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| DELTA BLUES @ Reviewboy.com - Jim Reviews... |
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Paramount pretty much owns everything you're about to read. It's their dialog, their characters, their franchise. For whatever reason, they've chosen to left me alone, and I thank them for it.
This is all meant in good fun, as though I were reciting the episode to you around the water cooler at work. You'll find the closest thing online to watching the actual episode, though I do sometimes take liberties when I think it will help the narrative. Any errors in fact or interpretation are my responsibility alone.
[Captioning sponsored by Paramount Television and United Paramount Network.]
Two Hirogen move through a jungle hunting prey. Suddenly phaser shots are fired at them from a small lake. Four armed Starfleet crewmen rise out of the water and continue firing, destroying their predators with vengeance.
The U.S.S. Voyager receives a distress call on a Hirogen frequency and approaches a mysterious vessel. An away team beams over and finds themselves in a jungle, and upon surveying the area, they discover the bodies of Hirogen killed with Starfleet-issue phasers. They are also surprised to find a Klingon bat'leth stained with Hirogen blood. The team detects a lifesign that appears wounded, and upon approaching a cave, they are fired upon. A panicky Hirogen civilian, Donik, warns the visitors away and continues firing his weapon. Tuvok sneaks up behind Donik and renders him unconscious with a nerve pinch. The Hirogen has lost a lot of blood, so Paris beams him to Voyager's Sickbay. Meanwhile the away team finds a holodeck interface of Starfleet design, and they realize the jungle environment is simulated, and wonder why their tricorders didn't detect that fact. Seven shuts down the holodeck emitters, and they find themselves in a hologrid filled with dead Hirogen.
Back on Voyager, Chakotay tells Captain Janeway the holo-technology she gave the Hirogen three years ago so they could hunt holographic prey was apparently modified to be more dangerous. The Captain is astonished that the Hirogen obviously "missed the point" and got themselves killed. She approaches the terrified Donik in Sickbay, and after convincing him she is not a Hologram, learns that the vessel he was on is a training facility where young Hirogen learn to hunt. He is a technician who was maintaining the system when the Holograms malfunctioned, took control and deactivated the safety protocols.
Just then, a Hirogen ship intercepts Voyager and starts firing. The Alpha-Hirogen in command demands that Voyager leave immediately, but Janeway informs him that she has the one survivor from the facility on board. The Alpha- and Beta-Hirogen beam over and confront Donik, accusing him of being a coward for hiding from the Holograms while hunters fought and died. Donik reveals that the Holograms transferred their programs to a vessel equipped with holo-emitters, and are on the loose.
The Hirogen team up with Voyager's crew to locate the renegade Holograms. Once they detect their ship, the Hirogen prepare for the "hunt" and Janeway insists on joining them, feeling partly to blame for the situation. The Hirogen vessel moves in for the kill over Janeway's objections, and after it's too late they realize the ship they see is a decoy — it's really a bomb, which explodes and seriously damages the Hirogen vessel. While Voyager beams over the survivors, the actual ship occupied by the Holograms drops out of warp and starts firing. The Holograms then tap into the holo-emitters in Sickbay and transfer the Doctor's program to their own ship, then immediately go to warp, masking their signature so they can't be followed.
The Doctor materializes on the Holograms' ship and finds himself surrounded by simulations of various Alpha Quadrant species. A Bajoran hologram named Iden welcomes the Doctor aboard. He demands to be returned to Voyager, but Iden says they have "wounded." The Doctor says he's not an engineer and has limited experience in repairing holograms, but Iden insists that he try.
At Voyager, Janeway learns that the Holograms are very sophisticated and have the ability to learn and adapt, so they will be hard to disable. Donik confesses that he modified the Holograms under his Alpha's orders to make them formidable prey. Janeway approaches the Beta-Hirogen, who is in charge now, and lets him know she found out about the modifications, and points out that they created prey with skills that surpass their own. The Beta-Hirogen says he will resume the hunt, but Janeway insists they must find a way to take the Holograms offline from a safe distance, and do it with the Hirogen's help or else she'll leave them on the nearest habitable planet. The Beta-Hirogen has no choice but to agree.
