We sent in has already picked up faint signals from the other side. Belannas still downloading them but shes pretty sure theyre from starfleet. This wormhole is only 300 million kilometers away. Longrange scans shouldve detected it days ago. Perhaps it was an oversight on your part. If itll make you feel better, run a diagnostic. In the meantime, lets maintain course. door beeping come in. Ive completed my diagnostic. Sensors are operating at peak efficiency. On the contrary. Then theres nothing to worry about. The wormholes neutrino levels are extremely erratic. I thought so, too. Until i received this. It turns out those faint signals we detected were communiques from starfleet. Starfleet may be in error. We should run further scans. No time. The wormhole might destabilize. The doctor often instructs me to look before i leap. It is an antiquated adage but i believe it is relevant. I have another one for you he who hesitates is lost. Captain. Were avoiding the issue, seven. Youre still feeling uncomfortable about returning to the alpha quadrant. Its nothing to be ashamed of. Trust me. Youre going to thrive on earth yes . door beeping letter number two. Im getting jealous. Mark. Apparently his engagement was broken off. How about you . Any news . A full pardon and reinstatement to starfleet. Ive even been offered a professorship in anthropology at the academy. Oh, chakotay, congratulations but its not fair. Out you . Youll do fine. Computer, access all log entries recorded by captain janeway on stardate 52542. Access to those files is restricted. Access granted. Play first log entry. Captains log, stardate 52542. 3. Longrange sensors have identified a wormhole leading to the alpha quadrant. Unfortunately, secondary scans have revealed that its some kind of elaborate deception. The question is whos attempting to deceive us and why . Ay next log entry. Captains log, supplemental. Weve begun to receive faint telemetry from our probe. I dont want to get the crews hopes up but belanna thinks it may be a message from starfleet. Im beginning to wonder if my earlier skepticism was justified. beeping play next log entry. Captains log, supplemental. Ive set a course for the wormhole. With any luck, we should be back in the alpha quadrant Annika Annika hansen there is no one here by that name. Are you sure . Because i have a letter here addressed to her. I never realized you knew anyone from the alpha quadrant. I dont. Well, it looks like someone knows you. Whos it from . She claims to be a sister of my father. Your aunt. She is looking forward to meeting me. Thats great starfleets appointed me ambassador to the lantuan sector. Ambassador . I guess they thought id have a flair for quadrupeds. Ensign, i require a moment of your time. Sure. Have you noticed anything unusual about the crews behavior since we returned . Like. . When i presented the captain with evidence that the wormhole may not be what it appears to be she seemed unconcerned. Really . That doesnt sound like her. I believe the crew is being deceived by false telemetry as well as overlyoptimistic correspondence. No doubt containing good news. Oh, ill say. An old buddy of mine offered me a spot at the new Test Flight Center in australia. Beautiful beaches a chance to pilot the latest experimental ships. I cant believe it. Then you doubt the veracity of the letters. Are you kidding . Ive already written back and accepted the job. Computer, activate the e. M. H. Please state the nature of the medical emergency. The wormhole is not what it appears to be. I believe that. Hold on. Wormhole . You werent informed. Not a peep. Considering everyones recent behavior thats not surprising. Since the discovery of this wormhole the crew has ignored obvious signs that its a deception. You must determine if there is a physiological explanation. Chakotay seven of nine to the bridge. On my way. That should allow me to run the necessary diagnostics. Weve just entered visual range. I thought youd like to take a look. Were starting to get images from the other side. There is considerable interference. I think i can help clear it up. Try it now. How long until we reach the wormhole . 53 minutes. Maintain course. Chakotay all hands, this is the bridge. Secure all systems. Computer, perform a gravimetric scan of the wormholes interior. Spatial gradient. The anomaly is consistent with a class one wormhole. No irregularities detected. Recalibrate sensors and try again. No irregularities detected. Isolate grid 925 and magnify. Computer, is that a vessel in grid 91 . No vessel has been detected. Respond. Alien vessel. Who are you . Seven of nine, Federation Starship voyager. Our ship is on an intercept course 3. 