STAR TREK: VOYAGER ŅMessage In A BottleÓ by Todd Boyce Story by Todd Boyce and John Campuzano First Draft November 14, 1997 REGISTERED WGAw: 685334 Todd Boyce VisionArt 3025 Olympic Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90404 (310) 264-5566 x197STAR TREK: VOYAGER ŅMessage In A BottleÓ TEASER FADE IN: EXT. SPACE Š ROMULAN NEUTRAL ZONE (OPTICAL) Establishing. Subtitles say ŅRomulan Neutral Zone.Ó The Federation Starship USS Friedland passes by. Commander OLIVER makes a log entry. OLIVER (V.O.) First OfficerÕs log stardate xxxx.xx, sector 3-2, night shift. CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š BRIDGE Commander Oliver walks by with a coffee mug in hand and sits down in the CaptainÕs chair looking at the viewscreen. OLIVER (V.O.) (Continued) No Romulan activity to report. It looks like the Captain will finally get a full nightÕs rest; his first in four days. An alert sounds and Lieutenant MERIKSON at the science station gives a report. MERIKSON Commander Oliver, sensors detect a Romulan freighter being pursued by two...no three Warbirds. They are within the Neutral Zone and are rapidly approaching the Federation border, warp seven. OLIVER Red alert, Captain to the bridge. Are you detecting weapons fire? The red alert klaxon sounds and SUPERNUMERARIES begin reporting status. MERIKSON Scanning...Affirmative Sir. TheyÕre coming into visual range. OLIVER On screen. CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š VIEWSCREEN (OPTICAL) Freighter is seen getting hit repeatedly by weapon fire. CUT TO: INT FRIEDLAND Š BRIDGE (OPTICAL) Ensign SETOK in the OPS position responds to an incoming transmission SETOK Commander, weÕre receiving a distress signal. Oliver nods to Setok indicating he wants to see it. Setok hits a control and A Romulan appears on the viewscreen, the bridge exploding around him. ROMULAN CAPTAIN ...Repeat, we are under attack and need assistance. This is not a deception. Any Federation vessels please respond. This is the Romulan Freighter DÕVenedis... OLIVER This is the Federation Starship Friedland responding. IÕm sorry, DÕVenedis. Treaty prevents us from interfering while you are in the Neutral... The Romulan Captain hits some controls just before his ship explodes, cutting off the transmission. His image is replaced by the destruction of his ship. Oliver hits the armrest of his chair, angry. OLIVER Mr. Merikson, scan the wreckage for lifesigns. Setok, inform Starfleet of what just happened. On the screen, the Warbirds sit silently for a moment, then turn away and cloak. Setok works at his console. MERIKSON IÕm not detecting any survivors, Commander. The ship is completely destroyed. OLIVER Stand down from red alert. TheyÕre leaving. SETOK Commander Oliver, a message buoy without an active beacon has just collided with our shields. Oliver looks up. Dramatic pause. CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š CONFERENCE ROOM (OPTICAL) Most of the senior staff is present, the head seat at the conference table unoccupied. Lieutenant DAVIS is on the monitor. DAVIS IÕm patching what weÕve transferred from the buoy so far to your screen now, Commander. OLIVER Thank you Davis. On the screen, JANEWAYÕS face appears. JANEWAY This is Captain Janeway of the starship Voyager NCC-74656. I hope this message reaches the Federation as we are in the Delta Quadrant and are trying to find our way home... (Continued) The officers visibly react with surprise. Oliver presses a button and calls the Captain. OLIVER JANEWAY (V.O.) Captain, the data transfer CONTINUED:...We were trans- from the buoy is complete ported here while chasing and you really need to see the Maquis ship in the this. Badlands. In our search for a way home, we have... THE CAPTAIN (V.O.) (Continued) IÕm on my way. JANEWAY CONTINUED...come across a wormhole that leads to the Alpha Quadrant but it opens twenty years in the past. We hope the Romulan scientist we had contacted will deliver this message to you in twenty of his years. After this message, you will find a full report and personal letters to... While Janeway is talking on the monitor, Captain CHAKOTAY walks into the conference room and sits down slowly while looking at the monitor... FADE OUT END OF TEASER ACT ONE FADE IN: INT. FRIEDLAND Š BRIDGE (OPTICAL) Janeway on viewscreen. Chakotay in CaptainÕs chair. JANEWAY A message from us? CHAKOTAY I know it sounds weird but from what weÕve been able to determine, the transmission appears to be authentic. JANEWAY IÕve checked the logs, we havenÕt sent any sort of transmission. WeÕve been busy negotiating trade agreements with The New Collective for the past three days. CHAKOTAY WeÕre still decoding the rest of the data on the buoy so there may be some information that can explain all this. JANEWAY Could it be another ploy by the Romulans? CHAKOTAY I donÕt think so. The Warbirds were very intent on destroying that freighter. If they wanted it in our hands, there are a lot of easier ways to do it. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š BRIDGE (OPTICAL) PARIS, KIM and TUVOK are at their usual stations. JANEWAY There must be something important on there. You said the buoy had its beacon deactivated. CHAKOTAY Yes, we probably wouldnÕt have even noticed it if it didnÕt impact our shields. ItÕs obvious that they wanted us to have it but I havenÕt seen anything on there worth the effort. JANEWAY When will you have it entirely decoded? CHAKOTAY A few hours. HereÕs TORRES our chief engineer, she has a progress report I think weÕll both want to hear. Viewscreen switches to Torres in engineering. TORRES Hello Captains. My initial investigation shows that the message is authentic. Kim in the background waves to Torres, smiling. Torres stifles a smile back and continues with her dialog. TORRES It has all of the proper starfleet headers, protocol and codes for verification. Finding everything in order, I decided to search for inconsistencies in the data itself and found this. A display of a waveform appears next to Torres. JANEWAY That looks like the type of distortion you get when transmitting through a strong subspace field. TORRES My thoughts exactly. Looking at the contents of the message and the modulation of the data, I think itÕs possible that this message came from a parallel universe. Crew reacts. CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š BRIDGE (OPTICAL) Janeway on viewscreen. Setok and Merikson look at Oliver. CHAKOTAY Thank you Torres. Captain Janeway, IÕd like to rendezvous with you. The advanced labs on your ship would be a great help in our research. JANEWAY I love a mystery and would like nothing better. We should be finishing up the negotiations when you get here. CUT TO: EXT. SPACE Š SECTOR 137 (OPTICAL) Establishing. Voyager in close proximity to a Borg Cube. