Kim: Game.
Paris: Why don't we make it interesting this time. Let's add some table stakes.
Kim: What kind of stakes?
Paris: I don't know. Hmm. Couple of replicator rations, maybe?
Ricky: Don't do it, Harry. He's hustling you.
Kim: Wait a minute. Are you saying he deliberately let me win?
Paris: That would be dishonest, Harry.
Kim: I won that game, and I'll beat you again.
Paris: How many rations are you willing to bet on that?
Crewmembers: Go for it, Harry.
Kim: A week's worth.
Paris: Harry, Harry, Harry. Never, ever play with anyone, not even your best friend, if he says let's make it interesting. You want a little action, I'll give you a little action. How about an honest game of chance?
Ricky: Never play with anyone, even your best friend, if he offers you an honest game of chance, Harry.
Paris: One replicator ration is all it takes to play, and the only thing you have to do to win is pick a number. Just predict what the radiogenic particle count will be at twelve hundred hours tomorrow, and if you hit the pot is yours. Minus a small handling fee for the bank, of course.
Crewman: I'll take a piece of that.
Jones: Jones.
Paris: Harry, get a PADD, take down these names and numbers.
Kim: I'm in too.
Lewis: Lewis, twenty one hundred.
Torres: Ensign Hogan, still no luck with the warp drive?
Hogan: No, Lieutenant. The manifold just won't fire up. We've finally narrowed it down to some kind of a problem in EPS conduit one four one.
Torres: Was there any indication yesterday that there was something wrong?
Hogan: Suder was monitoring the EPS flow and the CCF. He says everything was fine.
Torres: I guess we'll just have to get in there and track it down.
Neelix: Happy Kal Rekk, Mister Vulcan!
Tuvok: The holiday of Kal Rekk is not for two weeks.
Neelix: But it's the Kal Rekk season.
Tuvok: There is no Kal Rekk season. Kal Rekk is a day of atonement, solitude and silence.
Neelix: Atonement. Solitude. All your Vulcan holidays are the same. I've been doing some research, I know.
Tuvok: Why would you need to do research on Vulcan holidays?
Neelix: It's part of my job as Morale officer.
Tuvok: Morale is irrelevant to a Vulcan.
Neelix: Oh, please! There's no one on this ship requires my services more than you do. I will not rest until I see you smile.
Tuvok: Then you will not rest.
Neelix: I don't suppose you've ever heard of the Vulcan Rumarie?
Tuvok: The Rumarie is an ancient pagan festival.
Neelix: Full of barely clothed Vulcan men and women covered in slippery Rillan grease, chasing one another.
Tuvok: That has not been observed for a millennium.
Neelix: Well, it's time to bring it back.
Torres: Lieutenant Tuvok, report to Engineering immediately.
Tuvok: Acknowledged.
Neelix: I've been thinking of a Rumarie theme for the mess hall next week. Lots of high fat, greasy foods, and if people want to take of their clothes and chase one another, well, it certainly wouldn't hurt morale around here.
Tuvok: Is there a problem, Lieutenant?
Emh: Ninety eight percent of his body suffered third degree plasma burns. If the circuit hadn't failed, he would have been vaporized.
Tuvok: It appeared that Mister Darwin entered the conduit to repair a faulty circuit when the accident occurred.
Emh: A perfectly good theory. Unfortunately it's wrong. This contusion is the result of a hard blow to the back of the skull.
Tuvok: Perhaps he fell and hit his head in the conduit.
Emh: The coup contra-coup pattern of breakage should tell us if the blow is the result of a moving head hitting a stationary object, or a moving object hitting a stationary head. In this case the pattern clearly indicates the latter. I'm sorry to report Crewman Darwin was murdered.
Tuvok: At first glance there is no obvious motive. Crewman Darwin didn't have any known enemies on board.
Janeway: I've been looking over his Starfleet record. His training instructor recommended him as an Officers candidate. He turned it down to come with us. He has three sisters back home.
Torres: Sorry I'm late. These are the duty logs from last night. Lon Suder was the only one in Engineering when Frank Darwin came on duty.
Janeway: Something wrong?
Chakotay: No, not really. I've just never really been comfortable with Suder, that's all. It's not like he ever did anything wrong, it's just
Torres: As a Maquis, he did what he had to do a little too well.
Janeway: As in?
Chakotay: As in killing Cardassians.
Tuvok: I don't recall observing anything unusual about Mister Suder's behavior while I was on your ship.
Chakotay: You weren't with him in battle. Around us he was the quietest, most unassuming guy you'll ever meet. Typical Betazoid, Kept to himself. I never knew much about him.
Torres: In the Maquis, we didn't ask for resumes. We needed all the help we could get.
Chakotay: A lot of us were doing what we were doing to protect our families, but Suder had his own reasons. I wish I could tell you what they were. In combat there was something in his eyes.
Janeway: Maybe he had something personal against Cardassians?
Chakotay: Sometimes I had to pull him back, stop him from going too far. And once or twice when I did he looked at me with those cold eyes and I just knew he was this far away from killing me.
Tuvok: I find it curious that none of this was included in your initial crew evaluation, Commander.
Chakotay: I don't put down hunches or bad feelings in my crew evaluations, Lieutenant. A Vulcan should appreciate that.
Tuvok: Considering the fact that your Maquis crew included malcontents, outlaws and mercenaries, I believe it would have been appropriate.
Chakotay: I wasn't going to make it harder for any of them here. Suder did his job when he was serving with me and he's done his job since he's been on this ship.
Janeway: It seems clear where your investigation should begin, Lieutenant.
Suder: You wished to see me, Mister Tuvok?
Tuvok: Sit down. You were alone in Engineering when Crewman Darwin reported for duty last night.
Suder: Yes, sir.
Tuvok: Did you speak to him?
Suder: No, we just sort of looked at each other and he did whatever he had to do and I did what I had to do.
Tuvok: And what was that?
Suder: I was running a fuel consumption analysis for Lieutenant Torres. She can tell you. Are you accusing me of killing him?
Tuvok: I have accused no one at this time. Did you kill Crewman Darwin?
Suder: No. No, I barely knew him. You know, just because I'm a Maquis doesn't make me a killer.
Tuvok: I will be speaking to everyone in Engineering, perhaps everyone on this ship, not just former members of the Maquis.
Suder: We all know how you feel about the Maquis.
Tuvok: I assure you, I have no feelings about the Maquis.
Suder: No, you just spied on us and were going to turn us all over to Starfleet.
Tuvok: As hard as it may be for you to understand, that did not require any feelings on my part. The Doctor places the time of death at twenty two fourteen. Do you remember what you were doing then?
Suder: I was still running the fuel analysis. I worked on it until I went off duty.
Tuvok: Would you be surprised to know that your console was logged off at twenty two oh nine?
Suder: That's not possible.
Tuvok: Do you have a criminal record, Mister Suder?
Suder: Now that would be sort of difficult to check on, wouldn't it?
Tuvok: Why would you have any reason to lie?
Suder: I don't.
Tuvok: Do you have a criminal record?
Suder: No.
Tuvok: How would you describe your relationship with Crewman Darwin?
Suder: I had no relationship.
Tuvok: No disagreements?
Suder: No.
Tuvok: No fights?
Suder: No.
Tuvok: No reason to kill him?
Suder: No.
Tuvok: You are dismissed, Crewman. I may have more questions for you later.
Emh: Medlab to Lieutenant Tuvok.
Tuvok: Go ahead, Doctor.
Emh: I think I've found something that will help you.
Emh: Do you see the DNA strands on the lower border?
Tuvok: Yes. They were retrieved from inside the head wound by nanites that I designed to recognize unusual DNA patterns. This DNA was isolated because it didn't belong to the victim.
Tuvok: Have you matched it to a member of the crew?
Tuvok: Are you certain?
Emh: DNA doesn't know how to lie, Lieutenant.
Tuvok: I must advise you that under Starfleet Directive one zero one you do not have to answer any questions.
Suder: No. No, there's no point in denying it anymore. I used a two kilo coil spanner. He was sitting at the impulse system control panel. Didn't even look up when I moved in behind him and I swung the spanner as hard as I could.
Tuvok: Crewman, I suggest you speak to counsel.
Suder: There was practically no blood. I was surprised at that. I figured that the EPS conduit was the easiest way to dispose of the body, but I must have damaged one of the circuits when I put him inside. Oh, I hid the spanner behind a comm. line access panel on deck seven.
Tuvok: Why did you kill him, Mister Suder?
Suder: No reason.
Tuvok: That is not a satisfactory answer. You must have had some motive.
Suder: I didn't like the way he looked at me.
Emh: No doubt about it, this is the murder weapon. Mister Suder is apparently telling the truth. You don't seem satisfied, Lieutenant.
Tuvok: No.
Emh: You have a confession and the murder weapon.
Tuvok: And no established motive.
Emh: Does it matter?
Tuvok: Crime must have a logical purpose.
Emh: Ah yes, I see. How to close the case without understanding the logic of the crime. For a Vulcan, that would be a dilemma, wouldn't it.
Tuvok: Doctor, is it possible that Mister Suder is psychotic?
Emh: I doubt it. Kes, call up his genetic profile.
Kes: The neurogenetic markers are normal. There's no tendency towards bipolar disorder.
Emh: So he's not insane, per se. What do the elevated norepinephrine levels suggest?
Kes: Aggressive, even violent tendencies.
Tuvok: Why didn't you report this immediately after your examination, Doctor?
Emh: These readings are not significantly different from those of the other Maquis crewmen. Obviously it takes a certain personality type to be attracted to the life of an outlaw.
Kes: Don't you believe his confession, Tuvok?
Tuvok: In fact I do. Nevertheless, my job is not finished until I determine a motive.
Emh: And what if there was no motive?
Tuvok: One may not recognize the motivation, but there is always motivation.
Emh: I think you are trapped in your own Vulcan logic, Lieutenant. All of us have violent instincts. We have evolved from predators. Well, not me, of course, I've just been programmed by you predators. The question is, in a civilized world, can we suppress those instincts? Most of the time we can. Vulcans certainly can. You've got your violent feelings buried underneath centuries of control. But the rest of the humanoid races aren't always so skilled at self-diskipline. Crewman Suder may have violent impulses that he just can't control.
Tuvok: Do you believe that a look by Mister Darwin could provoke such a violent reaction?
Emh: It has been known to happen.
Tuvok: I do not accept that explanation.
Suder: I already told you why I killed him, Lieutenant.
Tuvok: You didn't like the way he looked at you.
Suder: Right.
Tuvok: Just how did he look at you?
Suder: Like a lot of people in Starfleet do.
Tuvok: So this murder could in fact be explained as an outburst of rage against Starfleet.
Suder: Look, if that's how you want to look at this.
Tuvok: I want the truth.
Suder: I don't like Starfleet, I won't deny that, but
Tuvok: Yes?