4 lightyears from your position. Turn around. Youre being deceived. How . He knows what you want. Mputer, identify the cause of the power failure. door opens tuvok captains orders. Power from astrometrics has been rerouted to the navigational array at least until weve completed our journey through the wormhole. Ive made contact with a vessel inside the anomaly. Starfleet . Alien. The pilot attempted to warn us away. Aid we were being deceived that the wormhole is not what it appears to be. The preponderance of data suggests otherwise. The data is flawed. As is your reasoning. May i ask you a personal question . Are you looking forward to seeing your wife and family . Indeed. And is that desire stronger than you expected it to be . Your point . I believe you are being manipulated. Otherwise, you would be willing to listen to my concerns. Access to the Astrometrics Lab is restricted until further notice. soft clattering louder clattering naomi wildman. Your presence here is unauthorized. State your intentions. Im. Hiding. From whom . Everyone. Theyre all acting strange. Even mom. Elaborate. She keeps smiling all the time, talking about earth like its the greatest place in the universe. Voyagers my home. If we go to earth, ill have to leave the ship. Id miss my room, neelix. You and i wouldnt be able to play kadiskot anymore. Curious. You and i appear to be the only ones not affected. Affected by what . I am not certain. Stay here until i return. Computer, activate e. M. H. Please state the nature of the medical emergency. Wheres the doctor . Offline. Why . Starfleet orders something about the wormhole interfering with the holographic systems. They didnt want to damage his program. He must be reactivated. No can do. Not until were on the other side. F handling almost any medical problem you might have. I was just coming to see you. Why . Im afraid i have some troubling news. Evidently, our wormhole passes through a layer of subspace monitored by the borg. Starfleets concerned that your neural transceiver tract some unwanted attention. We need to deactivate your implants. You should not attempt to do so without the doctors supervision. Unfortunately, hes offline. Then the procedure is inadvisable. Try to relax. Were only going to keep you in stasis until weve reached the alpha quadrant. I realize the prospect of returning to earth is frightening to you. Its perfectly natural for you to resist the unknown but youre in good hands. Janeway whats our distance, tom . 2000 kilometers and closing. No more hirogen hunting parties, malon garbage scows. By this time tomorrow itll be cardassians, romulans, ferengi. Chakotay to the bridge. Go ahead. Ive spoken to seven of nine. Were putting her into stasis. Make it fast. We dont want the borg to crash our welcome home party. How long will i remain inactive . A couple of hours to be on the safe side. Security alert naomi wildman. Securitys on their way, chakotay. What happened . D some kind of borg force field. Try to disable it. Chakotay naomi. Go back to your quarters. Pay attention to me. If this indicator begins to flash enter the following series of commands. Watch carefully. Naomi. Do you understand . Yes. Naomi. Im giving you a direct order. Shes blocking my commands. Keep trying. Computer, lock onto my coordinates and initiate a sitetosite transport. Main engineering. Seven . Im sorry. Weve got phaser fire in engineering. Janeway to security. Computer, erect a level ten force field around engineering. Sevens tapping into the engine manifold. Shes trying to shut down impulse drive. Bridge. She has erected another force field. It will require several minutes to deactivate it. Where is she exactly . Engineering console 16 beta. Captain . Sevens going into stasis whether she likes it or not. Shes down, captain. Paris captain. Were at the threshold. Report. Its just spatial turbulence. Seven, wake up. Seven of nine. Wake up. groaning field. You are damaged. Its just a scrape. The crew . Our hull is demomocularizing. Do wormholes do that . No. They dont. Return to your quarters while i assess the s suation. But i can help. My mom says two heads are better than one. Isnt that the borg philosophy, too . Simplistic, but accurate. Please. I dont want to be alone. Neelix oh, neelix. Neelix. We must keep moving. Naomi wildman. We