Paris: All right, all right, hold on. If you were married in 2304 and your daughter was conceived in your eleventh pon farr, that would make you a hundred and sixty two years old.
Tuvok: Incorrect.
Kim: Come on, Tom, The man's not a day over one forty. We know you were at least a hundred when you joined Starfleet the second time, so I'm guessing you're around one thirty three?
Tuvok: Also incorrect. I'm afraid you both lack sufficient data to reach a logical conclusion.
Paris: Come on, Tuvok, tell us.
Tuvok: I see no reason to enlighten you.
Kim: Don't tell me Vulcans are embarrassed about their age.
Tuvok: On the contrary. We value the wisdom that comes with advancing years.
Paris: In that case, how wise are you?
Tuvok: Wise enough to end this inquiry.
Paris: Saved by the bell.
Kim: I've got a fleet of ships two hundred thousand kilometers dead ahead.
Tuvok: Can you identify them?
Kim: Negative.
Paris: I'm reading multiple hull configurations.
Tuvok: Raise shields. Red alert.
Janeway: Report.
Tuvok: We've detected a large group of vessels directly ahead.
Chakotay: Hostile?
Tuvok: Possibly. I'm charging weapons.
Janeway: On screen.
Kim: I'm counting sixty two ships and a few hundred pieces of ships. All dead in space.
Paris: It's a junkyard. Congratulations, Tuvok. You just saved us from a flotilla of hostile trash.
Kim: We're being hailed.
Janeway: Let's see what they want.
Abaddon: Welcome to Abaddon's Repository of Lost Treasures. Whether you're in the mood to buy or simply browse, we're always open. Take a look. You may find something you never knew you wanted.
Chakotay: Mister Abaddon.
Abaddon: The name was passed down from my father and his father before him. Not a very imaginative lot, but I'll answer to it just the same.
Chakotay: I'm Commander Chakotay, this is Mister Neelix.
Neelix: Welcome to Voyager.
Abaddon: Neelix, is it? You wouldn't be a fellow trader, would you?
Neelix: What makes you say that.
Abaddon: Cheerful demeanor, furtive eyes. It's obvious you're a man of commerce.
Chakotay: You're very perceptive, Mister Abaddon.
Abaddon: A useful skill in my line of work.
Neelix: I'll admit there was a time when I dabbled in commerce but, these days I focus my efforts on food and diplomacy.
Abaddon: Well, whether you're interested in a new iso-convective oven or a slightly dated translation matrix, you've come to the right place. My inventory, give or take a few items. After twenty years, it's hard to keep up.
Chakotay: Looks like you have an item or two we might be interested in.
Neelix: Ah, the question is, what are you looking for in return?
Abaddon: Artificial gravity plating. Plasma-based power induction. Impressive.
Chakotay: Those are integrated systems. Unfortunately, we couldn't trade them to you without dismantling our whole ship.
Neelix: Commander, don't we have some spare duranium sheeting in cargo bay one? With a few modifications, it could be converted into gravity plating.
Chakotay: Good idea. Why don't you show Mister Abaddon our inventory? Report back when you're done.
Neelix: Yes, sir. Mister Abaddon, follow me please.
Kim: This guy's collected more technology than the Borg.
Seven: And almost all of it is useless.
Paris: Wait. What's that?
Seven: Ensign?
Paris: Grid forty nine alpha. Oh, she's beautiful.
Kim: It's just an old rust bucket.
Paris: Are you kidding? Look at those lines. It's a work of art. That ship wasn't assembled, it was sculpted. I think I'm in love.
Neelix: That makes fifteen power regulators in fair condition, and three more we could salvage with a little work. Seven has some doubts about the ion exchange rods.
Chakotay: We'll take a chance. Add them to the list. What about these cultural artifacts?
Neelix: Oh, just a few items I thought might have some historical value. They don't cost much.
Chakotay: Looks like a good haul. If that's it?
Neelix: Oh yes, there is one other item. A small vessel that could be an asset.
Chakotay: We've already got a full complement of shuttles, not to mention the Delta Flyer. What do we need with this derelict ship?
Paris: Chakotay, this ship is a diamond in the rough. Sure, it's got some scrapes and scratches, but, here, take a look at these systems. It has a neurogenic interface that allows it to react directly to the pilot's thoughts. That gives it the potential of being quicker and more maneuverable than anything we've got, including the Delta Flyer.
Neelix: Add to that an optronic weapons array.
Chakotay: I get the picture. Are you sure you're not just looking for a new toy?
Paris: No, absolutely not. Even B'Elanna thinks restoring this ship is worthwhile.
Chakotay: Maybe. If we had the manpower to restore it.
Paris: No, I'll do all the work myself. On my own time. And if I need a hand, Harry's offered to help.
Kim: I have?
Chakotay: What will it cost us?
Neelix: Abaddon's agreed to give it to us for three used power cells and Tom's interactive record collection.
Paris: My jukebox.
Chakotay: All right. One slightly used alien ship. Don't make me regret this.
Paris: You won't.
Abaddon: Remember, just one seat, not much storage. She was designed for speed, not hauling.
Paris: Understood.
Abaddon: Make sure you go easy on the thrusters. She doesn't like being manhandled.
Neelix: Temperamental?
Abaddon: Sensitive. She demands respect, like any fine piece of machinery.
Paris: Sounds like you're sorry to let her go.
Abaddon: Well, in some ways she's like the daughter I couldn't marry off. But that doesn't mean I'd trade her to just anyone. I've got a feeling you're the kind of pilot that she needs. Someone that'll give her the proper care and attention.
Paris: I'm your man.
Neelix: Don't worry, Mister Abaddon, she's in good hands.
Abaddon: Well, this has been a very productive exchange. Oh, just one more thing.
Neelix: Let me guess. All trades are final.
Paris: I still can't get an active readout.
Kim: Here's the reason. Another damaged power cell.
Paris: Oh, come on, Alice, how about it? Give us a break.
Kim: Alice?
Paris: Well, I've got to call her something.
Kim: How about The Lost Cause?
Paris: Alice Battisti was the Lost Cause. I knew her back at the Academy. She was smart, sexy, but she wouldn't give me the time of day.
Kim: All right, Alice it is. Try it again.
Paris: I've got a pulse.
Kim: A little snug.
Paris: As Seven would say, an efficient design. The main computer's coming online.
Kim: There's not much in it. Just a few schematics. Looks like somebody tried to wipe the database.
Paris: Probably rolled the odometer back, too. Let's see what this neurogenic interface can do.
Paris: Whoa.
Kim: What's it like?
Paris: It's kind of hard to describe. I'm tapped into all the primary systems. Ops, tactical, sensors.
Paris: What happened?
Kim: We just blew out two more power cells.
Paris: See if you can reconfigure the power distribution grid.
Kim: Look, we're both tired. Why don't we call it a night, come back fresh tomorrow?
Paris: Come on, we can still get a couple more hours in.
Kim: You can get a couple more hours in. I'm going to bed.
Paris: All right, you win. Good night, Alice. See you in the morning.
Paris: Good night, Alice. See you in the morning. See you in the morning.
Alice: See you in the morning. See you in the morning.
Alice: Tom.
Paris: B'Elanna?
Alice: Tom.
Paris: Who are you?
Alice: It's me, Alice.
Paris: Good morning, Alice.
Paris: Sorry, you're going to have to trust me on this. You'll be a lot happier if we can bypass the EPS relays.
Kim: Tom.
Paris: Yeah.
Kim: Who are you talking to?
Paris: Alice. She's being very stubborn today. No matter what I do, I can't get her to bring her propulsion systems online.
Kim: Next question. What are you wearing?
Paris: This is a flight suit design I found in Alice's database. Something her last pilot used to wear.
Kim: For a minute, I thought you were changing Captain Proton's look. Chapter thirty seven.
Paris: Oh, The Web of Pain. I completely forgot.
Kim: No problem. I've got another hour on the holodeck.
Paris: Now's not a great time. How about tomorrow?.
Kim: That's what you said yesterday.
Paris: Sorry, Harry. Alice needs me.
Kim: So does Arachnia.
Paris: Give the queen my regards. Okay.
Neelix: Seven, can I get you something?
Seven: A refund. The star charts we obtained from Abaddon are inaccurate.
Neelix: Really?
Seven: The computations are based on obsolete data.
Neelix: It's not the only item that didn't live up to its advertising.
Seven: Cultural artifacts?
Neelix: According to Abaddon, they're lost treasures of the Delta quadrant. If you ask me, they're worthless trinkets.
Seven: Perhaps not. This crystal is beryllium.
Neelix: Valuable?
Seven: Beryllium is the standard currency in spatial grid five three nine. There are species that would trade an entire fleet of starships for this trinket.
Neelix: If Abaddon knew about this, he'd never have traded it for a few plasma couplings. Maybe I should return it.
Seven: Need I remind you? All trades are final.
Paris: Neelix, I need one bottle of champagne, if you don't mind.
Neelix: Another anniversary?
Paris: No, I'm christening Alice.
Neelix: Congratulations. I'll whip up some hors d'oeuvres for the crew.
Paris: Oh no, don't bother. This is a private ceremony. Just me and B'Elanna.
Neelix: And Alice, of course.
Paris: Oh yes, of course.
Neelix: There's nothing like having your own ship. I remember when I first laid eyes on my little freighter, Baxial.
Paris: No, don't tell me. Love at first sight.
Neelix: Actually, I thought she was the ugliest thing I ever saw. But she grew on me. Eventually, I couldn't imagine being without her. You know, she's still down at the shuttlebay. Why don't we get her and Alice together and go on a double date.
Paris: You pack the picnic basket, I'll bring the deuterium.
Torres: So, I finally get to meet the other woman.
Paris: Well, don't be too critical, she's a long way from finished.
Torres: When have you ever known me to be critical?
Paris: Is that a trick question? Okay, ready?
Paris: Well?
Torres: It's beautiful. I can hardly believe it's the same ship.
Paris: Yeah, most of it isn't. I've replaced the impulse reactor, navigational array, er, plasma manifolds. The list goes on and on. Just a few more repairs, and she'll be spaceworthy. Care to do the honors?
Torres: It's almost a shame to break this over the hull.
Paris: You have a point.
Paris: Oh, be careful The upholstery.
Torres: I'll send an Engineering team down to clean it up. To Alice.
Paris: To Alice.
Torres: So when's her first flight?
Paris: A couple of days, if I can round up all the parts I need. You want to come with me?
Torres: Sure there's room?
Paris: It'll be a tight squeeze.
Torres: We'll manage.
Paris: Hold on.
Torres: Something wrong?
Paris: It's these environmental controls. They need recalibrating.
Torres: It is kind of warm in here, isn't it?
Paris: Alice, lower the ambient temperature.
Alice: Please specify, Tom.
