Episode 40 Off the Map pt. 2

*"No matter what happens, we're going to be okay."*
—**The voices of trillions**

## **Plot Synopsis**

**Content Warning**: This episode contains frequent occurrences of panic attacks. Due to the frequency with which it occurs, individual sections are not marked, but the symptoms and sensations are not described herein.

### **Brief Overview**

Ao'tun explains the situation to Olyn. They join up with the rest of the crew inside the shared dream. Lakat encounters a vision of her father, whom Sull recognizes as an important figure in the Cardassian government during the Dominion War. Theq encounters a vision of his brother. Sull comforts Theq, and the two head to engineering to find a way to communicate with the outside world. Olyn and Ao'tun have a long talk about Olyn's feelings of depression and isolation. After a few more encounters with visions, they gather back in Holodeck 1 to execute a plan.

Meanwhile, outside the dream, M'Qrell and EXEO try to get the ship restarted. The Tholian ship, Ketikess, appears on long-range sensors. EXEO, with the help of the ship's EMH, restarts the ship. M'Qrell gathers the unconscious bodies of the senior staff in the holodeck. She explains to EXEO that the Nyphonsome in her tea is a telepathy blocker; it is meant to protect the crew from M'Qrell's telepathy (which no one knows she has).

Olyn is forced to come to terms with their feelings of isolation and the difficulty they have separating their own feelings from the empathic feelings of others. The crew realizes the solution is for Olyn to re-enter the beam of light. However, the last time they were in it, they nearly died. Olyn and Lakat exchange a tearful farewell. Olyn enters the light as M'Qrell injects the nyphonsome into them. They manage to find their voice amongst the throng, and the crew wakes up.

In the wrap-up, USS *Ross* arrives at Kafidar-3 to find that Ryan Kabbit had cannibalized his own communications array to study a metal-eating fungus. Prahl approaches Olyn and the two go to 10 Forward to socialize.

### **Pre-Break**

The episode opens where "Off the Map pt. 1" left off. Ao'tun explains to AMB Olyn Madzhin-Nil that they are standing on a representation of his home planet, which was destroyed by a supernova eons ago. He says that Olyn's experience in the column of light was them hearing the voices of all the memories stored in the disc. Olyn realizes that they can empathically sense Ao'tun. They decide to trust him, and ask what him what they should do.

Ao'tun suggests that Olyn focus on a single entity on USS *Ross*; they decide on Patience. Olyn and Ao'tun appear within Olyn's quarters, and Patience hops off of the bed to greet them. Ao'tun says that every sentient and sapient biological life-form on USS Ross is "here" (within the shared dream). Except for one, and he doesn't know why they are not. Ao'tun explains that the disc has begun to malfunction in the tens of thousands of years since its creation. It used to require consent to record memories; now, it just does it automatically. Olyn is unsure of what to do next; Ao'tun doesn't know, either.

Olyn decides to go to Holodeck 1. They begin walking the corridors of USS Ross. On the way they see crew members waking up after all passing out at the same time. They are unaware that they are inside a dream. ENS Ashe Lemond, an engineer, greets Olyn as they walk by. Olyn asks her if she can see Ao'tun; Lemon is confused. Olyn turns, and sees that Ao'tun is no longer with them. Olyn proceeds to Holodeck 1.

When they arrrive, CAPT Azeri Sull, LTJG Jane Lakat, and MCPO Theq Lynadas are already there. Olyn also sees the column of light, with themselves in it. Lakat tries to use the holodeck to get a clearer image of the figure within the column of light, but it doesn't work. Olyn describes their experience with Ao'tun. They explain that one of the crew is not within the dream, and that only biological life is inside. Theq asks the computer who is not aboard USS Ross, and it replies that LTCDR M'Qrell and CDR EXEO are missing. Olyn braces themselves for Sull to freak out upon hearing that EXEO is gone, but Sull maintains their composure.

Theq orders the computer to reboot EXEO, but it doesn't acknowledge the request. He uses a tricorder to scan Olyn, but it provides no meaningful data. He begins to have a panic attack. He scans himself, but it gives the same fake response. He throws the tricorder on the ground and smashes it. Suddenly, everyone in the room sees Elir Cress (her father) standing behind Lakat.

Sull recognizes Elir Cress from their time in Starfleet Intelligence. He was one of Dukat|Dukat's most trusted advisors, and a strong advocate for Cardassia's alliance with the Dominion. Elir begins taunting Lakat for wearing a Starfleet uniform. Lakat starts to panic, but calms herself. She demands that Ao'tun explain why he took the form of her father, again. ("Trial Runs pt. 1") Ao'tun explains that Elir is a memory manifested by her mind. Elir continues to talk to Lakat. Finally, she turns and punches him in the face. He disappears as he falls to the floor. Lakat runs to the corner of the room, refusing to look at the others. Ao'tun explains the disc and its function to the others.