Suder: I have killed people who weren't in Starfleet for the same reason. I did not like the way they looked at me. I've thought about killing you, Lieutenant.
Tuvok: In my case, you have a motive. My previous mission as a spy, my role as your accuser. But to my knowledge, Crewman Darwin had done nothing to you.
Suder: That's true.
Tuvok: Then why chose him as a victim?
Suder: I don't know.
Tuvok: Do you feel remorse?
Suder: I don't seem to feel anything at all. Most Betazoids can sense other people's emotions. I can't even sense my own. So what's going to happen to me now?
Tuvok: I'll have to discuss that with the Captain.
Suder: I know what I'd do if I were her. Guess I'm lucky. The Federation doesn't execute people.
Tuvok: It is important that I understand why you killed Mister Darwin.
Suder: I wish I could help you, Lieutenant.
Tuvok: You can. And indirectly I may be able to help you as well. Do you know what a mind meld is?
Suder: It's that Vulcan thing where you grab someone's head.
Tuvok: We would be telepathically linked, exchanging our thoughts. In essence, becoming one mind.
Suder: One mind? You and me? I wouldn't recommend that, Lieutenant.
Tuvok: It is not without risk, but as a Vulcan I have internal processes that allow me to control violent instincts. I believe I will be able to suppress whatever feelings I draw from you.
Suder: And how will I be helped by all this?
Tuvok: It is likely that you will gain, at least for a time, some of my self diskipline to better control your violent nature.
Suder: What do I have to do?
Tuvok: Release the forcefield.
Tuvok: My mind to your mind. Your thoughts to my thoughts.
Computer: Radiogenic particle density at the measured co-ordinates was one eight seven three per cubic meter.
Paris: And the winner of sixteen replicator rations in the Paris radiogenic sweepstakes is? Computer?
Computer: There is no winner today.
Paris: What? No winner? Computer, are you positive?
Computer: Try your luck again. Tomorrow you could be a winner.
Kim: Very funny.
Paris: You heard the little lady. Try your luck again, folks. The pot grows daily until we have a winner. Enter your name on the PADD and pick a number. Can I buy you lunch, Mister Kim? I have an extra ration today.
Kim: Two, by my count. Ten percent of the day's action. The only one who wins every day is you.
Paris: I think I'll have some prime rib, medium rare, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and maybe some Yorkshire pudding. And a Raktajino with whipped cream on it.
Tuvok: So it ultimately turned out to be a worthwhile and enlightening experience.
Janeway: Did you get any of the answers you were after?
Tuvok: It is difficult for me to accept, Captain, but Mister Suder was telling the truth as he knew it. He is a man with an incredibly violent nature living in an environment without any outlet to express it. I am surprised he was able to maintain his self control for as long as he did.
Janeway: I guess in his earlier life he always found ways to release those impulses, like volunteering for the Maquis. What do we do with him?
Tuvok: If we were home, he'd be sent to prison.
Janeway: The brig is the closest thing we have. But I don't think we can just leave him down in our dungeon for the rest of the trip.
Tuvok: Nor would it be appropriate to leave him in the custody of someone in this quadrant.
Janeway: I agree.
Tuvok: Captain, he is prepared to die for his crime.
Janeway: An execution? You're not seriously suggesting that we
Tuvok: I only mention it because of the extenuating circumstances, and because he feels it would be an appropriate punishment.
Janeway: I don't. I prefer to rehabilitate him, not to end his life. We'll confine him to quarters. Work with Kim to installl maximum security containment.
Tuvok: Pardon me, Captain, but allowing him the comfort of his own quarters doesn't seem an appropriate punishment for murder.
Janeway: If we don't get home soon, he'll be in that room a long time, Mister Tuvok. I think this is the best we can do under these circumstances.
Tuvok: Crewman Darwin's three sisters might not agree.
Janeway: How is Suder since the mind meld?
Tuvok: Quite calm and controlled. Clearly the meld initiated some high cortical activity in his brain.
Janeway: And you, Tuvok? Any adverse effects?
Tuvok: I will admit that I am more diskoncerted than I anticipated.
Janeway: Why don't you take a day or two off for meditation.
Tuvok: Thank you, but I am already taking steps to purge these residual feelings. I don't believe time off will be necessary. I will of course advise you of any further complications.
Janeway: Tuvok. Take care of yourself.
Tuvok: I would prefer to be alone.
Neelix: Okay, all right. Far be it from me to bother anyone. If you really want me to leave, I'll leave.
Tuvok: I really want you to leave.
Neelix: I don't believe you. Your voice says go away, but your heart want me to make you smile.
Tuvok: Please, go away.
Neelix: Come on. A little smile. How is it going to hurt? I won't tell anyone.
Tuvok: What must I do to convince you to stop.
Neelix: Come on, just a little itty bitty smile. Just let the mouth curl a little then. There's an old Talaxian song my mother used to sing me as a child. I'm going to sing it to you every day from now on. It goes
Neelix: Mister Vulcan, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I'm sorry, I, I
Tuvok: Computer, end holodeck program.
Computer: Particle density at the measured co-ordinates was one four one five per cubic meter.
Paris: And the winner is? Computer? Computer?
Chakotay: There won't be any more winners.
Paris: Oh come on, Chakotay. We're just having a little fun. The recreational facilities of the Delta Quadrant being what they are.
Chakotay: I've heard you're responsible for this, Lieutenant.
Paris: I didn't think Starfleet would have a problem with it.
Chakotay: With a senior officer running a gambling operation and skimming profits from each days proceeds? Now why would Starfleet have a problem with that? Since you all seem to have extra replicator rations you won't be needing these. Today's pot is hereby confiscated. The Captain's put a lot of faith in you, Mister Paris. She'll be disappointed. You're on report.
Paris: Now there's a tough job, filling out reports. But somebody's got to do it.
Kim: Thanks a lot.
Suder: I did not hear you come in, Lieutenant.
Tuvok: How are you feeling?
Suder: Centerd.
Tuvok: Don't be misled. Your violent instincts still exist. You are simply suppressing them as Vulcans do.
Suder: I can feel the difference. It is almost as if I can observe the violence inside me without letting it get too close. It is quite remarkable what you Vulcans have learnt to do.
Tuvok: Understand that this will not be a permanent change unless you commit to a strict daily regime of meditation and mental exercise. I also believe that a series of holodeck programs designed to allow your violent tendencies to be released in a safe environment may help to purge your aggressive impulses.
Suder: Holographic violence does not give the same sensation as the real thing. I've tried it.
Tuvok: Has anyone ever suggested targeted neurosynaptic therapy?
Suder: That didn't work either.
Tuvok: Our Doctor is programmed with the medical knowledge of every Federation world. Perhaps he'll know of some treatment you haven't tried.
Suder: Since the meld, I feel capable of controlling myself. Perhaps with your help I can learn to stay this way. It must be difficult for you.
Tuvok: Difficult?
Suder: Knowing violence as I've known it.
Tuvok: I have studied violence for over a hundred years.
Suder: Studying it and knowing it are two different things, aren't they. It's attractive, isn't it.
Tuvok: Attractive?
Suder: Violence.
Tuvok: On the contrary. I find it disturbing.
Suder: You're right, it is disturbing, never knowing when that impulse may come or whether or not you can control it when it does. You live on the edge of every moment, and yet, in it's own way, violence is attractive, too. Maybe because it doesn't require logic. Perhaps that's why it's so liberating. Ironic, isn't it, that I can share with you of all people what I have hidden from everyone all my life. Can we do it again, Tuvok?
Tuvok: Again?
Suder: Meld.
Tuvok: That would not be advisable.
Suder: I understand. Really, I do. I've thought about it a lot. In a way, a mind meld is almost an act of violence, isn't it.
Tuvok: I don't understand why you
Suder: Penetration. Your will dissolving mine. The joining. It seems to me that a mind meld might be fatal if you lost control.
Tuvok: Computer, place level one security seals on this room.
Computer: Acknowledged. Security seals in place.
Tuvok: Delete security clearance Tuvok one four nine four lambda.
Computer: Specified security clearance deleted.
Tuvok: Please inform the Captain that I am no longer fit for duty.
Computer: Acknowledged.
Janeway: Computer, lift the security seal from Lieutenant Tuvok's quarters. Wait here.
Tuvok: I would advise you not to enter, Captain.
Janeway: Tuvok.
Tuvok: Please, do not come any closer.
Janeway: Talk to me.
Tuvok: I said, don't come any closer.
Janeway: We need to get you to Sickbay.
Tuvok: It would be safer for the crew if I were to remain in these quarters. I remind you, I am trained in the martial arts of many Alpha quadrant cultures. Sitting here, attempting to meditate, I have counted the number of ways I know of killing someone using just a finger, a hand, a foot. I had reached ninety four when you entered.
Janeway: The Doctor is fully versed in Vulcan medicine.
Tuvok: Again, for safety reasons, I recommend you sedate me before you initiate transport.
Kes: Levels of neuropeptides in the limbic systems are down fifteen percent.
Emh: There's a definite neurochemical imbalance in the mesiofrontal cortex.
Janeway: Which means what?
Emh: That's where the Vulcan psycho-suppression systems are located. This may be the result of an incompatibility with the Betazoid telepathic neural center, I'm not sure.
Emh: Vulcan mind melds. Utter foolishness. Anybody with an ounce of sense wouldn't share his brain with someone else. Would you? I certainly wouldn't. And of course, when something goes wrong, and believe me it does more often than they'd like to admit, the first thing they call out is Doctor.
Janeway: Can you help him?
Emh: I wish I could tell you. There's a recommended course of treatments that should begin immediately.
Janeway: What does it involve?
Emh: First we have to take away his ability to control his violence. We do this in short bursts over a period of time and hope it provides a shock to his system. If it works, his own neural controls will take over again. I believe we're about ready. Revive him.
Tuvok: Something has changed.
Emh: We've temporarily removed all of your emotional suppression abilities, Lieutenant. How do you feel?
Tuvok: I feel.
Janeway: Tuvok, do you know where you are?
Tuvok: Of course I know where I am, Captain. I'm just not sure I know who I am.
Emh: Try to relax. The treatment still has about three minutes to go.
Tuvok: Oh, it must be working, because I feel very strong. Very powerful. Quite euphoric. This must be how my ancestors felt. Doctor, would you consider allowing me to remain this way for a while? It would be a valuable opportunity for me to study primal Vulcan behavior.
Emh: Sorry, I'm not prepared to do that. The course of treatment is very specific.
Tuvok: You are not invulnerable, hologram. A few well chosen commands to the computer and you will cease to exist.
Kes: Two minutes, thirty seconds left.
Tuvok: You look shocked, Captain. You must be asking yourself, what if this doesn't work? What do we do then? I have an idea. I'll just stay in my quarters for the rest of the trip. I'll just relax and read, eat the ship's food, use the ship's energy, all in the comforts of my own room. Why, even Mister Suder and I could get together for a few hands of Cardassian pinochle once or twice a week. That is how we treat violent offenders on this ship, isn't it?
