response.
Janeway: Do you have them?
Kim: Not yet. Their patterns are distorting.
Janeway: Narrow the annular confinement beam.
Chakotay: Tractor beam's almost gone, Captain. We're losing this tug of war.
Janeway: Reroute all secondary power to the tractor emitters.
Chakotay: The tractor beam collapsed. That ship is headed into the black hole.
Kim: I'm realigning the pattern buffer. I've got one more shot at it. I got them. They're in transporter room two.
Paris: I need more power. We're being pulled in.
Janeway: Transfer all available power to the engines.
Paris: It's not enough.
Janeway: Shut down life support.
Chakotay: Structural integrity's failing. The hull is starting to buckle.
Paris: We're going in.
Janeway: Open the antimatter injectors to one hundred twenty percent.
Kim: Captain, that could breach the core.
Janeway: So will that black hole. Now just do it.
Kim: Yes, ma'am.
Paris: We're free.
Janeway: Resume course. I'll be in Astrometrics.
Torres: Captain, look at this. The energy released from the singularity created a massive discharge along the relay network. It disabled every one of the stations.
Janeway: How much of the message were you able to get?
Torres: I got most of the encrypted Starfleet text and a few more personal letters.
Janeway: How soon can we see what Starfleet had to say?
Torres: It'll take some time to decode. Harry should probably work on it. If you'll excuse me, I have a few letters to deliver.
Janeway: Neelix can do that.
Torres: No need. Anyway, there's one that I want to do personally.
Torres: Good news, Harry. I got this at the last minute.
Kim: It's from my folks. Thanks.
Torres: I'm sorry, Tom. I wasn't able to download yours in time.
Paris: Just when I was getting eager to read it.
Torres: You could assume that he said he loves you, and that he's proud of you.
Paris: I think I will.
Janeway: Captain's log, supplemental. Seven of Nine and Commander Tuvok suffered no serious physical damage after their encounter on the alien ship. I've been eager to hear Tuvok's impressions of the species who took them hostage.
Tuvok: I learned very little about them, but I believe we should consider them extremely dangerous. They seem to lack any moral center.
Janeway: Do you know why the relay network was so important to them?
Tuvok: No. I assume they used it for communications, as we did.
Janeway: Well, they won't be using it any more.
Tuvok: They won't be pleased about that, Captain. I doubt we've seen the last of them.
Janeway: Come in.
Tuvok: If you'll excuse me. Commander.
Chakotay: Repair teams have inspected the ship from stem to stern. Except for some maintenance that's needed on the warp coils, everything seems fine.
Janeway: I suppose so. Want some coffee?
Chakotay: Thanks.
Janeway: Cream and sugar, huh?
Chakotay: Two sugars.
Janeway: Oh, two sugars?
Chakotay: You know, you drink too much of that stuff.
Janeway: Really?
Chakotay: If I'm not mistaken that's your third cup this morning.
Janeway: Fourth. And on a day like today, it won't be my last. Coffee - the finest organic suspension ever devised. It's got me through the worst of the last three years. I beat the Borg with it. Oh, I'm sure Voyager will be fine, but I'm worried that the crew might be a different story. I think they were hoping mail call would become a regular part of their day.
Chakotay: Neelix is putting together an impromptu party. He thought it might cheer them up.
Janeway: Good idea. When will it be?
Chakotay: As soon as he can get people together.
Janeway: Leave it to Neelix to come up with the right idea at the right time.
Chakotay: How are you doing?
Janeway: Me? I'm fine.
Chakotay: You'd say that if you'd just had your legs torn off by a Traykan Beast. Look what you've been through in the last few days. We finally make a connection with home and then it's ripped away from us. We manage to make another enemy who's going to try and hunt us down and destroy us, and on top of that
Janeway: It's all right. You can say it. On top of all that, I got a Dear John letter. It wasn't really a surprise. I guess I didn't really expect him to wait for me considering the circumstances. It made me realize that I was using him as a safety net, you know, as a way to avoid becoming involved with someone else.
Chakotay: You don't have that safety net any more.
Janeway: That's right. Then again, my life is far from uneventful here in the Delta Quadrant. It's not like I would have had a chance to pursue a relationship, even if I had realized I was alone.
Chakotay: You're hardly alone, and to my way of thinking, there's still plenty of time.