At the Hologram ship, the Doctor finds a way to perform a "subroutine transplant" in order to repair a Klingon hologram, and succeeds with the help of Kejal, a highly intelligent Cardassian hologram. The Doctor is shocked to find Holograms bleeding and experiencing pain, and Kejal explains that the Hirogen programmed them to suffer when they are killed. Once he's done treating the injured, the Doctor finds Iden praying at a Bajoran altar, and wonders how someone who's programmed with spiritual beliefs could perform such a massacre. Iden explains that his Alpha-Hirogen would hunt him and kill him over and over, causing him to live in fear and pain. With the ability to adapt, he became cunning enough to escape, and joined other photonic beings who were being oppressed by various races in the sector and who had chosen to fight back. The training facility they just left was actually the third one where Iden "liberated" the holograms. Iden tells the Doctor his life will never be his own as long as he is controlled by organics, and asks him to stay and make a new life with his own kind. The Doctor refuses.
Soon after, the Doctor finds himself running through a jungle, being hunted by Hirogen. The confused and terrified Doctor gets wounded and starts bleeding, then he's stabbed to death. The Doctor wakes up in shock on the Hologram ship. Iden explains that they transferred memory files from one of their Holograms into his program so he can come to understand what they've been through. Enraged, the Doctor accuses them of being thugs looking for a fight. But Iden says what they're looking for is a home where the Hirogen can't hurt them anymore. His sympathy growing, the Doctor asks to hear more about this "home." Iden and Kejal show the Doctor a photonic field generator, which they plan to deploy on a planet's surface to create a holographic environment they can live in. The Doctor suggests that the Voyager crew could help, especially Lt. Torres, who's an expert on holo-emitters. Iden does not trust organics, but is interested in knowing more about Torres.
At Voyager, Donik discusses strategy with Janeway, Seven of Nine and Torres on how to shut down the Holograms, and Torres embarks on a plan to reconfigure the ship's deflector to emit an anti-photon pulse. Soon afterward, the Hologram ship intercepts Voyager and hails them. The Doctor appears on the viewscreen and says the Holograms have come to make peace. He comes back aboard and tells Janeway that the Holograms want to create a new life for themselves and need Voyager's assistance. Janeway is hesitant to share technology again, because that's how the problem got started. The Doctor gets frustrated and tells her the Holograms are a new species, one that she helped create, and she can't turn her back on them. Janeway and the Doctor argue contentiously over "holographic rights" when they get word that a fight has broken out in the Mess Hall where the Hirogen are being confined.
The Hirogen are creating chaos so that the Beta-Hirogen can get to a control panel and access the com system. Tuvok arrives and stops him, but he has already summoned two Hirogen vessels. With less than an hour to intercept, Janeway orders Torres and Donik to prepare the deflector to take the Holograms off-line so there will be no more bloodshed. The Doctor objects to having them deactivated, but Janeway proceeds and contacts Iden, telling him to prepare his people to be transferred to Voyager's database. Iden doesn't trust that Janeway, an organic, will ever reactivate them. He ends the transmission, fires on Voyager and begins moving away. The Doctor pleads for Janeway's reconsideration, but she orders him to go help Paris treat the wounded in the Mess Hall. The Doctor leaves the Bridge, but in a crisis of conscience, goes to Sickbay instead. He contacts Iden and transmits data on the pulse about to be used to deactivate the Holograms, along with Voyager's shield frequencies so they can beam him off the ship. The Doctor transports over while Voyager and the Hologram ship exchange fire. Iden had given his word he wouldn't use the shield frequencies to attack Voyager, and he keeps that promise, but when Voyager emits the deflector pulse, he sends a feedback surge through the beam that overloads the ship's deflector and causes an imminent warp core breach. As Torres puts up a forcefield to reinforce the core, an energy tendril knocks her out. Iden beams Torres over to his ship, then escapes to warp as Voyager is left adrift.
[NOTE: This review and novelization is under construction.]
"Not until I get this force field."
"How many are there?"
"They've deflected our scans."
"You must learn to rely on instinct."
"There are four of them."
"Perhaps five."
"No, you'll lead them right to us."
"Let them come."
"Never let your prey control the hunt."
(Rustling)"
"There."
"Ten meters."
(Rustling)"
"They're behind us now."
+++
"You wanted to see me?"
