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December 11, 1996
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46 minutes
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140
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2024-09-13 10:12:22
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SUMMARY
Stardate: Unknown. After returning from a first contact mission, Janeway, Neelix and the Doctor must retake Voyager from an infestation of microorganisms that grow to an alarming size.
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TRANSCRIPT
[Tak Tak homeworld]
(The Tak Tak are deeply into body language. Words are augmented by formal poses and hand gestures.)
CONSUL: Good health, strong body, clear mind.
NEELIX: And you, your hospitality, your generosity, your patience, many thanks. My colleague's behaviour, our apologies.
JANEWAY: Consul, I assure you I meant no
(Her hand movements are clearly offensive to the Tak Tak.)
CONSUL: Please make her quiet.
NEELIX: Captain, please.
JANEWAY: I understand.
NEELIX: Good health, strong body, clear mind.
CONSUL: And you. Your journey home short and safe.
Captain's log, stardate 50425.1. Mister Neelix and I have completed our three day trade mission with the Tak Tak, one of the more unusual species we've encountered in the Delta Quadrant. We are en route back to Voyager.
[Shuttlecraft]
JANEWAY: Oh. I've always been taught to be tolerant of other cultures and points of view, no matter how alien, but I have to say that the Tak Tak are the most unforgiving people I've ever met.
NEELIX: They are a little impatient.
JANEWAY: They make the Klingons look sedate. I may never put my hands on my hips again.
NEELIX: You had no way of knowing you were making one of the worst insults possible.
JANEWAY: Obviously they've never heard of forgive and forget. It's a good thing you were there, Mister Neelix. I might have been shot at dawn. I have studied chromolinguistics, American Sign Language, the gestural idioms of the Leyron, but I just couldn't get the hang of the Tak Tak.
NEELIX: It seemed like more than just a language to me, Captain. A lot of their gestures, from what I could tell, were ritualistic. You might even say superstitious.
JANEWAY: You have a genuine flair for diplomacy, Mister Neelix. I may have to promote you from morale officer to Ambassador. With all the species we're bound to meet, I could use a man like you at the front door.
NEELIX: Ambassador Neelix. I like the sound of that. We're approaching the rendezvous coordinates.
JANEWAY: Dropping to one quarter impulse. Voyager's not there, and they're not responding to hails. I'm running a long range scan. There they are. They're holding position in sector thirty eight, coordinates one two one mark six.
NEELIX: That's over a light year away from here.
JANEWAY: The ship appears to be adrift. They could be in trouble. Engaging maximum warp.
(They reach Voyager.)
JANEWAY: Janeway to Voyager. Commander Chakotay, respond.
NEELIX: The ship looks perfectly fine. There's no sign of any external damage. Any sign of the crew?
JANEWAY: There's some kind of bioelectrical interference. I can't get clear life sign readings. The escape pods are all in place, and there's no indication of any recent transporter activity. Grab a phaser, Ambassador. We're going to get some answers.
[Corridor]
JANEWAY: Still no sign of the crew, but these sensor readings are highly erratic. A bioelectric field is permeating the ship.
NEELIX: Where's it coming from?
JANEWAY: I can't localise it. Let's try accessing the ships internal sensors, see if we can get a better reading.
(She accesses a wall panel.)
JANEWAY: Same problem. The main computer is offline, so is the comm. system. This is strange. One of the bio-neural gel packs in the mess hall ruptured, but most of the systems in there seem to be functioning normally. Let's get to the bridge.
(Further along the corridor they come across a tool box and PADD.)
JANEWAY: Someone was doing maintenance work on this power relay. All the equipment is still active, but the work hasn't been completed.
NEELIX: It's almost as if they dropped what they were doing and ran.
JANEWAY: Come on.
NEELIX: This isn't the welcome home I was expecting.
JANEWAY: Me neither, but if there was an attack of some kind, why didn't Chakotay try to contact us or send out a warning buoy? I'm picking up a comm. signal about ten metres ahead. It's coming from inside this room.
NEELIX: This is Ensign Wildman's quarters. Is she in there?
JANEWAY: I can't tell. Let's take a look. Stand ready.
[Wildman's quarters]
JANEWAY: Here's our comm. signal, your Good Morning Voyager programme.