Janeway: Plenty of time.
Neelix: Neelix to the ready room. The party's about to begin and there are only two people missing.
Janeway: We're on our way.


Hunter: The prey's course has become erratic. I will intercept to kill.
Alpha: No. Maintain distance. His ship is damaged. He's injured. Let him bleed.
Hunter: This prey is resilient. We will lose the moment.
Alpha: The way a creature behaves when it is wounded is the key to it's destruction. Maintain distance.
Hunter: Direct hit. Our hull armor is stable.
Alpha: His weapons must be weakening.
Hunter: The prey is heading for an asteroid belt, vector one six eight point nine. We are losing him.
Alpha: He hasn't come here to hide. He's come to make a final stand.
Hunter: Tracking. He's holding position above an asteroid and he's left his ship.
Alpha: Follow him.
Hunter: The prey is scattering our sensors.
Alpha: Impressive. He counters out pursuit to the final moment.
Hunter: Compensating.
Alpha: No. Disengage sensors.
Hunter: For what reason?
Alpha: I want to take him with my own eyes. Follow. I'll draw his attack. Prepare to target his thoracic crest.
Alpha: A flawless kill.
Seven: Please remain still so that I can treat your injuries. Thank you. I'm sorry, did that hurt? I'll try to be more careful. Thanks for being a patient patient. Have a pleasant afternoon. This is absurd.
Emh: Not at all. Keep going, you're doing fine.
Seven: This vernacular is not applicable to my duties on Voyager.
Emh: We can tailor the vocabulary to your specific situations a little later. Right now, it's the sentiment that counts.
Seven: I don't see the relevance.
Emh: I created these exercises three years ago to familiarize myself with the social graces. I found that if I repeated them several times each day, the words became almost second nature. Let's continue. Exercise two, The Workplace Encounter. Kes used to help me with this one. Now I'll be the nurse, you be the doctor.
Seven: Please hand me the hypospray.
Emh: Of course, Doctor, immediately.
Seven: Thank you. Looks at instrument.
Emh: No, no, don't read that part, only the dialogue.
Seven: Excuse me, nurse. This is the wrong hypospray. Would you mind finding the correct one.
Emh: Not at all.
Seven: Thank you. Did I mention you look lovely today?
Emh: Oh, doctor, you're so charming.
Seven: This lesson is terminated.
Emh: I know it's awkward. For me, it was even painful, but you'll find the rewards are well worth the effort.
Seven: Rewards?
Emh: The ability to put others at ease, make them feel more comfortable around you. You're a lot like me when I was first activated. If I'd had a mentor, things would have gone a lot more smoothly. I'm willing to share my wisdom but, if you're not interested, fine, I'll stick to your physiological maintenance.
Seven: I will examine your data.
Emh: Oh, good. Pay special attention to exercise seventeen, Bridge Banter for Beginners.
Seven: Have a pleasant day.
Janeway: Verify.
Tuvok: Monotanium hull plating, dicyclic warp signature. The vessel is definitely Hirogen.
Chakotay: They're moving to intercept.
Paris: Evasive maneuvers?
Janeway: No. We need to settle our differences here and now. Hard about, full impulse.
Chakotay: Red alert.
Kim: They're in visual range.
Janeway: On screen. Hail them.
Tuvok: No response.
Paris: They're closing. Fifty thousand kilometers, forty five, forty.
Janeway: Maintain course, Mister Paris.
Tuvok: Curious. They are not charging weapons.
Paris: They're slowing, sir.
Chakotay: Lifesigns?
Tuvok: Only one, and it's erratic.
Paris: They've stopped, Captain. Their engines just went offline.
Chakotay: This could be a trap.
Janeway: Harry, run a long range scan. Are there any other Hirogen ships out there?
Kim: None.
Janeway: Take us within transporter range.
Seven: You intend to board their ship?
Janeway: Yes.
Seven: The Hirogen vessel is a potential threat. We should destroy it.
Janeway: Seven, what you call a threat, I call an opportunity to gain knowledge about this species. And in this case, maybe even show some compassion. There seems to be a wounded pilot over there.
Seven: Our experience with the Hirogen indicates that compassion would not be reciprocated.
Janeway: And all of my experience says we've got to take that chance anyway. Commander.