Paris: Five degrees should do it.
Alice: Temperature modification complete.
Torres: That's some voice.
Paris: It came with the ship. Are you jealous?
Torres: Maybe I should be. I hear you've been sleeping here.
Paris: When Alice lets me sleep.
Torres: Sounds like a real slave driver. Well, if you're trying to make improvements, you might want to start with these reactant injectors. The deuterium mix is too high.
Paris: That's how Alice likes it. No, don't touch that.
Torres: I was just trying to help.
Paris: Well, thanks, but we're fine.
Torres: We? It's a ship, Tom.
Paris: Yeah, but she's my ship.
Torres: Well then, maybe I'll leave the two of you alone.
Paris: Okay. I'll see you later.
Torres: Thanks for the champagne.
Torres: Ow!
Paris: Oh, sorry. I need to fix that.
Chakotay: Thirty meters of EPS conduit? A broadband sensor matrix? A tactical data module? Tom, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I can't spare these parts right now.
Paris: They're just lying around Cargo Bay two.
Chakotay: Those are emergency supplies, and this isn't an emergency.
Paris: Okay, what if I just replicated some?
Chakotay: That takes energy, which isn't exactly in abundance at the moment. Maybe in a few weeks, if we can replenish our power reserve.
Paris: A few weeks? What am I supposed to do until then?
Chakotay: Your duties, which you've been neglecting. You've been late for two shifts in Sickbay. You've been distracted on the bridge. Maybe it's time you gave this project a rest.
Paris: Yeah, you're right. I guess I have been overdoing it.
Chakotay: You look run down. Maybe you should stop by Sickbay and have the Doctor take a look at you.
Paris: No, I'm fine. I just haven't been getting enough sleep.
Chakotay: Well, your next shift isn't till oh seven hundred. Why don't you do yourself a favor and turn in early.
Paris: Yeah. Good idea.
Chakotay: One more thing. I'd appreciate it if you'd shave and change back into your uniform. We do have protocols.
Paris: Yes, sir.
Chakotay: We'll get your Alice flying. Just give it some time.
Paris: Sorry, Alice, we'll have to put the test flight on hold. All we need is a few lousy spare parts, but to listen to Chakotay you'd think Voyager would grind to a halt without them.
Alice: But we're so close.
Paris: Well, he gave me a direct order.
Alice: Since when do you care so much about orders?
Paris: I'm already an Ensign. You want to see me busted down to Cadet?
Alice: Don't take that off.
Paris: Well, I'm afraid I have to get back into uniform. Protocol.
Alice: Forget about protocol. Once my repairs are complete, we can go somewhere together.
Paris: Leave Voyager?
Alice: It's been a long time since I met a pilot I've been compatible with. We can go anywhere you want.
Paris: It's very tempting, Alice, but I can't just take off.
Alice: What's holding you back?
Paris: My job, for one thing. My friends. B'Elanna.
Alice: She doesn't understand you the way I do. None of them do.
Paris: Look, maybe we can make the test flight in a few weeks. And if it goes well, I'm sure the Captain will assign us on missions together. But I can't leave Voyager.
Alice: All right. I'm sure you know what's best for us.
Paris: Yeah, I think I do.
Alice: You look a little tired. How about some rest?
Alice: Sit back, relax. Let me help you with this.
Paris: What are these?
Alice: Just some modifications I made to your flight suit. They'll help us work together more closely. I'll show you. Activate the interface. Just for a minute. You won't regret it. What do you say we continue with those repairs?
Alice: How's it coming?
Paris: This is the last power cell, then we'll just need the data module from section beta twelve.
Alice: What's wrong?
Paris: Oh, these relays are just tricky, that's all.
Alice: You're not being honest with me. I thought we agreed to tell each other everything.
Paris: Well, it's just, we're compromising vital systems.
Alice: Backup systems.
Paris: If there's an emergency, Voyager's going to need them.
Alice: If your friends had been more understanding, we wouldn't have to be sneaking around like this.
Paris: I've spent the last six years with these people. They're like my family.
Alice: Sometimes you have to leave your family behind. They're not like us. They're trapped by rules and regulations. Velocity, freedom. They'll never understand these things the way we do.
Paris: Yeah, maybe you're right.
Alice: Of course I am. You don't belong here. You belong with me. You're thinking about your first flight, aren't you? Tell me.
Paris: Dad took me up in an old S class shuttle. Two seats, no warp drive, manual helm controls. I was eight years old and I was scared out of my wits.
Alice: You couldn't keep the ship level.
Paris: No, not at first. But then came this moment of clarity, when suddenly everything made sense.
Alice: The clouds parted.
Paris: I was flying. No matter how many starships I've piloted since then, I'm still chasing that feeling.
Alice: Tomorrow you'll catch it. Only this time there won't be any clumsy controls to get in the way. Just you, me, and the stars.
Paris: Hey.
Seven: I wasn't aware you were assigned to Astrometrics.
Paris: I was just passing by. I guess curiosity got the best of me.
Seven: Are you planning an away mission? You were charting a course.
Paris: Oh, that. No, I was just taking a peek at what's ahead of us. All yours.
Seven: You've modified your garment.
Paris: Adapted, actually. I made a few tweaks to enhance Alice's neurogenic interface. You know, the merging of man and machine.
Seven: Perhaps you should learn more about this interface before you attempt to use it.
Alice: Convince her it's safe.
Paris: I ran diagnostics of every system on board that ship. There's nothing to worry about.
Seven: Perhaps I should examine it.
Alice: Make an excuse and leave.
Paris: It's nice of you to offer, but it's really not necessary. I have to get back to work.
Kim: Power fluctuation's down to four point seven percent. Looks like Abaddon's regulators might work out after all,
Torres: Keep at it. The last thing we need is a temperamental power supply.
Kim: Bad day at the office?
Torres: Bad night with Tom Paris. You're his best friend, right?
Kim: So he tells me.
Torres: So maybe you can explain why every time he finds a new hobby, I go right out the airlock.
Kim: I wouldn't take it personally. The Ferengi call it the Five Stages of Acquisition. Infatuation, Justification, Appropriation, Obsession, and Resale. Seems like you only got one stage left before he loses interest in that ship and he's all yours again.
Torres: Until the next infatuation. We've got a point zero zero three drop in the warp field output.
Kim: That's within parameters.
Torres: Not on my watch. Somebody's removed four power cells from the secondary warp assembly without authorisation.
Kim: Whoever it was tried to cover his tracks by rerouting power from adjacent cells. Should we tell Tuvok?
Torres: Don't bother. This is an open and shut case.
Torres: Tom Paris!
Torres: Well Alice, looks like you've been borrowing my things without permission.
Torres: Hey! Computer, open the hatch.
Alice: Unable to comply. Warning. Life support failure.
Torres: Torres to the bridge. Torres to Chakotay. Anybody!
Paris: B'Elanna, what are you doing here?
Torres: Let me out of here!
Paris: What the hell happened in there?
Torres: Your ship tried to kill me.
Paris: That's ridiculous.
Torres: It sealed the hatch, vented the atmosphere.
Paris: You must have accidentally tripped environmental controls.
Torres: Don't you try to tell me this was an accident.
Paris: What else could it have been?
Torres: How about pilot error?
Paris: Are you saying that this was my fault?
Torres: What's gotten into you? You've been stealing components, Tom. I found the power cells.
Paris: A few spare parts. You're overreacting.
Torres: Am I?
Paris: Where are you going?
Torres: To talk to the Captain.
Paris: Wait.
Torres: There's something wrong with you.
Paris: Listen to me!
Torres: Are you out of your mind?
Paris: Stay out of this, B'Elanna!
Torres: Or what? You'll sic Alice on me again?
Alice: Let her go.
Paris: What were you thinking? You could have killed her!
Alice: She broke into my database. She was going to discover our flight plan. Not that it matters now.
Paris: What is that supposed to mean?
Alice: Keep your voice down. Once your girlfriend talks to the captain they'll drag you straight to Sickbay. One neural scan and they'll know all about us.
Paris: Well, maybe it's time they did.
Alice: Think you can just walk away?
Paris: Watch me.
Alice: So, I guess this is the real Tom Paris. Life throws up a few roadblocks and he heads for the nearest exit.
Paris: Get away from me.
Alice: I need you.
Paris: You should have thought of that before you tried to kill B'Elanna.
Paris: Sickbay.
Alice: Remember how you felt when you first saw me? You knew we were meant to be together.
Paris: I was wrong.
Alice: Think of how it feels when you're sitting at the helm, and the interface is active.
Paris: It's over, Alice. One way or the other, I'm getting the hell away from you.
Alice: I'm sorry you feel that way.
Paris: Argh! What are you doing to me?
Alice: Convincing you to do the right thing. Take us the shuttlebay. We're leaving Voyager.
Paris: No! Argh!
Alice: Please, Tom. I don't want to hurt you. The shuttlebay, now.
Paris: Deck ten. Shuttlebay.
Janeway: This isn't the first time you and Tom have had an argument about how he spends his free time.
Torres: This wasn't a lovers' quarrel. Captain, he practically assaulted me.
Janeway: Well, that doesn't sound like Tom.
Torres: It wasn't Tom. It was Alice.
Janeway: Now you've lost me.
Torres: That's the name that he's calling this new ship. Ever since he started working on it, he hasn't slept, he's become irritable, irrational. It's not just me. Chakotay and Harry have noticed the same thing.
Janeway: This new ship. It has some kind of neurogenic interface.
Torres: Exactly. It must be having some kind of an effect on him.
Janeway: All right, I'll have the Doctor take a look at him. But in the meantime, I want you
Chakotay: Captain, we have an unauthorized launch in progress.
Chakotay: Seal the shuttlebay doors.
Kim: Too late, he's out.
Kim: His shields are up. I can't get a transporter lock.
Janeway: Tractor beam.
Paris: They're trying to tractor us.
Alice: Stop them.
Paris: I can't.
Alice: You'll be able to maneuver much better if you complete the interface.
Paris: How?
Alice: Activate the connector sequence.
Alice: We're one now, Tom. Think of what you want me to do, and I'll do it.
Paris: We can disrupt their tractor beam with an optronic pulse.
Alice: Good. You have access to our weapons. Use them.
Tuvok: He's charging weapons.
Chakotay: Full power to the shields.
Torres: He's disrupting our tractor beam.
Janeway: Increase power to the emitters. We'll drag him in by his heels if we have to.
Tuvok: He's broken free, Captain.
Janeway: Janeway to Paris. Stand down and return to Voyager immediately.
Paris: I'm with Alice now, Captain. Let us go.
Janeway: You know I can't do that, Tom.
Alice: She'll do anything to get you back. I don't blame her for that, but we have to stop her.
Paris: How?
Alice: You know.
Kim: He's coming about.
Tuvok: He's charging weapons again. Direct hit.