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š READY ROOM (OPTICAL) Janeway talks with SEVEN-OF-NINE on the couch. JANEWAY ...For this reason, trade is going to have to be handled delicately. SEVEN-OF-NINE We understand. We know that our past will make it difficult for us to become trusted. We have a great deal to offer the Federation but prejudice is a hard obstacle to overcome. Your suggestion of having intermediaries handle the trading is sound but does not give us visibility. We focus on Janeway as we see her thoughts begin to drift away from the discussion. SEVEN-OF-NINE If we can not be seen interacting at a social level with your society, we will never truly be accepted by it. Is there something wrong, Captain? JANEWAY (Lost in her thoughts) Hm?...Oh, IÕm sorry. SEVEN-OF-NINE You seem to be distracted from todayÕs discussions. Janeway walks over to the replicator to get some more coffee. JANEWAY YouÕre absolutely right. I havenÕt been able to concentrate all day. A Federation ship near the Romulan Neutral Zone picked up a message buoy that contained a transmission from this ship. SEVEN-OF-NINE But you did not send it? Janeway offers Seven-of-nine a cup which she shakes her head Ņno.Ó JANEWAY Their chief engineer believes the message originated in an alternate reality. IÕve seen some of the data and IÕm almost convinced myself. SEVEN-OF-NINE Then why does it preoccupy your thoughts? JANEWAY Well...it seems that the `otherÕ Voyager was transported to the Delta Quadrant and were unable to return via the same route. TheyÕre trying to make their way back home but it will take them years. SEVEN-OF-NINE And this disturbs you? JANEWAY A bit. You see, the message talks of finding a wormhole that opened in the Alpha Quadrant twenty years in the past. If the message was sent twenty years into our universeÕs past... SEVEN-OF-NINE ...then their Federation would never receive the message and learn what happened to them. JANEWAY Exactly. SEVEN-OF-NINE Then why does this continue to bother you? JANEWAY It must be terrible for those people. I keep trying to imagine what it would be like, suddenly on the far side of the galaxy without an easy way home. Perhaps never seeing friends or family again. The kind of stress theyÕre experiencing must be incredible. Seven-of-Nine thinks about this a moment. SEVEN-OF-NINE It would be like being separated from the collective and unable to return. JANEWAY I hadnÕt thought of it that way but I suppose that would be an accurate description. SEVEN-OF-NINE We begin to understand. Is this why so many of your crew are similarly distracted? Janeway looks perplexed and then remembers that the Borg are linked to one another. JANEWAY Oh, the collective. The other crewmembers of yours that are visiting voyager. I forget that you are all linked. To answer your question, yes, that is probably why. We have several teams working on analyzing the data and it is hard to keep something like that a secret. SEVEN-OF-NINE Much like trying to keep a secret in the collective. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š BRIDGE Kim, Paris and Tuvok are at their usual stations. Some supernumeraries are on the bridge in small groups talking quietly. PARIS What do you think, Harry? KIM (preoccupied in thoughts) Think about what? PARIS The message of course. ItÕs only the gossip of the entire ship. KIM I... (Snapping out of it) ...think it would be really neat to have seen the wormhole they encountered. Paris turns toward Kim and Tuvok. PARIS What do you mean by that? ThatÕs not much of a response. KIM I just think it would be neat, thatÕs all. PARIS Geez, you sound like Tuvok. TUVOK I would have to agree with Ensign Kim. It would have been a fascinating discovery. PARIS You see what I mean? Paris throws up his arms in mock defeat. PARIS What about being stranded out there? What if the ship became unrepairable? TUVOK That speculation is wasted effort since we are not in that situation. Paris looks over his shoulder at his console. PARIS Well, it doesnÕt look like weÕre going to be going anywhere soon. Harry, you never answered my question. KIM You mean about being stuck in the Delta Quadrant? I donÕt think it would be that bad. PARIS (Astonished) What!? KIM I mean, we saw the message. Torres and I are both on the ship, how bad could it possibly be? TUVOK It is likely that personal relationships have developed differently there than here. You and Torres may not be `togetherÕ there. KIM (Sourly to Tuvok) I thought you said this speculation was wasted effort. PARIS Aw come on, Harry. You canÕt tell me that thereÕs no one here besides Torres that youÕd miss. KIM I didnÕt say that. ItÕs just that if I were with Torres on the ship and we had a relationship, it wouldnÕt be that bad. TUVOK Harry is not entirely inaccurate. Companionship on a long voyage such as that would lessen the strain felt by being away. PARIS Why are you always on his side? Paris turns back to his console. PARIS I donÕt know. Maybe youÕre right. I donÕt think IÕd be as stressed if Seven-of-nine were on the ship. KIM YouÕve got to be kidding! After a beat. KIM YouÕre serious! You really like her, donÕt you? PARIS (Evasively) I canÕt say I havenÕt thought about her. KIM You find her attractive with all those implants? She has more hardware than