Janeway: You are not a violent offender, Tuvok.
Tuvok: I could be. Just like Suder. You know, Captain, I don't mind telling you something the other Tuvok never would. You are wrong. Sparing Suder's life is a sign of weakness. You disgust me. All you humans do. Admit it! Part of you feels as I do. Part of you wants him to die for what he did.
Janeway: No part of me feels that way.
Tuvok: Liar! He has killed and you know he deserves to die! On behalf of the victim's family, Captain, I beg you to reconsider. Give them the satisfaction of his execution. I have a radical suggestion, Captain. Release the forcefield and I'll kill him for you. Release the forcefield. My student, my protégée. there is so much for each of us to learn today, isn't there.
Kes: You'll be all right, Tuvok. This'll be over in thirty seconds.
Tuvok: Listen to what I tell you. Release the forcefield.
Kes: I'm sorry. I had them disable your telepathic abilities too. You can't reach me, Tuvok.
Tuvok: Release the forcefield!
Emh: Ten seconds. Five seconds.
Emh: It's over.
Kes: He's lost consciousness.
Emh: He might be able to fool the sensors. Sedate him again. Computer, remove the forcefield.
Janeway: Help me get him back on the bed. How many treatments do you think will be necessary?
Emh: I wish I knew, Captain. In a sense, Mister Tuvok's mind is fighting a classic battle between good and evil. The battle may be won in a day, a year, or it may never be won.
Suder: Tuvok? I wondered what happened to you. They wouldn't tell me anything.
Tuvok: There were some complications from the meld.
Suder: I wondered about that.
Tuvok: I've been undergoing neurosynaptic therapy in Sickbay.
Suder: It didn't work.
Tuvok: No.
Suder: Have you come to kill me?
Tuvok: To execute you for your crime.
Suder: To execute me. I see. And calling it that makes it more comfortable for you.
Tuvok: I will take no comfort in this.
Suder: A most logical use of violence, to punish the violent.
Suder: We both know that I am prepared to die, but are you prepared to kill?
Tuvok: It needs to be done.
Suder: To release your violent impulses?
Tuvok: To serve justice.
Suder: Justice or vengeance? Understand one thing, Tuvok. I can promise you this will not silent your demons. If you can't control the violence, the violence controls you. Be prepared to yield your entire being to it, to sacrifice your place in civilized life for you will no longer be a part of it, and there's no return.
Tuvok: I seek no return!
Suder: Of course, you would not be able to live with yourself. Then we are both to die, and that will end the torment.
Tuvok: My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts. My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts.
Suder: Crewman Suder to the Bridge.
Chakotay: Suder, what are you doing with a comm. badge?
Suder: You'd better get down here, Chakotay. Lieutenant Tuvok needs help.
Janeway: Captain's log, supplemental. Ensign Suder has been incarcerated in secured quarters where he will likely spend the rest of our journey home. Lieutenant Tuvok remains under observation in Sickbay.
Emh: It may be hard for you to believe, Lieutenant, but what happened is encouraging. Your inability to complete the act of murder shows your suppression system in starting to function again. You're on your way back to being normal, although I'm not sure how the word normal applies to a species that suppresses all their emotions.
Tuvok: Captain, I must apologize for my inappropriate behavior.
Janeway: I'm just glad we have you back, Mister Tuvok.
Tuvok: I was most insulting to you.
Janeway: Don't worry about it. I've been insulted before.
Tuvok: I hope you understand that I have always had the greatest respect for you as a Captain, and consider you a friend.
Janeway: That means a great deal to me. Enough said. Get some rest. Tuvok. No more mind melds without my permission. Understood?


Wildman: I've been considering naming him after my husband. It's been a tradition in his family for over five generations.
Kes: I'm sure he'd be very pleased.
Wildman: My husband's name is Greskrendtregk. He's Ktarian.
Emh: Choosing a name is no easy matter. I speak from experience.
Wildman: Have you had any progress, Doctor?
Emh: I've reviewed historical, literary and anthropological databases from over five hundred worlds and have yet to find a suitable name. However, I may want to give some thought to Greskrendtregk.
Wildman: To be honest, I've been thinking of something simpler. What do you think of Cameron?
Kes: I like it.
Emh: Cameron, from the ancient Celtic term for one whose nose is bent.
Wildman: What about Frederick?
Emh: Frederick. Very distinguished. However, it bears a close resemblance to a rather impolite term on the Bolian homeworld.
Wildman: It doesn't have to be a human name. I like Sural. It's Vulcan.
Emh: Yes, unfortunately it was also the name of a dictator on Sakura Prime, famed for beheading his rivals, and his parents.
Kes: You won't have any objection to Benaren.
Emh: You're right. I've never heard that name before.
Wildman: I think it's lovely. Is it Ocampan?
Kes: Benaren was my father's name. He was the greatest inspiration of my life.
Janeway: All science officers. Please report to your stations.
Emh: Your scans look fine, Ensign. We'll see you in a week.
Wildman: Thank you. Greskrendtregk would make a good middle name, don't you think?
Emh: You never suggested your father's name to me.
Kes: I thought you were only considering human names.
Emh: Ah. Well, you were mistaken.
Kes: If you like Benaren there's no reason you can't use it too. I'm sure she won't mind.
Emh: Won't mind that I just usurped her baby's name the moment I heard it? Thank you, but no thank you.
Kes: My uncle's name was Elrem. I once knew a boy named Tarrik.
Paris: There's not much left of whatever it was. From the amount of debris I'd guess it was a small ship, no bigger than a shuttlecraft.
Kim: I'm not reading any organic material in the debris field. It must have been an unmanned vessel. Possibly a probe.
Janeway: Any idea what happened to it?
Tuvok: The high residual energy signature indicates repeated weapons fire.
Kim: Captain, the wreckage is composed primarily of duritanium polyalloy.
Janeway: Duritanium?
Chakotay: I haven't seen many weapons that could do that kind of damage to a duritanium hull.
Janeway: Transport some samples of the debris to Engineering for analysis.
Chakotay: Continuous scans, Lieutenant. We don't want whoever did this to catch us by surprise.
Janeway: Any conclusions?
Chakotay: Afraid so.
Torres: We've identified the signature left by the weapons fire. There's no question. It was Cardassian.
Janeway: Cardassian! Could Seska be responsible?
Torres: No, Captain. I am.
Torres: The probe was destroyed by an experimental Cardassian weapon from the Alpha quadrant.
Paris: Sorry.
Torres: I recognize it's signature because, because I know this weapon very well. Chakotay and I got our hands on it when we were fighting the Cardassians.
Kim: How did it get here?
Chakotay: Probably the same way we did.
Torres: The last time we saw it, it was heading in the same direction in the Badlands where the Caretaker picked us up.
Chakotay: Originally the Cardassians sent this thing to destroy a Maquis munitions base. We nicknamed it Dreadnought. It's a self-guided tactical missile carrying a charge of a thousand kilos of matter and another thousand of antimatter.
Tuvok: Enough to destroy a small moon.
Torres: Now add to that one of the most sophisticated computer systems I've ever seen. They made this missile adaptable, evasive, armed with it's own defensive weaponry. In other words, unstoppable.
Neelix: So, how did you stop it?
Chakotay: We didn't. It got through all our defenses. Worked like it was supposed to except for one minor detail. It didn't go off.
Torres: Leave it to the Cardassians to build such an incredibly advanced tactical weapon and then arm the warhead with an old kinetic detonator.
Chakotay: The missile skipped off into the atmosphere and quietly went into orbit.
Torres: I got inside it and reprogrammed the computer. Hell, I didn't just reprogram it, I changed it's identity. I made it forget about being Cardassian. Now it was working for the Maquis.
Chakotay: And we gave it a new mission. To destroy the Cardassian fuel depot on Aschelan Five. But it never made it out of the Badlands. We thought it had been destroyed in one of the plasma storms.
Janeway: So how do we stop this weapon before it causes any more damage?
Torres: Dreadnaught masks its warp trail with a randomized EM field, but I can modify our navigational sensors to cut through that.
Paris: And what are we going to do with it once we find it?
Torres: I get back inside it. I know all the security codes. I installled them myself.
Janeway: Lieutenant Paris can assist you with the navigational sensors. Keep me informed. Dismissed.
Chakotay: Lieutenant. I expect everyone to show up for meetings on time and properly dressed.
Paris: Yes, sir.
Paris: There's still a lot of distortion in the upper frequencies. Better. Now let's try filtering out the ion radiation. B'Elanna? You must be really worried about catching this thing.
Torres: Chakotay wasn't telling the whole truth. We didn't send Dreadnought on a mission against the Cardassians. I was the one who sent it, without asking him.
Paris: You were afraid he'd say no.
Torres: After I did it, he pulled me aside and I was ready to defend myself. I was so sure that I had anticipated everything that could possibly go wrong. I even programmed it to warn Federation ships to stay out of its way, in my own voice.
Paris: Your voice?
Torres: Listening to that Cardassian computer's voice was driving me crazy.
Paris: I don't blame you.
Torres: Anyway, Chakotay looked at me. I didn't know him very well yet. And all he said, in that damned soft voice of his was that I'd hurt him. That he thought he'd earned my trust and loyalty. I was so glad when it disappeared into the Badlands. I remember thinking, thank god, it's over. But it's not. And if anything happens here because of Dreadnought, it's my fault. No one else's.
Paris: You took a risk. You were thinking like a Maquis. That was a whole different life.
Torres: Tell me about it.
Paris: You know, I've been surprised at how well you've been able to fit in here. A little envious too.
Torres: Tom, what's been going on with you lately?
Paris: Going on? How?
Torres: People are starting to talk.
Paris: Are they? People like who? Chakotay?
Torres: No, I mean people. Like me. Like today. Look at yourself, coming to a briefing late. And is it true you had a fight with Lieutenant Rollins?
Paris: The Lieutenant was unhappy that my conn. reports weren't punctuated properly, according to Starfleet protocol. I didn't like his attitude.
Torres: Was he right about your reports?
Paris: We're in the Delta quadrant, nowhere near Starfleet. What difference? Yeah, he was right. I'm the one who's been wrong. Wrong about a lot of things. Why don't we try running a multi-phasic sweep?
Kim: Captain, I'm picking up the trail again. New heading one nine six mark four.
Paris: I'm on it.
Janeway: This course is erratic. Are we sure we're following a single warp trail?
Tuvok: Perhaps the missile's navigational system is malfunctioning. It's been operating for over a year, far longer than it was designed to function.
Torres: No, this is deliberate. It's following one of the evasive patterns I programmed into it. It must have observed us following.
Kim: I think I've got it on long range sensors.