Janeway: Return fire.
Kim: He's gone to warp.
Janeway: Track him.
Torres: He masked his warp signature. He's gone.
Alice: And Daedalus fashioned wings from wax and feathers and used them to escape his prison.
Paris: That's one of my favorite myths.
Alice: I know.
Paris: But you left out the part where Icarus flew too close to the sun and his wings melted.
Alice: Poetic license. Besides, if we get too close to a star we have multiphasic shielding to protect us. What is it?
Paris: My arms. They feel numb.
Alice: Who need arms when you have wings? You're becoming a part of me now. Our potential is unlimited. Forget the old Tom Paris. He doesn't exist anymore.
Abaddon: You know my policy.
Janeway: We're not looking for a refund, just some information.
Abaddon: That's one commodity I don't keep in stock. I suggest you look elsewhere.
Janeway: Not until we get some answers.
Abaddon: You'll find I'm prepared to deal with disgruntled customers.
Tuvok: Captain, I'm reading active weapons signatures on three of the derelict ships. They are targeting Voyager.
Janeway: Before we take actions we both might regret, Mister Neelix has something to show you.
Neelix: I wanted to say thank you for this lost treasure.
Abaddon: A beryllium crystal.
Neelix: I'm surprised a trader of your distinction would let this slip through his fingers. I could say all trades are final, but we'd be willing to give it back in exchange for some cooperation.
Tuvok: Haunted?
Abaddon: That's what the Haarkonian told me when he traded her. I blamed his wild stories on isolation sickness and then took the ship off his hands.
Chakotay: Did you ever notice anything odd about the ship?
Abaddon: Odd? You could say that. I tried turning her into a towing vessel. She was cooperative at first but then she began to require constant, oh.
Alice: I hope you haven't forgotten me.
Neelix: Mister Abaddon?
Abaddon: Where was I?
Chakotay: Constant repairs.
Abaddon: Right. Please, I wasn't going to tell them anything.
Tuvok: Who were you speaking to?
Abaddon: No one. I, I, I have to leave now. I'll return the items you traded for the ship. Leave me alone. I did what you told me. I found you a pilot.
Janeway: What is it? What are you seeing?
Abaddon: It's her. She's right in front of me.
Chakotay: There's no one there.
Abaddon: Transport me back now. Argh!
Janeway: Janeway to Sickbay. Medical emergency.
Emh: He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Fortunately, I was able to repair the damage in time.
Janeway: What caused it?
Emh: It appears his neural pathways were recently restructured. I detected a neurogenic signature.
Janeway: Looks like Alice got to him, too. Wake him.
Abaddon: She was here.
Emh: The woman you saw was an hallucination created by the derelict ship's neurogenic interface. I've given you a cortical suppressant. She won't be bothering you anymore.
Janeway: Tell me. What does this ship want with our crewman?
Abaddon: She can't fly herself, she needs a pilot. A biological entity to work in tandem with her programming.
Janeway: Well, if all she needed was a pilot, why didn't she just recruit you?
Abaddon: I wasn't compatible. She said my reflexes were too slow, that I was as useless as the junk that I traded, and I couldn't get her to where she needed to go. Don't ask me for the coordinates. She never told me. Just insisted that I get her a real pilot. I'm sorry I didn't warn you before. I couldn't resist her.
Seven: Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway. Please report to Astrometrics.
Seven: I've managed to reconstruct the data Ensign Paris was working on. My suspicion was correct. It is a course trajectory.
Janeway: Let's see it.
Seven: It terminates in spatial grid eight six seven.
Janeway: Looks uninhabited.
Seven: It's empty space, with the exception of a small anomaly.
Janeway: A particle fountain. The Federation lost more than a dozen ships examining a similar phenomenon in the Alpha Quadrant. Relay the coordinates to the bridge.
Alice: Take us out of warp. Can you see it now?
Paris: Yes. What is it?
Alice: Home.
Janeway: Distance?
Kim: Six million kilometers.
Janeway: Decrease speed to one quarter impulse. Full power to shields.
Tuvok: I'm detecting a vessel off our starboard bow.
Kim: It's Tom. He's headed right for the anomaly.
Janeway: Can you get a transporter lock?
Kim: No, ma'am, not with those multiphasic shields in place.
Janeway: Are we in hailing range?
Tuvok: Opening a channel. He's responding.
Paris: Keep your distance, Captain, or we'll open fire.
Janeway: Tom, listen to me. The neurogenic interface is affecting your judgment. Drop your shields
Janeway: And let us beam you aboard.
Alice: Ignore them. Keep going.
Kim: He's not responding.
Janeway: Target his propulsion systems and fire.
Tuvok: Direct hit. The vessel's shields are holding.
Emh: Doctor to the bridge.
Emh: Cease fire. Ensign Paris' neural readings are fluctuating. His synaptic functions have become linked to the ship. If we keep firing we could injure him. Severely.
Janeway: Acknowledged.
Janeway: Tuvok, stand down.
Kim: We've got ten minutes until he reaches the particle fountain.
Chakotay: Is there any way to disable their shields without firing weapons?
Tuvok: If I could access their main computer and transmit a shutdown sequence.
Kim: Problem is, Tom and Alice would detect it. They'd compensate.
Janeway: Unless we find a way to distract them. Bridge to the Doctor.
Emh: Go ahead.
Janeway: Any progress on your analysis of the neurogenic interface?
Emh: Not yet, Captain.
Janeway: Would it be possible to tap into the interface using a comm. signal?
Emh: I believe so, but I don't know what that would accomplish.
Janeway: You've got five minutes. Do it.
Janeway: And tell B'Elanna to prepare for an away mission.
Torres: Captain?
Kim: We're four minutes away.
Janeway: Bridge to Sickbay.
Janeway: Status?
Emh: Stand by, Captain. I'm making the final adjustments.
Torres: I'm not sure how I feel about getting inside Tom's head.
Emh: Maybe you'll be able to explain a few things when you get back.
Alice: I knew you were the one. No one's ever got me this close before.
Paris: I'll have you home in just a few minutes.
Alice: I promise you won't be disappointed.
Torres: Don't believe her.
Paris: Where's Alice?
Torres: There is no Alice. She's a pile of circuits in the ship's computer core. You're letting a program delude you.
Emh: Doctor to bridge. She's in.
Janeway: Now.
Tuvok: Accessing their main computer.
Paris: You don't understand. This is what I've always dreamed of.
Torres: You're still dreaming, And when you wake up you're in for a big surprise.
Paris: Alice needs me.
Torres: So do I.
Alice: Nice sentiment, but it's a lie. Your family will do anything to keep us apart. Don't listen to them.
Torres: Tom, it's me. B'Elanna. Alice is an illusion.
Alice: I'm giving you what you always wanted, something they can never do. Does that sound like an illusion?
Paris: I can't think. Leave me alone, both of you.
Alice: They've accessed our systems. They're trying to disable my shields. Stop them.
Torres: Focus on me. Listen to me.
Alice: My shields are failing. Do something.
Torres: It's time to come home.
Alice: Tom.
Paris: No!
Torres: Hang on. We're going to get you out of here.
Alice: Tom!
Paris: No!
Tuvok: I've got it, Captain. Their shields are down.
Janeway: Beam him to Sickbay.
Kim: There's too much interference from the particle fountain.
Chakotay: I'm boosting the confinement beam. Try it now.
Kim: We've got him.
Tuvok: Alice is losing helm control.
Janeway: Resume course to the Alpha Quadrant.
Emh: You'll need a few days to fully recover. Think you can manage to stay off your feet for that long?
Torres: If he doesn't, I'll break his legs.
Emh: Well then, I'll leave you to B'Elanna's tender mercies.
Torres: I've got something for you. It's a get well card from Naomi Wildman. It's a pretty good likeness of you, but I don't think she quite captured my eyes.
Paris: I'm sorry. For everything.
Torres: It wasn't your fault.
Paris: But I remember all of it. Everything I said, everything I did. It was like I was sleepwalking.
Torres: The important thing is, you woke up.
Paris: Yeah. Thanks for being my alarm clock.
Torres: Any time.
Paris: From now on, I promise no more affairs with strange ships.
Torres: What about the Delta Flyer?
Paris: We're just friends.


Scene: Ambassador's log, stardate 53263.2. Though helpful during my negotiations on the Kesat homeworld, Commander Tuvok certainly hasn't been the most sociable of travel companions.
Tuvok: Mister Neelix.
Neelix: Sorry. How about a game of Species, Starship or Anomaly?
Tuvok: Surely you could find something more productive to occupy your time.
Neelix: Come on, Tuvok, it'll be fun. You think of something, species, anomaly, or starship, and I have fifteen questions to guess what it is. Come on, come on, come on, come on.
Tuvok: I would prefer some peace and quiet.
Neelix: How about a riddle?
Tuvok: Mister Neelix.
Neelix: Come on, it'll be fun.
Tuvok: I have no desire for fun.
Neelix: Okay, forget fun. A good riddle can stimulate the mind. Now, no self-respecting Vulcan could say no to that.
Tuvok: Very well. One riddle.
Neelix: Okay, here goes. A lone Ensign finds himself stranded on a class L planetoid with no rations. His only possession, a calendar. When Starfleet finds him twelve months later, he's in perfect health. Why didn't he starve to death?
Tuvok: It is a theoretical possibility that such planetoids contain hot water springs, which could sustain the man for several weeks.
Neelix: But not for a whole year.
Tuvok: I concur. Logic dictates that the Ensign in question would perish.
Neelix: Ah ha, ha ha! I stumped you. As a matter of fact, he not only survived, but his belly was full. Why? Because he feasted on dates from the calendar.
Tuvok: Your answer is merely wordplay, it has no basis in reality. Now, if you'll excuse me.
Neelix: Where are you going?
Tuvok: To find some peace and quiet.
Neelix: Have fun.
Tuvok: Tuvok to Neelix.
Neelix: Miss me already, Commander?
Tuvok: Did you activate the aft tactical station?
Neelix: No.
Neelix: Why?
Tuvok: There appears to be a download in progress.
Neelix: That's odd.
Tuvok: I'm detecting
Tuvok: Anomalous readings.
Neelix: What sort of readings?
Tuvok: I'm not certain. But I believe it's a cloaking frequency that
Tuvok: Argh!
Neelix: Commander?
Neelix: Tuvok! Delta Flyer to Voyager. Mayday! Tuvok, what happened?
Janeway: Report.
Emh: He's in neuraleptic shock. I'll need another twenty milligrams of synaptizine.
Neelix: I'll get it.
Emh: It's not working. I'll need to try direct cortical stimulation. Initiate a neurostatic pulse on my mark.
Janeway: Right.
Emh: Now. Again.
Emh: His vital signs have stabilized, for the moment anyway, But he suffered severe neurological trauma.