Chakotay: Tuvok, Paris, you're with me.
Paris: Looks like there was a fight.
Chakotay: Search for the lifesigns.
Tuvok: Commander.
Chakotay: I'm reading bones, muscle tissue, from at least nine different species. It's all being broken down by some sort of enzyme.
Tuvok: Perhaps this is their method of denaturating their prey.
Chakotay: Either that or it's dinner.
Paris: Looks like somebody lost their helmet. Urgh!
Paris: Commander. I'm not picking up any weapon residuals. I'd say he was physically torn apart.
Chakotay: I'm picking up the lifesigns. This way.
Chakotay: Massive internal bleeding. Let's get him to Sickbay.
Chakotay: The data we downloaded from the ship's computer included navigational records. Can you give us a map of this region?
Tuvok: The is the Hirogen vessel's flightpath over the past five years.
Janeway: They've certainly covered a lot of space.
Tuvok: This ship alone has visited over ninety star systems in the last year.
Chakotay: I analyzed some of their logs. From what I can tell, this is a hunting species. We saw the skeletal remains from dozens of alien races displayed like trophies. There was also evidence they may be using some of their victims for food. The entire culture seems to be based on the hunt. Social rituals, art, religious beliefs. They're nomadic. Their existence is driven by the pursuit of prey and it's carried them across huge distances.
Tuvok: There is no evidence of a home planet. Their ships travel alone or in small groups. On occasion, several will join forces in a multi-pronged attack.
Chakotay: Like wolves.
Janeway: How's our wolf in Sickbay?
Tuvok: Still unconscious, behind a level five forcefield
Janeway: You were right, Seven. This species is a threat. But despite the risk of sending an away team, we know a lot more about who we're dealing with now.
Seven: You were correct, Captain. It was worth the risk. This time.
Janeway: So there's one question remaining. Who's hunting the hunters?
Emh: I was trying to remove his body armor to treat the internal injuries when he suddenly regained consciousness. Needless to say he's not happy to be here.
Janeway: Can you sedate him?
Emh: I've already tried. His immune system neutralizes everything. I could synthesize a more potent compound, but that would take hours. He could be dead by then. His wounds are severe.
Janeway: Your crewmate is dead, and your ship has been damaged beyond repair. I brought you here to treat your injuries. What happened to your ship? Who attacked you? The first time I met your species it wasn't on the best of terms, but that doesn't mean you and I can't find a way to change that.
Alpha: Our prey.
Janeway: You were on a hunt?
Alpha: Yes. A formidable alien. We captured it two days ago, but it broke free of its restraints, attacked us. Release me. I must continue the hunt.
Janeway: Not without your ship, and not in this condition. You'll die without treatment. Let us help you.
Janeway: Doctor?
Emh: All right. I'm going to enter the forcefield now and start with a few scans of your midsection. You should know I'm a hologram and can't be bent, spindled or mutilated, so don't bother trying. Please lie down. Or remain standing.
Chakotay: Captain, we've detected six more Hirogen ships. They're converging on us from all directions.
Tuvok: The one in Sickbay may have sent a distress call from his vessel.
Janeway: How long do we have?
Chakotay: The nearest ship is half a light year away. Four hours at most.
Janeway: Tom, analyze their approach pattern. Evade them as long as you can.
Paris: Yes, ma'am.
Janeway: I want to buy the Doctor enough time to treat our hunter. If I gain his confidence, he might call off his friends. Good old-fashioned diplomacy could get us out of this yet.
Chakotay: Don't count on it. From what I found in their database, diplomacy isn't a part of their lifestyle. They don't see us as equals. To them, we're simply game.
Janeway: It's time we convince them otherwise, or like any other cornered animal, we'll show our teeth.
Tuvok: There's been a hull rupture on deck eleven, section three. Damage is minor. It appears a plasma conduit overloaded.
Chakotay: Increase power to the structural integrity field.
Tuvok: A bulkhead has collapsed in Jefferies tube eighty four.
Chakotay: Another overload?
Kim: Negative. The plasma network is stable. This wasn't caused by any power surge or system failure.
Janeway: Harry, Tuvok, get to deck eleven and check it out.
Kim: This was no overload.
Tuvok: Indeed.
Kim: Commander.
