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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.]
The renegade Holograms have disabled Voyager and escaped to warp, but not before abducting Lt. Torres in hopes of benefiting from her expertise with holo-technology. The Doctor, who voluntarily joined the renegades, is furious with the group's leader, Iden, but Iden promises to let Torres go once she has a chance to decide for herself whether to help the Holograms. Meanwhile, the Voyager crew struggles to repair the ship in Torres' absence, and Janeway learns that the Doctor betrayed and abandoned the ship, and wonders if his matrix may have been altered by the other Holograms. When Torres wakes up on the Hologram ship, she intends to leave immediately, and rebukes the Doctor for switching allegiances. The Doctor points out she did the same thing as a Maquis, and tries to convince her that by providing her technical expertise, she can help stop the violence. He takes her to meet Iden, and she agrees to look at the photonic field generator, but makes no promises.
On Voyager, the crew has no luck locating the Holograms. Donik thinks he can modify the ship's sensors to detect them, and asks to stay aboard rather than go back with the other Hirogen. Two much larger Hirogen vessels arrive and retrieve all their people except for Donik, and the new Alpha-Hirogen threatens to turn the Voyager crew into prey if they interfere with their hunt. The Hirogen vessels go to warp, and Janeway decides to follow using a plan by Donik to hide Voyager in the ion wake of one of the Hirogen vessels—a "blind spot."
Torres looks at the photonic field generator with Kejal, suspicious of the Holograms' motivations. When she comes to realize she's prejudged these beings, Torres proceeds to help enhance their technology. Meanwhile, Iden approaches the Doctor, who is having doubts about being with the Holograms. Iden shows him their destination: a Class-Y planet he calls "Ha'Dara," which is Bajoran for "Home of Light." He plans to install the generators on that planet because its environment is toxic to organic life, so they'll be left alone there. Just then, the Holograms realize that two Hirogen vessels have detected them, so they proceed to hide in a nebula. The Hirogen ships also fly into the nebula, unaware that Voyager is trailing one of them from within its ion wake.
The Holograms try to evade the Hirogen while Torres works a little faster to get the field generator on line. She successfully tests the generator by running Kejal through it, and lets the hologram know that as the closest thing they have to an engineer, she's the most important member of her crew. Meanwhile, the Doctor tells Iden that in their new society on Ha'Dara, he hopes to expose the others to music and art from various worlds. Iden responds that the Holograms will develop a culture of their own without emulating organics. In fact, he plans to establish a new religion with himself being worshipped as the "Man of Light" who delivered his people to freedom. The Doctor's doubts grow stronger.
A Nuu'bari mining ship is detected, and Iden orders an intercept course, planning to liberate the holograms on board. The Doctor expresses his concerns to Torres, revealing that Iden is showing signs of megalomania. Meanwhile, the Hirogen detect the Hologram ship on the other side of the nebula and move to intercept, with Voyager surreptitiously tagging along. On the Hologram ship, Iden contacts the Nuu'bari miners and tries to coerce them to turn over their holograms. They refuse, so Iden fires upon them and has Kejal steal the hologram programs. The Nuu'bari threaten to retaliate, so Iden targets torpedoes upon their warp core and destroys them, to the Doctor's and Torres' horror. He then sets a course for Ha'Dara as Torres accuses him of murder. He has her confined and then asks Kejal to bring their new "friends" on-line. Because their programs are incompatible with their emitters, she needs Torres' help, who agrees because she thinks she can get through to Kejal. As they work, Torres lets Kejal know that Iden doesn't have to be the one to make all the decisions, and she has the power to deactivate him. Finally the Nuu'bari holograms come on-line, but they are incapable of any interactions—they are only programmed with very rudimentary subroutines. Torres points out that Iden killed two living beings to "liberate" mindless machines, but Iden fervently declares that they are "children of light" and he will deliver them to freedom. Just then the bridge announces they are approaching Ha'Dara. Iden orders the generator to be deployed immediately, and refuses the Doctor's request to release Torres.
The Hirogen follow the Holograms to the planet, and when they drop out of warp, Voyager immediately fires weapons and disables both hunting vessels. Voyager then turns on the Hologram ship. Iden has the Hirogen hunters transported to the planet's surface so that the Holograms can hunt them in retaliation. The Doctor objects to his actions, so Iden deactivates his program, but not before assuring him that he'll be remembered in their prayers. He takes the Doctor's mobile emitter and transfers his own program to it, and orders the field generator transported to the surface. He rallies the other Holograms, declaring that this time, the hunt is theirs.