Janeway: Do you know what caused it?
Emh: Some kind of alien weapon.
Neelix: By the time I reached Tuvok, whoever had attacked him was gone.
Janeway: What about the surrounding space? Any indication of cloaked vessels?
Neelix: Between trying to tend to the Commander and piloting the Flyer, I had my hands full. I, I didn't think to scan for cloaked ships. I'm sorry.
Janeway: You saved Tuvok's life, Neelix. You have nothing to be sorry about. How do you plan to treat him?
Emh: I won't know until I've run a series of neurological scans, but it would certainly help to know something about the weapon.
Janeway: Neelix, these Kesat you were negotiating with. Any reason to believe they might know something about this?
Neelix: It couldn't hurt to ask.
Janeway: Time to reopen diplomatic channels.
Naroq: Deputy investigator Naroq, Kesat security. Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, Ambassador Neelix.
Janeway: You've done your homework.
Naroq: I familiarized myself with the facts on the way here.
Chakotay: We're hoping you can help us shed some light on what happened to our crewman.
Naroq: I believe I can. Based on the information you provided, it is my opinion that he was a victim of the Ba'Neth.
Janeway: I've never heard of them.
Naroq: I'm not surprised. In my language, their name means shadow people. They're a species obsessed with concealing their identity. Extremely paranoid and xenophobic.
Janeway: Well, that explains their cloaking technology.
Naroq: It's my belief they've been responsible for several unexplained attacks similar to this one.
Neelix: Why wasn't I warned about them during my negotiations with your government?
Naroq: Because my government's official position is that the Ba'Neth do not exist. Most people think they're a myth.
Chakotay: There's nothing mythical about what happened to Mister Tuvok. Why is your government so skeptical?
Naroq: Because there've been so few encounters with the Ba'Neth and, well, no one's ever actually seen one.
Janeway: How many encounters are we talking about, exactly?
Naroq: Before this incident? Twelve.
Chakotay: I guess we're lucky thirteen.
Naroq: You're lucky I gave my supervisor two bottles of Kesatian ale to get this assignment. Any other inspector would have simply attributed Commander Tuvok's injuries to unexplained phenomenon.
Janeway: No offense, Mister Naroq, but what makes you so sure the Ba'Neth aren't just a myth?
Naroq: This incident fits the pattern, Captain. All of the alleged encounters have occurred aboard vessels foreign to this sector. I believe they've been attempts by the Ba'Neth to assess the technology of new arrivals.
Neelix: They were trying to download tactical data.
Naroq: And Commander Tuvok suffered severe neural damage. That's also consistent with previous attacks. The Ba'Neth were making sure he would not tell anyone what he saw.
Janeway: Maybe that's why Tuvok's tricorder was destroyed. They didn't want us to see the cloaking frequency he'd found.
Naroq: He found a cloaking frequency?
Janeway: Apparently.
Naroq: Captain, I don't blame you for finding my theories a bit eccentric. I'm used to it. It's why I'm still a deputy investigator, but I've brought equipment to help your investigation. Let me examine Commander Tuvok and run scans on the vessel where he was attacked. I may finally be able to prove my theories.
Janeway: With all due respect, we're more interested in saving Tuvok's life.
Naroq: If we work together, maybe we can do both.
Emh: His cognitive, memory and logic centers have all been severely damaged.
Naroq: But he still has brain activity, which is more than I can say for any of the previous victims.
Emh: Vulcan neural tissue is extremely resilient. I have no doubt that a brain from a lesser species would not have survived.
Naroq: If you could only tell us what you saw, Mister Tuvok.
Emh: I don't think we'll be hearing from him any time soon.
Janeway: Keep working. I'll let you know if we find anything that might help. I'll take you to see where the attack occurred.
Emh: Something I can do for you, Mister Neelix?
Neelix: I want to help.
Emh: Unless you have a degree in Vulcan neurobiology that I'm not aware of, there's nothing you can do.
Neelix: There must be something.
Emh: My advice is to return to your quarters and get some rest.
Neelix: There's no way that I'm going to be able to sleep knowing that Tuvok is lying here like this.
Emh: There have been rare cases in which comatose patients responded to external stimuli. Aromas, touch, voices.
Neelix: So, you're saying that if I stay here and, and try to talk to Tuvok, I might be able to provoke some sort of response?
Emh: If anyone can provoke Tuvok, Mister Neelix, it's you.
Neelix: Good morning, Tuvok. I brought you a few more items from your quarters to help liven up Sickbay. Your kal-toh game, in case you decide you're ready for a match. Oh, and I also thought that you might enjoy a recitation of that classic proto-Vulcan drama, Clash on the Fire Plains. I'll be performing all twenty three parts myself. I also brought you some flowers from the Airponics bay. Oh, that's fragrant, isn't it? Perhaps you'd enjoy some Vulcan incense. How about some music? Computer, access Vulcan audio file, selection fifty six alpha.
Emh: Mister Neelix. What is that dreadful noise?
Neelix: The Chants of the Monks of T'Panit. Personally, I think it's dreadful, too, but it's one of Tuvok's favorites.
Emh: I appreciate your efforts, Mister Neelix, but I'm trying to analyze his latest neurological scans and this music is very distracting.
Neelix: You said I was supposed to stimulate his senses.
Emh: I said stimulate them, Mister Neelix, not annihilate them.
Neelix: Computer, pause music.
Emh: Thank you.
Neelix: Doctor? Tuvok. You've had an accident. You're in Sickbay.
Emh: Relax, Commander, I only want to scan you.
Neelix: Don't worry, Tuvok, he's only trying to help you. It's only a tricorder. See? It won't hurt you.
Neelix: Now try it.
Emh: Well done, Mister Neelix.
Janeway: Commander Chakotay says you've found something.
Naroq: That, Captain, is an understatement. Listen.
Janeway: What is it?
Naroq: The sound of history being made.
Janeway: Less poetry, Mister Naroq, more facts.
Naroq: The sound you're hearing indicates the presence of veridium isotopes.
Seven: Residual particles from the Ba'Neth's cloaking field.
Janeway: You've detected these isotopes before?
Naroq: Yes, but only after they've decayed. You see, veridium has a very brief half-life, less than seventy hours. The previous sites I've studied have been months, sometimes years old.
Janeway: But these isotopes are still active.
Seven: We can use Mister Naroq's photolytic converter to illuminate them.
Naroq: So you see, Captain, why this is an historic moment? We may finally learn what the Ba'Neth look like.
Janeway: Well, let's see what we've got.
Naroq: You don't know how long I've waited to meet you.
Janeway: So the Ba'Neth aren't a myth after all.
Naroq: This is the clearest image ever captured.
Seven: Perhaps. I believe I can adjust our internal sensors to improve it.
Naroq: What are you doing? You might disrupt the image entirely. Tentacles. I always suspected they were multipeds!
Emh: Doctor to the Captain. Please report to Sickbay.
Janeway: I'm on my way. Seven, if we can integrate Mister Naroq's photolytic technology into the deflector array, we might be able to decloak a Ba'Neth ship.
Naroq: The technology only works at close range. We have to find the ship before we can expose it. We still need that cloaking frequency.
Janeway: One step at a time.
Emh: The Vulcan brain. A puzzle wrapped inside an enigma housed inside a cranium. Tuvok's neural pathways have begun to bypass the damaged tissue. They're forming new synaptic connections. In effect, his brain is rewiring itself. Whether this is due to my neurostatic therapy, or Neelix's rehabilitation regimen, or some combination of the two I can't be certain.
Janeway: Is there any chance he'll make a full recovery?
Emh: It's much too soon to say, but he's alert and he's already regained his basic motor skills.
Janeway: But still no speech.
Neelix: It's only a matter of time, Captain. Look how far he's come already.
Janeway: I hope you're right, Neelix, but if he could talk he might be able to tell us something about that cloaking frequency.
Emh: We're not sure how much he recalls. For that matter, we're not certain he recognizes any of us, or even knows who he is.
Neelix: I'm going to take him on a tour of the ship. The Doctor thinks that familiar sights and sounds might get the old synaptic juices flowing. Don't worry, Captain. Tuvok will be back to his old self before you can say live long and prosper.
Neelix: I've brought a visitor.
Chakotay: Good to see you up and around.
Neelix: You remember Commander Chakotay.
Chakotay: We were just running a shield diagnostic. Would you like to take a look?
Neelix: This is tactical station, where you work.
Kim: Just keeping it warm for you. Hope you don't mind. That's the shield array. This controls the tractor emitters.
Neelix: I think he remembers it.
Kim: Whoa, whoa, whoa! He just activated the photon torpedo banks.
Neelix: That's all right, Tuvok. Everybody makes mistakes. We'll be back later.
Neelix: Last, but not least, your quarters. You spend a lot of time here. Reading, meditating. Mister Paris once referred to it as the Vulcan vault. Ah. Look around, explore.
Seven: Astrometrics to the Bridge. Mister Naroq and I have completed our deflector modifications. We're ready to test the array.
Janeway: Stand by. Reduce speed to one quarter impulse. Harry, full power to the deflector array.
Kim: Aye.
Janeway: All right, Seven, do it.
Seven: Activating the deflector.
Paris: I'd call that a pretty successful test.
Chakotay: They've been watching us all along.
Janeway: Hail them.
Kim: Which one? There's practically a fleet out there.
Janeway: This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager. We intend you no harm.
Kim: They're charging weapons.
Janeway: Shields.
Paris: They're scrambling, Captain, in all directions.
Janeway: Follow the lead vessel.
Neelix: It's okay, Tuvok. I'm here with you. Everything is going to be all right. You're safe with me.
Kim: Still no response to our hails.
Paris: I hate to ruin a good chase, but the Ba'Neth ship is moving out of the deflector's range.
Janeway: Seven, can you get
Janeway: Their cloaking frequency?
Seven: They're blocking our scans.
Chakotay: We've lost them.
Neelix: They're gone now, Tuvok. I told you you'd be safe.
Tuvok: Yes, you did.
Neelix: Tuvok? What? Tell me, what did I do?
Tuvok: You told me I wouldn't be hurt.
Neelix: Do you know who I am?
Tuvok: You're Neelix. I'm safe with you.
Naroq: We need Tuvok to tell us anything he can remember about the attack.
Neelix: Captain, he may be talking again, but that doesn't mean he's ready to be interrogated. He's beginning to experience emotions, volatile ones. During this last encounter with the Ba'Neth, he was terrified.
Janeway: We'll tread lightly, I promise.
Neelix: All right, Tuvok, you can come in now.
Janeway: It's nice to see you.
Tuvok: Captain Janeway.
Janeway: That's right. This is Mister Naroq. Please sit down. Two days ago, you were aboard a shuttle with Mister Neelix. You detected a cloaked intruder.
Naroq: He attacked you.