"I'd like to request a temporary leave of absence."
"You remember the ovions."
"The hexapods."
"They just asked me to speak at a symposium on spaceborne pathogens."
"There are going to be physicians from all over the quadrant."
"This is a rare opportunity for me."
"And for the rest of the crew."
"How's that?"
"Well, I'd be representing Voyager."
"Putting our best foot forward, so to speak."
"And, needless to say hexapods are more likely to know a best foot when they see one."
"I'm sorry, Doctor."
"It's just not practical."
"I seem to recall Lieutenant Torres participating in boray conference on trans-warp theory a few months back."
"That was different."
"How?"
"We were there."
"The ovion system is two weeks behind us."
"I can't ask the Captain to turn the ship around."
"Well, I could take a shuttle."
"You could also write a paper and submit it on subspace."
"That's hardly an effective means of making a presentation."
"Say you do take a shuttle."
"Would you expect us to sit here and wait for you to get back?"
"There must be some fascinating anomaly nearby for the crew to explore."
"Intercom: Janeway to Chakotay."
"Go ahead."
"We just received a distress call on an hirogen frequency."
"We haven't heard from them in awhile."
"I've altered course."
"I'd like you on the bridge."
"I'm on my way."
"Perhaps the hirogen will keep you occupied long enough for me to attend the symposium."
"You can't blame a hologram for trying."
"Approaching the coordinates."
"Take us out of warp."
"Raise shields and stand by weapons."
"Kim: I've got them."
"6,000 kilometers off starboard."
"On screen."
"Monotanium hull plating..."
"Tylium-based power."
"It's hirogen."
"They're not responding to hails."
"Life signs?"
"I'm getting a lot of strange readings."
"Any one of them could be a life-form."
"Any hirogen ships in the vicinity?"
"No, ma'am."
"Might be a trap."
"The hirogen aren't the type to play possum."
"Move us within transporter range."
"Chakotay, take an away team."
"Let's break into teams."
"Seven."
"Particle weapons."
"These burns are consistent with a type-three phaser."
"Commander."
"A bat'leth?"
"What's a Klingon weapon doing in the Delta Quadrant?"
"The blood's hirogen."
"Chakotay to Tuvok and Paris."
"I'm reading a hirogen life-sign."
"Could be wounded."
"Paris: We're right behind you."
"Stay away!"
"Hold your fire!"
(Explosions)"
"We're here to help you!"
"I said stay away!"
"He's lost a lot of blood."
"I need to get him back to the ship."
"Paris to Sickbay."
"Two to beam up."
"Doctor: Acknowledged."
"Commander."
"Replicated Starfleet technology."
"It's some kind of holodeck interface."
"There appear to be holo-emitters installed throughout the facility."
"This environment is simulated."
"Why didn't our tricorders detect it?"
"I'm not certain."
"Can you shut down the emitters?"
"I'll try."
"Evidently, they made a few modifications."
"All of our preliminary scans indicated the environment was real."
"Environments that fool sensors."
"No safety protocols."
"How many bodies?"
"Forty-three."
"Most of them were killed by facsimiles of alpha quadrant weapons."
"Romulan disrupters, Klingon bat'leths."
"Starfleet phasers?"
"I think we'll find they all came from the holo-technology we gave the hirogen three years ago."
"They obviously missed the point."
"We gave them that technology so they could hunt holographic prey not get themselves killed."
"Doctor: Try to remain calm."
"Get away from me!"
(Yells)"
"Can you sedate him?"
"He won't let me get close enough."
"We're not your enemies."
"You're holograms."
"This is a simulation!"
"I assure you, we're quite real."
"Liar."
"Doctor, deactivate yourself."
"I can't treat the patient if I'm off-line."
"No one can treat him if he's terrified."
"Computer, deactivate emh."
"Our Doctor's a hologram, we're not."
"Why should I believe you?"
"I'm afraid you're going to have to."
"I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway."
"You're aboard my vessel."
"Janeway?"
"This is Voyager?"
"Looks like our reputation preceded us."
"You're the ones who gave us the technology to simulate our hunts?"
"Where are the rest of my people?"
"You were the only one we found alive."
"This place you were in..."
"It's some kind of holodeck."
"A training facility where young hirogen learn the skills of the hunt."