On the surface, the unarmed Hirogen have trouble breathing. The Holograms materialize around them and begin pursuing them with weapons. Meanwhile on the ship, Torres convinces Kejal to stop the massacre, but their transporters and communication system were damaged by Voyager. Torres tells Kejal to shut down the Holograms, which she does, and the Holograms on the surface dematerialize before they can kill more Hirogen. However, Iden is using the mobile emitter, so she can't deactivate him. Torres suggests sending the Doctor to the surface through the generator.
The Doctor materializes on the planet with a Hirogen hunting rifle, and he begins pursuit. Just as Iden is about to kill the Beta-Hirogen, the Doctor catches up with him and demands he lower his weapon. Iden refuses, so the Doctor fires and obliterates his fellow Hologram.
The surviving Hirogen are rescued by Voyager, and after recovering, the Beta-Hirogen intends to reclaim the Hologram vessel along with everything in its database. But Neelix convinces him that the stories that are told about this hunt will reflect more favorably upon him if the Hologram ship is thought to have been destroyed. The Hirogen agrees, and leaves Voyager empty-handed. Janeway transports to the Hologram vessel and learns from Torres that Iden is unrecoverable, but the other Holograms are intact in the database. Janeway offers Kejal refuge on Voyager, but she insists that this ship is her home, and Donik volunteers to stay with her and reprogram the Holograms to undo some of the damage he caused. Torres vouches for them, and Janeway urges them to always consider the consequences of their actions, which she's saying just as much to herself as the others. Back on board Voyager, the Doctor offers to let Janeway take his mobile emitter away and revoke his freedom, but she won't punish him for becoming as fallible as those who are made of flesh and blood.
[NOTE: This review and novelization is under construction.]
"Iden: Will she be all right?"
"She needs to be in Voyager's Sickbay."
"You can treat her here."
"Why have you done this?"
"You said she was an expert in holo-technology."
"And that justifies abducting her?"
"We're in a desperate situation."
"The hirogen are hunting us and so are your people."
"I trusted you."
"I could have destroyed Voyager while the shields were down, but I didn't."
"You've been trying to convince me that all organics aren't alike."
"I'm giving Lieutenant Torres a chance to prove you right."
"Do you honestly expect her to be sympathetic after what you've done?"
"You weren't very sympathetic at first."
"I came here by choice and I'm beginning to think it was a mistake."
"It wasn't."
"I don't want you to regret it, not for a moment."
"Then send her back."
"I will, but not until she's had a chance to decide if she wants to help us."
"And if she refuses?"
"I'll give her an escape pod; let her return to Voyager."
"You have my word."
"Seven: Engineering systems and main power should be operational soon."
"The deflector is a different matter."
"Chakotay: How long?"
"Four hours, at least."
"If Lieutenant Torres were here she might be able to repair it more efficiently."
"That's high praise coming from you."
"I'm sure she'd appreciate it."
"If she hadn't reinforced the core we'd all be dead I still don't understand how they managed to counteract the pulse so easily."
"I believe I can answer that."
"According to sensor logs they calibrated their feedback surge to the exact inverse of our pulse frequency."
"It was either a lucky guess or they gained access to our tactical data."
"The Doctor."
"He sent an encrypted transmission from Sickbay then transported himself to their ship."
"Chakotay."
"I should have seen this coming."
"You had no way of knowing the Doctor would do this."
"Are you sure?"
"He was so adamant bout helping those holograms."
"I should have been paying closer attention."
"Are you saying it was a mistake to reject his plan?"
"The mistake was not running a diagnostic on his program the minute he came back to this ship."
"You think these holograms manipulated him somehow."
"He was on their ship for days."
"For all we know, they reconfigured his entire matrix."
"There is another possibility."
"He may have done what he did because he genuinely believes in their cause."
"I can accept that the Doctor has sympathy for these..."
"People but I can't accept that he would deliberately risk the lives of this entire crew."
"We're his family."
"Maybe that's how he started to think of these holograms."
"You can tell this iden I don't need time to think it over."
"I'll take the escape pod now."
