Pathfinder ( episode ) When the " Enterprise " - E returns home to Earth , Lieutenant Barclay seeks Counselor Deanna Troi ' s help when he worries that he has become obsessed with the crew of " Voyager . " Summary . Teaser . In an apartment on Earth , there ' s a knock at the door and Lieutenant Reginald Barclay gets up from a couch to answer it . When he opens the door , Deanna Troi is standing there . Barclay is delighted to see her and offers her some chocolate ice cream , which she accepts . He seems nervous , and when she comments on the mess in the apartment , he tells her that , although he moved in two years previously , he hasn ' t had a chance to unpack yet . Troi asks if he ' s okay – he seems a little on edge . Barclay assures her he ' s fine , and that since the " Enterprise " is in orbit , he just wants to spend some time with her . He ' s been working on the Pathfinder Project until recently , and he was under a lot of pressure . The project involves trying to establish communication with the stranded . His cat , Neelix , jumps up on the table , as he tells Troi that the real reason he asked her there : he has become obsessed with " Voyager " . Act One . Barclay apologizes to Troi for having lured her into a counseling session . She dismisses his concerns , and asks him to start from the beginning . He tells her that he had the idea of directing a tachyon beam at a class B itinerant pulsar , with enough gravimetric energy to create an artificial wormhole . However , his superiors thought it would be an abuse of the MIDAS array . Troi is lost by all this , and tells him to go back to the beginning . He reveals that the real beginning was in the holodeck . The scene flashes back to Barclay in the holodeck , running simulations on the bridge of " Voyager " , trying to establish a method of communications . Commander Peter Harkins enters , and asks him what he ' s doing . Barclay says he ' s just running a simulation . Harkins reminds him about some transmitter diagnostic s that he has forgotten to do . Barclay claims that he ' s almost finished them . Harkins reminds him that Admiral Owen Paris is coming first thing in the morning , a fact Barclay had also forgotten . Barclay wants to brief Admiral Paris on his theory about using a pulsar passing within four billion kilometer s to create an artificial wormhole and then using it to communicate with " Voyager " . Harkins rejects the idea , recalling that six months were wasted on trying to develop a transwarp probe based on Barclay ' s simulations . He tells Barclay that while the admiral is visiting , " he ' ll " do the talking . In a voiceover , Barclay says he was so sure his plan would work , he couldn ' t give it up . Harkins comes into the lab late at night and finds Barclay working . Barclay tells him he ' s finished the diagnostics . Harkins knows this , expresses satisfaction with the work , but suggests that Barclay call it a day . However , Barclay says he has something to clear up first . Harkins invites Barclay over to his house for coffee , and to meet his sister - in - law from Boston . Barclay declines , and after Harkins leaves , he says in voiceover that he couldn ' t leave until he had strengthened his case for accessing the MIDAS array . With Admiral Paris ' visit just fourteen hours away , he hadn ' t come up with anything , so he decided he needed some inspiration . He activates the holodeck program of " Voyager " s mess hall , and enters the holodeck . Here , everyone aboard " Voyager " knows and likes him . He sits down to play poker with Chakotay , B ' Elanna Torres , Harry Kim , and Tom Paris , calling them his best friends . In this world of his own creation , Barclay is an expert poker player . Barclay had hoped that the poker game would calm his nerves , but when he gets home he can ' t sleep . He heads back to the holodeck for a massage from The Doctor . The Doctor tells Barclay that to cure his insomnia , the root cause of his sleeplessness needs to be found . Barclay tells him that when he tries to sleep his mind races and he worries about the project , and whether he ' s doing all he can . When he leaves The Doctor , he goes to sleep in his holographic quarters , saying in voiceover that he felt more at home there than his own apartment . Act Two . The next morning at the briefing , Commander Harkins tells Admiral Paris that when The Doctor ' s program was transferred to Starfleet two years ago , " Voyager " s position was Delta Quadrant sector 41751 , grid 9 . A range of likely trajectories has been extrapolated , and " Voyager " is now assumed to be in one of three sectors . Harkins says that they have been working with the Vulcan s on the deployment of the MIDAS array , which can send signals at hyper - subspace speeds . Transmission times can be cut from years to days , although " Voyager " won ' t be able to respond . Then Barclay , who had impatiently but until now obediently remained silent , finally speaks up . Stuttering and inarticulate , Barclay tells the admiral that