NEELIX: Ensign Wildman is one of my most dedicated viewers. According to the time index she activated this programme approximately eleven hours ago.
JANEWAY: Why is it still running?
NEELIX: The programme is set for automatic playback until it's turned off. (he turns it off.) The baby's missing too.
JANEWAY: According to the protein decay, I'd say Ensign Wildman replicated this eleven hours go. When we get to the bridge we'll check the communications logs. They might tell us whether or not
(They hear a buzzing insect sound.)
[Corridor]
NEELIX: There!
(A shadow vanishes down a side corridor.)
JANEWAY: I can't tell if it's humanoid, but it's emanating a bioelectric field.
NEELIX: Whatever it is, it just ran into a dead end.
(Crash, rattle.)
[Transporter room]
JANEWAY: Over here.
(There is a hole in one of the transporter pads.)
JANEWAY: Something just punched right through this floor panel into the Jefferies tubes.
NEELIX: What is it?
JANEWAY: Some sort of mucilaginous compound. High concentrations of amino acids and proteins, and fragments of non-humanoid DNA. Well, Ambassador, I'd say we've got an unexpected guest.
NEELIX: Somehow I don't think he's the diplomatic type.
JANEWAY: Main power is failing, and the environmental controls are going offline. Systems are starting to shut down one by one. We'd better get to the bridge.
[Turbolift]
JANEWAY: Good, we're still got auxiliary power. Deck one.
NEELIX: It's getting awfully hot in here.
JANEWAY: When environmental controls fail, heat from the warp plasma conduits can't be vented. Expect a heat wave before long.
NEELIX: No problem, I'm used to it. I grew up near the Rinax marshlands. Our summers were the hottest in the sector. Fifty degrees Celsius, ninety percent humidity, and the most vicious lavaflies you've ever seen.
JANEWAY: Summers in Indiana were pretty similar when I was growing up.
NEELIX: Except that we had three suns and the lavaflies grew to be six centimetres long.
JANEWAY: Six centimetres?
NEELIX: Insect repellant was a booming business.
(Something thumps the turbocar and it stops. There is lots of buzzing outside.)
JANEWAY: There's a life form in the turboshaft. I'm engaging the manual override.
NEELIX: Ah, Captain, it sounds like our guest has bought a few friends.
JANEWAY: One more second. I can't get the pneumatic conduits to
(Something punches through the door and squirts gung onto Neelix. Janeway phasers the long tentacle that follows it.)
NEELIX: That was no lavafly.
JANEWAY: There's no lifeform in the tube above us. We're getting out of here.
[Jefferies tube]
JANEWAY: Are you all right?
NEELIX: Yes. Disgusting, but I'm all right.
JANEWAY: It's the same mucilaginous compound we saw in the transporter room. Come on.
(They crawl along a short tube to a junction. Janeway uses her tricorder again.)
NEELIX: What is it?
JANEWAY: Human lifesigns, very faint. Thirty or more.
NEELIX: Where are they coming from?
JANEWAY: Several decks above us. I can't pinpoint the location.
NEELIX: Maybe the crew is hiding from the aliens and they set up a defence perimeter.
JANEWAY: Maybe. One thing's for sure, whoever's up there is still alive. Once we get the main computer online, we'll be able to get a fix on their location.
(They crawl to another junction.)
NEELIX: It's so hot. My head is spinning.
JANEWAY: You've got a high fever, fluid in your lungs.
NEELIX: Lung.
JANEWAY: That alien compound is acting quickly. Try to hang on. Just three more decks.
NEELIX: Aye, aye, Captain.
(Neelix has a dizzy spell.)
NEELIX: Captain, go on without me.
JANEWAY: I'm not going to leave you here, Neelix.
NEELIX: I can't. I'm so dizzy.
JANEWAY: There should be an emergency medical kit up that tube. I'll bring back something to get you on your feet. Don't go away.
(She goes up the ladder and find the medical kit. Meanwhile, Neelix is joined by a buzzing noise.)
NEELIX [OC]: Help! Captain!
JANEWAY: I'm coming, Neelix!
(She heads back down with a hypo in her hand. Neelix screams.)
JANEWAY: Neelix!