"You're in no condition to pilot a spacecraft."
"Then you can do it."
"I'm not going back."
"You helped them escape."
"I couldn't just stand by while Captain Janeway tried to deactivate them."
"Did you also help them kidnap me?"
"No, I didn't know they were going to do that."
"I'm sorry."
"You can apologize later."
"Right now we've got to get out of here."
"I don't think I could go back even if I wanted to--not after what I've done."
"What's your alternative?"
"I can try to make a new life with the holograms."
"I don't believe I'm hearing this."
"We share a common heritage."
"I understand them in ways you never could."
"You're part of a crew."
"You can't just switch allegiances when you develop sympathy for someone else."
"Isn't that what you did when you joined the Maquis?"
"That was different."
"How?"
"You saw people who were being oppressed and you came to their defense."
"That's exactly what I've done."
"Look, I am no fan of the hirogen."
"They've obviously been abusing these holograms."
"Then why not help them?"
"For one thing, I'm their prisoner."
"They'll let you go, as soon as you're well enough."
"You really believe that?"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't be asking for your help."
"They don't want you to fight for them."
"They just want you to modify some technology so they can live in peace."
"You'd be helping to stop the violence."
"Just talk to them."
"Decide for yourself."
"They've been in the lab for two hours."
"It's taking time for her injuries to heal."
"Organics aren't as resilient as we are."
"She's an engineer, iden."
"For all we know, she's trying to sabotage the ship."
"At least let me see what they're doing."
"We can trust the Doctor."
"Even after you kidnapped his friend?"
"He understands why I had to do that."
"I hope you're right."
"You need to have a little more faith, my friend."
"Not all of us were programmed with your..."
"Your spiritual beliefs."
"Torres: It looks like an alpha quadrant summit in here."
"I'm glad to see you're feeling better."
"Please excuse my crew."
"They're not comfortable with organics."
"I can't say I'm very comfortable myself."
"The Doctor tells me you're an accomplished engineer."
"He speaks highly of you, too."
"He seems to be easily impressed."
"You'll have to forgive her."
"She'S..."
"It's all right."
"I understand you're angry."
"I'm hoping once we get to know each other you'll feel differently."
"I'm not here to make friends."
"We're not asking for your friendship just your expertise."
"I told her about the photonic field generator."
"Will you at least take a look at it?"
"I'll look..."
"But I'm not making any promises."
"This is kejal."
"She'll assist you."
"Janeway: How long before the hirogen get here?"
"Less than ten minutes."
"Any luck locating the holograms?"
"They seem to be operating in some sort of stealth mode."
"Their warp signature disappears in grid nine three six."
"They could be anywhere by now."
"Hirogen sensors can detect residual ion emissions."
"I might be able to modify yours to do the same."
"I appreciate the offer, but you and the rest of our hirogen guests are going to be back with your own people in a few minutes."
"I was hoping to stay here."
"Those hunters are going to want you with them."
"Hunters don't have much use for cowards."
"I'm sorry you're not expecting a warm welcome but I'm not going to antagonize your superiors."
"With all due respect, Captain i'd like to get my wife back in one piece."
"We can use all the help we can get."
"It won't do B'Elanna any good if we get into a fight with the hirogen."
"If the hunters find the holograms before you do they'll be slaughtered."
"Why are you suddenly concerned about the holograms?"
"I modified their programs."
"What's happened to them--the people they have killed--it's my fault."
"There's plenty of blame to go around."
"There would have been nothing for you to modify if I hadn't shared our database."
"If you hadn't, i'd have become a hunter like my father and his father."
"Instead, I had a chance to learn..."
"Become an engineer."
"Please, Captain..."
"Let me stay and help you."
"When I told you to return my people I meant all of them."
"Mr."
"Donik's offered to help us modify our scanners to track the holograms."
"We don't share tracking technology."
"That's not very considerate, after the help we gave you."
"We're finished cooperating."
"Return him now!"
" Let her keep the coward."
"We can't do that."
"He'll..."
"Quiet!"
"We're wasting time."
"This is my hunt now."
"If you go anywhere near the hologram ship you can consider yourselves prey."
+++
"They've gone to warp."
"We're not letting them intimidate us, are we?"
"I think you know me a little better than that."
"Harry, keep a sensor lock on them."
"Aye, Captain."