will return for him. No. So, where are we . I have restored partial systems. Bioplasmic discharges a vast network of n nral pathways. Ararst ive seen over 2,000 kilometers in diameter. What are you doing . My e elier scans revealed a vessel. Im trying to find it again. Somebody else is stuck here . Possibly. There. Its heavily damaged, but still functioning. Alien vessel, respond. This is the starship voyager. Please respond. I told you to stay away. Why didnt you listen . Our crew believed they were returning to their homes. Everythingngtheyve . Yes. He deceived them. He . I believe we should workrkogether to escape this anomaly. Lower your shields and ill beam you aboard. Shields are the onon Thing Holding my ship together. Id be destroyed. You wont fool me that easily. I assure you we are not a deception. Oh, how convenient. An enormous starship comes to my rescue. You might try a more subtle approach. My scans indicate that yououshields will fail in approximately 15 minutes. Join us, or you can remain on your vessel secure in the knowledge that you were not deceived but that knowledge w wl do you little good when you are dead. Decide now. All right. All right ow you look real enough, but over the years hes made me believe in many things that are real a fortune at my fingertips risen from the dead. Youre referring to the anomaly weve entered. Anomaly . Its a beast. Cunnnng, deadly. What does it want . You. Your ship. Antimatter, biomatter. He consumes it. Everyone believed it was a wormhole. He senses your thoughts, your d dires and then he preys on them. Like a pitcher plant. Pitcher plant . The doctor taught me about itt. It catches insects by making pheromones. Yes, youre right but this one doesnt eat insects. He eats starships. You are familiar with this lifeform . R nearly 40 years. And have you become impervious to its telepathy . Almost, but there are days when he can still trick me. Like yesterday. I thought i had found a way to kill him once and for all. Id allow him to begin consuming my ship and then id fly directly to his most vulnerable s stem id destroy him from the inside out. But he knew. He showed me whatat wanted to see. I was nowhere near his neural plexus. I was flying directly into his digestion chamber. And speaking of digestion. How dodoe get out of the monster . Not a monster. Its a bioplasmic organism, and we will find a way out. Qatai no. The girls right. Hes a monster please state the nature of the medical emergency. Qatai your ship is b bng devoured. Id say thats an emergency. Ate his ship, too. Monster . I want to see your weapons manifest. Weapons . This is a sick bay, not an arsenal. Whats going on . Voyager has been lured into the Digestive Chamber of a bioplasmic organism. We require your assistance in charting an escape route. Slow down. The last thing i remember i was speaking to mr. Paris. He said the wormhole posed a threat to my program. Qatai the beast has been manipulating your crew. And d o might you be . The local monster expert . As a matter of fact i am. Hes been fooling you for days, creating false sensor readings and hes been alteringng y a little neurogenic telepathy to make them lower their guard. That might explain the heightened dopamine levels i found during my routine examinations of the crew. Have you informed the captain . Shes asleep. Asleep . Its our proximity to the creature. The neurogenic field is stronger here. Its rendered most of the crew unconscious. Does your vessels database contain information on the creatures anatomy . Of course. Retrieve it. In the meantime computer, increase neneotransmitter levels by 29 . A cortical inhibitor . I thought it might disrupt the organisms hold on her. It wont. I already trieie a similar procedure. I dont remember asking for a second opinion. groans its working. Shes regaining consciousness. Doctor. Youre being exposed to a powerful neurogenic field. Youve been unconscious for several hours. Theyre here. Who . The maquis. Theyre alive belanna, youre still on voyager. Youre hallucinating. Starfleet thinks youve alllleen killed. Computer, increase neurotransmitter levels another ten percent. What h hpened . Belanna, focus on my voice. They never want to. Its the silence i hate. The way he takes you without a fight. Karo. A crew of nearly 3,000 families mostly, mine ininuded looking for a new world to settle but they came across our friend here and he s swed them what they wanted to see a glistening green paradise. All that was left of them was