engineering. Paris leans back in his chair, daydreaming. PARIS No amount of hardware could hide her measurements An indicator begins to flash on ParisÕs console. Paris continues daydreaming. After a beat. TUVOK Mr. Paris, if you could divert your attention from your imagination, please inform us what your panel is indicating. Kim snickers. PARIS (embarrassed, muttering) Vulcans...Always know what youÕre thinking. Tuvok raises an eyebrow. PARIS (out loud) The navigational sensors are detecting a ship entering our sector. ItÕs the Friedland. FADE OUT END OF ACT ONE ACT TWO FADE IN: INT. VOYAGER Š JANEWAYÕS QUARTERS (OPTICAL) Janeway in her quarters talking to MARK, her husband. MARK IÕm so glad you called. I was worried about you. JANEWAY Worried? Why? MARK YouÕre meeting face to face with the Borg. That makes me uneasy. Janeway leans forward, concerned. JANEWAY Mark, I understand your concerns but itÕs all right. TheyÕre not like they used to be. MARK IÕm sorry, you know I lost my sister at Wolf 359. ItÕs not an easy thing to forget...or to forgive, no matter what theyÕve become. JANEWAY You know, this conversation is the very stumbling block weÕve had while making these negotiations. Times are going to be difficult, for them and us, until theyÕre accepted for what they are now. MARK For me, IÕll feel better when you get home. Are you still going to arrive on the 23rd? JANEWAY I think IÕm going to be a day or two late. MARK (Surprised, concerned) Why? IÕve already started making arrangements. JANEWAY Well, itÕs just... (Trying to think of the best way to describe the situation) ...The Friedland, while patrolling the Romulan Neutral zone picked up a buoy. On it, were messages from me and many of the crew on my ship. The messages came from a Voyager that was thrown to the other side of the galaxy. About 70,000 light years. MARK Is this a message from the future? Is this going to happen to you? JANEWAY No..no..weÕre fairly certain that itÕs from some sort of parallel universe. MARK Fairly certain. You mean youÕre not sure. JANEWAY Not entirely. ThatÕs why IÕm going to be a few days. The Voyager has some of the most advanced science labs in Starfleet. The Friedland is going to rendezvous with us and we are going to get to the bottom of this. MARK I donÕt like it. IÕve heard too many `alternate dimensionÕ and `recursive time loop` stories to think that this is all there is to it. JANEWAY Well, itÕs not like we can just open a wormhole and throw it back at them. We could learn a lot from a message such as that, scientifically and personally. MARK What do mean personally? JANEWAY Imagine if I were suddenly transported to the other side of the galaxy and for all you knew, we just disappeared without a trace. MARK I think about things like that all the time. JANEWAY I want to hear your thoughts. Would you remarry? MARK You know IÕve always been truthful to you. I would wait for a long time before ever giving up hope. Day after day IÕd wait for your return but you know as well as I that situations can change. That goes for you as well, you know. Janeway smiles and nods in understanding but her next thought is interrupted by the chirp of her badge. JANEWAY Just a minute... Janeway taps her communicator. MOLLY (JanewayÕs dog) sits next to Mark who begins to pet her. JANEWAY What is it? PARIS (V.O.) The Friedland just arrived. TheyÕre preparing to start beaming aboard their teams and equipment. JANEWAY IÕll be there in a minute. MARK I understand. Try to come home as soon as you can. Molly misses you. JANEWAY I will. CUT TO: EXT. SPACE Š VOYAGER (OPTICAL) Establishing. The Voyager, Friedland and Borg Cube together sitting still in space. CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š CARGO BAY A flurry of activity as supernumerary engineering crew led by Torres prepares to beam over to the Voyager. TORRES SUPERNUMERARY #1 (V.O.) KYLE, grab that power The data transfer to you is sequencer. WeÕre going to complete, Voyager. WeÕre be needing it again. ready to send the next batch. Kyle nods and picks up a piece of equipment and carries it over to the cargo transporter pad. Torres checks a cargo container, then closes it up. TORRES SUPERNUMERARY #2(V.O.) (To a supernumerary) Affirmative, Friedland. This oneÕs ready to go. WeÕre all set here. Take it to Science Lab Four. SUPERNUMERARY #3 (V.O.) Where are those antigrav units? ItÕs time to move the large equipment. SUPERNUMERARY #4(V.O.) TheyÕre on their way down there. We just finished with them. TorresÕs badge chirps. TORRES Yes. CHAKOTAY Torres, how are things going down there? TORRES Not too bad, Captain. There are a few more items IÕd like to grab and we still have some of the heavier equipment to transport. CHAKOTAY Keep me updated. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š SCIENCE LAB Torres sits down setting a mug on the table and rubbing her eyes, tired. Supernumeraries pass by in the background every now and then doing various duties. Kim walks in. KIM You look tired. Torres stops rubbing her eyes and looks up. TORRES Like you would not believe. She stands up and they kiss. TORRES I almost think reconstructing everything we did would be easier than trying to transport it all here. KIM Are you going to have time later for some dinner? TORRES If I donÕt drop dead first from exhaustion. A supernumerary interrupts holding up a strange device. SUPERNUMERARY Does this go to material analysis or data extraction? Torres takes the item and looks briefly at it. TORRES This is junk. Pitch it... (hands it back but thinks about it for a second) ...no..on second thought, put it in the bin with the rest of the buoyÕs parts. Torres sinks back into her chair, shaking her head. TORRES Sometimes I donÕt think Starfleet Academy is doing a good enough job. KIM Look, I see youÕre busy. Come by when you get off duty. Tom and IÕve made a great massage program on the holodeck. YouÕre probably going to need it. Torres smiles as he walks out. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š READY ROOM (OPTICAL) Janeway talks again with Seven-of-Nine on the couch. PADDs of various sizes are strewn about the table. Seven-of-Nine looking at one. SEVEN-OF-NINE Your proposal is acceptable and we will make the proper arrangements. JANEWAY Thank you Seven. The New Collective has been very flexible in these negotiations and I appreciate that. SEVEN-OF-NINE We understand more fully now the concerns of your citizens and have attempted to address them. JANEWAY Would you like to stay a bit longer. You and your crew seem to be enjoying the interaction with us. SEVEN-OF-NINE We are intrigued by the speculation your crew has regarding the buoy. JANEWAY IÕm surprised the Collective has taken an interest. SEVEN-OF-NINE It seems that Hugh not only inspired our individuality, but also our emotional sensitivity. Many in the collective are moved by your crewÕs empathy. JANEWAY I never would have thought you had changed that much. SEVEN-OF-NINE If there is anything we can assist you with, we are more than willing to help. WeÕve noticed the Friedland had arrived. Have your engineers completed their analysis? JANEWAY No, not yet. They just finished transporting the material and research over here... (Janeway pauses to think a moment) ...I think you could be a great help to them. Your experiences with spatial phenomena and your affinity for technology could probably speed their progress. Perhaps even show others that we can work cooperatively. IÕll ask Torres, the engineer in charge of the research. SEVEN-OF-NINE Thank you Captain Janeway. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER ŠŹENGINEERING (OPTICAL) Torres is talking with Janeway at a console. Supernumeraries perform various jobs in the background. TORRES You want me to work with the Borg? JANEWAY You were saying how you could use some more experienced people working with you. I canÕt think of anyone more suited. TORRES Captain, are you sure thatÕs a good idea? TheyÕll have access to some fairly sensitive systems. JANEWAY Torres, they can help a great deal. Probably shave a day or two at least off of your schedule. If you find its a problem working with them, IÕm sure theyÕll understand. TORRES (apprehensive) All right Captain but I wonÕt promise anything. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š RESEARCH LAB Torres is working with Seven-of-Nine who is working at a computer with displays of wormhole geometry and waveforms. Other Borg and supernumeraries work together in the background. SEVEN-OF-NINE We have finished interpolating the modulation in the data youÕve provided. This transmission did indeed come from an alternate reality. TORRES Already? Let me look at that. SEVEN-OF-NINE The interpolation is accurate. TORRES Let me just check to make sure... (checking the data) ...Impressive. SEVEN-OF-NINE The subspace field this transmission was exposed to has a spatial modulation of 19013.27 millicochranes, a phase shift of 6.82 microseconds and a temporal shift of -0.20015. Torres looks at Seven-of-Nine, surprised. TORRES You got that much information out of the data? And you were able to measure a temporal shift? Torres turns back to the monitor and becomes immersed in the data. SEVEN-OF-NINE The transmission you had us analyze had very little noise in the modulation. It was not difficult to run a simulation to achieve those results. Forming such a wormhole would not be difficult given the right conditions. TORRES This is incredible... Torres looks at Seven-of-Nine sharply after thinking about it for a moment. TORRES Wait a minute. What do you mean by `the right conditions`? SEVEN-OF-NINE If nodes of this dimension and that one were to come in close proximity or to cross, a junction could be formed between them. Since we have the phase shift and the modulation, we can determine which quantum reality this message came from and create an identical wormhole. Torres turns back to the monitor. TORRES Which means we can send this message back... FADE OUT END OF ACT TWO ACT THREE FADE IN: EXT. SPACE Š SECTOR 137 (OPTICAL) Re-establishing. Friedland, Voyager and Borg Cube sit stationary. We approach the Primary Hull of the Friedland as if eavesdropping in on... CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š TORRESÕS QUARTERS (OPTICAL) Torres is watching her alternate selfÕs message on her terminal. TORRES (ON MONITOR) Mother, a lot has happened since we last talked. Heh, rather since we last yelled at each other. I know you taught me never to be afraid, never to show weakness but IÕm scared. Every night I go to sleep wanting to be home, wanting to be away from this god-awful ship... Torres in the message sniffs, on the verge of crying. TORRES (ON MONITOR) (Continuing, Sniffing occasionally) ...wanting to see you again even if itÕs just to say IÕm sorry. I stopped talking to you when I should have been taking your advice. We see TorresÕs attention drift away from the message and focus on an item on her wall. TORRES (ON MONITOR, V.O.) Now IÕm here on the other side of the galaxy and I feel so alone...so afraid. The image begins to blur. TORRES (ON SCREEN V.O.) I need to make this short and this may be my last chance to tell you this, Mother, I love you... FADE TO: INT. KLINGON HOME Š LIVING ROOM The image sharpens in a flashback where Torres and her mother are arguing loudly in the middle of the room. TORRES This rite of passage is stupid! You think being beaten to within an inch of your life is supposed to mean anything?! MOTHER How dare you call a Klingon tradition, your heritage, stupid! You have no honor and are a disgrace to our name! TORRES ThatÕs fine! What do I care what a bunch of barbaric Klingons think! IÕll have nothing to do with these ridiculous rituals! IÕm going back to my ship. FADE TO: INT. VOYAGER Š TORRESÕS QUARTERS Torres comes out of her daydream and we find her sitting in her quarters talking with her MOTHER on her terminal. MOTHER IÕm surprised you called. TORRES ItÕs been a long time since weÕve talked. IÕve been thinking a lot lately and I want to visit. The TorÕ PaQh ceremony is coming up isnÕt it? MOTHER