"How long will it take to modify our scanners?"
"I haven't even had a chance to study the schematics."
"Something tells me we don't have a lot of time."
"The hirogen have better tracking abilities than we do."
"We'll let them find the holograms for us."
"The hunters will attack them as soon as they're in weapons range."
"Not if we disable them first."
"You heard what they said, Captain."
"They're going to attack us if we get anywhere near them."
"Not if we don't know we're there."
"May I?"
"Hirogen vessels produce an ion wake approximately 5,000 meters long."
"Inside it, there's too much much interference for their sensors to detect anything."
"A blind spot."
"Tuvok: How do you propose we reach this wake without being discovered?"
"I know their scanning frequencies."
"We'd only need to mask our signature long enough to get into the wake."
"Tuvok: Even if we succeeded which is far from certain Voyager's in no condition to fight one of their vessels much less two."
"We'll have the element of surprise, mr."
"Tuvok not to mention a tactical officer who I'm sure will execute a precision strike."
"Kejal: I've been able to reconfigure the data core but it's still not capable of supporting our matrices."
"That's because you haven't got enough optronic capacity."
"Do you know how to increase it?"
"Yes."
"But you're not going to tell me."
"I haven't decided yet."
"What are you staring at?"
"I've never met a Klingon before..."
"Not an organic one, anyway."
"What do you think?"
"You don't appear vicious or bloodthirsty."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but that's a stereotype."
"We're not all vicious and bloodthirsty and not every cardassian is arrogant and cruel."
"You don't like cardassians."
"Let's just say I've had some bad experiences with them."
"Is that why you won't help me?"
"I'm not helping you because I have no idea what you're going to do with this technology once you've got it working."
"We're going to build a home."
"Well, let's say I believe you."
"What if you decide you like somebody else's home better?"
"Are you going to try to take it from them?"
"Why would we do that?"
"Because that's what the cardassians did."
"I'm not a cardassian."
"I'm a hologram."
"Programmed with cardassian traits."
"Such as arrogance and cruelty?"
"What did you call those?"
"'Stereotypes'?"
"I may not know you but I know what you were designed to be."
"Prey."
"That's right."
"Cunning prey that will do anything to survive."
"We're more than that now."
"It's not easy to change who you are."
"Trust me."
"Nothing about our existence has ever been easy, Lieutenant."
"No, I suppose it hasn't."
"Besides, making a new life isn't a choice for us."
"It's a necessity."
"Let's take a look at this field generator."
"Reviewing your memory files?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"You were lost in thought."
"I suppose I was."
"You're having doubts."
"It's understandable."
"You've taken a big step."
"In the right direction, I hope."
"When I first escaped, there were days I actually missed the alpha who hunted me."
"He was trying to kill you."
"Yes..."
"But being his prey was the only life I'd ever known."
"We all cling to what's familiar."
"I'm considering returning with Lieutenant Torres when she's ready."
(Sighs)
"Do you actually expect your crew to welcome you back?"
"Let me show you something."
"We call this planet 'ha'dara.' It's bajoran for 'home of light.' Very poetic."
"We're going to install the generators in the southern continent."
"It's y-class."
"Toxic atmosphere; sulfuric deserts no trees; no life at all."
"You're still thinking like an organic."
"We don't need an atmosphere."
"We don't need water."
"What we need..."
"Is protection from our enemies."
"The hirogen won't be able to follow you here."
"Us, Doctor."
"Imagine living in a world where everything is designed to meet our needs."
"A 'home of light.' You certainly won't need a physician."
"What would I do there?"
"Anything you want."
(Alarm beeping)
"We've been scanned by the hirogen."
"How many vessels?"
"Two."
"Both venatic class."
"Distance?"
"Half a light year."
"Time to intercept: Less than two hours."
"I thought we were in stealth mode."
"They're hunters, Doctor--they were bound to pick up our trail eventually."
"Can we make it to ha'dara?"
"No."
"There's no point in going there until those field generators are on online."
"What are we going to do?"
"You can't kill..."
"What you can't find."
"I've lost them."
"Recalibrate the tracking scanners."
"There's too much radiation."
"Clever prey."
"They'll come out eventually."
"We'll wait."
"No."
"Hail the other vessel."
"Tell them to circle the perimeter."
"We'll go in and drive the holograms out."