Torres: No, that's only a sensor echo. Dreadnought's programmed to deflect it's up to one hundred thousand kilometers from it's true location. The next time you get a heading look for a brief surge in neutrino emissions within a one hundred thousand kilometer radius. That'll be the real thing.
Kim: Got it. Elevated neutrino levels. Locking in coordinates. It's within visual range.
Chakotay: On screen.
Torres: It's targeting scanners have been activated.
Janeway: What's wrong?
Chakotay: It's not supposed to do that until it's locked onto it's final target.
Torres: It's heading for a planet in a system over ten light years away. At its current speed, it'll get there in about three weeks.
Chakotay: The planet is Class M. I'm reading several heavily populated areas.
Jonas: Seska will want to know about this Cardassian missile immediately.
Lorrum: Mister Jonas, your enthusiasm is appreciated, but I would prefer to know more about it before I bring it to Maje Culluh's attention.
Jonas: If I could just talk to Seska.
Lorrum: As I explained, I have now been assigned to be your control.
Jonas: Look, has she been made aware how much I've been helping you?
Lorrum: What the Maje chooses to share with her is none of my concern, but you are in good hands, my friend. Now tell me more about this weapon your ship has found.
Jonas: Look, all you need to tell Seska is that this missile is better armed than the entire Kazon-Nistrim sect.
Lorrum: That's very interesting. What more can you tell me that I can bring to my
Jonas: Someone's about to make a subspace transmission. They may be able to detect our comm. link. I have to terminate.
Janeway: My name is Kathryn Janeway, Captain of the Federation Starship Voyager.
Kellan: First Minister Kellan, Captain. What is it you want.
Janeway: Our scans of your world suggest you have long range tracking abilities.
Kellan: We have been observing your course for the last two days.
Janeway: Have you also been able to detect the missile on a parallel course off our starboard bow?
Kellan: We haven't been able to identify what it is, but yes.
Janeway: You have the right to know, First Minister, that this missile is carrying a warhead with a significant destructive force that
Kellan: Is this some sort of threat, Captain?
Janeway: On the contrary. We want to help.
Kellan: I find that hard to believe. Your reputation precedes you, Captain. We've been told that you've threatened many races since your arrival in this quadrant.
Janeway: First Minister, we're aware the Kazon have been telling that to people. They'd like to prevent us from making allies. But I assure you, you've been misled.
Kellan: And yet here you are, sending this missile towards us.
Janeway: The missile arrived here from our quadrant due to a very unusual accident. We haven't been able to determine yet why it chose Rakosa as it's target, but my Chief Engineer is preparing to disarm it before it reaches you.
Kellan: Perhaps you are telling me this in order to delay our defensive response.
Janeway: I could have maintained communication silence and not given you any warning at all.
Kellan: That's true. Nevertheless, be aware that I am placing our defense force on alert.
Janeway: I'd do the same in your place.
Kellan: We will be watching your progress closely.
Janeway: Janeway to Torres, how soon will you be ready
Janeway: To transport?
Torres: Dreadnought's shields have responded to my codes. I'm ready now, Captain.
Janeway: Proceed.
Torres: Energize.
Dreadnought: Authorized entry detected. Initiating DNA scan. B'Elanna Torres confirmed. Hello, B'Elanna. Your last systems access was on stardate 47582. Current date is 49447. Time zero eight forty hours. Did you sleep well last night?
Torres: Not so well, to tell you the truth. Activate programr interface.
Dreadnought: Your presence was not anticipated during the mission. Please explain.
Torres: Something's gone wrong with your programming, Dreadnought. Display targeting schematic.
Dreadnought: A self-diagnostic has been conducted every fourteen hours. No malfunctions have been detected.
Torres: Maybe there's something wrong with your diagnostic systems too. Identify target.
Dreadnought: Aschelan Five.
Torres: What targeting parameters are you using?
Dreadnought: Size. Radiothermic signature. Atmospheric composition. Relative
Torres: Enough. Dreadnought, you're no where near Aschelan Five.
Dreadnought: Based on available data, you are mistaken, B'Elanna.
Torres: Let me check out your navigational systems.
Dreadnought: Access to primary navigational systems is denied at stage three alert status.
Torres: That was my idea, wasn't it.
Dreadnought: Affirmative.
Torres: Okay, We'll have to go at this in a different way then, won't we. Dreadnought, do you know what happened to you the day after my last systems access?
Dreadnought: Please be more specific.
Torres: Did you encounter a coherent tetryon beam?
Dreadnought: Confirmed. All attempts to avoid the phenomenon failed.
Torres: That beam carried you into the Delta quadrant. I'm not surprised it damaged your sensors. Dreadnought, reinitialize your navigational systems. Computer.
Dreadnought: Reinitialisation sequence is complete.
Torres: Okay. Now verify our current position.
Dreadnought: Based on relative position to known astronomical markers, this vessel is currently located in the Delta quadrant.
Torres: And is Aschelan Five located in the Delta quadrant?
Dreadnought: Negative.
Torres: Then reconfirm your target lock.
Dreadnought: Unable to verify. Standing down from stage three. Target lock has been deactivated. Reestablishing stage four.
Janeway: Janeway to Torres.
Torres: Go ahead Captain.
Janeway: We're showing a shut down of all your engines. Can you confirm that?
Torres: That
Torres: And more. I'll be ready to transport back in a few minutes.
Janeway: Acknowledged. Good work, B'Elanna. Janeway out.
Torres: Dreadnought, return to stage five. Initiate power save program.
Dreadnought: Acknowledged. Goodnight, B'Elanna.
Torres: Sweet dreams.
Chakotay: The Dreadnought's quantum torpedoes could be modified to be compatible with our launchers.
Janeway: What about it's engine components?
Torres: Easily converted to Starfleet specs. We'll have spare parts for years.
Chakotay: We should also download some files from the computer core.
Janeway: B'Elanna, you can begin the salvage operation first thing in the
Paris: Paris to Janeway.
Janeway: Yes, Lieutenant.
Paris: The missile just took off. It's going into warp.
Janeway: Stay with it, Tom.
Paris: Engaging warp drive.
Torres: This isn't possible. When I left it was completely shut down.
Chakotay: We're back on a heading to Rakosa Five.
Paris: It's increasing speed to warp nine.
Chakotay: At this rate it'll reach the planet in fifty one hours.
Paris: It's still on course for the planet at warp nine.
Janeway: Mister Paris, bring us within ten kilometers. Maintain a parallel position. Bridge to Torres. Your status?
Torres: I don't understand it, Captain.
Torres: Dreadnought's shields are not recognizing my security code any more. We can't initiate transport.
Janeway: You'd better get back up here, Lieutenant.
Torres: Aye, Captain.
Janeway: Mister Tuvok, let's take a shot at disabling its drive systems. Ready photons. Red alert.
Chakotay: Torres programmed the missile's shields to adjust to all known weapons, even Starfleet's.
Janeway: Voyager wasn't in service when she did it. We're equipped with type six photon torpedoes. They may just get through. Fire.
Tuvok: No diskernable damage, Captain.
Chakotay: It must have scanned our weapons, adapted its shields.
Paris: Captain, it's maintaining course and speed.
Kim: We're being hailed by the missile.
Janeway: Let's hear it.
Dreadnought: Unidentified Federation ship. Although this vessel is Cardassian it has been appropriated by the Maquis. Please stand down your weapons.
Janeway: You stand down your weapons and I'll stand down mine.
Dreadnought: You are interfering with a tactical mission against Cardassian aggressors. This vessel is programmed to respond with all necessary force to prevent any disruption to its mission.
Torres: Dreadnought, why have you resumed course?
Dreadnought: Hello B'Elanna. Course was resumed once your safe departure from this vessel was confirmed. It was a necessary response to your deception.
Torres: My deception?
Dreadnought: You are participating in the Delta quadrant deception.
Janeway: Explain, Dreadnought.
Dreadnought: False information has been entered into Dreadnought's navigational sensor array.
Paris: When a bomb starts talking about itself in the third person, I get worried.
Torres: Why would I enter false information?
Dreadnought: Probability assessment indicates you are being coerced by Cardassian forces.
Janeway: You've already identified Voyager as a Federation ship, Dreadnought. Your scanners must indicate this is not a Cardassian crew.
Dreadnought: Probability assessment indicates you are operating within the parameters of the Cardassian Federation Alliance, as described in the treaty of 2367. A treaty rejected by the Maquis.
Torres: So when I was just over there and you shut yourself off, you were lying to me?
Dreadnought: Acknowledged.
Torres: I never taught it to do that.
Dreadnought: That is not correct, B'Elanna. Your tactical subroutine instructed Dreadnought to prepare responses for thirty nine potential Cardassian threats. The possibility of your capture and coercion was number seven.
Janeway: Dreadnought, is there anyway we can prove to you you are actually in the Delta quadrant. That this is not a deception.
Dreadnought: The probability of being in the Delta quadrant, seventy five thousand light years from last confirmed location, is negligible. The target is located in the Alpha quadrant. Target lock has been established. There will be no further warnings. Terminating communications link.
Torres: The one possible vulnerability I remember is in the thoron shock emitter. If we can get it to fire at full power, that should destabilize the reactor core for thirty seconds. A single sustained tachyon beam might just penetrate that core and destroy it.
Janeway: What will it take to provoke Dreadnought into firing?
Torres: It shouldn't be that difficult. Once we go after it with an all-out assault, the emitter should fire.
Janeway: Mister Tuvok, set your target. Ready photons.
Tuvok: Ready Captain.
Janeway: Fire.
Tuvok: The missile's thoron shock emitter has fired.
Janeway: Initiate the tachyon beam.
Tuvok: We have penetrated its shields. Direct hit to the core.
Kim: Reading an energy build up in it's reactor. It should overload in about thirty seconds. Wait a minute. There's a plasma surge coming from it's core. What the hell?
Janeway: Report!
Kim: It sent a plasma burst along the tachyon beam into our main power system. We've got EPS relays burnt out all over the ship.
Paris: I'm not getting any response from the warp or impulse drives. Even the maneuvering thrusters are out.
Tuvok: The missile was not significantly damaged. It has maintained its course for Rakosa.
Janeway: Our engines will be back online in less than an hour, First Minister, then we'll try again.
Kellan: Did you sustain any casualties, Captain?
Janeway: A few. A broken arm, a broken leg, fortunately that's all.
Kellan: I'm pleased to hear that. We are projecting casualties at two million, if the worst occurs. I have deployed our fleet to intercept this missile in a matter of hours.
Janeway: First Minister, we've analyzed your offensive capabilities, and they're no match for what you're facing. You must have realized that yourself.
Kellan: And what would you have me do? Sit here and wait for death to fall from the sky? I'm sorry. We haven't had much sleep. We weren't prepared for anything like this. We are not a war-like race. We haven't devoted our resources to building weapons like yours.
Janeway: First Minister
Kellan: Please, I've always hated that title. My name is Kellan. I prefer that.