Yes, in three weeks. YouÕve always called it `barbaricÕ and `ridiculousÕ I seem to recall. TORRES I think I want to try participating this year. TorresÕs mother seems to get very hostile, much like Torres occasionally does. MOTHER You think you want to try participating? I didnÕt raise you to be unsure of your actions. Do or do not, be strong in your convictions. Torres gets angry for a moment, then realizes thatÕs how their arguments always started and laughs. TORRES All right, mother. I WANT to participate in the TorÕPaQh ceremony. TorresÕs mother pauses for a minute still with an angry face showing a little confusion then bursts out in a huge smile and laugh. MOTHER ThatÕs better! When will you arrive, I want to have fresh bloodworms for dinner. TORRES That might be going a little far. MOTHER Will Harry be joining you? I donÕt think he enjoyed his last trip. TORRES You sicked your targ on him. MOTHER He runs like your father used to. I like that, heÕll make a good husband. TORRES I think thatÕs the first approving thing youÕve ever said about him. MOTHER I think this is the first time we havenÕt gone into battle with each other in years. Torres looks gently at her mother. TORRES I love you, Mother. If I were on the other side of the galaxy, IÕd still love you. IÕve... needed to say that for a long time. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER - TORPEDO BAY VORIK, DÕERN and other supernumeraries work with the Borg crew to modify probes. Tensions are reaching their peak. VORIK I am merely stating that I am not entirely certain that the trans-space imager is calibrated according to these specifications. A miscalibration of the slightest amount will yield incorrect data. The Borg drone is adamant. BORG DRONE They are sufficiently calibrated. DÕErn, who seems already agitated with the Borg, enters the conversation. DÕERN If Vorik says we need to re-check the calibration, then we re-check the calibration. BORG DRONE The calibration is accurate. The readings have been misread. DÕErn becomes confrontational and is visibly getting angrier. DÕERN Are you saying Vorik doesnÕt know how to do his job? BORG DRONE We say the readings have been misread. The drone returns to work as if the discussion had ended. VORIK I will run a check on the diagnostic equipment. There is a possibility that the diagnostic sensors may not be properly calibrated. DÕErn is so mad he doesnÕt hear Vorik speaking. DÕERN DonÕt turn your back on me! YouÕve done nothing but tell us how inadequate we are since we started on this thing. Vorik doesnÕt make mistakes like misreading an instrument, okay? BORG DRONE Your staff has made 168 errors in the past 34 hours. We have made none. Vorik realizes that this statement is going to push DÕErn over the edge but DÕErn isnÕt listening. VORIK DÕErn, wait... DÕERN IÕve had enough of that kind of attitude out of you! DÕErn tries to punch the Borg drone who blocks it and grabs his face with the claw-like prosthetic just as Chakotay walks in. CHAKOTAY What is going on here? The Borg releases DÕErn who promptly stands at attention. DÕERN Sir!, we were having a dispute over efficiency. The Borg donÕt think weÕre doing our jobs right. CHAKOTAY I see... (Turns toward the Borg) ...And what is your explanation? BORG DRONE We installed and calibrated the sensors in this probe. Your engineer insists the work is inaccurate. We know that it is not. VORIK IÕm sorry Captain, I must assume responsibility. The diagnostic sensor I was using to check the BorgÕs work is faulty. Ensign DÕErn was not satisfied with the BorgÕs assessment of the situation. CHAKOTAY Vorik, how long until these probes are ready? VORIK These are the last three. I would estimate two hours. CHAKOTAY Work together and get these probes finished. Think what you like in your quarters but while you are here, you work as a team, you got me? DÕErn, when you are through here, I want to see you. Chakotay turns about and walks out. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER - HALLWAY Kim is walking down the hallway and Paris turns a corner behind him. Wanting to talk, Paris catches up. PARIS So, youÕre having dinner with Torres tonight? KIM Yep, a candlelight dinner, some music. You know, romantic. PARIS Are you going to tell her about Libby? Kim is visibly surprised and stops. He pulls Paris over to the side to have a private conversation. KIM How do you know about her? Have you been reading everyoneÕs personal messages? PARIS Wha..Yea, IÕve watched a few of Ōem. ItÕs not like IÕm reading your personal logs, these people are in an entirely different universe. Kim canÕt believe he could be so insensitive. KIM TheyÕre still personal messages and you shouldnÕt be reading them. DidnÕt yours hit a little too close to home? PARIS Nah, that Tom is very different. I guess that move I made on Deneb IV didnÕt work out so well for him. KIM ThatÕs too bad. IsnÕt that the reason Janeway requested you? PARIS Yea. But I tell you, if you want to see a difference, read TuvokÕs message. Geez...and we always thought he was a hard nose. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š CONFERENCE ROOM (OPTICAL) All of the senior staff from the Voyager and Friedland are present as is Seven-of-Nine. A presentation is in progress regarding the possibility of sending the message back to itÕs original universe. JANEWAY All right, Torres, what have you got for us? TORRES The probes we sent out did not give us very promising information. SEVEN-OF-NINE We admit, it is difficult to be certain but it appears that the bulk of this universeÕs contact with the target universe reside within the Romulan Star Empire. Torres goes over to the display screen to point at the graphical data. TORRES Of the probes we sent out, only those that entered Romulan space detected anything at all. Unfortunately we werenÕt able to complete our scans. CHAKOTAY Why is that? TORRES Have a look for yourself. Torres displays on the monitor the POV of the probe as it performs its scans. A Romulan Warbird decloaks extremely close and we see a