Tuvok: Yes. That's why I'm having difficulty now.
Janeway: Yes, and in order to help you, we have to find the people who hurt you.
Naroq: Before the intruder injured you, you managed to scan him with this. You recorded his cloaking frequency, but the tricorder was damaged and the information was lost. Can you tell us anything about that frequency?
Janeway: Try to remember.
Tuvok: I was scanning.
Janeway: That's right. What did you see?
Tuvok: I, I don't remember.
Naroq: Try!
Janeway: All right, that's enough. We're done for now.
Naroq: But, Captain.
Janeway: Join Seven of Nine in Astrometrics. See if she's made any progress with the Ba'Neth.
Neelix: Well, er, we should be going, too. A few of the crew have offered to help with Tuvok's rehabilitation.
Janeway: I thought we might have lunch later, just the two of us.
Tuvok: I prefer to stay with Neelix.
Neelix: Oh, Tuvok. I'm, I'm sure that you would
Janeway: It's all right. You two go ahead. I have a lot of work to do anyway.
Kim: The object of the game is to turn this jumble of rods into a perfect sphere. We take turns positioning our pieces. Whoever gets the shape to appear first, wins.
Tuvok: I like the way it looks now.
Kim: What do you say we give it a try?
Neelix: This has always been one of your favorite games, Tuvok. It helps keep your logic sharp.
Kim: I'll go first. Now you.
Neelix: Go ahead.
Tuvok: I don't like this game.
Kim: When you first taught me how to play, I wasn't very good either. But you kept encouraging me, and pretty soon I scored my first kal-toh. It just takes practice, that's all.
Neelix: Try again. You can do it.
Tuvok: I don't like this game!
Tuvok: The Doctor helped me access my personnel file.
Neelix: Nice picture. You should see mine. It's awful.
Tuvok: I was an instructor at Starfleet Academy. I've received seventeen commendations for valor. I'm a husband, a father.
Neelix: You're an extraordinary fellow, Tuvok.
Tuvok: I was an extraordinary fellow.
Neelix: You're still the same person.
Tuvok: Then why do I no longer work on the bridge?
Neelix: We talked about that. You had an accident.
Tuvok: And now I'm not smart enough.
Neelix: Tuvok, you've just got to be patient. Look how much progress you've made already.
Tuvok: He could dismantle a photonic warhead in less than thirty seconds. I can't even play kal-toh.
Neelix: It's going to take time, but you'll relearn all those things.
Tuvok: How do you know that?
Neelix: Well, because the Doctor
Tuvok: The Doctor? The Doctor doesn't know how to make me better, does he?
Neelix: Well, not yet, but
Tuvok: I'll never be him again.
Neelix: You don't know that. The Vulcan mind.
Tuvok: I'm not a Vulcan. Not any more!
Emh: What's going on?
Neelix: It's okay Doctor, I can handle this. Please, Tuvok, try to relax. Everything's going to be fine.
Tuvok: No! Nothing's fine! Get away from me!
Emh: You'd better go. Now, Mister Neelix. I'll take it from here.
Neelix: Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.
Seven: You didn't.
Neelix: Yes, I did. You were pondering. Something difficult, by the looks of it. Anything I can help you with?
Seven: Unlikely.
Neelix: Try me.
Seven: How do you find something that's invisible?
Neelix: The Ba'Neth.
Seven: We have the ability to illuminate them. But to do so we must first locate them, which we cannot accomplish without their cloaking frequency.
Neelix: That's quite a riddle.
Seven: One that we might be able to solve if Commander Tuvok could tell us what he saw. How is his rehabilitation progressing?
Neelix: Oh, I thought it was going great, but now? Let's just say that I've got a riddle of my own.
Seven: Try me.
Neelix: All right. When is a Vulcan no longer a Vulcan?
Seven: When his genetic code is sufficiently altered.
Neelix: No, I was speaking metaphorically.
Seven: In that case, a person is no longer Vulcan when he has lost his logic.
Neelix: Right. And how does he get it back?
Seven: He must be taught.
Neelix: Exactly. But what if he's brain-damaged and emotionally unstable? How does he learn?
Seven: It may be impossible for him to learn what you're trying to teach.
Neelix: Well, thanks for the pep talk.
Seven: I was merely suggesting that you adapt to the circumstances.
Neelix: What circumstances? Are you saying that the Tuvok I know is gone? That I should stop trying to help him?
Seven: When I was separated from the Collective I, too, was damaged. I was no longer connected to the hive mind. I lost many abilities that I had acquired as a drone, but I adapted.
Neelix: Because Captain Janeway didn't give up on you. She kept trying to help you.
Seven: But not by restoring me to what I'd been. By helping me discover what I could become.
Neelix: What are you making?
Tuvok: A flower. It's for you.
Neelix: Thank you. I'm not sure I deserve a gift.
Tuvok: I shouldn't have shouted at you. I was angry. I'm sorry.
Neelix: You were frustrated. I don't blame you. I'm the one who should be apologizing.
Tuvok: Why?
Neelix: Because I was pushing you too hard. I was trying to mold you into something you weren't.
Tuvok: You were disappointed in me because I can't do anything as well as I did before.
Neelix: Maybe there are things that you can do better.
Tuvok: What can I do better?
Neelix: Well, this, for example. You would've considered it an illogical use of your time.
Tuvok: It's not good.
Neelix: No, it's wonderful. It's creative. It's a symbol of friendship. Before your accident, you never would have considered that my feelings might have been hurt. You would have certainly never have made me a gift.
Tuvok: We weren't friends?
Neelix: Ah, we were colleagues, and I certainly felt affection for you.
Tuvok: But I didn't return those feelings.
Neelix: You tolerated me.
Tuvok: I don't understand.
Neelix: You said things like 'Mister Neelix, please contain your exuberance.' And, 'Mister Neelix I have no desire for fun.' And you never smiled. You've got a much better sense of humor now.
Tuvok: I like to smile.
Neelix: Me, too.
Tuvok: I don't want to play kal-toh any more. Or meditate, or work on logic problems.
Neelix: You don't have to.
Tuvok: What can we do instead?
Neelix: Whatever you want.
Tuvok: Teach me things that you like to do.
Tuvok: Here we are. A triple-chocolate wikki fruit sundae with warm fetran sauce.
Paris: Fetran sauce on a sundae?
Neelix: Wait till you taste it.
Kim: You really made this?
Tuvok: As Neelix says, dig in.
Kim: Mmm, this is great.
Paris: This is fantastic.
Neelix: What did I tell you? Tuvok has a flair for food. All morning, he's been creating new recipes using combinations of ingredients that I never would have imagined. For example. A terra nut soufflé, Jibalian fudge cake with peppermint coulis, sweet leola root tart. Mmm.
Paris: Only desserts? How come?
Tuvok: They taste good.
Kim: Hey, you better watch out, Neelix. Tuvok may put you out of a job.
Paris: From your mouth to the Captain's ears.
Kim: She must have heard me.
Janeway: What's all this?
Tuvok: We're having fun.
Paris: It turns out Tuvok is quite the pastry chef.
Tuvok: Would you like some terra nut soufflé, Captain?
Janeway: I'd love some. Thank you. Oh, that is delicious.
Tuvok: I am pleased that you like it.
Janeway: What are you making now?
Tuvok: Pistachio cake with parra-cream sauce.
Janeway: Oh, parra-cream's my favorite.
Tuvok: Then you'll have the first piece.
Janeway: Tuvok, have you remembered anything more about what happened on the Flyer?
Tuvok: I detected a cloaking frequency.
Janeway: Yes, that's right. Can you describe it?
Tuvok: I don't know, I
Janeway: Did it have a symmetric modulation? Was the amplitude constant?
Tuvok: I don't understand.
Janeway: It's all right. I don't mean to push you, Tuvok but maybe if we could
Neelix: It's difficult for him, Captain. Maybe you can try again tomorrow.
Tuvok: This. This is what I saw.
Neelix: What is it?
Janeway: A cloaking frequency. Captain's log, supplemental. The computer has analyzed Tuvok's diagram and identified the Ba'Neth cloaking frequency. We've narrowed the search to a handful of systems.
Kim: Here we go, Captain. A nine million terrawatt cloaking field in grid two one six.
Chakotay: Nine million terrawatts? Whatever they're hiding, it's huge.
Janeway: Alter course, Mister Paris.
Paris: Yes, ma'am.
Janeway: Bridge to Astrometrics. Status.
Seven: The deflector array is ready, Captain.
Janeway: Raise shields.
Kim: Aye, Captain.
Paris: We're within range.
Janeway: All right, Seven. Light them up.
Kim: It's an armed outpost. Approximately three thousand life signs, twenty two ships.
Janeway: Hail them.
Kim: No response, Captain.
Chakotay: They're charging weapons.
Janeway: Open a channel, all subspace bands.
Chakotay: They're firing.
Janeway: Cease fire immediately, or I'll transmit the coordinates of this outpost to the Kesat homeworld.
Paris: That got their attention.
Janeway: Several days ago, a member of your species attacked one of my crewmen. He was badly injured. In order to treat him, I need to know more about the weapon that was used.
Kim: They're responding. Audio only.
Ba'Neth: We do not share technology.
Janeway: But you take it from others. The attacker was downloading our tactical database when the incident occurred.
Ba'Neth: We must assess potential threats.
Naroq: Paranoid, just as I predicted.
Janeway: In exchange for information about your weapon, we'll provide you with tactical data on several species we've recently encountered. You can assess their potential threats all you want.
Ba'Neth: The Kesat investigator aboard your vessel cannot be trusted.
Naroq: You know about me?
Ba'Neth: You have been attempting to expose us for years. You are a threat. You must be stopped.
Chakotay: They're charging weapons again.
Naroq: Wait. It was my photolytic converter that allowed Voyager to decloak you. If you give Captain Janeway what she wants, I'll give you the converter. You can use it to adapt your technology so ours can no longer expose you.
Janeway: I doubt you'll get as enticing an offer from the Kesat homeworld. It would be a shame if you forced me to hail them.
Ba'Neth: We have an agreement.
Tuvok: Enter.
Neelix: What are you listening to?
Tuvok: A selection from Tom's jazz database. It really swings. Computer, pause the music. I've been reviewing the holodeck files. I wish to visit the Risa water recreation park. Will you accompany me?
Neelix: Maybe after your Doctor's appointment.
Tuvok: Appointment?
Neelix: The Doctor's analyzed the Ba'Neth weapon, and he's devised a procedure to treat you. You should be proud of yourself. If you hadn't drawn that picture on the cake, we may never have found a treatment.
Tuvok: I wish I never drew that picture.
Neelix: Why?
Tuvok: Because I don't wish to undergo the procedure.
Neelix: You're having pre-operative jitters, that's all. Don't worry, everyone gets them. Just think about it. In a few hours, you'll be yourself again.