Tuvok: It's a dense mixture of DNA and polyfluidic compounds. Tuvok to bridge.
Janeway: Go ahead.
Tuvok: We may have an intruder aboard.
Tuvok: I'm analyzing what could be a sample of its blood. The readings are consistent with species 8472.
Janeway: Intruder alert. Bridge to Security, seal off decks ten through twelve.
Chakotay: Internal sensors aren't detecting any intruders.
Janeway: The last time we ran into this species, it was impervious to our scanners. We'll have to track it visually.
Paris: How did it get past our shields?
Janeway: We'll worry about that later. You have the bridge, Commander. I'll be on deck eleven.
Seven: I've erected a level ten forcefield around Engineering.
Torres: Good. Set up secondary forcefields around every hatch, Jefferies tube and conduit leading into this room. I want every one of these consoles secured. Authorized command codes only. I'm going to lock down the warp core. Ensign, realign the dilithium matrix to a frequency of three point six nine
Janeway: Report.
Seven: Four crewmembers are wounded, two seriously.
Janeway: Get them to Sickbay.
Seven: Species 8472 accessed engineering through the antimatter injector port. Our phaser fire was insufficient. It attacked us then escaped through Jefferies tube seventeen alpha.
Janeway: Janeway to Tuvok.
Tuvok: Tuvok here.
Janeway: The intruder just left Engineering. Seal off the area.
Tuvok: Understood.
Janeway: Secure the warp core.
Crewwoman: Yes, Captain.
Janeway: Seven.
Janeway: It would seem that the Hirogen underestimated their latest prey.
Seven: You believe they were hunting the creature?
Janeway: Yes. When the Borg were fighting Species 8472, did they ever engage in physical combat?
Seven: On many occasions.
Janeway: Can you recall anything that might help us here?
Seven: Each time they boarded a Borg vessel, they went directly to the central power matrix and disabled it.
Janeway: The creature was just in Engineering. Didn't touch any of our power systems.
Seven: It's obviously adjusted its strategy. Species 8472 is devious and highly intelligent. It will seek the most efficient means of destroying us.
Janeway: Let's get to Sickbay.
Emh: She's going to be just fine, Captain.
Janeway: Is it alone? Have you seen any others like it?
Alpha: Why?
Chakotay: Six months ago, this species invaded our galaxy with thousands of ships. We were barely able to fight them off.
Janeway: Your prey could indicate another invasion. If it does, we're all in trouble. How many ships have you seen?
Alpha: Only one. Damaged. We tracked it across fifty light years. We thought that we had killed the creature, but this prey is unlike any other. It has many lives. Lower the forcefield and I will finish the hunt.
Seven: Your attempt to destroy it will fail. Species 8472 is highly resistant to all technology. All but one. Borg nanoprobes.
Alpha: Nanoprobes?
Chakotay: Microscopic weapons that can attack the species on a cellular level. We've tried it before and it worked.
Seven: I'll modify the phaser rifles to fire nanoprobe discharges.
Janeway: I want you to incapacitate the creature, not kill it. Can you make that modification?
Seven: Yes, but it would require additional time. We must stop it as soon as possible.
Alpha: She's right.
Janeway: Not until we know why it returned.
Seven: You will be exposing this crew to unnecessary risk.
Janeway: I disagree.
Seven: Captain.
Janeway: You have your orders, Seven. Six of your vessels will be here in under four hours. I hope you'll let them know that we saved your life and that we want to avoid any further conflict with your people.
Alpha: Let me resume the hunt, and I will grant your request.
Chakotay: We have enough problems on this ship as it is without him running around.
Alpha: I spent six months studying this prey's behavior. I know how to track him. Let me continue, or I will have the others destroy you.
Tuvok: Tuvok to Janeway.
Janeway: Go ahead.
Tuvok: We're holding position in section ninety four, but the creature has accessed the environmental controls. Deck eleven is losing life support. Artificial gravity has also been compromised.
Janeway: Evacuate the deck.
Janeway: Regroup on deck ten.
Tuvok: Aye, Captain.
Alpha: He's trying to barricade himself. He did the same thing to us.
Janeway: You want to be part of the hunt? Now's your chance. He'll be under your supervision, Commander. If he steps out of line, shoot him.
Alpha: My weapon.