(Neelix has gone. A trail of mucus leads back down the Jefferies tube.
(Janeway goes to Engineering, but it is deserted. She can hear a noise somewhere and climbs the ladder to the upper level around the warp core. A large case is there, and it contains weaponry. She strips down to her vest, keeping her comm. badge, and fills a backpack with small metal items. Finally she takes a hand phaser, a knife, and a phaser rifle. Rambo or Ripley Janeway locks and loads, ready for bear.)
[Bridge]
(Janeway has to force the turbolift doors to open properly. There is no one on the bridge, but there is mucus on the walls. As she works at a wall panel in an auxiliary Science station alcove, something buzzing rises up from behind the helm. The monitor says Distress Signal Protocol ready to encode.)
JANEWAY: This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager to anyone within range. My ship has been seized by unknown lifeforms. Require any and all assistance.
(Transmitting on all subspace channels. Something bites her on the left arm. She squashes it. The monitor says it is scanning for lifeforms on all decks. Janeway runs a medical device over the bite, then the computer reports Lifesigns Located. Some are near the stern of the vessel, and some below the bridge.)
[Mess hall]
(The mess hall is full of unconscious people, mostly at tables. They have mucus on their skin, along with nasty boils.)
JANEWAY: Harry. Harry.
(Kim wheezes for breath.)
JANEWAY: Oh, Chakotay.
(Tiny insects fly out of the boil on his neck, then a massive three tentacled thing flies at Janeway, throwing her over a table. It prepares to dive at her with its central injector ready, and she blasts it into pieces. Clutching her side, she runs out into the corridor and into a turbolift.)
[Sickbay]
(Janeway tries to use a magnetic clamp to open the doors, and a hand puts a phaser at her throat.)
EMH: Captain! Needless to say, I thought you were something else. It won't be long before the other aliens sense you here and start to try to invade sickbay. We don't have much time to treat you.
JANEWAY: Doctor, what's going on? What are those ow!
EMH: You've ruptured your dorsal extensor muscle and bruised two ribs. I'm going to have to perform minor surgery. Lie on your side and try to remain perfectly still.
JANEWAY: Tell me what's happened.
EMH: Voyager has been infected by a macrovirus.
JANEWAY: A macrovirus?
EMH: A form of life I've never encountered, or even imagined.
JANEWAY: What about the crew?
EMH: Captain, I promise I will tell you exactly what happened if you just lie still. Shortly after you'd left for the Tak Tak homeworld, we received a distress call from a nearby mining colony. A race called the Garans.
[EMH narrative - Sickbay]
EMH [OC]: They were experiencing what appeared to be a minor viral outbreak,
GARAN MINER [on monitor]: Fever, disorientation. I think it's some kind of virus. Nothing serious, but if we don't stop it now, we'll be forced to shut down the operation.
CHAKOTAY: We may be able to help you. Doctor?
EMH: A synthetic antigen may do the trick. However, it will have to be modified for this specific virus. I'd like to beam down to the mining colony and examine a few of the infected.
CHAKOTAY: An away mission.
EMH: I'm the only member of this crew who can successfully enter a contaminated environment without risk. Besides, I've been looking forward to spreading my wings.
CHAKOTAY: Good enough. It'll take us about three hours to reach you.
GARAN MINER [on monitor]: Thank you, Commander. I don't think we'll be going anywhere.
EMH: Prepare to download my programme into the autonomous emitter.
KES: Yes, Doctor.
[EMH narrative - Bridge]
TUVOK: They're not responding to our hails.
CHAKOTAY: Life signs?
KIM: There's a lot of bioelectrical interference. I can't get a clear reading.
EMH: Perhaps their condition is more serious than they thought. I'd better get down there.
CHAKOTAY: Doctor, don't forget, you're not invulnerable. If anything happens to that portable emitter, your programme could be lost.
EMH: Don't worry Commander, I've been studying the Starfleet guidelines for away team members. For this particular scenario, medical emergency on alien terrain, it is recommended that we keep an open comm. channel at all times.
CHAKOTAY: You heard the man.
TUVOK: Channel open.