there might be a way to establish two - way communication with " Voyager " , and attempts to describe his plan , which involves creating a wormhole . The admiral asks Harkins if there is any merit in the plan , Harkins says that Barclay has a tendency to get ahead of himself , and that the plan is beyond their abilities . Barclay gets excited at this , and shouts that they ' ve got nothing to lose by trying , and that they ' re forgetting that there are 150 people stranded . Admiral Paris coldly replies that he has a son on that ship – he hasn ' t forgotten them for a moment . After Barclay apologizes , Harkins tells him to take the rest of the day off . In the present , Troi asks Barclay how he dealt with his feelings . Barclay is evasive , and says he needed someone to bounce ideas off , so he went back to the holodeck , claiming that they are the only people he can talk to . Troi thinks he ' s having a relapse of his holo - addiction , ( ) and asks him how the holodeck helped his work . Flashback to Barclay in the briefing room on " Voyager " . He is explaining the problem to the crew : how to produce enough power to form the singularity . He hits on the idea of compressing the data stream so a micro - wormhole can be used . He then goes down to engineering , where he talks through what he needs with Chakotay . Harkins walks in and asks him what ' s going on . Barclay tells him he ' s working . Harkins is surprised that he has created hologram s of the crew . It turns out that Barclay has been in the holodeck for the last ten hours , ever since he was dismissed from the briefing with the admiral . Barclay tells Harkins ( who he usually refers to as " Pete " ) that the plan has been scaled down , but Harkins doesn ' t want to hear it . Barclay ' s been spending about twenty or thirty hours a week in the holodeck , and Harkins feels he ' s having a relapse of his holo - addiction . Barclay denies this , but Harkins tells him he needs counseling . He thought he was being a friend , giving him some leeway , but he didn ' t realize how involved in " Voyager " Barclay had become . Harkin removes Barclay from the project until the latter gets some help , and the lab and hologrid are off limits . Act Three . Barclay has been waiting outside Admiral Paris ' office for a while , refusing to leave , so eventually the admiral agrees to see him . The admiral gives him five minutes to explain himself , and his theories . Barclay apologizes for his behavior at the briefing . Paris says he heard about the hologram of the Voyager crew , including his son , and he finds it rather disturbing . Barclay gives him his new plan , telling him he just wants to try , that he could give him the chance to talk with Tom . The admiral says he trusts Harkins ' judgment in removing him from the project , and is not going to let personal concerns interfere with the proper chain of command . Barclay agrees , but says " Voyager " shouldn ' t be punished for what he did . Paris finally promises to order a review of Barclay ' s findings . The present . Troi supposes the meeting went well , but Barclay disagrees . He claims Admiral Paris was just trying to get rid of him , and he wants Troi to call Paris and tell him that he ( Barclay ) is psychologically fit for duty . Troi tells him she can ' t do that and to relax , he ' s done all he could . Barclay shouts that there ' s nothing wrong with him . Troi reminds him that by his own admission , he ' s become obsessed with " Voyager " . Barclay , still excited to the point of desperation , says his own well - being is a sacrifice he ' s willing to make to help " Voyager " . He breaks down and starts to sob . " Voyager " is all he has left . When he left " Enterprise " he felt as if he lost his family . The only way to cope was to create a new family on the holodeck . Troi says she ' ll ask Captain Picard for a leave of absence to spend some time with him , to get him through this personal difficulty . That night , Barclay can ' t sleep , so he gets up and goes to the lab . His authorization codes are unsuccessful , but his engineering skills are easily sufficient enough to override the lockout , getting him into the holodeck , where he interfaces with the MIDAS array . Act Four . Barclay activates the array , and turns it up to full power . He then directs a sixty terawatt tachyon beam at the itinerant pulsar . The micro - wormhole forms and Barclay directs its trajectory towards the Delta Quadrant and the first possible location of " Voyager " . He sends a message to " Voyager " , but there ' s no response . Then Harkins comes in with a security team , and tells him to step away from the controls . Barclay appears as if he was going to obey , but instead suddenly transfers the controls to the holodeck , and runs in to the " Voyager " program . The security team follows , while Harkins tries to shut down the program . With the help of the holographic Voyager crew , Barclay erects force field s around the team trying to apprehend him . Harkins can ' t shut