flash as they fire a weapon and the screen goes blank. PARIS Have you tried sending additional probes in? SEVEN-OF-NINE Our next attempt failed the moment the probe crossed the Neutral Zone border. TORRES The data we received however shows that the nodes of this universe and that one are in close proximity a short distance inside the zone. It appears that they are close enough for us to form a junction. However, since the nodes are always in flux we only have several days until that changes. OLIVER What are these nodes youÕre speaking of? And why would it change? SEVEN-OF-NINE The hypervolume a universe occupies is not like a smooth sphere or other simple form. Rather they are very irregular in shape with depressions, nodes and various other types of features. Seven-of-Nine goes over to the display and points at portions of two intersecting undulating blobs. SEVEN-OF-NINE (Continuing) In this case, the nodes that we are looking for are those that extend into close proximity with our own universe. Since a universe is in a somewhat fluid state, these nodes drift and deform constantly. PARIS If we arenÕt able to send any more probes in, then what will we do? TORRES When the node weÕre detecting goes away, we probably wonÕt be able to find a new one. Janeway becomes very serious. JANEWAY This means weÕre just going to have to get the RomulanÕs permission to enter their space. CUT TO: EXT. SPACE Š SECTOR 137 The three ships turn about and warp toward the Neutral Zone... END OF ACT THREE ACT FOUR FADE IN: EXT. SPACE Š ROMULAN NEUTRAL ZONE (OPTICAL) Establishing. Voyager, Friedland and Borg Cube facing empty space. CUT TO: INT. ROMULAN WARBIRD Š BRIDGE (OPTICAL) Commander TOMALAK speaks with Subcommander SEKATH about the vessels asking permission to enter their space. An image of the Borg and Federation ships is on the main viewer. TOMALAK It is a ruse, Subcommander. They are most certainly here to distract us while they prepare their fleets to invade. With the Borg at their side, they think they are undefeatable. SEKATH What of the probes, Commander. They substantiate their story. TOMALAK The probes were only sent to check our borderÕs strength. They were equipped with highly advanced sensors, undoubtably to scan for cloaked ships. SEKATH They claim they only have two hours left to open their wormhole. TOMALAK More likely it is a super-weapon they devised and only want to activate it within our space. We will wait an hour more and then deny them entrance. Their reaction will demonstrate their true intentions. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š MESS HALL The mess hall is crowded with Federation and Borg crew who seem to have begun intermingling on a social level. Tuvok picks up a glass from the replicator and we follow him as he seats himself with Chakotay. They continue playing a tri-d chess game. TUVOK I am beginning to doubt the Romulans will answer our hails. CHAKOTAY TheyÕll answer. They wonÕt let us enter but theyÕll answer. Chakotay makes a move. TUVOK You seem certain of this. Tuvok counters, Chakotay contemplates the situation. CHAKOTAY TheyÕre out there right now estimating our strength, what weÕre doing and testing our resolve. Chakotay makes a move and smiles. TUVOK Intriguing move, Captain. Not what IÕve come to expect from you. CHAKOTAY ItÕs risky. TUVOK Have you and Janeway discussed what you will do if they refuse? Tuvok takes the piece Chakotay moved. CHAKOTAY Anything we try will almost certainly cause a war. TUVOK Captain Janeway is experienced in negotiations and can be very persuasive. CHAKOTAY I certainly hope...so... Chakotay pauses as the people in the mess hall move to the window pointing and making exclamations. Tuvok and Chakotay, being curious, stand to look out the window where we see a Romulan Warbird and two others decloaking. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š BRIDGE (OPTICAL) Janeway walks from the upper level to in front of her chair to answer a hail. JANEWAY ItÕs about time. Put them on screen. The image of the Warbirds is replace by Commander Tomalak. TOMALAK I am Commander Tomalak. Your request to enter the Neutral Zone is denied. If you attempt to cross the border, you will be destroyed. JANEWAY Commander, please. We just want... TOMALAK I am not interested in your improbable explanations. We have a treaty and we will consider any digression to be an act of war. JANEWAY Commander, we only... Tomalak motions with his hand and the transmission cuts off. JANEWAY Damn it! As Janeway contemplates the new development, we... CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š TEN FORWARD The deck is occupied by Federation and Borg crew intermingling. Oliver walks through the room and we eavesdrop on some of the conversations. SETOK We do not have very much time left. What will happen if the Romulans do not allow us into their territory? MERIKSON IÕm not sure. I would think that the buoy would be turned over to Starfleet Intelligence. SETOK I find it unlikely that they would make an effort to return it. MERIKSON They wouldnÕt. I guess thatÕs why everyone is so enthusiastic. If we donÕt return it, no one else will. Maybe the Captain would be able to bend the regulations a little bit more and give us another chance. Oliver walks over to the replicator to put away the drink he just finished and we overhear part of another conversation. We concentrate on OliverÕs reactions as he listens to the (off camera) voices around him. SUPERNUMERARY #1 (V.O.) IsnÕt it exciting that weÕre helping the crew of a ship in another universe? SUPERNUMERARY #2 (V.O.) I couldnÕt imagine being on a starship for that long. IÕd be tempted to settle down on some planet somewhere. As Oliver is about to leave Ten Forward, he pauses to catch another conversation. SUPERNUMERARY #3 (V.O.) I heard the Romulans arenÕt going to allow us to enter. SUPERNUMERARY #4 (V.O.) They have to. A friend of mine in engineering says the only place we can send the buoy back is in Romulan space. SUPERNUMERARY #3 (V.O.) YouÕre underestimating Romulan