[EMH narrative - Garan Mine]
EMH: Away team to Voyager. Transport was successful and my portable emitter is working perfectly. I am scanning the mine shaft and proceeding on vector one four seven. Ambient temperature is sixteen degrees Celsius. Cavern illumination is minimal but doesn't pose a problem for my optical sensors. The cave walls are comprised of granite with a mixture of pyroclastic infusions
CHAKOTAY [OC]: Doctor
[EMH narrative - Bridge]
CHAKOTAY: I appreciate your attention to detail but we don't need that much information. Let us know when you've found the miners.
[EMH narrative - Garan Mine]
EMH: Oh, very well. Stand by then. Voyager, I've found one of the miners. He appears to be suffering from the advanced stages of severe viral infection.
CHAKOTAY [OC]: Can you treat him?
EMH: Not without a more specialised immunising agent. This is curious. The virus has begun to concentrate in a region near his neck, and it's using his glandular tissue to create some sort of orifice. Something is emerging. A lifeform! Commander, I think I've just discovered a completely new form of life. From what I can tell, it appears to be a macroscopic version of the virus.
CHAKOTAY: You mean the virus has grown?
EMH: Yes, by a factor of billions. The virus absorbed the miner's growth hormones into it's protein structure, and used them to increase it's own mass and dimensions. In essence, the virus has found a way to leave the microscopic world and enter the macroscopic world. Our world. It's a remarkable evolutionary development. The virus appears to be attracted to infra-red radiation. It's mistaking my holomatrix for body heat. At the moment, this one's approximately point five millimetres in diameter, but it's continuing to grow at a rate of thirty microns every second! Commander, permission to beam the virus aboard for further analysis.
CHAKOTAY [OC]: No.
[EMH narrative - Bridge]
CHAKOTAY: The virus isn't in our database. The biofilters might not recognise it. You'll have to settle for tricorder data.
[EMH narrative - Garan Mine]
EMH: Very well, but I think I should. Stand by, Voyager. Hold on. Stop.
GARAN MINER: You, you've got to help us.
EMH: I intend to, but first I must return to my ship and prepare an antidote.
GARAN MINER: Take me with you.
EMH: I'm afraid that's not possible. We'd risk infecting the crew.
GARAN MINER: You can't leave me. Please.
EMH: Commander Chakotay. Perhaps if we established a force field around sickbay and beamed victims directly to
CHAKOTAY [OC]: I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we can't take the chance.
EMH: But these people need
[EMH narrative - Bridge]
CHAKOTAY: Doctor, away team guidelines specifically forbid the transport of unknown infectious
EMH [OC]: Of unknown infection agents onto a starship without establishing
[EMH narrative - Garan Mine]
EMH: Containment and eradication protocols. I understand. I'll do my best to help you. Away team to Voyager. One to beam up.
[EMH narrative - Transporter Room]
EMH: Doctor to Bridge. Checking the biofilters. It appears several viral organisms were beamed up as well. The biofilter
[EMH narrative - Bridge]
EMH [OC]: Has isolated them.
CHAKOTAY: Purge the filters.
EMH [OC]: Aye, sir.
[EMH narrative - Transporter Room]
EMH: Purging is complete. I'll be in sickbay.
EMH [OC]: What I didn't realise was that in the few seconds it took me to purge the filters, some of the virus had already migrated into the transporter buffer.
[EMH narrative - Sickbay]
CHAKOTAY: Any luck?
EMH: I'm creating a synthetic antigen that will inhibit the viruses ability to replicate, but I haven't quite figured out how to restore the infected cells to their original condition. As for the larger versions of the viruses, what I've the macrovirus, I would suggest a fly swatter.
CHAKOTAY: How long before the antigen's ready?
EMH: I'd say another twelve hours.
CHAKOTAY: That gives us time to rendezvous with the Captain. We'll deal with this after she's aboard.
EMH: Commander. I'd like to apologise for my over-zealous behaviour on the away mission.
CHAKOTAY: Compassion is nothing to be sorry about, Doctor. It won't be the last time you're faced with a moral dilemma in the field. But if it makes you feel any better, your performance was exemplary.
EMH: Thank you.
(Chakotay leaves.)
KES: I told you he'd understand.
EMH: Yes, you did.
EMH [OC]: We continued working on the antigen. Unfortunately the macrovirus was working faster. It had already moved from the transporter buffer into an adjacent system.