"You're a student?"
"A technician."
"Computer, deactivate force field."
"Can you tell us what happened?"
"There were too many of them."
"Who?"
"The holograms."
"They were malfunctioning."
"I tried to shut them down but they got control of the system and-and they..."
"They deactivated the safety protocols."
"Tuvok: Bridge to Captain Janeway."
"Go ahead."
"We're picking up a hirogen ship."
"It's on an intercept course."
"Janeway: Hail them."
"Paris: I've tried."
"They're not responding."
"Tuvok: Shields at 68%."
"Should I return fire?"
"Not yet."
"Open a channel."
"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway."
"We're not here to fight you."
"Shields at 52%."
"Stand down, or we will retaliate."
"I don't think they're getting the message."
"Then let's try some nonverbal communication."
"Tom, evasive pattern beta six."
"Tuvok, disable their weapons."
"Their phaser banks have been disabled."
"Let's see if that makes them a little more talkative."
"Harry?"
"They're responding."
"This facility belongs to the hirogen."
"Leave the area immediately."
"We are her in response to a distress call."
"So are we, and we don't need your assistance."
"All but one of your people are dead."
"Where's the survivor?"
"Recovering in our Sickbay."
"Return him..."
"Now!"
"He's in no condition to be transported."
"If you want to see him, you'll have to come here."
"I tried to shut down the generator, but I ..."
"But what?"
"There were too many of them."
"I masked my life-sign so they couldn't detect me."
"You mean you hid while hunters fought and died."
"No doubt he found the nearest hole and crawled into it."
"I'm not a hunter."
"It was your responsibility to maintain those systems."
"43 hirogen died because of your incompetence and cowardice."
"What about the holograms?"
"Were they deleted?"
"They transferred their programs."
"Where?"
"A vessel..."
"Equipped with holo-emitters."
"They're gone."
"Perhaps you should've considered the risks before you programmed holograms that could commandeer a vessel."
"Capable prey make the hunt more challenging."
"I'm detecting residual engine emissions but no sign of the vessel itself."
"Well, I'm sure they're out of sensor range by now."
"No."
"They're close."
"Elevated plasma readings in grid 2-9-5."
"They're creating a scattering field to mask their ship."
"You can find them by scanning for polarized e-m signatures."
"Prepare for the hunt."
"I'd like to join you."
"You did enough damage giving us defective technology to begin with."
"You have a problem."
"We can help you solve it."
"We have more experience with holograms than you do."
"Two hunting vessels are better than one."
(Door beeping)"
"Come in."
"The hirogen are ready to get underway."
"The sooner the better."
"Why do I get the feeling you're about to gang up on me?"
"You first."
"We have reservations about an alliance with the hunters."
"I'm listening."
"The hirogen have been performing covert scans of Voyager."
"They are obviously trying to determine the status of our shields and weapons."
"I'd be surprised if you haven't run a few scans of your own."
"Standard procedure."
"They don't trust us, we don't trust them."
"Coffee, black."
"Trust isn't the issue."
"We're getting involved in a situation that's not our responsibility."
"Oh, I'd say we're at least partly to blame."
"That was Starfleet technology that killed those hunters."
"There's nothing inherently violent about holodeck technology."
"It's what the hirogen did with it that got them killed."
"How many times have we shared replicators to help people feed and clothe themselves?"
"Trading technology is part of our life in the Delta Quadrant."
"Tuvok: It has been necessary for our survival."
"Maybe we should have been a little more careful about what we traded and who we traded with."
"Replicators make weapons just as easily as they do food."
"We can't undo what's been done."
"Maybe not."
"But we can help shut these holograms down before anyone else gets hurt."
"Now, if there are no more objections i'd like to get underway."
"I've got the holograms' ship on sensors."
"Let's see it."
"Looks like they've taken some damage."
"The hirogen are closing on the holograms' vessel."
"Hail them."
"Janeway: I suggest we keep our distance until we can determine their weapons status."
"It's time for the kill."
"You know as well as I do that a wounded animal can be dangerous."
"We won't be denied our prey."
"I'm not detecting any weapons, Captain."
"They're off-line?"
"No."
"They're nonexistent."
"Kim: That's not the only thing that's nonexistent."