Chakotay: Temperature gradient.
Paris: Affirmative.
Chakotay: Atmospheric recyclers.
Paris: Engaged.
Chakotay: Is your body armor designed to handle rapid pressure fluctuations?
Alpha: It can defeat most hostile environments. I once tracked a silicon-based lifeform through the neutronium mantle of a collapsed star.
Paris: I once tracked a mouse through Jefferies tube thirty two.
Chakotay: Chakotay to Tuvok. We're ready to go.
Tuvok: As are we.
Chakotay: Proceed to deck eleven, Keep you comm. links open.
Tuvok: Understood. Activate the nanoprobe charges.
Seven: Level five should be sufficient to stun the creature.
Chakotay: Depressurizing hatch. Magnetize.
Chakotay: Maintain your position.
Alpha: He's here.
Chakotay: I said maintain your position. This is my hunt. I'm at point.
Alpha: My knowledge of this prey is superior you yours.
Chakotay: But you're on unfamiliar terrain. I know this ship, you don't.
Alpha: The prey will likely attack the man at point. You would not survive.
Chakotay: I'll take that chance. Now fall back.
Paris: No problem. I'll take up the rear.
Tuvok: You missed. Since species 8472 invaded the ship, you've become increasingly agitated.
Seven: They were the only species to offer true resistance to the Borg. They destroyed millions of drones, hundreds of our worlds. I have reason to be agitated.
Paris: What is it?
Alpha: It's blood. The prey is wounded.
Chakotay: This corridor ends about twenty meters ahead.
Paris: The only thing down there is Deflector Control. It's got nowhere to run.
Alpha: He's not planning to run. He's waiting. He'll attempt to slip around us, attack from behind.
Chakotay: Chakotay to Tuvok.
Tuvok: Tuvok here.
Chakotay: We've cornered the intruder in section fifty nine.
Tuvok: On our way.
Chakotay: It's hurt.
Alpha: This prey is resilient. He will strike with his dying breath. We must kill him now.
Chakotay: That may not be necessary. Hold your fire. I said, lower your weapon.
Tuvok: Mister Neelix, I must ask you to exchange your spatula for a phaser rifle.
Neelix: Sure.
Tuvok: We have two intruders on board and six Hirogen vessels on the way. I need additional security personnel.
Neelix: Right away, sir. What's my assignment?
Tuvok: Join the security detail on deck ten, section twelve. You'll receive further instructions then. I'll expect tactical updates every twenty minutes.
Neelix: Lieutenant? Are you all right?
Tuvok: You have your orders.
Janeway: Report.
Chakotay: The Hirogen's back in Sickbay, within a forcefield.
Janeway: And Species 8472?
Chakotay: We've established a security perimeter. Basically, we've turned this entire section into a brig.
Janeway: As an added precaution, have B'Elanna start working on a way to lock onto the creature, in case we have to beam it off the ship. You mentioned it was injured. In what way?
Emh: I wish I could tell you for certain. It's body is generating some sort of bioelectric field making it impossible to scan, so I could only make a visual diagnosis. It's conscious but immobile. Its epidermis displays any number of injuries, punctures, energy burns. And its demeanor is that of a wounded animal.
Janeway: The Hirogen said they've been chasing it for several months. Is there anything you can do?
Emh: I don't know enough about it's physiognomy to treat it's surface wounds, let alone any internal damage. Frankly, I'm at a loss.
Paris: Captain, just before we cornered it, Species 8472 accessed Deflector Control from this panel.
Seven: I've analyzed the transmission protocols. It was attempting to open a singularity into it's realm, but it failed.
Janeway: It was trying to get home.
Paris: That's what it looks like.
Janeway: Tuvok?
Tuvok: The creature initiated telepathic contact with me.
Janeway: What's it saying?
Tuvok: It's ship was damaged during the conflict with the Borg. When the other members of its species retreated into fluidic space, it was left behind. It has been trapped in the Delta Quadrant ever since. Alone, pursued by Hirogen hunting parties. It has no desire for further conflict. It only wants to return to its domain. It is dying, Captain.
Janeway: You have nothing to be afraid of. We're going to help you get back to your realm. Does it understand?
Tuvok: It does.