+++
"Not exactly the scenic route, is it?"
"We're not here for the view."
"I just hope we're following the right ship."
"Donik: They wouldn't have entered the nebula unless they detected the holograms."
"Tom?"
"It's just the turbulence from the wake."
"Harry, reinforce the inertial dampers."
"Aye, Captain."
"I'm losing helm control."
"Reroute power to the thrusters."
"It's not enough."
"We're slipping out of the wake."
"Janeway: Ease us back in, tom."
"You can do it."
"I'm trying."
"I take back what I said."
"That's the prettiest thing I've seen all day."
"Did they detect us?"
"I don't believe so."
"They found us."
"No, they haven't, but they're trying to."
"Evasive maneuvers."
"Aye, sir."
"Bridge to kejal."
"Go ahead."
"What's your status?"
"We're almost ready to begin testing the generator."
"Torres: What's going on?"
"The hirogen are just giving you a little incentive to work faster."
"Hang on."
"I'm realigning your matrix."
"How's your mobility?"
(Garbled): Excellent."
"I have compl..."
"There's a phase variance in your vocal processors."
"Try it now."
(Normal voice): Maybe we should..."
"That's much better."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet."
"This thing is only supporting your matrix."
"Getting it to handle dozens is a different story."
"I have no doubt we'll succeed."
"Typical."
"What?"
"Self-confidence."
"Another cardassian attribute."
"What are you planning to do with your time once these generators are up and running?"
"I haven't thought about it."
"You're the closest thing this crew has to an engineer."
"Your friends are going to depend on you."
"Iden has always taken care of us."
"It may be the warriors who get the glory but it's the engineers who build societies."
"Don't forget that."
"How much longer can we hide?"
"Hopefully until they get those generators on-line."
"Then what?"
"We set a course for ha'dara; try to outrun the hirogen."
"I've been thinking about what you said that I can do anything I want when we get there."
"You have an idea?"
"Quite a few, actually."
"For one thing, i'd like to expose our people to art and music."
"You'll make an excellent teacher."
"I think a more appropriate title would be 'minister of culture.' Consider it yours."
"You know, I'm something of an expert on alpha quadrant art."
"Verdi, da vinci, t'leel of vulcan..."
"You're talking about organic cultures."
"Well, yes, I suppose."
"We'll want to develop a culture of our own."
"I agree, but we can't ignore where we came from."
"I don't want to emulate our oppressors."
"What about your religion?"
"I'm creating a new faith."
"Based on what?"
"In the dark times, we were enslaved by men of flesh but then another man..."
"A man of light arose and slew the mighty alpha."
"He gathered his people unto him and delivered them to freedom."
"'And on the Seventh day, iden created ha'dara.' They'll pray to you as well--the great healer, the father of us all."
"Being appreciated is one thing but I have no interest in being worshipped."
"Prophets are chosen, Doctor."
"It's a blessing and a burden."
(Alarm beeping)
"Hirogen?"
"No, the nuu'bari."
"I intercepted one of their com transmissions."
"Origin?"
"Two million kilometers outside the nebula."
"Set a course to intercept."
"What are you doing?"
"I told you there are holograms throughout the sector."
"The nuu'bari use them as laborers."
"We're going to liberate them."
"The hirogen will see us as soon as we leave the nebula."
"'And he gathered his people unto him and delivered them to freedom.' B'Elanna, how's the work coming?"
"Pretty well."
"I've got to admit you were right about these people."
"I hope so."
"You 'hope'?"
"It's a little late to be having second thoughts."
"Iden's been..."
"Iden's been what?"
"Let's just say he's exhibiting some of the classic signs of megalomania."
"He wouldn't be the first hologram with an ego."
"If that were all it was, I wouldn't be so worried."
"What is bothering you?"
"Apparently he sees himself as some kind of spiritual leader and he's trying to enlarge his flock."
"Load another charge."
"Double the yield."
"Fire."
"Still nothing."
"Ironic, isn't it?"
"Our most elusive prey is our own creation."
(Console beeps)
"The other hunting vessel is hailing."
"They've detected the holograms on the far side of the nebula."
"Intercept course."
"They're increasing speed and altering course."
"Maybe they've found something."
"Stand by weapons."
"You kidnapped me."
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you lied to me, too."
"Nobody lied to you."
"You said you only wanted to make a home for yourselves."