soso fading engine emissions. That was 39 years ago. 39 years, two weeks, four days. Do you mind . The situation is dismal enough. Im just trying to explain who were up against. Well, im getting a pretty good idea on my own. Judging by these bioscans the organisms been devouring lifeforms for a bit longer than 39 years. Always survive. I wouldnt go that far. It appears to operate on highly evolved instinct. I havent detected any signs of sentience. Hes intelligent, all right smart enough to fool your crew into taking you offline. Hs no need to get personal. seven. Im here. Qatai there this is it exactly what we need. These classnine torpedoes in your weapons manifest. If we can bring your vessel deeper into the creatures digestive tract and detonate one of these charges we might be able to destroy it. Starfleets not in theheabit of killing lifeforms. Even if that lifeform is about to kill you . If i could take a few hours to examine the creature more thoroughly. Seven there is no time. We kill him maybe theres another way. Explain. Any living organism no matter how large will attempt to expel a foreign body. If we could just make voyayar a little less tasty. My scans indicate that your weapons are tetryonbased. If you were to fire one at a pocket of antimatter released from our warp core, it would produce an electrolytic reaction. It might at that. Once ive beamed you back to your ship try adjusting your shields to this frequency. Youll find them more resistant to the bioplasmic discharges. You seem to know a little about everything medicine, exobiology, shield harmonics. Im something of a renaissance e. M. H. I could use a crewmate like you. The beast would have a difficult time manipulating a holograms desires. Maelelo your ahab . No, thank you. Youre turning down ththhunt of a lifetime. As appealing as that sounds im a doctor, not t dragon slayer. My Program Requires that i do no harm. Qatais vessel is ready. Ive rerouted bridge controls to engineering ops, tactical, helm all integrated into one station. Efficient. I thought youd lili it. Im plotting a course for the organisms esophageal aperture. Prepare to release the antimamaer. Hull integritys dropped another 13 . Doctor. Ready on my end. Voyager to qatai. Prepare to fire. loud clattering alarm blaring wait wait no. No, no, no, no, no, no. Whats wrong . That last jolt must have destabilized my targeting sensor. I could establish an interface to voyagers targeting array. Ah ready. Initiate the burst on my mark. Now. Like the taste of that . Im reading violent contractions gestive chamber. Its working. Were moving back through the esophageal aperture. Voyager has been expelled. Were 3. 9 kilometers from the organism. After just one burst . For a big fellow also release he certainly has a low tolerance for tummy ache. D. Nt you ejected a second burst . weve cleared the organism. Youve been deceived were bobo still inside it hes right. Iireading bioplasmic energy. I am impervious to the creatures influence. You were impervious when it was creating the illusion of voyager getting home because you didnt share that desire but now were trying to escape, which is what you want. Think about it hes showing you exactly what you want to see. Seven now. Fire. Were out. Are we certain . No sign of bioplasmic energy. Weve escaped. Im taking us out of range. Maximum warp. Id better see to the crew. Well, ill be on my way. Thanks for your help. Your engines have taken heavy damage. You require our assistance. No time. The beast is already altering course. Ill handle the repairs myself. The procedure would take several days. Dont worry about me. Just get your ship home. And watch out for pitcher plants. Location . Were still in the delta quadrant. Scan the wormhole. Find out what went wrong. Its gone. I cant find it on sensors. Have been routed to engineering ops, tacticaca helm all of it. Bridge to engineering. Seven yes, captain. Seven . Whats going on . The doctor will explain. I i ll file a complete report in the morning captainnlog, 52542. 