[EMH narrative - Mess hall]
PARIS: B'Elanna, thank God you're here. The natives are getting restless.
TORRES: What's the emergency?
PARIS: I volunteered to help out while Neelix is away on the trade mission. The heating array overloaded, it incinerated a twelve kilo pot roast and all the food replicators went offline.
TORRES: Mmm, looks delicious. Maybe there's a problem with the bioneural gel pack in the replicator panel.
PARIS: Actually, I'm a pretty good cook when Engineering's doing it's job.
TORRES: Oh, so this is my fault?
PARIS: Well the gel packs are your department, aren't they? Besides, what was I supposed to tell all these hungry, irritable people?
TORRES: You know, I think that there's a plasma relay on deck seven that really needs repair.
PARIS: Oh, no. You can't leave me now, Lieutenant.
TORRES: Oh, you need me. I'm touched. What's going on here? Looks like this gel pack has an infection. Half the neurodes have been burned out and the pack is filled with some kind of mucilaginous compound. Tom, call the Doctor and tell him
(Torres reaches for the gel pack. It explodes, covering her hand with mucus.)
PARIS: B'Elanna!
[Sickbay]
JANEWAY: Were any other gel packs infected?
EMH: No, just the one in the mess hall. The ship is healthy. It's the crew we have to worry about. Your bones have healed, but the surrounding tissue will be sensitive for a few days.
JANEWAY: It's getting warmer in here, isn't it.
EMH: I'm afraid it's not just the ship, Captain, it's also you. You've been infected with the macrovirus. You're experiencing a high fever.
JANEWAY: Yes, on the bridge, I was bitten by one of them.
EMH: Your glandular system is already being affected. If I don't treat you now you'll end up like the rest of the crew. I've spent the past few hours perfecting the antigen, but I haven't tested it on a live subject yet.
JANEWAY: Looks like I'll have to be your guinea-pig, Doctor. The crew, why are they all in the mess hall and the cargo bays?
EMH: I believe the larger macroviruses are driven by some sort of instinct to assemble their host population.
JANEWAY: Tell me what happened after B'Elanna was exposed to the infected gel pack.
EMH: I was faced with an imminent epidemic.
[EMH narrative - Mess hall]
EMH: Oh, no. Doctor to the Bridge. The macrovirus is on board Voyager and appears to be airborne. I suggest a level four quarantine of the mess hall
[EMH narrative - Bridge]
EMH [OC]: and all adjoining sections.
CHAKOTAY: Acknowledged. Red Alert. Initiate level four quarantine protocols on deck two.
TUVOK: Aye sir.
CHAKOTAY: All hands, this is Commander Chakotay. We've detected an airborne virus in the mess hall. Deck two is under quarantine. No crewmember, repeat, no crewmember is to enter or leave any section on deck two. Stand by for further instructions.
TUVOK: I've erected the biocontainment fields. The area has been sealed.
[EMH narrative - Mess hall]
EMH [OC]: We managed to avoid a ship-wide outbreak, but every crew member on deck two had been contaminated. I collected a single live specimen of the macrovirus and returned to sickbay in hopes of finding a cure.
[EMH narrative - Sickbay]
KES: Ready, Doctor.
EMH: Optimal magnification.
KES: The specimen has synthesised B'Elanna's growth hormone into its own structure.
EMH: Excellent! That should give us the information we need to destroy the virus without killing its host cells.
KES: The virus has grown by one hundred and fifty microns.
EMH: It's rate of growth shouldn't hinder our analysis, as long as it's genetic structure stays the same.
(The virus is no longer visible in the microscope.)
KES: Doctor!
EMH: Computer, erect a level three forcefield around the microscope station.
(The forcefield flickers as the virus bounces off it.)
[EMH narrative - Mess hall]
PARIS: Well, so much for lunch.
TORRES: I may never look at food again.
PARIS: I thought Klingons didn't get nauseated. You have a redundant stomach.
TORRES: Well, right now, they're both unhappy. Oh.
(Torres passes out.)
PARIS: Paris to sickbay.
EMH [OC]: Go ahead, Lieutenant.
PARIS: I just saw two macroviruses come out of B'Elanna's neck.