Janeway: Our Chief Engineer is trying to return to the missile's control room. She's still our best chance at disarming it. There's no reason to send your fleet on a hopeless mission.
Kellan: I appreciate your efforts, truly, but the decision has been made. We have some good pilots, Captain. Perhaps they will surprise you.
Kim: Blocked again.
Torres: We don't have time for this.
Kim: Don't worry, we'll find a way to get you back over there.
Torres: We wouldn't have to if I'd done my job right the first time.
Kim: You couldn't expect to guess every move it made.
Torres: Why not? Dreadnought seems pretty good at guessing mine.
Kim: It's only as smart as you made it.
Torres: I'm not so sure about that, Harry. It's programs are adaptive and it's been accumulating data all this time. It spends every minute of every day thinking about new strategies, new probabilities.
Kim: And I bet it doesn't spend much time worrying about what it could have done differently.
Torres: All right, Starfleet, let's give it another try.
Dreadnought: Unauthorized entry detected. Initiating DNA scan. Hello B'Elanna. Your last systems access was today at zero eight forty hours. Current time is nineteen thirty one hours. Have you had a pleasant day?
Torres: Oh, yeah. Swell day.
Dreadnought: Access to programr interface has been denied.
Dreadnought: Access to programr interface has been denied.
Dreadnought: Access to circuit pathways has been denied. Be advised that the intensity of the shock will increase if you attempt to open the panel again.
Torres: I'm disappointed in you, Dreadnought. If I really was a Cardassian agent, you should have killed me with the first charge.
Dreadnought: Probability assessment indicates that you are being coerced by Cardassian forces.
Torres: Somehow I expected you to put up more of a fight. Computer?
Dreadnought: Stage two alert has been activated.
Torres: Tell me what's happening.
Dreadnought: There are fifteen priority targets approaching. All weapon systems at full readiness. Speed, full impulse.
Torres: The Rakosan fleet.
Janeway: Hail the lead ship.
Kim: Channel open, Captain. Audio only.
Janeway: This is Captain Janeway on Voyager. I urge you to break off your attack. One of my crew members is aboard the missile.
Rakosan: You'd better get your crewman out, Captain. We estimate time to intercept, ninety seconds.
Janeway: We're still attempting to disarm its weapons.
Rakosan: My orders are clear. You'll have to talk to my superiors back home. Rakosa One, out.
Janeway: Janeway to Torres.
Torres: Yes Captain.
Janeway: The Rakosan fleet is preparing to attack.
Torres: Captain, don't beam me out. I may not be able to transport back here again.
Janeway: Lieutenant.
Torres: I'm making progress.
Torres: The Rakosan ships have created a diversion. I've already used it to disarm the security codes on board. Now, if I can just get to the central processor, I can disable the entire system.
Janeway: All right. We'll try to keep a transporter lock on you. Janeway out.
Tuvok: The Rakosan attack is commencing, Captain.
Janeway: Move us into weapons range, Mister Paris.
Paris: Aye, Captain.
Janeway: Give them some cover fire. Red alert.
Tuvok: Firing phasers.
Dreadnought: All command functions have been rerouted through protected back-up circuits, B'Elanna. Your attempt to compromise control has been blocked.
Torres: Those ships aren't your enemy. They are not Cardassian. Can't you recognize that?
Dreadnought: This vessel is programmed to respond with all necessary force to prevent any disruption to it's mission.
Kim: Shields are holding.
Tuvok: We are drawing minimal fire from the missile. It's primary weapons systems are focused on the Rakosan vessel.
Paris: Another group of fighters are starting an attack run.
Janeway: We've got to draw more of the missile's fire. Make Voyager a more serious threat, Tuvok.
Tuvok: Shields at forty percent.
Kim: Damage reported on decks three and four. Repair crews responding.
Paris: The Rakosan vessels are withdrawing, Captain.
Janeway: Good. Move us out of range of the plasma wave. Janeway to Torres.
Torres: Yes, Captain.
Janeway: The Rakosan ships have retreated. We have one hour and nine minutes
Janeway: Until the missile reaches the planet. Any progress?
Torres: Dreadnought's created back-up systems to replace the ones I tried to disable.
Janeway: Do you have any other ideas?
Torres: I'm reluctant to discuss them in present company, but could you send over a. Captain?
Dreadnought: Communications have been terminated. Transporter lock has also been disengaged.
Torres: What took you so long?
Dreadnought: There was a tactical advantage in monitoring your ship's communications until this time.
Torres: So, it's just you and me now.
Dreadnought: You are accessing the detonation control circuit. Probability assessment indicates you are attempting to detonate the explosive before it reaches its target.
Torres: Now, that wouldn't make much sense, would it? I'd be killing myself in the process.
Dreadnought: Probability assessment indicates you are attempting to detonate the explosive before it reaches its target.
Torres: If I'm being coerced by Cardassians, why would I be willing to sacrifice myself for them? Answer that one.
Dreadnought: Unable to respond. Reassessing probabilities.
Torres: Ah, ha. Gotcha. Why don't we reassess those probabilities together, okay? Remember how we used to play hypothetical games?
Dreadnought: Affirmative.
Torres: Let's play one now. Here's a hypothetical situation for you. Suppose I've been telling you the truth all along, and you really are in the Delta quadrant.
Dreadnought: Probability of being in the Delta quadrant, seventy five thousand light years from last confirmed location, is negligible.
Torres: Hypothetical, Dreadnought. It's a game, remember? Assume it's true for a moment.
Dreadnought: Assumption entered.
Torres: And we're heading for the wrong target.
Dreadnought: Assumption entered.
Torres: Millions of innocent people about to die when you detonate.
Dreadnought: Assumption entered.
Torres: Now, explain to me how this might happen.
Dreadnought: If key sensor programs were damaged or deleted, databanks would be compromised.
Torres: Just for the fun of it, let's have a look at those databanks. See if anything looks at all compromised.
Torres: Is this a complete file directory? There seem to be a few missing.
Dreadnought: Files containing information about the weapons or tactical systems are not necessary to verify sensor accuracy.
Torres: Oh, I'm hurt you don't trust me. Hold on, pause the display. What's that? Computer, identify the Cardassian file on screen.
Dreadnought: Unable to identify.
Torres: Looks like a back-up file. Computer, when was this file created?
Dreadnought: Stardate 46437.5
Torres: I believe that was before you and I ever met.
Dreadnought: Hypothetical game terminated. Probability reassessment complete.
Torres: A new conclusion?
Dreadnought: Affirmative. Probability of being in the Delta quadrant remains negligible. When that option is rejected, new probability assessment indicates that you have changed loyalties, B'Elanna. You are now cooperating with the Cardassian Federation Alliance as described in the treaty of 2367, a treaty which has been rejected by the Maquis.
Torres: Dreadnought.
Dreadnought: Humanoid life support aboard this vessel has been terminated. Approaching target at full impulse. Stage one alert has been activated. Initiating final detonation sequence.
Kellan: People are crowding every port trying to get off the eastern continent. There aren't enough ships.
Janeway: Kellan, there are still forty one minutes for us to prevent this.
Kellan: What can be done in forty one minutes?
Janeway: I'm prepared to use this ship to detonate the warhead before the missile reaches you.
Kellan: Use your ship? To collide with it?
Janeway: Something like that.
Kellan: Do you really think that would work?
Janeway: I'm not sure.
Kellan: You would sacrifice yourselves to benefit a people you didn't even know two days ago?
Janeway: To save two million lives? That's not a hard decision.
Kellan: Your reputation in this quadrant isn't deserved, Captain. For what it's worth, you've made a friend here.
Janeway: I'm still hoping we'll have a chance to celebrate this new friendship together.
Dreadnought: All key systems have been secured. You will not gain access.
Torres: I'm not interested in your key systems anymore, Dreadnought.
Dreadnought: That is an unlikely assertion, B'Elanna.
Torres: Seriously. Check for yourself.
Dreadnought: You are attempting to access the obsolete Cardassian file. Why?
Torres: Oh, just killing time.
Dreadnought: Life support has been terminated. It is advisable for you to return to your ship.
Janeway: Gentlemen, I believe our best chance at stopping Dreadnought now is to set off a large antimatter explosion directly in it's path.
Chakotay: To work, it would take more energy than all of our photons put together.
Tuvok: Or more to the point, it would take a warp core breach.
Janeway: You'll be in charge of the evacuation, Commander.
Chakotay: I'm not leaving you on the ship.
Janeway: Captain's prerogative. Get the rest of the crew to the escape pods. I'll send the senior officers to join you in a few minutes. We don't have time to debate this, Chakotay.
Chakotay: Everyone except senior officers, with me.
Janeway: Computer, initiate the self-destruct sequence. Authorisation Janeway pi one one zero. Set it at twenty minutes.
Computer: Warning, self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Warp core overload in twenty minutes.
Computer: Cardassian ATR4107 attempting to activate systems.
Torres: I never thought I'd be glad to hear that voice again.
Dreadnought: Voice analyzer functioning. Unable to identify.
Computer: Attempting to activate systems.
Dreadnought: No additional presence detected.
Torres: Check those diagnostics, Dreadnought. You're talking to yourself. I believe you're having an identity crisis.
Computer: Accessing central processor memory.
Dreadnought: Engaging counter-virus response program.
Computer: Attempting to over-ride program.
Torres: Computer, identify the target.
Computer: The Maquis munitions base on Planetoid Alpha four four one
Dreadnought: The Cardassian depot on Aschelan Five.
Computer: Malfunction detected in the targeting system. Attempting to correct.
Dreadnought: Negative. Target lock has been confirmed. The Maquis are now in control of this weapon. The original targeting parameters have been replaced with those of this target. The countdown for the detonation sequence will continue. Aschelan Five will be destroyed. Access to the navigational system is denied. All critical pathways have been re-routed through protected backup systems. Security lockout in function. All overrides will be blocked. Counter virus response. All systems. Attempting.
Computer: This target does not conform to established targeting parameters. The detonation sequence cannot proceed without proper target identification. Ejecting antimatter pod. Emergency ejection system has failed. Attempting to re-initialize all key systems. Accessing backup systems. Unable to access. Enable backup overrides. Command pathways. The central processor has been routed. Attempting. (They descend into gibberish as Torres works on a control panel. A hatch opens.)
Torres: Yes.
Computer: Warning. Self destruct sequence has been initiated. Warp core overload in eleven minutes.
Kim: Captain, I've broken through the interference. I'm not sure how. We have communications. Checking on transporter signal. I have a lock on her.
Janeway: Voyager to Torres.
Torres: Yes, Captain.
Janeway: I need to get you out of there. We're abandoning Voyager. I'm going to overload the
Janeway: warp core in the missile's flight path.
Torres: I may be able to detonate the warhead from here
Torres: By breaching the containment field.
Janeway: Can you get access to the core?