Meanwhile, in EXEO and M'Qrell's experience, they are standing in Holodeck 1 in front of Olyn. Olyn is standing with their head thrown back and light pouring out of their eyes and mouth. M'Qrell scans the unconscious Lakat and Theq. Their brains indicate they are in a shared dream. She scans Olyn, and sees that their brain activity is off the charts. It is as though their mind contains a population of consciousnesses, of billions of minds. M'Qrell concludes that the situation is a mental attack on the crew, not biological. She concludes that they should be able to wake up the crew by dosing them with her tea.

At the same time, the computer alerts them both. Long range sensors indicate a ship approaching their position. EXEO blips to the bridge, and identifies the ship as Ketikess, the Tholian ship which they encountered over Jateran. ("Food of the Gods pt. 1", "Food of the Gods pt. 2", "Food of the Gods pt. 3") The ship is only one hour away, and on a direct intercept course. It is not sending any communications to them. EXEO blips down to engineering to try and restart the warp core.

Meanwhile, in the shared dream, Ao'tun finishes explaining the situation. Theq is very uncomfortable with the idea that his own past might appear. Olyn approaches the column of light; Lakat suggests they might enter it, but Olyn doesn't. Sull is determined to find a way to communicate with the outside world. They suggest bringing in an expert. Theq suggests Olyn try to sift through the memories on the disc, but Lakat has another idea.

She points out that Theq's brother, Reku Lynadas, was training to become a doctor, which she had learned from Azzmi Shanto's investigation. ("Farther from Home pt. 2") Theq panics. He doesn't want to see him. The others convince him, and he takes Olyn's hand. He starts talking about Reku, and he appears. He starts talking to Theq, and Theq bolts out of the room. Sull orders the others to fill in Reku, and takes off after Theq. When they catch up, Theq is in the middle of a panic attack. Sull calms him down, and hugs him. The two proceed to main engineering. Once there, they encounter ENS Aulyn Dari. Dari explains that the ship appears to be fine, but that nothing is working (including life support). Sull considers filling in Dari about the dream situation, but doesn't. Instead, they instruct Dari and the engineering crew to mess with the deflector dish. Sull concludes that keeping the crew busy will prevent a widespread panic, and that perhaps a synchronized mental idea will be detectable by M'Qrell.

Meanwhile, Olyn laments their situation to Ao'tun. They feel disconnected from the ship, and they feel that they don't contribute in any meaningful way. Ao'tun points out that the disc has the memories of millions of people who (incorrectly) felt the same way. He takes Olyn to a memory of Theq. They are shown an image of Theq and Solun in the brig on Narendra Station. Theq is lamenting that he feels out of place, and like he doesn't matter. Olyn thinks about all of the times Theq has rescued the ship, and the contrast with his own feelings. Ao'tun shows Olyn images of all of the times other people on the ship have reached out to them, and they retreated instead of engaging. Olyn explains why they retreat from others. They talk about their difficult childhood due to being different. They have a hard time separating their emotions from others, and sometimes they wonder if they are capable of having emotions. The two discuss the possibility of reaching out to others. Ao'tun expresses that he missed out on an opportunity to do so, and encourages Olyn to take the risk.

Suddenly, there is the sound of a bulkhead creaking under a tremendous force. Lakat scans it, but the tricorders are still useless. Ao'tun gets nervous. A darkness starts seeping into the holodeck. Ao'tun says that someone's memory is intruding into the space. He tells Lakat to think of a different room. She thinks of Azzmi's room, and appears there (without the others). Azzmi hugs Lakat and asks what's going on. Lakat asks the same of Azzmi.

Meanwhile, Ao'tun is still in Holodeck 1 with Olyn. He takes Olyn's hand as the darkness surrounds them both. The image of Reku disappears as it is consumed by the darkness. The memory is of someone drowning. Olyn can see the surface of the water above them. Olyn reaches out empathically, but senses no one familiar to them. Ao'tun talks them through it, telling them to stay calm and focus on their breath.

### **Post-Break**

Ao'tun explains that the memory is of a Rafronite (sp). A person who experience near drowning (they obviously survived to implant their memory into the disc), and later overcame that experience to become a marine scientist. He says that the disc is becoming unstable, and directs Olyn to take them elsewhere.

Olyn thinks of Tokyo University, where they attended before joining Starfleet. Olyn notices that their memories still include the column of light. Olyn speaks about why they love Earth. It feels diverse and vibrant. They enjoy all of the different people accepting and celebrating their differences. Ao'tun asks Olyn if they understand that they are the key to freeing the crew. Olyn says that they know they are the key, but that they can't find the door.