Tuvok: I am myself.
Neelix: But you'll be able to do all the things that you used to do. Work on the bridge, advise the Captain.
Tuvok: I want to be able to have fun. With you. I won't be able to, will I?
Neelix: Well, you won't call it fun. You'll call it deriving satisfaction. But it's basically the same thing. You'll still experience emotions.
Tuvok: But I won't express them.
Neelix: Probably not.
Tuvok: Then how will you know how much I enjoy being with you?
Neelix: You've just told me.
Tuvok: We'll still be friends?
Neelix: Of course.
Tuvok: Even if I merely tolerate you?
Neelix: I'd be lying if I told you that things between us will stay the same.
Tuvok: Well, why? Why do you want me to go back to the way I was?
Neelix: Because this crew needs its tactical officer on the bridge. And I wouldn't be a very good friend if I ignored that just so that you'd be nicer to me.
Emh: Mister Tuvok. I was beginning to think you weren't coming.
Tuvok: I was experiencing pre-operative jitters. Neelix helped me overcome them.
Emh: Glad to hear it. Now please, lie down.
Tuvok: I'll see you after the procedure?
Neelix: Of course.
Neelix: I'm going to miss him.
Emh: Me, too.
Neelix: Hello, Commander.
Tuvok: Mister Neelix.
Neelix: It's good to see you up and about. Are you feeling better?
Tuvok: The Doctor has approved my return to duty.
Neelix: That's wonderful news. How about a celebratory glass of champagne?
Tuvok: Tea will suffice.
Neelix: Of course. I'm preparing a special dinner tonight in honor of your recovery. I don't suppose that you'd be interested in preparing one of your famous desserts?
Tuvok: I have much more important things to do than engage in the preparation of nutritionally deficient foods.
Neelix: Maybe another time.
Tuvok: Sundaes.
Neelix: I beg your pardon?
Tuvok: I have given further consideration to your riddle regarding the Ensign who survived by consuming the dates from his calendar. It occurs to me that he could also have eaten the Sundaes.
Neelix: That's a very clever answer, Mister Vulcan, But it's not very logical, is it?
Tuvok: No, it's not.


Jisa: Gedrin! Gedrin! What happened? I lost you.
Gedrin: Thirty seven bio-pods were damaged. I had to disconnect them from the reactor.
Jisa: Were they dead?
Gedrin: I had no choice. The main power's holding. The rest of the bio-pods are secure. That leaves us. Don't look so worried. It'll be like a simple night's sleep. We're out of time.
Jisa: Do you think we'll dream?
Gedrin: I don't know. We'll get through this.
Jisa: What if there's nothing left?
Gedrin: We'll start again. Five years.
Janeway: Report.
Kim: We've entered some kind of a subspace corridor.
Paris: We were cruising at warp six then, wham, this thing pulled at our warp field like a magnet.
Janeway: Where did that debris come from?
Tuvok: Unknown, but the corridor is filled with it. Metal fragments, plasma exhaust, organic residue.
Seven: Some of the debris is over eight hundred years old, Captain.
Janeway: I'd like to avoid becoming part of this garbage stream. Can you find a way out?
Paris: I don't now. There's hundreds of corridors. It's like a maze.
Janeway: Well, be a good rat and find us the cheese, hmm?
Paris: I'll do my best, Captain.
Chakotay: Tuvok?
Tuvok: It was a vessel, sir. They are hailing us.
Janeway: Put it through.
Turei: Who are you?
Janeway: I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager. And you are?
Turei: This underspace belongs to us.
Janeway: We're here by accident. We're trying to find a way out. Can you help us?
Turei: Help you? Yes, we'll help you.
Tuvok: They are targeting our shields with a resonance pulse. It's altering the harmonics. We're being pushed out of the corridor.
Paris: We're clear.
Tuvok: The vessel has exited the corridor as well.
Paris: Captain, we're over two hundred light years from where we entered the corridor.
Kim: Two hundred light years in five minutes?
Janeway: Hail them. Thank you for your help. There's something I'd like to ask you. We've got a long journey ahead of us and I was wondering if we could negotiate passage through this underspace of yours.
Turei: Lower your shields. Prepare to be boarded.
Chakotay: Boarded? For what reason?
Turei: We must purge your computer. Remove all readings you've gathered in our territory.
Janeway: We pose no threat to you. We're simply trying
Turei: We're going to destroy that information, one way or another. Lower your shields.
Janeway: I won't do that.
Janeway: Evasive maneuvers. Try to disable them.
Tuvok: Their vessel is highly maneuverable. It's difficult to get a phaser lock.
Kim: Picking up two more ships heading our way .
Paris: Direct hit. Our warp drive is offline.
Tuvok: Shields down to eighty two percent. Sixty percent.
Paris: They're closing.
Chakotay: We could use some clever suggestions about now.
Seven: There's a planet eight million kilometers ahead, uninhabited. But the atmosphere is charged with radiogenic particles.
Chakotay: How radiogenic?
Seven: Three thousand isorems.
Chakotay: If we route enough power to the shields we can survive in that, but maybe our friends can't.
Tuvok: Shields at fifty three percent.
Janeway: Do it.
Paris: Entering the thermosphere.
Kim: Radiation levels at three thousand isorems and climbing.
Chakotay: The alien ships?
Tuvok: In pursuit and charging weapons.
Janeway: Increase our descent vector.
Paris: They're still closing.
Tuvok: Direct hit to our aft shields.
Janeway: Find the highest concentration of radiation, and take us through it.
Kim: Proximity radiation at four thousand isorems. Five thousand. Six.
Tuvok: Their shields are weakening. They're breaking off.
Janeway: Now, all we need is a place to set down and make repairs. Tom?
Paris: We're clearing the lower stratosphere.
Janeway: On screen.
Chakotay: I thought you said this planet was uninhabited.
Kim: Radiation must have interfered with my scans.
Paris: I doubt it's inhabited anymore. Looks like this planet's in the middle of a nuclear winter.
Tuvok: Agreed. Gamma radiation levels are highly toxic. The impact crater suggests an orbital bombardment.
Janeway: How long ago?
Kim: From the rate of radiogenic decay, eight hundred ninety two years.
Janeway: This must have been a city of millions. Set us down.
Paris: Disengaging engines.
Janeway: Stand down red alert. Assign damage repair teams, And Tom, make sure B'Elanna has enough help in Engineering. I want those warp engines back online.
Paris: Yes, ma'am.
Tuvok: Our friends are still in orbit.
Chakotay: Circling like vultures.
Janeway: Well, they're going to go hungry.
Chakotay: Not if they find a way to adapt their shields and come down after us.
Kim: Captain, I'm detecting faint life signs coming from a chamber several hundred meters beneath the surface.
Janeway: Survivors?
Chakotay: After nine hundred years?
Janeway: Oversee the repair teams.
Chakotay: You're going down there?
Janeway: If somebody survived this catastrophe they might need our help. Get a good fix on those coordinates. I don't want to beam into solid rock. Seven, Tuvok, You're with me.
Janeway: These walls have been reinforced with tritonium. They built this place to last.
Tuvok: Most of the power relays are still active.
Janeway: Not bad after nine centuries.
Seven: The main reactor is drawing energy from the planet's geothermal core. Efficient.
Tuvok: Some kind of stasis pod.
Seven: This display indicates that there are more chambers behind these walls. Some of them have failed.
Janeway: It's amazing they survived at all. Let's see what else we can find.
Janeway: Seven, what are you doing?
Seven: I've activated the reanimation sequence. He may be able to provide us with answers.
Tuvok: We don't know anything about this species. They could be hostile.
Seven: Most humanoid cultures are.
Janeway: Remind me to reacquaint you with away mission protocols.
Gedrin: Who
Janeway: It's all right. We're not your enemy. We're from a starship. We discovered this chamber and revived you.
Gedrin: How long was I
Janeway: In stasis? Close to nine hundred years.
Gedrin: Nine hundred? Jisa. Help her, please.
Gedrin: No, Jisa. She was my wife.
Emh: I won't hurt you.
Gedrin: I was drifting in and out of consciousness when they brought me here, but I thought I saw you appear out of thin air.
Emh: I'm a computer program. A hologram.
Gedrin: And the others?
Emh: Flesh and blood, like yourself.
Gedrin: You're the ones that took me out of stasis. I don't recognize your species.
Janeway: Human. Our home planet is halfway across the galaxy.
Gedrin: And you've expanded your territory into this space?
Janeway: Our ship was brought here by accident. We're trying to get home.
Gedrin: You're Borg.
Seven: How do you know that?
Gedrin: Don't you recognize my people? The Vaadwaur?
Seven: The Collective's memory from nine hundred years ago is fragmentary.
Gedrin: I've had many encounters with your kind.
Emh: And lived to tell about them? Impressive.
Gedrin: How did you find us?
Janeway: We needed someplace to hide from the Turei after they found us in one of their subspace corridors.
Gedrin: Their corridors?
Janeway: So they claimed.
Gedrin: The corridors were ours. It took centuries to map them. We were the envy of a hundred species, including the Turei.
Janeway: Are they responsible for what happened to your planet?
Gedrin: The Turei, and a dozen others. What one couldn't accomplish the others finally did. I would like to look at what's left of my world.
Gedrin: We made our final stand there.
Janeway: I've scanned the cavern. You've got a thousand more stasis pods down there, most of them still active. Hundreds of ships, land vehicles, weapons.
Gedrin: A single battalion, and their families. We had planned to come out of stasis after five years. We believed that by then, the Alliance would have been at each other's throats.
Janeway: You were going to rebuild?
Gedrin: No, not here. We knew this planet would be poisoned for centuries. We were planning to go to another world, start a colony, hope to find new allies, learn from them.
Janeway: Your power core is still functioning. It was the controls that were damaged in the attack. That's why you never came out of stasis.
Gedrin: Jisa and I lived there in the old quarter. We had a garden overlooking the street below. It's a shame she didn't show more courage at the end.
Janeway: Given the circumstances
Gedrin: That's no excuse.
Janeway: Pardon me for saying this, but that seems a bit heartless.
Gedrin: When it rains, do you run from doorway to doorway trying to stay dry, getting wet all the while. Or do you just accept the fact that it's raining, and walk with dignity?
Janeway: Rain's one thing. Plasma bombs are something else.
Gedrin: But the principle is the same.
Janeway: I'd bring an umbrella.
Gedrin: Maybe it's not too late to meet a new ally and learn from her.
Neelix: I took the liberty of preparing a large assortment of Delta Quadrant dishes. Hopefully, there's something here that you'll like.
Gedrin: You're Talax-ilzay.
Neelix: Talaxian, but you're right. My ancestors referred to themselves as Talax-ilzay in the old tongue.