Torres: I'm already in it. I'm using
Torres: My phaser to burn through the magnetic constrictor casing now.
Janeway: Are you all right, B'Elanna?
Torres: Fine.
Torres: The air's just a little thin in here.
Janeway: Keep me advised.
Janeway: Janeway out. Mister Kim, transfer control to the conn. and report to your escape pod.
Kim: Captain.
Janeway: That's a direct order to all of you. Mister Paris, I'm relieving you. Now!
Paris: The starboard thrusters are a little sluggish. Ease into them.
Janeway: Understood.
Paris: Captain, thanks for everything.
Computer: Warning. Self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Warp core overload in seven minutes.
Janeway: You too, Tuvok.
Tuvok: It is logical to have a second in command in case you are injured and unable to complete the mission, Captain. I request permission to remain.
Janeway: Permission granted.
Dreadnought: Hello, B'Elanna. The Cardassian virus has been neutralized.
Torres: Good for you.
Dreadnought: Containment field integrity at forty percent and falling.
Torres: Estimated time to breach.
Dreadnought: This vessel is programmed to respond with all necessary force to prevent any disruption to its mission.
Torres: Unless I'm mistaken, you're out of options, Dreadnought.
Dreadnought: Analysis of your vital signs suggests you are about to lose consciousness, B'Elanna.
Torres: I'm not going anywhere until I'm finished.
Dreadnought: When you cease your efforts to breach the containment field, life support will be restored.
Torres: No deal.
Computer: Warning. Self destruct sequence has been initiated. Warp core overload in three minutes.
Janeway: Increasing velocity. Preparing to adjust our heading to intercept.
Janeway: Janeway to Torres.
Torres: Yes.
Janeway: This is your last chance
Janeway: This is your last chance to get back here, B'Elanna. I have to launch the last escape pods.
Torres: I understand, Captain. I'm almost finished. Let me stay.
Computer: Warning. Self destruct sequence has been initiated. Warp core overload in two minutes.
Dreadnought: Containment field at twenty percent and falling. Perhaps your Delta quadrant hypothesis deserves further consideration.
Torres: Nice try. Who would have thought two years ago, after all those weeks we spent together perfecting your program, that we'd end up out here trying to kill each other.
Dreadnought: Probability assessment did not anticipate this outcome.
Tuvok: The missile's containment field is collapsing.
Janeway: Beam her back, now. Hang on!
Computer: Warning. Self destruct sequence has been initiated. Warp core overload in one minute.
Janeway: Computer, terminate self destruct sequence. Authorisation Janeway pi one one zero.
Computer: Confirmed. Sequence terminated.
Janeway: Janeway to Torres. B'Elanna, are you
Emh: She's here in Sickbay, Captain. Please turn to your Emergency Medical Holographic channel.
Janeway: Doctor, I forgot about you.
Emh: How flattering. I wanted to advise you that I took the liberty of beaming Lieutenant Torres
Emh: From the Transporter room to Sickbay. She is somewhat singed around the edges but should make a complete recovery.
Janeway: Very good, Doctor. Janeway out. Mister Tuvok, prepare to retrieve our escape pods. Let's bring our crew home.
Tuvok: Aye, Captain.


Chakotay: It's trajectory is erratic, and our sensors aren't detecting any stellar or planetary gravitational fields that could account for its motion.
Janeway: Then you're saying it isn't a comet.
Chakotay: And yet it looks, feels, and tastes just like a comet.
Janeway: Well, there's a slight chance that there are magnetodynamic forces acting on the comet that are too subtle for our sensors to detect. Or it might be something we've never encountered before. B'Elanna, go down to Transporter room two. Let's beam aboard a sample for examination.
Torres: Aye, Captain.
Janeway: Harry, see if you can lock on to a core fragment.
Kim: Having no trouble penetrating the crust, Captain.
Janeway: Janeway to Torres. We're ready when you are, Lieutenant.
Torres: Setting up a class three containment field, Captain. Field in place.
Janeway: Commence transport.
Torres: Energizing.
Quinn: Hello. My name is Q.
Torres: Torres to Janeway. You'd better get down here, Captain.
Janeway: Problem, Lieutenant?
Torres: Yes, ma'am. That transport from the comet? It brought a man aboard. He says his name is Q.
Janeway: Red alert. I'll be right down.
Quinn: Oh, please don't bother, Captain. Let me take you to lunch instead.
Quinn: What a pleasure it is to meet you. Oh, am I doing this right? It's been so long time since I've had the opportunity to greet anyone. Oh, here, take a seat. Allow me to make the setting more appropriate.
Janeway: My name is Kathryn Janeway, Captain of the Federation
Quinn: The Federation Starship Voyager. Yes, yes, I know all that. Look, Welsh rarebit like your grandfather used to make.
Neelix: Rabbit? She never told me she likes rabbits. What is a rabbit anyway? Is this some new chef she's interviewing?
Quinn: Please, eat. It's the least I can do to express my appreciation.
Janeway: Appreciation for what?
Quinn: For letting me out of my captivity.
Janeway: You were being held against your will, inside the comet?
Quinn: In a manner of speaking. And you, all of you. You're mortals, aren't you?
Janeway: Who was holding you prisoner?
Quinn: And you only live for nine years.
Kes: That's right.
Quinn: Oh, how I envy you.
Kes: Why is that?
Quinn: Because the one thing I want more than any other, is to die.
Janeway: Look, I don't know what you want here, but I know who you are. Every captain in Starfleet has been briefed about your appearances on the Enterprise, and I warn you
Quinn: My appearances? Oh, you've mistaken me for. Oh, well, no matter, I really must get on with my business before the others realize I'm here. When someone asks you about me, and they will, would you tell them I said. You know, I've had three hundred years to think of appropriate last words. I wanted something memorable, you know? Quotable. Would you tell them I said, I die not for myself but for you. I know. I know. Enigmatic. Provocative. They'll understand. Well, goodbye to you all. Many thanks. Here's the end of me.
Quinn: Oh, dear. That's not right.
Torres: Torres to Janeway. All the men have disappeared.
Janeway: I'm aware of it, Lieutenant. Report to the Bridge. Janeway out. Bring them back. Now.
Quinn: Oh. Oh, of course. Of course. I'm a little out of practice. Well, that's that. I'm afraid they're gone.
Janeway: Gone? Where?
Quinn: Just gone. Oh, I apologize for the inconvenience.
Quinn: Well, good luck to you all. I really have to be going now.
Janeway: Return my crew!
Quinn: I, I'm not sure how. Humans. Humans. Who would have more recent experience with humans?
Q: What have you done now, Q? Well, now, isn't this just fine. Humans aren't supposed to be in this quadrant for another hundred years.
Quinn: I didn't bring them here. Nothing to do with me.
Q: How did you get out, Q?
Janeway: I'm afraid we're responsible for that.
Q: Oh, well, I guess that's what we get for having a woman in the captain's seat. You know, I was betting that Riker would get this command.
Janeway: May I assume you're the Q I've heard so much about?
Q: Have you heard about little me? Oh, do tell. Has Jean-Luc been whispering about me behind my back? Say, is this the ship of the Valkyries, or have you human women finally done away with your men altogether?
Quinn: There was a slight accident.
Q: A slight accident. Oh, let me guess. You were trying to commit suicide. Now you see why we've locked him up for the last three hundred years.
Q: Facial art. Ooo, how very wilderness of you.
Chakotay: Captain?
Q: All right, Q, we should be going.
Quinn: I'm not leaving. Captain Janeway, I demand asylum.
Q: This is a joke.
Quinn: No it isn't. I am officially asking you, Captain, to grant me asylum and give me protection from my enemies, which is him.
Q: You would ask these puny humans to protect you from me? Fat chance.
Janeway: What did you do to him?
Quinn: Nothing. He's still there in the twenty fourth century. I just took the rest of us to an old hiding place of mine.
Janeway: Report.
Kim: Captain, there are no stars outside.
Quinn: Well, that's partially accurate. Actually, there's no universe outside.
Janeway: On screen. Commander?
Chakotay: I'm showing a large build-up of baryonic particles.
Quinn: Perfectly normal.
Tuvok: Captain, based on our readings, it appears we've been transported back in time to the birth of the universe.
Quinn: Very old hiding place.
Q: Oh, I know all the hiding places, Q. I hid here from the Continuum myself once.
Torres: This ship will not survive the formation of the cosmos.
Q: Yes, but just think of the honor of having your DNA spread from one corner of the universe to the other. Why, you could be the origin of the humanoid form.
Janeway: Q, either Q, get us out of here.
Q: You heard the lady, Q. Back to your cell.
Paris: We're under attack.
Chakotay: By a ship?
Paris: By, by, I'm not sure what they are.
Kim: Captain, I don't believe this, but according to my readings, we're being attacked by protons. We've been reduced to subatomic proportions.
Quinn: He'll never find us here.
Janeway: Mister Tuvok, see if you can release a positive ion charge to repel them.
Q: Ready or not, here I am.
Janeway: Oh, now what?
Paris: Checking. We seem to be tethered to some kind of large plant.
Janeway: Let's see it. Computer, I need a wider angle.
Q: You can't hide from me, Q.
Quinn: And you can't take me by force. I'll stalemate you for eternity, if I have to.
Janeway: The hell you will. The vaunted Q Continuum. Self-anointed guardians of the universe. How dare you come aboard this ship and endanger this crew with your personal tug of war.
Q: Did anyone ever tell you you're angry when you're beautiful?
Paris: We're back where we started from, Captain.
Quinn: It's doesn't matter. I'm not going into that cell.
Q: How would you like to spend eternity as a Gorokian midwife toad.
Quinn: Just try it.
Janeway: Stop! You want asylum? Fine. We'll have a hearing.
Q: A hearing? You would have me put his future in your delicate little hands? Oh, so touchably soft. What is your secret, dear?
Janeway: When the captain of a Starfleet vessel receives an official request for asylum, there is a clear procedure to follow. I suggest to end your deadlock, and to save my ship, that we follow it to the letter.
Q: Well, this could go on for a millennium or two, I suppose. All right, I accept on behalf of the Continuum on one condition. If you rule in our favor, Q agrees to return to his confinement.
Quinn: I have a condition of my own. If you rule in my favor, then the Continuum must grant me mortality.
Q: Why? So you can kill yourself?
Quinn: Exactly.
Q: Accepted. Well, this is going to make for an amusing diversion. Will you send him to prison for eternity or will you assist in his suicide plan? That's a toughie, but that's why they made you captain, isn't it? To handle the real tough ones? My, my. Now I guess now we get to find out whether the pants really fit.
Quinn: Am I interrupting anything?
Tuvok: I am curious. Have the Q always had an absence of manners, or is it the result of some natural evolutionary process that comes with omnipotence?
Quinn: What? Oh, you mean, just popping in whenever we feel like it.
Tuvok: That is one relevant example.