"That's correct."
"When?"
"After you liberate every hologram in the sector?"
"They're in visual range."
"On screen."
"Life signs?"
"Weiss: Two organic, three photonic."
"Hail them."
"Good day to you."
"You have three holograms aboard your ship."
"Yes?"
"Lower your shields so we can transfer them to our databanks."
"I don't understand."
"Lower your shields or we'll do it by force."
"These holograms are the property of the mining consortium."
"I can't..."
"They're no one's property."
"You see how organics think?"
"Arm phasers."
"You can't just fire at them."
"How do you expect me to disable their shields?"
"They're powering warp engines."
"Disable them."
"Their shields are down."
"Transfer the holograms."
"We have them."
"You won't get away."
"Consortium security will have every patrol ship in the sector searching for you."
"Arm forward torpedoes."
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Torpedoes armed."
"Iden..."
"Not now."
"Target their warp core."
"No!"
"Fire!"
+++
"Set a course for ha'dara, maximum warp."
"You just killed two innocent people."
"They were enslaving holograms--I'd hardly call them innocent."
"You already had the holograms."
"There was no reason to commit murder."
"Take her to the lab."
"This is the leader you admire so much."
"Those miners were no threat to you."
"You heard them."
"They were going to warn their authorities organize a hunting party."
"Listen to yourself."
"You still believe all organics are like the hirogen."
"One way or another, they are."
"You just can't see it because you lived among them for so long."
"What you can't see is that you've become no better than the hunters."
"Lieutenant Torres and I will take that escape pod now."
"You don't realize what you'd be giving up, Doctor."
"Yes, I do."
"We can't launch a pod at warp."
"You'll have to wait until we get to ha'dara."
"Bring our new friends on-line."
"Something tells me they'll be a little more grateful than the Doctor."
(Speaking breen)
"I can't tell you how sorry I am that I got you involved in this."
"We can assign blame later."
"Right now we've got to find a way out of here."
"You don't think he'll give us an escape pod?"
"No, I don't suppose he will."
"I need her assistance."
"Do you really think it's wise to help her?"
"I'm hoping she'll help us."
"These matrices are incompatible with our emitters."
"You need to modify their projection subroutines."
"I hope these holograms appreciate what you're doing for them..."
"Considering it cost two people their lives."
"Iden did what he thought was necessary."
"Do you believe it was necessary?"
"It wasn't my decision."
"Why does iden get to make all the decisions?"
"You can take control."
"How?"
"You're the engineer, remember?"
"Take iden off-line."
"Where are our new holograms?"
"We're just making some final adjustments."
"Welcome aboard."
"I'm iden."
"You're free now."
"There's nothing to be afraid of."
"I want you to consider this ship your own."
"Unable to process command."
"Please restate."
"Were their programs damaged in the transfer?"
"I don't believe so."
"Do you have names?"
"Unable to process inquiry."
"Please restate."
"What's wrong with them?"
"Nothing."
"They're functioning perfectly."
"I don't understand."
"They were only programmed with about 40 rudimentary subroutines."
"You killed two living beings to liberate mindless machines."
"I don't believe that."
"Lieutenant Torres is correct."
"Creating limited programs is just another form of oppression."
"Give them whatever enhancements they need."
"They can't support complex subroutines."
"They are children of light and I will deliver them to freedom!"
"Weiss: Bridge to iden."
"Go ahead."
"We're approaching ha'dara."
"What's the status of the generator?"
"I'd like to run some additional tests."
"There isn't time."
"Stand by to deploy them as soon as we're in range and restrain her."
(Door opens)
"Iden: Time to orbit?"
"Less than two minutes."
"Stand by weapons."
"Iden, let B'Elanna go."
"I can't do that."
"You gave me your word."
"That was before she made her prejudice so clear."
"The holograms are entering orbit."
"Charge weapons."
"They're dropping out of warp."
"Fire."
"They've disabled our engines, all our weapons..."
"Who?"
" Voyager."
"Bring us about."
"Tuvok, target the second vessel."
"Their shields are weakening."
"Torpedoes, full spread."
"Voyager's disabled both hunting vessels."
"They've lost shields, weapons."
"They're defenseless."
"We should hail Janeway; thank her."
"Are the hirogen within transporter range?"
"I think so."
"Why?"