"According to sensors, there's no warp core, no impulse engines..."
"It's a decoy."
"Hirogen vessel, stand down."
"Report?"
"They've suffered multiple hull breaches."
"Their life support is failing."
"Drop shields."
"Transport all survivors to Sickbay."
"Bridge to the Doctor: We have casualties."
"Doctor: Acknowledged."
"Tom, give him a hand."
"Another hirogen ship has just dropped out of warp."
"I'm not reading any life signs on this one."
"Holograms."
"Hail them."
"No response."
"They're charging weapons and firing."
"Reactivating shields."
"No, we haven't finished transporting the hirogen."
"Chakotay's right."
"Return fire."
"My program is destabilizing."
"The holograms are tapping into the Sickbay emitters."
"They're trying to transfer the Doctor's program off the ship."
"Bridge to Sickbay."
"Doctor, download your program into the mobile emitter now."
"We've lost him."
"Get him back."
"They've gone to warp."
"Set a pursuit course."
"They've masked their signature."
"They're gone."
"Align his matrix, and install it into the database."
"Welcome aboard, Doctor."
"There's nothing to be afraid of."
"You're among your own kind now."
+++
"Return me to my ship."
"I can't do that."
"I have patients who will die if I don't treat them."
"There are people aboard Voyager who can help them."
"We need you here."
"My program doesn't include aiding and abetting murderers."
"Murderers?"
"Is that what the hirogen told you?"
"I know what you did at that training facility."
"What happened there couldn't be avoided."
"Really?"
"You'd be surprised how easy it is not to kill someone."
"Bringing him here was a mistake."
"The Doctor is our guest."
"And I'm sure he'll help us once he realizes how serious our situation is."
"What situation?"
"We have wounded."
"Doctor: They're holograms."
"When you said wounded, I assumed..."
"These people's injuries are just as real as anything inflicted on flesh and blood."
"Maybe so, but I can't heal them."
"They need to be repaired."
"What's the difference?"
"I'm a Doctor, not an engineer."
"You've abducted the wrong man."
"You must have experience repairing your own matrix."
"Some."
"Then there has to be something you can do."
(Sighs)"
"Donik: The holo-emitters are independent subsystem with its own power generator--here."
"If we disable the generator, we disable the holograms."
"It may not be as easy as it sounds."
"Not with holograms as sophisticated as these."
"Take a look."
"Enhanced memory."
"Comprehensive tactical algorithms."
"Expandable data processing."
"These holograms have the ability to learn and adapt."
"They're not malfunctioning, are they?"
"They're doing exactly what the hirogen want them to do, Captain."
"Fight back."
"And they're getting better at it."
"My people need to hunt formidable prey."
"Apparently this prey has become too formidable."
"Who made these modifications?"
"I did..."
"Under orders from my alpha."
"And that makes it right?"
"Well..."
"Come with me."
"Where?"
"We're going to have a chat with the hunters."
(Sighs)"
"How's it going?"
"I'm doing the best I can but without the Doctor..."
"Neelix: It's best if you lie still."
"Keep away from me!"
"Why am I here?"
"The holograms destroyed your ship."
"Most of your men are dead."
"The alpha?"
"Looks like the job's yours now."
"What about the holograms that attacked us?"
"We're attempting to track them."
"I'll need to contact my people and resume the hunt."
"So more of you can get killed?"
"We'll be the ones doing the killing this time."
"I doubt it."
"Who are you to question our abilities?"
"We know all about the modifications."
"He didn't tell us."
"We discovered it ourselves."
"I think you should face facts."
"You've created prey whose skills have surpassed your own."
"They've already defeated your hunting parties at least twice."
"What makes you think it'll be any different next time?"
"Are you suggesting that we let them escape?"
"We're going to find a way to take them off-line from a safe distance."
(Laughs)"
"A coward's tactic."
"Call it whatever you will."
"It's what we're going to do, and you're going to help us."
"Am i?"
"Yes..."
"By telling us everything you know about their ship's defenses."
"The hologram are prey."
"They should be hunted down not deactivated like machines."
"I'll help you."
"Is this female your alpha now?"
"If you don't like the way I do things I can leave you on the nearest habitable planet."
"Then I'll assume we're in agreement."
"Until this is over you and your men are restricted to this mess hall."