EMH [OC]: Stand by, Mister Paris.
[EMH narrative - Sickbay]
EMH: We're close to formulating an antigen.
(The virus is now very visible.)
KES: The virus has grown to point three metres.
EMH: On the microscopic level, the virus uses that needle-like projection to penetrate a cell membrane. On our level, it probably impales it's victim in much the same way, infusing him with it's own genetic code. The antigen is ready. Kes? Computer, deactivate force field.
(Kes stands back. The virus heads for the EMH. He grabs it and injects it. It falls to the deck and deflates.)
EMH: Well. One down, ten billion to go.
[EMH narrative - Mess hall]
EMH [OC]: Eager to inoculate those already infected, I quickly headed for the quarantined area. Though their condition had grown worse, it was the least of our problems.
EMH: (to Torres) Lieutenant, if you can hear me, I'm going to give you an injection. It should eliminate the virus.
(Paris can hear the buzzing.)
PARIS: What, what is that?
EMH: You don't want to know.
(Two macroviruses pin the EMH onto the deck and nearly stab his mobile emitter. He manages to roll away under the tables.)
EMH: Doctor to the Bridge. Intruder alert on deck two section thirteen.
EMH [OC]: Within minutes, dozens of the larger organisms forced their way beyond deck two and overwhelmed the ship.
[Sickbay]
EMH: It wasn't long before the crew was incapacitated. Although I've developed an effective vaccine, I can't administer it. Every time I try to get to the crew, I'm attacked. Perhaps with your help?
JANEWAY: How many of the larger macroviruses are there?
EMH: I have no way of knowing. Dozens, perhaps hundreds. They're replicating at an exponential rate. By this time tomorrow there could be thousands.
(Buzzing and thumping at the door.)
JANEWAY: Speak of the devil.
EMH: You're cured.
JANEWAY: The question is, how do we cure the rest of the crew? This antigen. Can it be distributed in a gaseous form?
EMH: For absorption by the respiratory system? I've already considered dispensing it through Environmental controls, but they're offline and I have limited engineering expertise.
JANEWAY: Leave that to me. All we have to do is get to Environmental Control on deck twelve.
EMH: Easier said than done. We'll run into the same problem I face when I try to get to the Mess hall.
JANEWAY: Not if I can help it. Prepare two canisters of antigen. We'll split up and take two different routes to Environmental Control. It'll double our chances. If you get there first, call me and I'll talk you through the repairs.
EMH: The macroviruses are attracted to infra-red radiation. Set your tricorder to emit a thermal scattering signal. It will make it more difficult to target you. Ready when you are.
JANEWAY: We'll be right with you.
[Jefferies tube]
JANEWAY: Take Jefferies tube eleven. What's wrong?
EMH: I've been studying the ship's infrastructure, and I'm familiar with most of it, but, how do I get there from here?
JANEWAY: Jefferies tube eleven. Take a left at Section 31 and straight down past the tractor beam emitter until you hit deck ten. Get out at section three and follow the corridor all the way around until
EMH: Until I hit the shuttlebay. Then I crawl through access port nine, go past three airlocks and then two decks down. Environmental Control's at the end of the hall. Now I remember. Who designed this ship anyway?
JANEWAY: Good luck.
[Corridor]
(Janeway splats three macroviruses.)
EMH [OC]: Doctor to Captain Janeway.
JANEWAY: Go ahead.
EMH [OC]: I won't be joining you as soon as I'd hoped.
[Shuttlecraft]
EMH: The macroviruses overwhelmed me on deck ten and my portable emitter was nearly destroyed. I've taken refuge inside the shuttlebay, in a shuttlecraft.
[Corridor]
JANEWAY: Stay put, Doctor. I'm close to Environmental Control.
[Environmental Control]
JANEWAY: Janeway to Doctor. I've got the Environmental Controls back online.
EMH [OC]: Set the dispersal nodes to one part per thousand.
(Whumph!)
[Shuttlecraft]
EMH: What's going on?
JANEWAY [OC]: I'm not sure
[Environmental Control]
JANEWAY: But I think someone's firing at Voyager. Doctor, use the shuttle's sensors to find out what's happening and patch the data to me.
EMH [OC]: Aye, Captain.