Janeway: It will take time to open a singularity and we have no way of treating your injuries, but if there's anything you can tell us about your
Tuvok: It has lost consciousness. Our telepathic link has been severed.
Alpha: Where is my prey?
Janeway: Lying at the end of a corridor on deck eleven. Nearly dead, thanks to you.
Alpha: Take me to it.
Janeway: No.
Alpha: Take me to it!
Janeway: In less than three hours, your ships will arrive. By that time, Species 8472 will no longer be on Voyager.
Alpha: What do you mean?
Janeway: I'm sending it back where it came from.
Alpha: Surrender the creature to me and you will not be harmed.
Janeway: This isn't a hunt, it's a slaughter, and I'm calling it off right now.
Alpha: We will not be denied our prey. Give us the creature, or your crew will take its place.
Janeway: Tuvok.
Janeway: Have Seven of Nine report to my ready room.
Tuvok: You intend to ask her to open a rift into 8472's realm.
Janeway: She's the only one on board who knows how.
Tuvok: Given her feelings towards the species, she may not want to cooperate.
Janeway: We'll see.
Seven: You wish to see me, Captain?
Janeway: I've made a decision about Species 8472. I'm going to return it to fluidic space. In order to do that, I need you to open a quantum singularity.
Seven: I don't believe that is a prudent course of action.
Janeway: I realize it may be difficult for you to help save this creature's life, but part of becoming human is learning to have compassion for those who are suffering, even when they're your bitter enemies.
Seven: Why?
Janeway: I remember when I was a Lieutenant. It was during a Cardassian border conflict. My away team was cut off while we were defending a Federation outpost. We'd been exchanging phaser fire with a group of Cardassians for about three days. A stalemate. One night, during a break in the fighting, we could hear this low moaning sound coming from somewhere in the brush. We knew that none of our people were out there, so it had to be a wounded Cardassian. You have to understand, we'd been killing each other for weeks on this planet. It was brutal. But our commanding officer decided that we couldn't just sit there and listen to that poor man suffer. So he ordered me and an Ensign to crawl out there and bring that Cardassian back to our camp. I thought he was crazy. He was risking our lives for someone who would have shot us without hesitation. But we did it, and the Cardassian lived. Three days later we secured the outpost. It was a major victory. We were all decorated by Starfleet Command. But in retrospect, the thing I'm most proud of was the night we saved that man's life.
Seven: Explain.
Janeway: A single act of compassion can put you in touch with your own humanity.
Seven: You are trying to justify your present decision.
Janeway: No, I'm trying to help you see this as an opportunity to grow. I know you don't want to do it, Seven, but I'm telling you as your Captain, and as your friend, you won't regret it.
Seven: No. Your decision is tactically unsound. We will be surrounded by Hirogen ships in approximately two hours. If we do not surrender the creature, they will destroy us. A lesson in compassion will do me little good if I am dead.
Janeway: It is wrong to sacrifice another being to save our own lives.
Seven: I have observed that you have been willing to sacrifice your own life to save the lives of your crew.
Janeway: Yes, but that's different. That was my choice. This creature does not have a choice.
Seven: It invaded our ship, put our lives at risk to save its own. In my view, it has already forfeited its freedom.
Janeway: I'm giving you an order. Report to Deflector Control and begin working on creating a singularity.
Seven: I will not comply. I have agreed to remain on Voyager. I have agreed to function as a member of your crew. But I will not be a willing participant in my own destruction or the destruction of this ship.
Janeway: Objection noted. We'll do this without you.
Seven: You will fail.
Janeway: And you have just crossed the line. End of debate. Report to the Cargo Bay and remain there until this is over. Is that understood?
Kim: Shields down to eighty four percent.
Janeway: Return fire.
Paris: Three more ships are closing from port and starboard. All escape trajectories have been cut off.
Tuvok: Our weapons are having little effect on their hull plating. I'm scanning for weaknesses in the molecular structure.
Kim: Shields at seventy nine percent.
Tuvok: They are hailing us.
Janeway: Better late than never. Open a channel.
Hirogen: You've taken our prey and one of our hunters. Surrender them.
Janeway: Call off your attack and we'll return your crewman. As for your prey, it's under our protection now.
Hirogen: It belongs to us.
Janeway: It belongs to no one. Now order your ships to withdraw and this can end peacefully.