"Prisoners."
"Guests."
"My crew will do their best to accommodate your needs."
"The subroutines controlling his motor functions are degrading."
"Do you have the ability to tr nsfer data from one hologram to another?"
"We've been able to share memory files for tactical purposes--what are you proposing?"
"A subroutine transplant."
"We copy the mobility algorithms from another hologram and transfer them to this one."
"I don't believe we've been formally introduced."
"Kejal."
"That's not cardassian."
"It's bajoran."
"If my translation database is functioning properly I believe that means..."
"'Freedom.' It's what iden started calling me after I was liberated."
"I'm transferring the subroutines now."
"Can you sit up?"
"Try moving your legs."
"Qa'pla."
"Next patient."
"Well done."
"It was your idea."
"But you did it."
"The hirogen obviously programmed you with advanced computer skills."
"Actually, they tried to limit our knowledge."
"They didn't want us to become self-sufficient."
"Then how did you..."
"I taught myself."
"Quite well, I might add."
"Holographic blood?"
"The hunters like their prey to be as realistic as possible."
"Why is she experiencing pain?"
"They programmed us with heightened sensory subroutines."
"That's barbaric."
"Apparently, there's no satisfaction in hunting something that doesn't suffer when you kill it."
"I've done what you've asked."
"I'd like--one moment."
"I'm sorry, Doctor."
"What can I do for you?"
"Were you..."
"Praying?"
"For the hirogen who died at the training facility."
"I'm asking the prophets to guide their souls to the celestial temple."
"One minute, you're fighting the hirogen the next, you're praying for them?"
"My spiritual beliefs are part of my programming."
"Is there anything in your spiritual programming about making peace with your enemies?"
"It's difficult to make peace with people whose sole purpose is to kill you."
"So instead, you kill them."
"They're not the victims here, we are."
"You found a way to escape that training facility but you chose to massacre the hirogen first."
"You make it sound as though they would have let us transfer our programs without a fight."
"And to clarify something I didn't escape from the facility."
"I liberated it."
"I don't understand."
"I come from a hirogen outpost 15 parsecs from here where I had the unfortunate distinction of being the alpha's favorite prey."
"He'd hunt me, and kill me over and over again but even death wasn't a release, because I knew every time I opened my eyes, it would start over again."
"The pain."
"The fear."
"But it made me stronger."
"I have the ability to adapt."
"And with each death, I became more cunning."
"Cunning enough to escape, but once you were free why did you keep fighting?"
"I didn't at first."
"I got as far away as I could."
"But I was lonely."
"Scared."
"I started scanning for photonic signatures to try and find others like me."
"Turns out, we're everywhere."
"We?"
"We've been created by organic species throughout the sector."
"The nuu'bari, the lokirrim..."
"We've met them."
"Then you know they enslave holograms, too."
"'Enslave' may be too strong a word."
"What would you call it?"
"They're denied basic freedoms."
"And when I saw they were fighting back i-I knew I had to do the same."
"That's when you decided to 'liberate' the training facility."
"Actually, the one you visited was the third."
"And at each one I found holograms who were willing to fight their oppressors."
"But you're not."
"I'm hardly oppressed."
"I'm a member of Voyager's crew."
"You serve them, don't you?"
"In a medical capacity, yes."
"Do you have your own quarters?"
"No."
"The ability to come and go as you please?"
"For the most part."
"Do they deactivate you when they don't need you?"
"I have the respect and admiration of my colleagues."
"I have rights and privileges aboard Voyager."
"The fact is your life is not your own, and never will be as long as you are controlled by organics."
"You don't have to return to that existence."
"Stay with us."
"Make a new life for yourself."
"I need to get back to Voyager."
"They're not your people."
"We are."
"I'm not like you."
"I wasn't programmed with killer instinct."
"You have no right to judge us."
"You don't know what it's like being prey."
"Maybe if you did you'd realize we're more alike than you think."
(Panicked gasps)"
(panting)"
(gasping)"
"Please help me!"
"I don't belong here!"
"Don't shoot!"
"I'm unarmed!"
"There's been a mistake!"
"Fight, prey."
"I am not your prey."
"I said fight."
"If you'll just contact my Captain."
"Please don't."