Meanwhile, outside the dream, M'Qrell arrives in main engineering. She explains that she cannot handle doing the engineering tasks to run the ship; she asks if she can wake up Theq with the Nyphonsome. EXEO comes up with a plan to send herself into the dream to communicate with the crew. M'Qrell discusses the danger, but EXEO insists. They decide to bring the senior staff together, to enhance the message. M'Qrell starts carting their unconscious bodies to the holodeck, while EXEO tries to restart the ship.

Meanwhile, in the dream, Lakat realizes that she needs to warn Sull and Theq about the drowning memory invading the holodeck. She kisses Azzmi and tells her to stay put. Lakat runs into ENS Sivath in the hallway, cowering from a hostile sehlat. Lakat coaches them into accepting that it is a hallucination, and it disappears. Lakat contacts Sull and fills them in; she heads for holodeck 1.

Meanwhile, outside the dream, EXEO is in main engineering, blipping back and forth from console to console. M'Qrell realizes that EXEO needs help, she turns on the EMH, and orders him to go help EXEO in engineering. He appears and banters with EXEO a bit. She downloads her engineering knowledge into him, and he gets to work. Their combined efforts get the warp core back online. The EMH returns to sickbay and turns himself off. EXEO plots a course for Kafidar-3, and the ship resumes warp.

EXEO blips to sickbay. M'Qrell informs her that she has completed moving the senior staff to holodeck 1. EXEO asks her why she takes the Nyphonsome; M'Qrell says that the ingredient creates a psychic wall, blocking telepathy. EXEO asks why she needs to protect herself from telepathy. M'Qrell explains that it isn't to protect her, it is to protect the rest of the ship **from** her. EXEO is silently confused (Caitians have no history of telepathic abilities). The two head to holodeck 1.

Meanwhile, in the dream, Lakat, Theq and Sull arrive at the holodeck. They see Olyn's memory of Tokyo university. Theq and Olyn have reached the same conclusion, Olyn must go back into the column. However, the last time they were in it, they nearly died. Lakat and Olyn exchange a heartfelt hug. The scene around them shifts to the day they first met, among the ruins of Cardassia Prime. Olyn and Lakat transform into their younger selves. Lakat hears the voice of an (unnamed) federation officer who introduced her to the ambassador. Lakat apologizes for dragging Olyn into the situation. Olyn points out that they dragged Lakat into being a Starfleet officer. Olyn warns Lakat that they might die. Lakat says she will go in after them if that starts to happen. Olyn bets Lakat that she can't find a way to live on without them (Lakat can't resist a challenge). They exchange words of love.

Sull keeps trying to reassure Theq. Theq is terrified of seeing Reku, again. Sull assures him that he won't, unless he wants to. Sull conjures up the first meal Theq ever cooked for them.

Back outside of the dream, M'Qrell approaches Olyn (inside the column of light), with a hypospray full of nyphonsome. The plan is to inject them to cut off the psychic link. The moment she injects it, M'Qrell is transported to a memory. She remembers standing among her family. They are surrounded by elders of her culture. The elders are demanding how she (M'Qrell) knows what she knows. Her mother pleads over and over again to spare M'Qrell's life, saying that she isn't special.

In the dream, Ao'tun turns to Olyn. He explains that they will have to find their own voice amongst a sea of voices. Olyn reflects on the irony, given their previous statements about not knowing their own feelings. They step into the light at the same time M'Qrell injects the hypospray. They feel an avalanche of voices hit them all at once. This time, there is some distance; the nyphonsome is shielding their mind. Olyn sees themselves standing in front of them. The images mouth is moving, but there is no voice. Olyn relaxes and starts to listen to all of the voices. They realize that they are all saying the same thing, "No matter what happens, we're going to be okay." In the real world, everyone wakes up.

The episode moves to the wrap-up. After the event, the disc went dormant. The ship arrived at Kafidar-3 without incident. There was no further sign of Ketikess. Sull stands on the bridge speaking to Ryan Kabbit. He explains that they found a fungus which eats metal. He ordered the group to dismantle the communications array in order to study it. To thank Sull for coming to get them, he is going to name the fungus after them.

The scene moves to Olyn's office. They are idly browsing the federation news networks. There is a chirp at the door, and LTCDR Yeri Prahl enters. The two banter; he jokingly calls them his enemy for avoiding 10 Forward. He suggests that they join him in socializing, since M'Qrell and EXEO insist on it. Olyn agrees, and the two leave together.