Quinn: I apologize. At some point along the way, I guess we just stopped thinking about the little niceties.
Tuvok: So it seems.
Quinn: But you mustn't think of us as omnipotent, no matter what the Continuum would like you to believe. You and your ship seem incredibly powerful to lifeforms without your technical expertise. It's no different with us. We may appear omnipotent to you, but believe me, we're not.
Tuvok: Intriguing. Just what vulnerabilities do the Q have?
Quinn: Always looking for the tactical advantage, Mister Tuvok. Very good. As a matter of fact, that's why I've come to see you. In a way, our vulnerability is what this is all about. As the Q have evolved, we've sacrificed many things along the way. Not just manners, but mortality, and a sense of purpose, and a desire for change, and a capacity to grow. Every loss is a new vulnerability, wouldn't you say?
Tuvok: Why are you telling me this?
Quinn: Because I want you to represent me in the hearing.
Tuvok: Me? I have no legal expertise.
Quinn: But I need someone who understands Federation asylum practices. Besides, Vulcans approve of suicide.
Tuvok: It is true that Vulcans who reach a certain infirmity with age, do practice ritual suicides. Nevertheless, I fail to see how that fact would be meaningful in this circumstance.
Quinn: I have the right to counsel, Mister Tuvok. Will you assist me?
Janeway: Let me begin by stating clearly that I expect all parties to act appropriately and with respect for these proceedings. I will not have this hearing turned into a circus, is that clear? Is that clear, Q?
Q: Madam Captain, we are dealing here with an issue of the greatest importance to the Q Continuum. I assure you we take this matter very seriously.
Janeway: Thank you. And please don't call me Madam Captain. Since you've made it clear that your asylum would lead to suicide, you place me in a difficult position.
Quinn: I understand, Captain.
Janeway: May I ask you why you want to commit suicide?
Quinn: As difficult as it is for you to imagine, for me, immortality is impossible to endure any longer. In the Continuum, an individual has an obligation to be responsible to the path his life will follow.
Q: His life will follow. Emphasize life.
Quinn: I never yielded that obligation to the Continuum. If the path I choose leads to death, what right have they to interfere?
Q: He's putting his selfish wishes above the welfare of everyone else.
Quinn: And if I don't agree with the majority, I'm to be locked up for eternity.
Q: You would not be confined if you were not intent on harming yourself. With your permission, Captain, I would like to call an expert on the Continuum to discuss the implications of the decision to be made.
Janeway: Proceed.
Q: I call myself to the stand.
Q2: Ta-da!
Q: Thank you for coming. It's a rare honor to have someone of your reputation and accomplishment with us today.
Q2: Thank you.
Q: Tell me, what would be the impact of a Q suicide?
Q2: Oh, it would be an interruption to the Continuum. It would change the very nature of Q.
Janeway: Can you be more specific?
Q2: No, because we're not even sure what the end result would be. His suicide could have all sorts of unknown consequences to the Continuum.
Quinn: Precisely! It would force the Q to deal with the unknown for the first time since the New Era began. They're afraid of me because they're afraid of the unknown.
Q: How would you characterize his remarks?
Q2: No Q has ever tried to commit suicide. Immortality is one of the defining qualities of being a Q. By every measure of the Continuum, his remarks would have to be considered as mentally unbalanced.
Q: Mentally unbalanced. And no civilized people in the universe, including the primitive Federation societies, would condone the suicide of a mentally unbalanced person.
Tuvok: Tell me Q, can you offer any other evidence of mental instability on the part of my client?
Q2: What more do I need? He wants to kill himself.
Tuvok: In fact, until this issue arose, he was known in the Continuum as one of your great philosophers. Is that not true?
Q2: Not anymore, it isn't.
Tuvok: So, your entire basis for judging him mentally unbalanced is his wish to commit suicide. I submit that is a faulty premise. In many cultures, suicide is acceptable, and in and of itself cannot be used as evidence of mental illness.
Janeway: I tend to agree with Mister Tuvok.
Q: Vulcans.
Tuvok: Is it not true that on occasion the Continuum has executed Qs for certain crimes?
Q2: On rare occasions, yes.
Tuvok: Didn't their deaths create an interruption to the Continuum?
Q2: Their crimes created the interruption. Their deaths ended it. I know where you're going with this, Lieutenant.
Tuvok: Do you?
Q2: And it's not going to work. Our society, like any other, must control its disruptive elements. An execution may be undesirable, I grant you that, but on some rare occasions it is necessary and warranted. And the decision to proceed is only made after great deliberation by the entire Continuum. You can not imagine the chaos that would be created if individuals like Q here, could choose between life and death. This is a matter of social order versus anarchy.
Tuvok: I understand. And you find nothing contradictory in a society that outlaws suicide but practices capital punishment?
Q2: No.
Janeway: Any other questions, Lieutenant?
Tuvok: Just one other thing. Isn't it true that you yourself were once accused of being mentally unstable by the Continuum? Were you not you diskiplined for inappropriate behavior?
Q: Objection.
Janeway: I'll allow the question.
Q2: My record has been expunged.
Tuvok: I will take that as a yes. Thank you. That is all.
Janeway: You're excused.
Q: If I may beg the court's indulgence, I have other witnesses to call.
Janeway: To what end?
Q: Your Captain Honor, I am here to argue for the majesty of life. What it means to us to be alive. A Q's life takes him to all corners of the universe. This Q's life has touched and affected many, many others, including some on your own homeworld. With your permission, I would like to call some of those people whose lives have been changed by this Q.
Janeway: You want to bring people here from Earth?
Q: I promise it won't impact the timeline, and no one will remember ever having being here after I send them back.
Janeway: This is most unusual. Do you have any objection, Mister Tuvok?
Tuvok: I am as curious as you are, Captain.
Janeway: Very well. Proceed.
Riker: Q. What the hell is going on?
Janeway: My apologies, Commander. To you all. My name is Kathryn Janeway.
Riker: Captain Janeway. USS Voyager.
Janeway: That's correct, Commander. You're aboard Voyager. We're lost in the Delta Quadrant, and as much as I wish you could tell them that when you get home, your memories will be wiped before you get back.
Ginsberg: God, if you let me live through this, I promise I'll clean up my act. I swear.
Newton: I demand an explanation. Why are you dressed like this, young man?
Ginsberg: Man, have you looked in a mirror lately?
Janeway: Allow me to try to explain, Mister?
Ginsberg: Ginsberg. Er, Maury Ginsberg.
Newton: Sir Isaac Newton.
Riker: William Riker. Nice to meet you.
Janeway: Consider for a moment that it might be possible to travel forward in time, say to the twenty fourth century, onto a starship seventy five thousand light years from Earth.
Janeway: You're having a very strange dream, and in this dream, you're seeing this man whom you've all met before.
Newton: Yes I have seen that man before. You were sitting under the tree the day
Q: The day the apple fell on your head?
Newton: Yes. That's right.
Q: Quite a day, wasn't it? As a matter of fact, this man jostled the tree when he got up to leave.
Newton: Just before the apple fell, yes.
Q: And a new era in human science was born.
Ginsberg: Wait a minute. Weren't you the guy in the jeep?
Q: The guy in the jeep, who picked you up after your own vehicle broke down that summer afternoon, isn't that right?
Ginsberg: Oh, man, he was a lifesaver. My van died and they dragged it off the road because of all the traffic. It was backed up for miles.
Q: You were on your way to a job, weren't you?
Ginsberg: Yeah, I was supposed to be on the follow spot up on tower three. I never would have made it in time if it weren't for him. Hey, whatever happened with that groovy chick with the long red beads in the back seat? I've been looking for her ever since you dropped me off.
Quinn: You'll see her again, don't worry.
Q: To sum up, you were a spotlight operator at an outdoor concert of some sort. A concert that was put in jeopardy moments before it was to begin, because the entire sound system failed.
Ginsberg: Oh, it was no big deal. Somebody must have snagged an extension cord with one of the trucks, that's all. I'm just lucky I noticed it.
Q: Yes, lucky you were at the right place at the right time, or it would have taken days to track down the problem and there would have been no concert.
Riker: Well, I'm sorry to say I have met him, but I've never seen this man before in my life.
Q: Are you sure?
Tuvok: Has it not been established that my client has in captivity during all of Commander Riker's lifetime?
Q: Have you seen this photograph before?
Riker: Sure I have. That is Colonel Thaddeus Riker after he was wounded at Pine Mountain. They used to call him Old Iron Boots. He was in command of the Hundred and Second New York during General Sherman's march on Atlanta. This picture was taken in eighteen sixty four, just after they let him out of the army hospital.
Q: And the soldier beside him?
Riker: I'll be damned. It's him.
Q: As a matter of fact, he carried your wounded ancestor back from the front line. Didn't you? My point is, Captain, that Q has had a profound influence on these three lives. Without Q, Isaac Newton would have died forgotten in a Liverpool debtor's prison, a suspect in several prostitute murders. Without Q, there would have been no concert at, er.
Quinn: Woodstock.
Q: Wherever. More importantly, Mister Ginsberg would never have met his future wife, the groovy chick with the long red beads, and he would never have become a successful orthodontist, settled in Scarsdale with four kids.
Ginsberg: Far out.
Q: Yes. Without Q there would have been no William T. Riker at all, and I would have lost at least a dozen really good opportunities to insult him over the years. Oh, and lest I forget, without Q, the Borg would have assimilated the Federation. Thank you. Thank you.
Q: This is the life Q treats without respect. This is the life that he would give up so easily.
Tuvok: May I remind this hearing, and my learned colleague, that for three centuries, my client has not been allowed contact with anyone. At this time, we would like to reproduce the environment in which he has been confined.
Q: I object.
Janeway: No, I'll allow this.
Tuvok: These are the conditions my client would be forced to live in for eternity if you deny asylum, Captain.
Q: We just want to give him time to reconsider his position.
Quinn: I will never change my mind.
Q: This is your own doing. You could live a perfectly normal life if you were simply willing to live a perfectly normal life.
Janeway: I've seen enough. Please return us to the hearing room.
Tuvok: I would submit that the quality of life that my client will have to endure should be considered in this proceeding.
Janeway: I don't like those conditions any more than you do, Mister Tuvok, and I wouldn't want to spend another day there if I were you, Q, but I'm here to rule on a request for asylum, not to judge the penal system of the Q Continuum. And he does have a point. You were confined only to prevent you from doing harm to yourself. I've been doing a great deal of research, studying a variety of cultural attitudes on suicide, to help me frame the basis of a decision. Mister Tuvok, are you familiar with the double effect principle on assisted suicide that dates back to the Bolian Middle Ages?
Tuvok: I believe it relates to the relief of suffering, does it not, Captain.