3 weve deployed a series of beacons to warn other vessels about the bioplasmic creature and resumed a course for home our real home. Naomi wildman. Dont worry. My presence here is authorized. By whom . Mom. And does studying this image increase your desire to go there . Not really. I concur. It is unremarkable. But my mom likes it and even neelix cant wait to get there so i guess it cant be that bad. Given this crews determination to return home i have no doubt we will see it for ourselves someday. qatai humming [captioning sponsored by paramount television United Paramount Network and the Kellogg Company of the end zone touchdown laughing id like to see you make that catch with the gravity plating at earth sea levelel i doubt you could throw the ball ten meters on earth. One more reason not to go. Did you find out what was causing that vibration in module two . The Cargo Handlers at jupiter station they didnt balance the load. Shaw and i, we, uh. Wewerimmed it out. Keep an eye on it. rumblili ck, sir. Its the nausicacas. Drop out of warp, charge plasma cannons. rumbling . Its been a long road . Getting from there to here . I is been a long time . But my time is finally near . And i will see my dream come alive at last . . I will touch the sky . And theyre not gonna hold me down no more . . No, theyre not gonna change my mind . . cause ive got faith of the heart . . Im going where my heart will take me . I can do anything . Ive got strength of the soul . . No ones gonna bend or break me . . I can reach any star . Ive got faith . Ive got, ive got . . Ive got faith . Faith of the heart. [captioning sponsored by paramount television beeping continues archer. Sorry to disturb you, sir but i have an incoming transmission its admiral forrest. Put him through. Admiral. Good to see you. You, too, john. What i can make out. Were getting ready to deploy the first subspace amplifier. Those reports coming. The scans of that comet were incredible. Something tells me you didnt call at 4 00 in the morning to talk about comets. I hate to do this to you, john, but were turning you around. Sir . We picked up an automated distress signal from a cargo freighter the ecs fortunate. The nearest starfleet vessel is three w wks away at its maximum warp but you could be there in a day and a half. Whats the problem . Were not sure. Theyre not responding to hails. Id like you to check this out give them any assistance they need. Were on our way. Forrest out. I think our days going to start a little early. Maximum speed warp 1. 8 the earth cargo ship fortunate. Crew complement 23. 3. Ensign . I grew up on a jclass. A little smaller, but the same basic design. And one thing i can tell you is that at warp 1. 8 youve got a lot of time on your hands between popos. Thats how my parents wound up with me. Do you have any helpful information on this vessel beyond its. Recreational activities . For example, what kind of weapons they cacay. Well, typically nothing more than a lowyield plasma cannon. But most freighthaulers wouldve upgraded the first chance they got. Youre a dozen lightyears from home with 20 kilotons of dilithium ore in your hold armed with nothing but a popgun for shooting oncoming meteors. What would you do . Im reading hull damage. Their warp reactors offline and most of their primary systems are down. Any other ships in the region . Fortunate this is captain Jonathan Archer of the starship enterprise. Fortunate, please respond. Their com systems may be down. Im reading 24 biosigns. Have dr. Phlox meet us in the launch bay. Easy does it. Theres a lot of debris out here. Some of it doesnt appear to be from the fortunate. On the bright side im only picking up inorganic material no bodies. Main hatch is damaged. No chance well get a positive seal. Permission to come aboard. Granted. Im matthew ryan, first officer. Jonathan archer, captain of the enterprise. Under better circumstances. What happened here . Nausicaans. They trieieto board us. We managed to fight them off but not before we took a few bruises. Nausicaans . Pirates, sir. Theyve been attacking freighters in this sector for years. My parents had a runin with them once. They were lucky to come out of it alive. Your parents ran freight . Still do. An old jclass the horizon. Oh, we can handle this ourselves, captain but thank you. If you didnt need our help why did you send out a distress call . One of our younger crew members panicked hit the emergency beacon. With our com down, we had no way to tell starfleet to ignore it. Wheres your captain . He was wounded in the attack. Im in command until hehe back on his feet. Im sorry we took valuable time away. Ryan, im a physician. If your captain or anyone else is hurt it wouount be right for me to leave without seeing them. Mayweather hes got a lot more experience thananny freighter medic i know. Weve come an awfully long way. It would be a shame to turn around without lending a hand. Ryan is he going to die . Not any time soon