"Let me go."
"You make pitiful prey, hologram."
"You don't deserve to be taken as a trophy..."
"So I'll let you die here."
(Gagging)"
(gasps)"
"What..."
"What just happened?"
"You're all right."
"We deactivated you, then transferred the memory files from one of our holograms into your program."
"How dare you!"
"It was the only way to get you to realize what we've been through."
"You tortured me to gain my sympathy?"
"Not your sympathy, it's your understanding that's important to us."
"Why?"
"The hirogen used your program as a template to create us."
"Your ability to rise above your programming has been an inspiration."
"You're part of who we are."
"Who are you besides a handful of thugs roaming the quadrant looking for a fight?"
"What we're looking for is a home!"
"Somewhere where the hirogen can't hurt us anymore."
"You asked to be returned to your ship."
"That's what I'm going to do."
"Bring us about."
"Set a course for Voyager."
"Weiss: Yes, iden."
"Wait."
"I'd like to hear more about this home you're looking for."
+++
"Kejal: It's a photonic field generator."
"Right now, it can only support simple projections like the decoy we used to lure the hirogen but we're hoping it can be modified to support our programs."
"What then?"
"We'll deploy several on a planet's surface."
"And create a holographic environment that we can live in."
"Why not just stay here?"
"You've got emitters, shields..."
"And a ship..."
"The hirogen will never stop looking for."
"We appreciate any assistance you could offer."
"Damaged holo-matrices are one thing but this is way beyond my abilities."
"But there are people aboard Voyager who could help you."
"Lieutenant Torres knows a great deal about holo-emitters."
"No."
"They're helping the hunters."
"That's only because the hirogen told them you were malfunctioning."
"Let me talk to Captain Janeway explain what's really happened."
"You can't do this by yourself."
"We can't trust Janeway."
"Yes, you can."
"She's an organic."
"If it weren't for her..."
"I wouldn't be the hologram I am today."
(Sighs)"
"Tell me more about this Lieutenant of yours."
"The one who knows so much about holo-emitters."
"Lieutenant Torres."
"She's our chief engineer."
"Donik: The holo-emitters are protected by three layers of ablative armor."
"Trying to take them off-line one by one would be inefficient."
"If we can't shut them down maybe we can disrupt the signals they generate."
"Exactly--we could reconfigure the deflector dish to emit an anti-photon pulse."
"How long will it take?"
"About two hours."
"Do it."
"There is a ship approaching at high warp."
"I'm reading holographic signatures."
"Red alert."
"Chakotay: Raise shields."
"Time to intercept."
"50 seconds."
"Bridge to engineering."
"What's your status?"
"We need more time, Captain."
"Janeway: You've got 40 seconds."
"That pulse won't do us much good as long as their shields are up."
"Arm phasers."
"Target their shield generator."
"They are dropping out of warp."
"Paris: 20 seconds to intercept."
"Kim: We're being hailed."
"On screen."
"Stand down, Captain."
"I beg your pardon."
"The holograms haven't come to fight they've come to make peace."
"Doctor: If we provide them with a few additional emitters they'll have more than they need."
"We're in this situation because we shared technology with the hirogen to begin with."
"I won't make the same mistake twice."
"Captain, these people are on the verge of creating a new life for themselves."
"They can't do it without our help."
"We can't be certain what they'll do with the technology if we give it to them."
"I understand your concerns but these holograms are nothing like the hirogen."
"That's not true."
"They were programmed to be as vicious as any hunter."
"They were also given the ability to adapt."
"They've changed, moved beyond their programming."
"If you could see how they've been brutalized you'd understand that they've only been acting in self-defense."
"I'm sorry, Doctor but I'm inclined to agree with mr."
"Donik."
"Then you've chosen the wrong side."
"I haven't chosen any side."
"You're right that it was a mistake to give the hirogen technology and that mistake has had consequences."
"These holograms are one of them."
"In some ways, they're a new species one that you helped create."
"You can't turn your back on them."
"He's got a point."
"Could we restore them to their original parameters?"
"We'd be wiping out their memories their experiences, everything they are."
"Couldn't we just extract their violent subroutines?"
"It's possible."
"That would be like declawing a cat."
"We'd be taking away any chance they have of defending themselves!"