paranoia. You really think theyÕre going to let Federation ships into their space willingly? Nah, this is a waste of effort. SUPERNUMERARY #4 (V.O.) Waste of effort!... Oliver leaves Ten Forward. CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š READY ROOM (OPTICAL) Oliver speaks with Chakotay on the terminal about the situation. CHAKOTAY They arenÕt going to let us in. OLIVER You expected this, though. CHAKOTAY Yes but I canÕt help wishing that they would. OLIVER The entire crew is talking about it. TheyÕre going to be disappointed. We did our best. Chakotay sighs. CHAKOTAY IÕll talk with the crew when this is over with. Be glad youÕre not the Captain and have to face that angry mob. OLIVER After the past few days of raising everyoneÕs hopes, youÕre right... (is pensive for a moment) ...ThereÕs something IÕve been meaning to ask you. We watched the logs and the messages but yours struck me as being different. The personal message was to the tribe and not to any family or friends. You also didnÕt seem to be upset about being away as many of the other crew were. Chakotay thinks a moment on this. After a beat. CHAKOTAY If we are indeed similar, he and I both donÕt have any living relatives. But no matter where I go, their spirits will always be close to me. I speak with them often and distance wonÕt change that. OLIVER I didnÕt mean to pry. CHAKOTAY ThatÕs ok. Everyone deals with isolation differently. IÕm sure that that Chakotay is still homesick even if he has no one to tell. OLIVER Well, we are all anxious about what will happen in the next hour. I hope the situation changes. CHAKOTAY IÕll remain on Voyager until this thing runs its course. IÕm sure youÕll be able to handle things over there. OLIVER IÕm starting to like it, Sir. After Chakotay laughs, we... CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š HALLWAY We follow Paris as he walks down the corridor and encounters Torres heading in the opposite direction. PARIS Hey, itÕs almost time we need to do this. TORRES I know, we just moved the buoy into the cargo bay. Have you got the tractor beam ready? PARIS I just finished readjusting the emitters to repel according to your specifications. WeÕll push that baby without so much as a bump. TORRES Good, then weÕre all set. Now all we have to do is get past the Romulans. Torres and Paris continue their separate ways as we... CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š BRIDGE Time grows short and Janeway paces around trying to come up with a solution. JANEWAY Try hailing them again Mr. Kim. KIM They still arenÕt responding. TUVOK Captain, in the academy did you not face a similar dilemma? Janeway looks up at the ceiling, remembering her days at the academy. JANEWAY Yes...The scenario was called the Kobayashi Maru. Though it was an old test, Admiral Sulu insisted in torturing every aspiring Captain-to-be with it. KIM What was your solution? Janeway looks over at Kim and Tuvok. JANEWAY I never beat the test. There was no way to win... She contemplates this for a second and then turns toward the viewscreen. JANEWAY I see what youÕre getting at Tuvok but thatÕs just a test in a controlled environment... (motions toward the screen) ...Out here, we canÕt simply say itÕs unsolvable and just give up. TUVOK Nor would I suggest we do. I am, however, having difficulty finding a solution. Janeway turns away from the viewscreen to look at Tuvok. Paris walks in and heads toward his seat. JANEWAY So am I, Tuvok. So am I. At that moment, over JanewayÕs shoulder, we see the Borg cube move toward the Romulan ships. Paris reacts. PARIS Captain! Janeway turns quickly around and sees whatÕs happening. Paris sits down and starts hitting controls. JANEWAY What do they think theyÕre doing? EXT. SPACE Š ROMULAN NEUTRAL ZONE (OPTICAL) The Borg Cube moves away from the Federation ships and heads toward the Warbirds as we... FADE OUT END OF ACT FOUR ACT FIVE FADE IN: EXT. SPACE Š ROMULAN NEUTRAL ZONE (OPTICAL) The Borg Cube enters Romulan space. The three Romulan Warbirds move to intercept the Cube. Two more Warbirds decloak and manoever to engage. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š BRIDGE (OPTICAL) Kim, Paris and Tuvok are informing Janeway what is happening. KIM The cube has entered the Neutral Zone. TUVOK Two more Warbirds have decloaked and are powering weapons. JANEWAY Hail that Borg ship. The viewscreen showing the Borg Cube getting smaller is replace with Seven-of-Nine. SEVEN-OF-NINE Greetings Captain. JANEWAY What do you think you are doing? SEVEN-OF-NINE We are going to open the wormhole. We recommend that you prepare the buoy to launch into it from there. JanewayÕs angry face softens to concern. JANEWAY Turn your ship around. DonÕt do this. SEVEN-OF-NINE We do not have time to argue Captain Janeway. We are the only ones that can do this. The New Collective does not have a treaty to break. PARIS She has a point. JANEWAY We can wait for another opportunity, try to find a different way. SEVEN-OF-NINE We both know that another way is unlikely. We have the full support of the collective. We wish to do this and we understand how important this is to you and your crews. We will signal when the wormhole is ready. The viewscreen switches back to the Borg Cube as the Warbirds move into attack positions. JANEWAY Tuvok, how much time is left in our window? TUVOK Four minutes, forty-eight seconds. Janeway taps her combadge. JANEWAY Torres, we need to prepare the buoy to launch out of the torpedo tube. TORRES Captain? JANEWAY No time to explain, you only have four minutes... (looks back to the viewscreen and talks to herself) ...WeÕll have it ready, Seven. I just hope you get yourself out of there the second it enters the wormhole. CUT TO: INT. WARBIRD Š BRIDGE (OPTICAL) Tomalak commands the battle group. On the viewscreen we see the CubeÕs shields are absorbing their attacks. TOMALAK What are the Federation Vessels doing? SEKATH They are staying on their side of the Zone, Commander. TOMALAK No matter, continue to attack. SEKATH Sir, weÕre receiving a transmission from the Borg. TOMALAK I want to hear it. THE NEW COLLECTIVE (in Borg multi-voice) We are the New Collective. We will leave when we are finished. Do not interfere. TOMALAK They only want to delay our response. Inform the fleet. Sekath manipulates some controls. SEKATH They will be here shortly. CUT TO: EXT. SPACE Š ROMULAN NEUTRAL ZONE The Borg ship stops and begins diverting power to generate the wormhole. Shots from the Warbirds that were just hitting the shields now begin to penetrate and do damage to the vessel. A beam is emitted and the wormhole begins to form. The Borg Cube fires some weapons at the Warbirds but are at weak enough power they do little damage. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š TORPEDO BAY Torres is working on the buoy with Vorik and several other supernumeraries. VORIK Here is the transtator. TORRES What the hell is going on out there? At the last minute we decide to abandon the tractor push and launch the buoy instead? VORIK The Captain would not ask this if it were not necessary. TORRES WhereÕs that damn Microconic Delimiter? Torres finishes making an adjustment. TORRES There, letÕs move it to the launch tube. They move to lift the buoy when we... CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š BRIDGE (OPTICAL) On the main viewscreen, the Borg Cube is getting heavily damaged by the swarming Warbirds. The wormhole is getting fairly large. JANEWAY They canÕt take much more of this... (taps her combadge) ...Torres, is that buoy ready? TORRES (V.O.) I need another minute. KIM Captain, incoming transmission. Seven-of-Nine appears on the monitor. Behind her, parts of the ship are burning and there are occasional explosions. SEVEN-OF-NINE We have successfully stabilized the wormhole. We can... (lurches from a hit) ...maintain it for only a few moments longer. Launch the buoy now. The transmission ends and we see the Borg ship maintaining the wormhole but the beam starts to flicker. TUVOK Captain, IÕm detecting a fleet of Romulan warships entering our sector. They will be here in two minutes. Janeway turns toward the viewscreen with a worried look. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š TORPEDO BAY Torres and Vorik are on the conveyor heading toward the torpedo launcher making final adjustments. JANEWAY (V.O.) We need to launch the buoy now! TORRES Only a few seconds more... (finishes making an adjustment) ...There! Lock the panel! Vorik locks the panel and they both get off the conveyor just before they reach the breach. Torres taps her combadge. TORRES WeÕre ready, launch it! CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š BRIDGE Close-up on Janeway who quickly turns toward Tuvok. TUVOK Launching the buoy. CUT TO: INT. VOYAGER Š LAUNCH TUBE (OPTICAL) We follow the buoy out of the launch tube and quickly fly through the battle toward the wormhole. As we approach the wormhole, we pan over keeping the Borg Cube in frame. As the gasses of the wormhole begin to surround us, we watch a final volley from the Warbirds destroy the Cube and see the lead ships of a large fleet begin decloaking. The beam terminates and the wormhole closes around us... CUT TO: EXT. SPACE Š ROMULAN NEUTRAL ZONE (OPTICAL) Establishing. The Federation Starship USS Friedland passes by. Commander WESTAN makes a log entry. WESTAN (V.O.) First OfficerÕs log, stardate xxxx.xx, night shift. CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š BRIDGE Commander Westan walks by with a coffee mug in hand and sits down in the CaptainÕs chair looking at the viewscreen. WESTAN (V.O.) (Continued) No Romulan activity to report. The Captain will be glad to get a full nightÕs rest for a change. An alert sounds and Lieutenant Merikson at the science station gives a report. MERIKSON Commander Westan, IÕm detecting a subspace disturbance. WESTAN Where is it? MERIKSON ItÕs nearly on top of us! CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š VIEWSCREEN (OPTICAL) On the screen we see the wormhole open. Westan stands up in astonishment. The ship begins to shake violently. CUT TO: INT FRIEDLAND Š BRIDGE (OPTICAL) Westan sits back down quickly and holds on as the ship rocks. WESTAN Raise shields! Red Alert, Captain to the bridge. Red alert klaxons sound and supernumeraries begin reporting status. Setok in the ops position reacts to his control panel. SETOK Commander, there is something coming through the wormhole. On the viewscreen, we see the buoy emerge and the wormhole closes back up. WESTAN Sensors? MERIKSON Overloaded, Commander. Setok switches the viewscreen to a closeup of the buoy. SETOK It appears to be a message buoy of Romulan design. Oliver turns around to look at the screen. Dramatic Pause. CUT TO: INT. FRIEDLAND Š CONFERENCE ROOM (OPTICAL) Most of the senior staff is present, the head seat at the conference table unoccupied. Lieutenant DAVIS is on the monitor. DAVIS IÕm patching what weÕve transferred from the buoy so far to your screen now, Commander. WESTAN Thank you Davis. On the screen, JANEWAYÕS face appears. JANEWAY This is Captain Janeway of the starship Voyager NCC-74656. I hope this message reaches the Federation as we are in the Delta Quadrant and are trying to find our way home... (Continued) The officers visibly react with surprise. Westan presses a button and calls the Captain. WESTAN JANEWAY (V.O.) Captain, the data transfer CONTINUED:...We were trans- from the buoy is complete ported here while chasing and you really need to see the Maquis ship in the this. Badlands. In our search for a way home, we have... THE CAPTAIN (V.O.) (Continued) IÕm on my way. JANEWAY CONTINUED...come across a wormhole that leads to the Alpha Quadrant but it opens twenty years in the past. We hope the Romulan scientist we had contacted will deliver this message to you in twenty of his years. After this message, you will find a full report and personal letters to... While Janeway is talking on the monitor, Captain Oliver walks into the conference room and sits down slowly while looking at the monitor... FADE OUT END OF ACT FIVE