down the program , so he calls for reinforcements . Meanwhile , Barclay redirects the wormhole , and retransmits the message . Again , there ' s no answer . Another security team appears , and Barclay escapes into a Jefferies tube . Harkins goes to engineering and initiates a warp core breach . Barclay gets to the bridge , and redirects and re - sends the message . Harkins arrives and tells him to shut down the program , which he does , rather than see " Voyager " destroyed . On the real " Voyager " , Seven of Nine is telling Neelix that she has decided not to teach him to sing as his voice is totally incapable of holding a tone . . . however the trivial subject is quickly forgotten when Seven detects the micro - wormhole . Act Five . Only part of the message is received , but Janeway responds straight away , as the wormhole is collapsing . Back on Earth , Barclay is being led away when Admiral Paris enters and tells Harkins that , as promised , he reviewed Barclay ' s plan and believes it is worth an attempt . Harkins tells him that Barclay already tried , without authorization and without success . Barclay apologizes for it not working , and is prepared to accept the consequences . Suddenly a beeping noise is heard , and a garbled transmission pokes through a mess of static . Barclay is vindicated on the spot . He replies with some help from Harkins cleaning up the transmission , and Janeway says she ' s been waiting a long time for this . Barclay tells her the feeling is mutual , but the wormhole is collapsing . He sends her information on the hyper - subspace technology , and Janeway transmits the ship ' s logs , crew report s , and navigational log s . Then Admiral Paris speaks . He asks her how the crew is holding up . Janeway replies that the crew has been exemplary , Tom included . The admiral says he misses him , and that he ' s proud of him . Tom listens in silence and shock aboard " Voyager . " Janeway assures the admiral that his son heard him , and the admiral assures her that Starfleet is doing everything it can , but just then the wormhole collapses and the communication is ended . Harkins says he ' s sorry he doubted Barclay , and Admiral Paris tells him that thanks to him , Project Voyager is just beginning . In the mess hall on " Voyager " , the crew are having a party . The Doctor comments that Barclay has a rather unusual medical history . Janeway is just glad that he came through for them . Seven then tells everyone that with the hyper - subspace technology they received from Earth , the crew can look forward to regular contact with Starfleet . Tom makes a toast : Back on Earth , Troi congratulates Barclay . He tells her he couldn ' t have done it without her help . Commander Harkins was pleased , although he is a bit wary that Barclay is dating his sister - in - law . Troi is surprised and amused to learn the name of the lady in question : Hope . Memorable quotes . " " After all , you are my best friends . " " " " And to the newest honorary member of the " Voyager " crew , Reginald Barclay . Whoever you are . " " " " Has it ever occurred to you . . . that a tachyon beam directed at a class - B itinerant pulsar could produce enough gravimetric energy to create an artificial singularity ? " " " " I can ' t say it has . " " " " We ' ve waited a long time for this moment . " " " " Why the long face , Mr . Barclay ? " " " " Because . . . because , it ' s over , sir . " " " " No , lieutenant . I ' d say that Project " Voyager " is just beginning . Thanks to you . " " " " You know what I am always saying : If you can ' t stand the heat . . . " " " " Get out of the warp core ! " " " " This is Admiral Paris . " " " " Hello , sir . " " " " How are your people holding up ? " " " " Very well . They ' re an exemplary crew , your son included . " " " " Tell him . . . Tell him I miss him . And I ' m proud of him . " " " " He heard you , admiral . " " " " The wormhole is collapsing . " " " " I want you all to know we ' re doing everything we can to bring you home . " " " " We appreciate it , sir . Keep a docking bay open for us . We hope to see you . . . " " Links and references . References . artificial wormhole ; Barclay 11 - Gamma ; Barclay pi - 3 ; Boston ; " burning the midnight oil " ; cheese omelet ; chocolate ice cream , class B itinerant pulsar ; coffee ; Communications Research Center ; Data ; data stream ; Deep Space 9 ; Delta Quadrant ; doctor - patient confidentiality ; Earth ; ; ; Grid 9 ; ; holo - addiction ; holodeck ; honorary ; Hope ; hoverball ; hyper - subspace communications ; intruder alert ; Jefferies tube ; kilohertz ; ; logic ; medical ethics ; micro - wormhole ; MIDAS array ; milk ; Neelix ( cat ) ; obsession ; Pathfinder Project ; ; poker ; Project Voyager ; pulsar ; San Francisco ; Sector 3658 ; Sector 41751 ; Sector 41752 ; Sector 41753 ; Sector 64238 ; shark ; sonic shower ; Spot ; Starfleet Command ; tachyon ; tea ; teradyne ; terawatt ; toast ; transporter phobia ; transwarp probe ; Type 6 shuttlecraft ; velocity ; vocal cords ; Vulcan