Gedrin: The old tongue was new when I met your race.
Janeway: You traveled all the way to Talaxia?
Gedrin: And farther. Our corridors took us to many worlds. I'm curious. Have you heard of us, the Vaadwaur?
Neelix: Oh, I'm afraid there aren't many records from that period, but vaadwaur is a word in the old tongue. It means foolish. I'm sure that it's just a coincidence, of course. I didn't mean to be rude.
Gedrin: Your ancestors were wise. Only fools would let this happen to them.
Chakotay: Chakotay to Captain Janeway.
Janeway: Go ahead.
Chakotay: Looks like our friends in orbit have found us.
Janeway: We're on our way.
Janeway: Report.
Chakotay: Six Turei vessels are in orbit, all firing plasma charges.
Tuvok: That was two thousand meters to starboard.
Kim: Looks like they can't get an exact fix on our position. The radiogenic atmosphere must be disrupting their targeting.
Tuvok: Nine hundred meters.
Paris: They're getting closer.
Chakotay: We have the same problem. Our torpedoes won't lock on.
Tuvok: Direct hit. Aft shields down to eighteen percent.
Gedrin: Captain? Can you transmit a signal through this atmosphere?
Janeway: We've already tried talking to them.
Gedrin: I have no intention of speaking with the Turei. We put a sentry satellite in orbit directly above the city. You could use its sensors to help guide your torpedoes.
Tuvok: It's there. Intact and functional.
Gedrin: Open a channel. I'll give you the activation code.
Gedrin: I'm a few centuries out of date.
Kim: You can enter the activation code here. It's processing our telemetry.
Janeway: Triangulate. Fire.
Tuvok: Direct hit. The lead ship has lost shields. Its propulsion is down.
Gedrin: One more torpedo will finish them.
Chakotay: The other ships are retreating.
Gedrin: Captain, why don't you keep firing?
Janeway: We scared them off. That's enough for now.
Gedrin: But they'll come back with twice as many ships.
Janeway: With any luck, our warp drive will be back online by then.
Gedrin: The Turei may be cowards, but their technology has become much more advanced than ours. If you leave us, we will be slaughtered again.
Chakotay: What do you propose?
Gedrin: Help us off this planet, and we will show you subspace corridors known to nobody else. You will be free from the Turei, and you will be a thousand light years closer to your home.
Janeway: Let's wake up your battalion.
Chakotay: Dragon's teeth.
Janeway: Dragon's teeth?
Chakotay: An old Greek myth. After a dragon was killed in a war, its teeth were spread out over the battlefield. They took root and warriors sprung from the ground to continue the fighting. Captain's log, supplemental. We've revived nearly two hundred of the Vaadwaur and we're moving forward with our unexpected alliance.
Tuvok: Voyager was pulled into the corridor two hundred light years from here.
Gaul: Pulled in?
Morin: There must have been a break along the radial wall.
Gedrin: The corridors occur naturally, but they're very unstable. They're damaged by use.
Gaul: Obviously the Turei don't have the wisdom to maintain them properly. They'll be very difficult to navigate after centuries of neglect.
Tuvok: We've only been able to chart a few of the corridors. Can you provide us with a more complete map?
Morin: We've never kept written records, for security reasons. Of course, we've committed all the corridors to memory. Every multifold, every spatial intersect.
Gaul: We'd be happy to plot a course for you but first, we'll need to get past the Turei, How many vessels are in orbit?
Seven: Eleven.
Janeway: Mister Gaul, Tuvok, start working on a tactical plan.
Gedrin: If we do manage to escape, we'll need to locate a habitable world.
Janeway: Seven, scan the Astrometric database. See what you can find. Someplace out of the way.
Gedrin: Morin, take charge of reviving the rest of our battalion.
Morin: Many of our bio-pods have been damaged. I could use some assistance.
Janeway: Our Chief Engineer will be glad to give you a hand.
Morin: Thank you.
Janeway: Well, let's get started. We've got a civilization to rebuild.
Neelix: No story tonight, Naomi. I had to cook for two hundred people today.
Naomi: That's okay. I'm tired, too.
Neelix: Did you get a chance to meet any of the children?
Naomi: I don't like them.
Neelix: Why not?
Naomi: I just don't.
Neelix: Well, that's not good enough. I'm the ship's ambassador, you're the Captain's assistant. We have to make a good impression on our new friends.
Naomi: They're not my friends.
Neelix: Well, not yet. Listen. First thing tomorrow, you and I will get together with a couple of the children.
Naomi: No.
Neelix: Naomi, what's wrong?
Naomi: Nothing. I don't like them and I don't want to play with them.
Neelix: That doesn't sound like you. Tell me what happened.
Naomi: They called you names.
Neelix: Names?
Naomi: They said everybody from your planet was stupid. They said your ears were funny. They said just looking at you made them laugh. They said
Neelix: I, I, I get the idea. Children can be a little cruel sometimes, but there's no need to take it personally. Besides, my ears are kind of funny.
Naomi: I don't want to play with them.
Neelix: No. And you don't have to.
Naomi: Okay.
Neelix: Come on.
Neelix: Goodnight. I'll tell you a story tomorrow, I promise.
Torres: I'm not happy with these fluctuations. We may be trying to reactivate too many ships at once.
Morin: I suggest we focus on the assault fighters. Qual tel k'pok.
Torres: Thanks. When did you learn Klingon?
Morin: Just a few phrases. I was studying your database. The Klingons are a noble race.
Torres: They have their moments.
Morin: Today is a good day to die.
Torres: Pardon?
Morin: Kahless, your greatest warrior. That was his battle cry.
Torres: You seem to have taken an interest in Klingon history.
Morin: There are many parallels between our cultures. The Vaadwaur have also learned to embrace death without fear. As children, we're taught to fall asleep each night imagining a different way to die.
Torres: I prefer curling up with a good book.
Neelix: Computer, access my personal database.
Computer: Access established.
Neelix: Go into the Talaxian linguistic files, Old Tongue dialect. Find and define the word Vaadwaur.
Computer: Vaadwaur. Archaic adjective. Primary meaning, Foolish. Additional meanings, Weak-minded, reckless, blind.
Neelix: What's the first known usage?
Computer: First written example appears in Eldaxon's Collected Folklore, second edition. Year of publication, 5012, new calendar.
Neelix: Computer, name the specific folktales that use the word vaadwaur.
Computer: The Demon with the Golden Voice. The Tale of the Deadly Stranger. The Tale of the Boy who Lost his Head. The Tale of the Bloody Hand.
Neelix: Not exactly Mother Goose. Computer, transfer the text of those stories to my quarters.
Computer: Transfer complete.
Gedrin: That star cluster in grid fourteen twenty one? Nearly half the planets are inhabitable.
Seven: Unfortunately they are already occupied. By the Borg.
Gedrin: The Borg? In my century they'd only assimilated a handful of systems. It looks like they've spread through the quadrant like a plague. No offense.
Seven: None taken.
Gedrin: We had a colony near the twin star in grid three one five.
Seven: That is part of the Devore Imperium now.
Gedrin: And who are they?
Seven: An authoritarian regime. They claim eleven systems across three sectors.
Gedrin: I don't suppose they'd be willing to negotiate for a continent or two.
Seven: The Devore are intolerant of outsiders.
Gedrin: It doesn't matter. We have nothing to negotiate with. Our technology is nine hundred years out of date.
Seven: Your pessimism is irrelevant. We will find a home for you.
Gedrin: I hope you're right.
Tuvok: Sixteen Turei vessels are now in orbit. Long range sensors indicate five more on the way.
Janeway: I can understand that they want the odds in their favor, but isn't that overkill?
Gaul: They may have detected us. If they know their history, they'll come prepared.
Janeway: Nine hundred years is a long time to hold a grudge.
Gaul: The Turei would like nothing more than to find the rest of our subspace corridors. We can't allow that to happen.
Tuvok: Then I suggest we use the element of surprise. At oh six hundred, Voyager will leave the surface and engage the Turei ships in orbit. As we draw their fire, the more powerful Vaadwaur vessels will attack from multiple vectors. The rest of the Vaadwaur will break orbit from the opposite side of the planet and proceed to the subspace corridors. We'll rendezvous with them afterwards.
Gaul: What if Voyager is disabled? We'll be defenseless. If we armed my ships with your photon torpedoes
Janeway: I can't authorize that.
Gaul: Why?
Janeway: Starfleet protocols are very strict about the transfer of weapons.
Gaul: I'm not used to putting my life in someone else's hands.
Janeway: There are a lot of things you're going to have to get used to. We've faced enemies worse than the Turei. I'm confident we can handle them.
Gaul: I need those weapons.
Janeway: I'm sorry. The answer's no.
Gaul: If you want access to our corridors.
Janeway: We'll continue home through open space if we have to.
Gaul: All right, our lives are in your hands.
Gedrin: We found a planet in a nebula near the junction of corridors three nine and eight seven five. We'd be isolated and relatively safe.
Gaul: Relatively?
Gedrin: I'm afraid the planet is somewhat harsh. There are no large bodies of water and the vegetation is sparse.
Gaul: This is absurd.
Crewman: Ensign, we need a power coupling over here, on the double.
Gaul: Our plan was to reoccupy one of our former colonies, gain allies, rebuild our forces, take back what was ours.
Gedrin: Our former colonies are destroyed or occupied by species that are far more advanced than we are.
Morin: Then we'll find a way to take them back.
Gedrin: With what, a battalion of obsolete ships and outdated weapons?
Gaul: No, with Voyager. I've been studying their technology, the control systems, propulsion, weaponry. We could learn to operate the vessel ourselves.
Gedrin: What are you saying?
Gaul: After they engage the Turei, they'll expect us to assist them. Instead, we'll attack. We'll put as many soldiers as we can onto Voyager and take it into the corridors.
Gedrin: This is a mistake. If we fail, we'll lose everything.
Gaul: If you like, I can return you to your stasis pod. Inform the others.
Seven: This is an M class planet in orbit of a type G star. We've located a subcontinent with edible vegetation and an underground water supply. Unfortunately, the region is subject to windstorms.
Gedrin: Not exactly paradise.
Seven: You will adapt.
Gedrin: Practical and to the point, just like my wife. She had a knack for cutting to the truth.
Seven: She must have been an efficient individual.
Gedrin: To say the least. You would have enjoyed her company. You are not at all like the Borg I knew.
Seven: As a drone, I helped assimilate many civilizations. Now I have the opportunity to help reconstruct one. I find the experience gratifying.
Gedrin: So do I. I'm curious. Has your crew ever considered finding a planet of their own? A place to settle down?
Seven: Captain Janeway is committed to getting Voyager back to Earth.
Gedrin: That could take decades, and there are many dangers ahead.
Seven: We will adapt.
Gedrin: I suppose you will.
Neelix: Neelix to Seven of Nine.