JANEWAY: It's the Tak Tak. Doctor, open a channel and hail their Captain.
EMH [OC]: Stand by.
JANEWAY: Consul, this is Captain Janeway. Why are you firing at us?
CONSUL [on monitor]: The Garan Mining Colony infected. We purified them. Your distress call received. Voyager infected. We are purifying you.
JANEWAY: Purifying? You're trying to destroy us.
CONSUL [on monitor]: No choice. No cure for the virus. Voyager's existence a threat. Your illness, our apologies.
JANEWAY: Wait. We've developed a cure but your torpedoes just stopped us getting it to our crew and putting an end to this.
CONSUL [on monitor]: A cure?
JANEWAY: Yes. A synthetic antigen. We've tested it and it works. I can prove it to you, and I'd be willing to share the antigen with your people, but first you've got to stop attacking my ship. Give me a chance to save my crew.
CONSUL [on monitor]: A chance. One hour.
(Transmission ends.)
JANEWAY: Doctor, we've got a problem. That last torpedo destroyed the secondary power couplings. I can't
[Shuttlecraft]
JANEWAY [OC]: Get the Environmental Controls back online.
EMH: We appear to be low on options.
[Environmental Control]
JANEWAY: The only systems we still have access to are the ones with independent power sources. Shuttlecraft, life support, the holodecks. Doctor, you said the macroviruses are attracted to infra-red signatures.
EMH [OC]: That's right.
JANEWAY: Right now you and I are the only targets left on board. What if we gave them something new to sink their teeth into?
[Shuttlecraft]
EMH: What are you suggesting?
(The Paxau resort programme is activated and the macroviruses are let into the holodeck.)
[Environmental Control]
JANEWAY: Doctor, it seems to be working. I've programmed the holo-characters to react to the viruses. We don't have much time. Grab your hypospray and get to the crew. You've got a clear path to the Mess hall and both cargo bays.
EMH [OC]: Acknowledged. What about you, Captain?
JANEWAY: I've put together what you might call an antigen bomb. Now all I have to do is drop it.
(Janeway walks along a corridor to the open Holodeck doors. She sets the bomb timer for forty seconds but as she steps into the doorway to throw it, a macrovirus knocks her down and she drops both the bomb and her rifle. It lunges at her, and there is a struggle, until she rolls away and it bends its injector on the deck. She uses her knife to cut off one of its tentacles, then stabs it. With less than seven seconds left. she throws the bombs into the holodeck and runs away. There is an explosion of green gas.)
[Shuttlecraft]
EMH: Doctor to Captain Janeway. Captain, please respond.
[Corridor]
JANEWAY: Go ahead.
EMH [OC]: It worked. The macroviruses have been destroyed.
JANEWAY: And the ship?
[Shuttlecraft]
EMH: There was heavy damage suffered on Holodeck two, but there are no hull breaches in evidence.
[Environmental Control]
CONSUL [on monitor]: Astonishment. Your vessel, purified.
JANEWAY: And we'd be willing to share the cure with you, if you'd be kind enough to forego destroying our ship.
CONSUL [on monitor]: Of course, of course. Purification will cease. My word. Many thanks to Captain of Voyager. Good health.
(Transmission ends, and Janeway relaxes.)
JANEWAY: Good health.
[Ready room]
(Janeway is painting a pastoral scene whilst drinking a cup of tea and listening to jazz.)
JANEWAY: Come in.
CHAKOTAY: Good morning, Captain. Here's an update on repairs.
JANEWAY: How's the crew holding up?
CHAKOTAY: They're fine, although the Doctor tells me a few people are still reporting post-viral queasiness.
JANEWAY: I'm not surprised. Inform the crew that I'm granting extended R&R for all personnel, and work out the shift rotations.
CHAKOTAY: Aye Captain. Speaking of R&R, a few of us are going skiing on the holodeck. The Ktarian glaciers. Fresh air, good work out. Care to join us?
JANEWAY: No, thank you, but have fun.
CHAKOTAY: Not your cup of tea?
JANEWAY: Oh, on the contrary, I love to ski. Let's just say I've had enough of a workout for the time being.
CHAKOTAY: Understood.
2024-09-13 10:12:22 -
Pike:
Added the transcript.