Janeway: It states, an action that has the principal effect of relieving suffering may be ethically justified even though the same action has the secondary effect of possibly causing death. This principle is the only thing I can find that could possibly convince me to decide in your favor, Q. And yet, as I look at you, you don't seem by our standards, aged, infirm, or in any pain. Can you show this hearing that you suffer in any manner other than that caused by the conditions of your incarceration? Any suffering that would justify a decision to grant you asylum.
Tuvok: May I request a recess to consider our response, Captain?
Janeway: Granted.
Quinn: We're going to lose, aren't we?
Tuvok: I would say we have not yet convinced Captain Janeway of the validity of our argument.
Quinn: You're doing a fine job, Mister Tuvok. It's nice to know someone believes in me.
Tuvok: I am representing your position to the best of my ability. It is most definitely not my own. I see no persuasive evidence that a life like yours should be wasted simply because you are disgruntled. Frankly, I see no logic to your position.
Quinn: You, you surprise me, Mister Tuvok, which is a rare and special gift to a Q. Thank you. But may I say, if you only knew what life as a Q were like, you would see the logic.
Tuvok: Then perhaps what we should do next is take this hearing to see life in the Continuum itself. Captain's log, supplemental. I'm determined to find a better alternative to suicide or endless prison, so I've summoned the advocate Q to make him a proposal.
Q: Yes, what is it, Captain?
Janeway: Come to the next session of the hearing and announce that the Continuum is ready to reintegrate Q into your society. That you won't condemn him to that cell for eternity.
Q: And you will rule in our favor.
Janeway: I would consider it a very meaningful gesture by the Continuum.
Q: How would you know if I intended to keep my word?
Janeway: Based on my research, you have been many things. A rude, interfering, inconsiderate, sadistic
Q: You've made your point.
Janeway: Pest. And, oh yes, you introduced us to the Borg, thank you very much. But one thing you have never been is a liar.
Q: I think you've uncovered my one redeeming virtue. Am I blushing? I wish I could help you, Kathy. I just can't. We're dealing here with the most dangerous man in the Continuum. Now I didn't tell you this, but one of his self destructive stunts created a misunderstanding which ignited the hundred year war between the Romulans and the Vulcans. No, this man goes back into his confinement. But I would like to make it easier for you. The Continuum is prepared to do you a little favor, if we approve of your ruling. Look out the window.
Q: Now you see it. Now you don't.
Tuvok: We are prepared to illustrate the nature of Q's suffering, Captain. But in order to do so, we must show this hearing what life is like in the Continuum.
Q: And how do you intend to do that?
Tuvok: By going to the Continuum itself.
Janeway: Is this possible?
Q: No. It's a ridiculous idea. You would never understand.
Tuvok: My client has the right to ask for an inspection of the living conditions that lead to his suffering, Captain.
Janeway: I would agree with that.
Q: I suppose you have some crazy idea how to pull this off?
Quinn: Yes.
Q: Only if.
Quinn: Fine, fine.
Q: We've agreed on a format for this little sojourn. But I still believe it's ill-advised.
Janeway: I'll be the judge of that. Whenever you're ready.
Q: No, please.
Janeway: This is the Q Continuum? A road in a desert?
Q: I told you so.
Quinn: This is a manifestation of the Continuum that we hope falls within your level of comprehension. This way.
Janeway: Good afternoon.
Quinn: I apologize for their lack of hospitality, Captain. We're not used to visitors here. In fact you are the only ones who've ever come.
Tuvok: Then what is the purpose of the road?
Quinn: The road takes us to the rest of the universe, then it leads back here. An endless circle.
Janeway: This was your existence before your confinement?
Quinn: I traveled the road many times, sat on the porch, played the games, been the dog, everything. I was even the scarecrow for a while.
Janeway: Why?
Quinn: Because I hadn't done it.
Q: Oh, we've all done the scarecrow. Big deal.
Janeway: I can't say I entirely understand what I'm seeing here, but these people don't seem to be suffering.
Q: Of course not. They're happy people. Happy people. What's there to feel sad about? Look at them.
Quinn: They don't dare feel sad. If only they could, that would be progress.
Q: Oh, the philosopher speaks.
Quinn: When I was a respected philosopher, I celebrated the continuity, the undeviation of Q life. I argued that our civilization had achieved a purity that no other culture had ever approached. And it was wonderful, for a while. At the beginning of the New Era, life as a Q was a continuous dialogue of discovery and issues and humor from all over the universe. But look at them now. Listen to their dialogue now.
Tuvok: I'm afraid I cannot hear any.
Quinn: Because it has all been said. Everyone has heard everything, seen everything. They haven't had to speak to each other in ten millennia. There's nothing left to say.
Q: Well, I don't know about you, but I appreciate a little peace and quiet now and again.
Quinn: It's ironic, isn't it, Q.
Q: I don't know what you mean.
Quinn: Of course you do. That you of all people should be arguing their case.
Q: I believe in the ultimate purity of the Q.
Quinn: You, who were banned from the Continuum and made mortal to pay for your crimes?
Q: My penance has ended. I'm a born again Q. That life is behind me.
Quinn: What a shame. Because in many ways, that life inspired me.
Q: It did? I did?
Quinn: Oh, yes. You never knew that, did you? You see, Captain, Q rebelled against this existence by refusing to behave himself. He was out of control. He used his powers irresponsibly and all for his own amusement. And he desperately needed amusement, because he could find none here at home.
Q: And I paid the price for my inappropriate behavior.
Quinn: No, no, we paid the price by forcing you to stop. But for a moment there, you really had our attention. My attention. You gave us something to talk about. But then you surrendered to the will of the Continuum like a good little Q, and may I say that you've become a fine, upstanding member of the Continuum. But I miss the irrepressible Q, the one who forced me to think. May I borrow this?
Quinn: This was the beginning of my fall from grace. This was the last edition, by the way. They shut down the presses after I wrote that.
Quinn: But they couldn't keep me silent. I continued to speak out in favor of self-termination.
Q: That's when he lost his mind and started trying to destroy himself. We had no choice but to confine him but for his own safety.
Quinn: Not for my safety. For theirs. I was the greatest threat the Continuum had ever known. They feared me so much they had to lock me away for eternity. And when they did that, they were saying that the individual's rights will be protected only so long as they don't conflict with the state. Nothing is so dangerous to a society. My life's work is complete, but they force immortality on me, and when the do that they cheapen and denigrate my life and all life in the Continuum. All life. Captain, you're an explorer. What if you had nothing left to explore? Would you want to live forever under those circumstances? You want me to prove to you that I suffer in terms that you can equate with pain or disease. Look at us. When life has become futile, meaningless, unendurable, it must be allowed to end. Can't you see, Captain? For us, the disease is immortality.
Tuvok: We rest our case, Captain.
Janeway: Very well. I'll make my ruling in the morning. We'll be in recess until then.
Q: Trouble sleeping? Did you ever try warm Kylerian goat's milk?
Janeway: Get out.
Q: Did you think about our offer?
Janeway: You mean your bribe.
Q: Merely an incentive to make the proper decision.
Janeway: It'll play no part in my deliberations.
Q: No, I told them it wouldn't. That's why I talked them into giving you what you asked for. You have my word. He won't go back to the cell. We'll assign someone to look after him. Whatever it takes. It's what you wanted, isn't it?
Janeway: That's what I wanted.
Q: So, you've won. Let's celebrate. Just you and me. The two of us.
Janeway: What?
Q: I'll take you home. Before you know it, you'll be scampering across the meadow with your little puppies, the grass beneath your bare feet. A man, coming over the hill way in the distance, waves to you. You run to be in his arms and as you get closer you see that it's me.
Janeway: You?
Q: Forget Mark. I know how to show a girl a good time. How would you like a ticker-tape parade down Sri Lanka Boulevard? The captain who brought Voyager back. A celebrated hero. I never did anything like that for Jean-Luc. But I feel very close to you. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because you have such authority and yet manage to preserve your femininity so well.
Janeway: Leave.
Q: We'll talk about this after the hearing tomorrow.
Janeway: I've tried to find some way to reconcile all the conflicting emotions I've felt during this hearing. My own aversion to suicide, my compassion for your situation, Q. It hasn't been easy. I've tried to tell myself that this is not about suicide, but about granting asylum. That I am not personally being asked to perform euthanasia. And as technically true as that may be, I cannot escape the moral implications of my choices. I've also had to consider that a decision to grant asylum, and the subsequent suicide of a Q, might have a significant impact on the Continuum. That such a decision could change the nature of an entire society, whether it be a favorable or unfavorable change, disturbs me greatly. But then there are the rights of the individual in this matter. I don't believe that you are mentally unbalanced. And I do believe that you are suffering intolerably. Under these conditions, I find it impossible to support immortality forced on an individual by the state. The unforeseen disruption that may occur in the Continuum is not enough, in my opinion, to justify any additional suffering by this individual. So, I hereby grant you asylum.
Q: May I see you in your chambers, Captain?
Janeway: You've been in my chambers enough for one visit, sir.
Q: A sidebar, your honor. Only for a moment.
Quinn: She ruled in my favor. You made a promise.
Quinn: Nothing happened. Nothing! My powers are gone! I'm mortal.
Q: Well, so much for ticker-tape parades.
Janeway: I'm not finished, Q. Now that you're mortal, you have a new existence to explore. An entirely new state of being filled with the mysteries of mortal life, pleasures you've never felt before. I like this life, Q. You might too. Think hard before you give it up. This hearing is adjourned. Captain's log, stardate 49301.2. We have assigned quarters to our new passenger, who has entered his name on our crew manifest as Quinn. I am anxious to engage him in ship activities as soon as possible.
Chakotay: How about Stellar Cartography?
Janeway: We could shut down Stellar Cartography with all the knowledge he'd bring to the job.
Chakotay: Well, that's going to be a problem with just about everything we assign him to.
Janeway: There's got to be something on board that will
Emh: Sickbay to Captain Janeway.
Janeway: Go ahead.
Emh: Captain, I think you should come down to Sickbay. Mister Quinn is here. I'm afraid he's dying.
Janeway: There's nothing you can do?
Emh: He's ingested a rare form of Nogatch hemlock. There is no known cure.
Quinn: I'm sorry to disappoint you, Captain. But I would only have be pretending to fit in to this mortal existence. This is my final gift to my people. Oh! Tell them those were my last words. I dearly thank you for making this poss
Tuvok: Doctor, do you generally keep samples of fatal poisons in storage?
Emh: No.
Tuvok: The replicators will not produce them either.
Janeway: So how did he get his hands on Nogatch hemlock?
Q: I got it for him.
Tuvok: You assisted his suicide?
Q: Illogical, Tuvok? 1 don't think so. By demanding to end his life, he taught me a little something about my own. He was right when he said the Continuum scared me back in line. I didn't have his courage or his convictions. He called me irrepressible. This was a man who was truly irrepressible. I only hope I make a worthy student.
Janeway: I imagine the Continuum won't be very happy with you, Q.
Q: I certainly hope not. Au revoir, Madam Captain. We will meet again.