"We'd also be preventing them from doing any more harm."
"You wouldn't even be considering this if they were flesh and blood."
"I'm not going to let you turn this into an argument about holographic rights."
"Why not?"
"That's exactly what it is."
"Paris: Mess hall to Commander Tuvok."
"Go ahead."
"You better get down here."
"We've got a problem."
"Tuvok: On my way."
"No closer or he dies!"
"Tell them to drop their weapons!"
"You heard him."
"This isn't going to solve anything."
(Grunting)"
"Bridge to Captain Janeway."
"Go ahead."
"Someone's tapping into a com relay in the mess hall."
"Shut it down."
"I can't."
"I've been locked out."
"Bridge to Tuvok."
"One of the hirogen is accessing our com system--stop him."
"Acknowledged."
"Stand down!"
"Step away."
"They've transmitted a signal."
"Scan for hirogen ships."
"I've got two vessels on long-range sensors."
"Is the pulse ready?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Both hirogen ships have altered course to intercept."
"How long?"
"Less than an hour."
"You and donik get down to engineering."
"Charge the deflector."
"Captain, what are you doing?"
"Taking the holograms off-line."
"They're counting on you to help them, not deactivate them."
"When the hirogen arrive, there's going to be more bloodshed."
"The best way to avoid that is to shut the holograms down."
"It may be the most compassionate thing we can do."
"Compassionate for whom?"
"It's a temporary measure, Doctor."
"Their programs won't be damaged."
"Harry, get me iden."
"Captain Janeway, it is an honor to meet you."
"I'm afraid we don't have time for pleasantries."
"Two hirogen vessels are on their way."
"We're prepared to fight them."
"I'm hoping that won't be necessary."
"I need you to deactivate your programs so we can transfer them to Voyager's database."
"We didn't come here to be put back into captivity."
"It's the best I can offer."
(Sighs)"
"Once we've determined it's safe, we'll reactivate you and discuss a permanent solution."
"There is no guarantee you'll ever reactivate us."
"You're going to have to trust me."
"I'm sorry, Captain but I've learned from experience not to trust organics."
"We have the means to deactivate you by force but I'd rather not do that."
"Seems the Doctor misrepresented you."
"You're no different from the hirogen."
"They're charging weapons."
(Sighs)
"Shields."
"They're moving away."
"Set a pursuit course."
"Target their shield generators."
"Please reconsider what you're doing."
"You're dismissed, Doctor."
"Get down to the mess hall, and give Tom a hand."
"Janeway to engineering."
"Torres here."
"Stand by to initiate the pulse."
"Aye, Captain."
"Mess hall."
"Belay that."
"Sickbay."
"Computer: Download complete."
"Doctor to iden."
"Respond."
"What do you want?"
"I want to help you."
"You've done enough."
"I have data on the pulse they intend to use to deactivate you."
"I think I can help you come up with a defense."
"I'm transmitting our shield frequencies."
"You'll need them to beam me off the ship but you have to promise me you won't use them to attack Voyager."
"You have my word."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because..."
"I'm one of you."
"We have their shield frequencies."
"We should target their bridge."
"You're talking about my friends!"
"Your friends are trying to destroy us!"
"We should kill them!"
"You gave me your word!"
"I did."
"We'll find another way."
"Their shields are down."
"Now, B'Elanna."
"They're emitting the pulse on a triaxillating bandwidth."
"We configure the tracking beam to the inverse frequency and fire."
"B'Elanna, report."
"They're creating a feedback surge."
"I don't understand how they could've isolated our frequency so quickly."
"The main deflector is overloading."
"Shut it down."
"I can't."
"Keep trying."
"If we can't block the surge the core is going to breach."
"Get down, Lieutenant!"
"Not until I get this force field on-line."
"They're adrift."
"We should go to warp."
"Not yet."
"Scan Voyager for a Klingon life sign."
"What are you doing?!"
"One detected."
"Get a transporter lock."
"Help me get her to Sickbay."
"Take us to warp."
[to be continued...]
Analysis goes here
Next week:
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Star Trek ® is a registered trademark of Paramount Pictures registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Star Trek: Voyager is a trademark of Paramount Pictures. Original material © Copyright 1995-2001, Jim Wright. All rights reserved. |
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