Seven: Yes?
Neelix: Could I see you in Cargo Bay two? It's important.
Seven: Acknowledged.
Gedrin: I'm due for a final briefing with your Mister Tuvok.
Seven: I'll accompany you to the bridge.
Neelix: I'm sorry to bother you, but I've been doing some research on our new allies and I have found something very interesting. In dozens of the ancient folktales of my people, there's a common theme. They describe a phantom army that appears out of thin air, destroys entire colonies, and vanishes in the blink of an eye. Sound familiar?
Seven: The subspace corridors.
Neelix: Exactly. Gedrin claims they've been using them as trade routes but I'm starting to wonder.
Seven: Your source material is folktales, Mister Neelix.
Neelix: But many fables have a basis in reality. You've got the collective knowledge of thousands of species. You could cross-reference my findings. It'll only take a few minutes.
Janeway: Come in.
Gedrin: You wanted to see me, Captain?
Janeway: Yes. I need a little history lesson.
Gedrin: Can't it wait until after we've reached the corridors?
Janeway: I'm afraid not. I've just had a conversation with Mister Neelix and Seven of Nine. They've been poring through various databases and ha've come up with some surprising findings.
Gedrin: Surprising?
Janeway: You told me the Vaadwaur were a culture of merchants and scientists who expanded their knowledge by using subspace corridors to travel to other worlds. You were the envy of hundreds of species, some of whom eventually wanted the corridors for themselves.
Gedrin: Your point?
Janeway: Let me give you another version of events. The Vaadwaur were an aggressive culture who expanded their territory by using the corridors to attack other worlds, until some of those worlds banded together to defend themselves and put an end to the Vaadwaur threat once and for all. Would you care to set the record straight?
Gedrin: That was nine hundred years ago.
Janeway: If we're going to be fighting side by side, I have to trust you. I need to be certain you don't have any ulterior motives.
Gedrin: Our only motive is survival.
Janeway: If I were to take you at your word, the ancient Talaxians might call me vaadwaur. Foolish. That's what they came to call anyone who allowed themselves to be deceived by an enemy. There are hundreds of other references just like it.
Gedrin: Both versions of our history are true. We did use the corridors to explore and, on occasion, expand our territory. But Captain, we have gone from a population of six billion to six hundred. Our weapons are archaic. Do you really think that we are prepared to declare war on the Delta Quadrant?
Janeway: Not yet, but right now it's Voyager I'm worried about. The Turei are going to be firing everything they've got at my ship. You might try to take advantage of that.
Gedrin: What are you going to do, put us all back into stasis?
Janeway: We said we'd try to help you make a new start, and I want to keep that promise. But I can't ignore history, Mister Gedrin.
Janeway: Make yourself comfortable, Mister Gedrin. Chakotay, I don't know whether to believe him or not. What I wouldn't give for a Betazoid about now.
Chakotay: If Mister Neelix is right, we should be ready for anything. Their technology may be outdated, but it can still do a lot of damage.
Janeway: Agreed. Maintain a full security alert and have Tuvok keep a weapons lock on their primary reactor.
Chakotay: Are we still proceeding at oh six hundred hours?
Janeway: Yes, but with a few modifications. What's Mister Gaul's location?
Kim: He's in the central chamber.
Janeway: Hail him.
Gaul: Captain, we've reactivated seventy three assault vessels. Our pilots are standing by.
Janeway: I need to inform you about a change of plan. I want you to deactivate the particle cannons on all but ten of your assault vessels. Then we'll proceed on schedule.
Gaul: I don't understand.
Janeway: Only ten of your ships are going to engage the Turei. The others will head directly for the subspace corridors. I see no reason for those to be armed.
Gaul: Something could go wrong. Why leave them defenseless?
Janeway: Voyager will defend them.
Gaul: What prompted this change?
Janeway: You haven't been completely honest about your past, and that makes me a little uncertain about the present.
Gaul: Gedrin.
Gedrin: I suggest you listen to her.
Gaul: Request denied, Captain.
Janeway: It's not a request. You can call it an ultimatum if you like.
Gaul: Unacceptable.
Janeway: I'm going to leave this planet in one hour, with or without you.
Gaul: We did not spend nine hundred years in stasis to take orders from you.
Gaul: Contact the battalion. Tell them to prepare for the attack.
Janeway: I don't know about the rest of you but I'm ready to get moving. What's our status?
Paris: Impulse engines are online.
Tuvok: Shields at maximum. Weapons standing by.
Janeway: Tom, prepare to initiate the ascent sequence in
Chakotay: Report!
Kim: Massive energy readings coming from the central chamber.
Tuvok: It's the Vaadwaur. They're launching the first wave of ships. Seventeen vessels have broken through the surface. They're at an altitude of two thousand meters and charging weapons.
Paris: Ma'am, they're not ascending into orbit. They're heading straight for Voyager.
Janeway: Tom?
Paris: Engaging thrusters. Initiating ascent sequence.
Tuvok: Vaadwaur ships approaching off our starboard bow.
Janeway: Target phasers, full spread.
Paris: We're airborne.
Chakotay: What altitude do we need on this planet, Tom, before we can go to warp?
Paris: We'll have to clear the thermosphere. Two hundred and eighty kilometers at least.
Tuvok: Shields at ninety two percent.
Janeway: Phasers.
Tuvok: We've disabled four of their ships.
Chakotay: They've launched another thirty nine vessels.
Janeway: Evasive maneuvers.
Paris: It's no use. They're closing on all sides.
Kim: Direct hit to the port thrusters.
Paris: We're losing altitude.
Janeway: Reroute emergency power. We need to get into orbit.
Tuvok: Targeting sensors offline. Switching to manual.
Janeway: Harry, can you open a secure channel to the Turei ships in orbit?
Kim: Yes, ma'am, but that would give away our position. They could lock on with plasma charges.
Janeway: I think it's time we reacquaint a couple of old friends. Hail them.
Morin: Voyager's shields are weakening but they're gaining altitude again. They're approaching the thermosphere.
Gaul: Launch another squadron.
Paris: We've got nine more fighters on our tail.
Tuvok: Aft shields down to twenty percent.
Kim: Captain, the Turei are responding.
Janeway: Put them through.
Turei: What do you want?
Janeway: I've got a proposition for you.
Turei: No more talk. Prepare to be bordered.
Janeway: Tell me, have you been picking up weapons fire?
Turei: We have detected some unusual energy signatures, yes.
Janeway: That's because we're under attack by the Vaadwaur.
Turei: Impossible. They were destroyed centuries ago.
Gedrin: Some of us have survived.
Janeway: They've got over two hundred ships. They said something about wanting their subspace corridors back. I suggest we join forces and try to neutralize the threat here and now. What's more important to you? Deleting the records of a Federation ship that means you no harm, or defending yourselves against hundreds of Vaadwaur fighters who are determined to invade your underspace? I suggest you pick your enemy.
Turei: Our sensors can't penetrate the atmosphere. How can we fight an enemy we can't see?
Chakotay: We have access to one of their surveillance satellites. We could use it to transmit their vital coordinates to you.
Turei: If this is a deception
Kim: I'm having trouble establishing a link with the satellite. Our sensor array took heavy damage.
Gedrin: I could access it from the underground control chamber. Transport me there. Not all of my people are stuck in the past, Captain.
Janeway: Tuvok, go with him.
Morin: We've impacted their hull. There are breaches in progress on two decks.
Gaul: They'll have to reroute power from their shields to seal them. They'll have no choice but to put down. Have our ground forces ready.
Kim: We've lost impulse engines and navigation.
Paris: Thrusters are failing. We're losing altitude.
Janeway: Tuvok, status. Tuvok?
Kim: I've lost the signal.
Janeway: All hands, this is the Captain. Initiate emergency landing procedures, and arm yourselves. If the Vaadwaur board this ship, we'll fight them hand to hand if we have to.
Morin: Once we've secured Voyager, execute the crew.
Gaul: Wait. We have hundreds of bio-pods still intact. Put them into stasis. In a few hundred years, maybe someone will be kind enough to revive them.
Gaul: What is that?
Morin: It's a plasma charge. It came from orbit. It's the Turei. They've isolated our location.
Gaul: How?
Morin: One of the surveillances satellite has been activated.
Gaul: Shut it down.
Gedrin: They're blocking my commands. I'm rotating the carrier frequencies.
Tuvok: The chamber is destabilizing. We must evacuate.
Gedrin: Not yet. If we're going to succeed, I need to transmit the signatures of our fighters to the Turei. You go.
Chakotay: Six Vaadwaur ships were just destroyed by the Turei. The others are breaking off their attack.
Janeway: Impulse engines?
Paris: Still offline.
Janeway: How about emergency power?
Kim: Barely enough for life support, Captain.
Janeway: Harry, the radiogenic particles in the atmosphere. Could we use them as a power source?
Kim: We'd have to modify the warp core's conversion matrix. It could take hours.
Janeway: What if we drew the particles directly into our plasma manifold?
Paris: That would give us one hell of a boost.
Kim: It could also blow out every power relay on the ship.
Janeway: Damned if we do, damned if we don't. Open the forward nacelle ports and reverse the pressure gradient. Take in six hundred kilograms.
Vaadwaur: The chamber's collapsing, sir.
Gaul: We'll take as many ships as we can. Try to reach the subspace corridor.
Kim: Particle concentration at three thousand parts per million.
Janeway: Release the manifold.
Paris: Rerouting plasma to the power conduits. We have impulse.
Janeway: Take us up.
Kim: Thirteen power relays just blew out on deck six.
Janeway: Steady.
Paris: We're crossing the thermosphere.
Janeway: Any sign of pursuit?
Chakotay: None. Looks like the Vaadwaur have their hands full.
Janeway: Altitude?
Paris: Two hundred and sixty kilometers, two hundred and seventy. We've cleared the thermosphere.
Janeway: Go to warp, Mister Paris.
Paris: Yes, ma'am. Captain's log, stardate 53167.9. After two days, there's been no sign of the Vaadwaur or the Turei. However, Seven of Nine has made an unsettling discovery.
Janeway: How many ships?
Seven: Astrometrics scans detected fifty three ion signatures entering the corridors. All Vaadwaur.
Janeway: The underground chambers?
Seven: They were destroyed by the Turei bombardment. Captain, I believe I made an error in judgment.
Janeway: Oh?
Seven: By awakening Gedrin, I initiated a chain of events that nearly led to our destruction. I wanted to help revive a civilization, not start a war.
Janeway: You thought you were acting out of compassion. I might have done the same thing. But that doesn't make it right, Seven. The repercussions of this could be catastrophic.
Seven: Their technology is nine centuries out of date. Their plans for conquest are irrelevant.
Janeway: They're a resourceful species, determined. They'll adapt. I doubt we've seen the last of them.