Tuvok: All vessels are firing.
Chakotay: Any luck finding a crack in their armor?
Tuvok: Not yet.
Emh: Doctor to bridge. Species 8472 appears to be regenerating. I'm no exobiologist, but I'd say this fellow is becoming highly agitated.
Chakotay: It could be sensing the Hirogen attack.
Janeway: Doctor, can you sedate it?
Emh: I believe so, but I'll need another dose of Borg nanoprobes.
Janeway: Stand by. Bridge to Seven of Nine.
Seven: Yes.
Janeway: Report to deck eleven immediately with a supply of nanoprobes.
Seven: Understood.
Chakotay: B'Elanna, how's it going down there?
Torres: Transporters are ready. I can establish a lock on the creature at any time, but I still haven't duplicated the deflector protocols to open a singularity.
Chakotay: How long?
Torres: I need another hour, maybe two.
Paris: Captain, we can outmaneuver the Hirogen ships for a few more minutes, but beyond that
Kim: Direct hit to the EPS manifold. Main power just went down.
Tuvok: Forcefields on all decks are offline.
Chakotay: Switch to auxiliary power.
Kim: Done. Forcefields have been restored but I don't know how long they'll hold.
Janeway: Bridge to Doctor. Report.
Emh: It's all right, Captain. The creature is contained.
Chakotay: Bridge to Sickbay. Security, respond.
Chakotay: Security, dispatch teams to deck five. The Hirogen may be loose.
Paris: Direct hit to our port nacelle. Now they've taken out our starboard nacelle.
Janeway: They've crippled us. Tuvok, divert warp power to the phaser banks. Maybe that'll help us penetrate their hull plating.
Emh: The nanoprobes?
Seven: Armed and ready.
Emh: Not a moment too soon.
Alpha: Give me the prey.
Seven: Lower your weapon or I will destroy you.
Alpha: I don't think you will. You want me to destroy this creature. I saw it on your face earlier in the medical bay. It's a look I've seen a thousand times. Stand aside.
Emh: What are you doing?
Kim: Captain, someone's accessing the transporter system from deck five.
Janeway: Lock them out.
Kim: I can't. They're overriding my commands with Borg encryption codes.
Janeway: Report, Mister Kim.
Kim: 8472 and the Hirogen, they've been beamed to one of the attacking ships.
Tuvok: All six vessels are moving away at high warp.
Janeway: Tom, can we pursue?
Paris: I'm sorry, Captain. Warp engines are still offline.
Janeway: Resume our previous course, full impulse.
Chakotay: Seven of Nine.
Janeway: Seven of Nine.
Janeway: Captain's log, stardate 51652.3. It's been twelve hours, and our sensors show no sign of any Hirogen vessels. But their people are scattered throughout this region, and something tells me that the hunt for Voyager is far from over.
Seven: Captain.
Janeway: Step down, please. Seven, you disobeyed my direct orders, and as a result you condemned a sentient being to its death.
Seven: By doing so, I also diverted the Hirogen attack. An attack which would have destroyed us.
Janeway: Maybe not. In any case, the decision wasn't yours to make.
Seven: The creature broke through the forcefield. I had no choice.
Janeway: I didn't come here to debate your decision. I came here to inform you of the consequences. When you first came to Voyager, I decided to grant you the same liberties and freedoms of any crew member, because I wanted you to be a part of this family. And I've been willing to accommodate your unique way of doing things, even when you rubbed somebody the wrong way or violated protocol. But this time, I can't accommodate you. From this point forward, you will no longer have access to any primary systems on this ship. Not without my direct authorisation. If you attempt to circumvent me, I'll throw you in the Brig. I still need your expertise in the Astrometrics lab if you're willing. If not, you can spend your time here in the Cargo Bay. Is that understood?
Seven: Yes.
Seven: It is puzzling.
Janeway: What's that?
Seven: You made me into an individual. You encouraged me to stop thinking like a member of the Collective, to cultivate my independence and my humanity. But when I try to assert that independence I am punished.
Janeway: Individuality has its limits, especially on a starship where there's a command structure.
Seven: I believe that you are punishing me because I do not think the way you do. Because I am not becoming more like you. You claim to respect my individuality, but in fact you are frightened by it.
Janeway: As you were.