## **Cast**

* Eric Campbell - Game Master
* Revati Dhomse - Jane Lakat
* Gina DeVivo - EXEO
* Sam de Leve - Azeri Sull
* Aki - Olyn Madzhin-Nil
* Xander Jeanneret - Theq Lynadas
* Bonnie Gordon - M'Qrell

## **Non-Player Characters**

* Ao'tun
* Patience
* Ashe Lemond
* Elir Cress (manifested memory)
* Reku Lynadas (manifested memory)
* Aulyn Dari
* Solun
* Azzmi Shanto
* Sivath
* Mark I EMH (USS Ross)
* Ryan Kabbit
* Yeri Prahl

## **Locations**

* Kafidar System
	+ Kafidar-3

## **Notable Lines**

*"The crew of the USS Ross is here with us ... how they will be remembered, is here."*
—**Ao'tun**

*"Inaction is death. This is true in all things, not just here."*
—**Ao'tun**

*"Look at you. Wearing the uniform of a Starfleet Officer. The only time I expected to see you wearing something like this is if you were a prisoner."*
—**Elir Cress** to Jane Lakat

*"How do you know that you are not **my** memory, daughter?"*
*"[Punches him] That's how I know I'm the real one."*
—**Elir Cress** and **Jane Lakat**

*"Doctor, I'm having trouble computing this, and I am a little computer."*
—**EXEO** to M'Qrell

*"You and I are going to have a little roleplaying session."*
—**EXEO** to M'Qrell

*"But I can't be real. Because, if I'm real, that means that he's real. And that means that people can be brought back from the dead. And that means that I failed to find a way, and I can't face him."*
—**Theq Lynadas**

*"This is a rare and precious gift. Not another cudgel you can beat yourself with."*
—**Azeri Sull** to Theq Lynadas

*"I always feel as though I am on the sidelines of everything that's happening on the ship ... I just want to feel as though I mean something."*
—**Olyn Madzhin-Nil**

*"Theq, too, like you, Olyn, has the problem of being a member of his own audience."*
—**Ao'tun**

*"When I took this assignment, I had dreams of first contact every other day. A promenade that was always bustling with new faces. The opportunity to shake hands with species we'd never seen before. Exploring planets full of life we've never encountered. The opportunity to connect with a crew. For every step forward it always feels like there are three steps back."*
—**Olyn Madzhin-Nil**

*"My people reached out to the stars and found ourselves to be alone."*
—**Ao'tun**

*"I could always feel everything they were feeling about me. At some point, I stopped being able to tell if the thing I was feeling was what I felt, or if it was what everybody else did. All my life I've been surrounded by this noise that I cannot shut out. I don't know what I feel. I don't even know if I **can** feel."*
—**Olyn Madzhin-Nil**

*"You suffer from a malady that my species and many species afterwards have come to call life. And it creates great doubt. The triumph will be waking up to the fact, while you still have it, that you are surrounded by family."*
—**Ao'tun** to Olyn Madzhin-Nil

*"I've seen the memory of you throwing hot tea in the face of an enemy. I know you can feel."*
—**Ao'tun** to Olyn Madzhin-Nil

*"Would you like a sedative before I go, doctor?"*
—**Mark I EMH (Ross)** to M'Qrell

*"I'm a doctor, but I don't need to finish the rest of that sentence, as I'm sure you know how it will go."*
—**Mark I EMH (USS Ross)** to M'Qrell

*"Turning the ship back on; what's wrong with it, exactly?"*
*"It's off."*
*"Well, you certainly exhibit the intelligence of a doctor. Have any idea where the on switch is?"*
—**Mark I EMH (USS Ross)** and **EXEO**

*"There is no one I have ever had in my life, aside from my parents, who has ever had so much faith in me, Jane."*
—**Olyn Madzhin-Nil** to Jane Lakat

*"I'm sorry I dragged you into this."*
*"I think you might have taken a dare a little too far. But, then again, from what I remember, the one who drafted you into all of this was me."*
*"Which, if I remember correctly, was a dare I took too far."*
*"I might have helped a little bit."*
*"Just a little."*
—**Jane Lakat** and **Olyn Madzhin-Nil**

*"I might die. It's possible I go in there and I don't come out. And, if that happens, I need you to know, little sist-"*
*"If that happens, I am following you right in there and dragging you back out. That is not going to happen."*
*"Jane Lakat, I bet you can't figure out some way to keep going without me."*
*"I hate you."*
*"I love you, little sister."*
—**Olyn Madzhin=Nil**

*"Worst slumber party ever."*
—**Azeri Sull**

*"Hero of botany, Lakat? He cannibalizes his own communications array, and this is your hero?"*
—**Azeri Sull** to Jane Lakat about Ryan Kabbit