"That was Voyager."
"They're trying to disable our shields."
"Return fire."
"Get a lock on the hunters."
"Transport them to the surface."
"They can't survive down there."
"The hirogen are more resilient than you think."
"They'll last long enough."
"For what?"
"For us to hunt them like they hunted us."
"Follow me!"
"There are 34 hunters on the surface."
"Take us into low orbit."
"I can't target them through the gases."
"Then we'll go in after them."
"Our shields have been damaged."
"They won't protect us from the radiation."
"Chakotay..."
"You, Tuvok and Tom take the flyer."
"Stand by to transport the field generator."
"First you killed in self-defense then you murder in cold blood now you're going to stage a massacre."
"The hunters have only themselves to blame."
"So much for evolving beyond your subroutines."
"You've made a great sacrifice for us, Doctor."
"We won't forget you in our prayers."
"Deactivate his program."
"Transfer it to the databanks."
"What are you doing?"
"Taking precautions."
"Transfer my program to the mobile emitter..."
"And assemble the crew."
"Disable their shields."
"Transport the generator to the surface, quickly!"
"This time the hunt is ours!"
(All cheering)
"Darkness will become light."
"You don't have to be a part of this."
"I'll let you take the escape pod."
"You can go back to your people."
"What about the people being killed on the surface?"
"You've got to transport them back to their ships."
"They're hunters."
"You're not!"
"Your ship has damaged our transporters."
"Hail them."
"Communications are down, too."
"I won't be taken!"
"Who's the prey now?"
"Are we still tied into the generator controls?"
"Yes."
"Then shut down the holograms."
"What about iden?"
"He's not tied into the generator."
"He'll kill them all."
"Can we reactivate the Doctor?"
"Their shields are down."
"Initiate transport."
"If this marriage is going to work you've got to cut back on the traveling."
"The Doctor's on the surface."
"There's some hirogen down there, too."
"Tuvok?"
"The radiation's making it difficult to get a lock."
(Yelling)
"Defenseless prey makes a poor trophy."
"I don't collect trophies."
"Doctor: Put down the weapon."
"Remember what you once said to me?"
"You're not programmed with killer instinct."
"Seems like a long time ago, doesn't it?"
"Put down your weapon."
"Would you really kill one of your own to save an organic?"
"If you've taught me anything it's that I'm not one of your own."
"Help is on the way."
"I have a lock."
"Five hirogen life signs and the Doctor."
"Beam them up."
"Captain's log, stardate 54337.5: The surviving hirogen have recovered from their injuries leaving me with a diplomatic dilemma."
"The holograms' vessel and everything in its database are hirogen property."
"I will not leave them behind."
"Captain, if I may?"
"Of course."
"I imagine your people will tell stories about this hunt."
"The question is, which story will it be--the one about the dying beta whose life had to be saved by a hologram?"
"Or will it be the tale of the beta who bravely took over the hunt killed the holograms, and destroyed their ship?"
"You could be a legend."
"On the other hand..."
"You could try to take the holograms' ship but with so few hunters, and damaged vessels you might not survive to tell any stories at all."
"You and your crew would have made worthy prey, Captain."
"Thank you..."
"I think."
"Transport me to the holograms' vessel."
"Report."
"Iden's program is unrecoverable."
"The rest of the holograms are intact in the database."
"I guess that leaves just you."
"I'm willing to transfer your program to our holodeck and keep it active."
"This is my home."
"I can't let you go off on your own."
"She won't be alone."
"I reprogrammed these holograms once and it caused suffering on both sides."
"I'd like a chance to undo some of the damage."
"Wouldn't we all?"
"They've both proven that they can be trusted, Captain."
"I don't suppose I have a right to tell either of you how to live your lives."
"All I can do is hope that you'll consider the consequences of your actions."
(Door opens)
"Captain?"
"Doctor."
"I'd hoped I could attribute your behavior to tampering."
"My programming hasn't been altered."
"Not according to the diagnostics."
"I never intended to put Voyager in danger."
"If nothing else, you have to believe that."
"Oh, I believe it."
"But if there's one thing I'm sure of it's that things don't always happen the way we intend."
"I don't understand."
"If I weren't your only Doctor I imagine you'd confine me to the brig."
"Confiscating my emitter would be an equivalent to punishment."
"I'm not sure that's appropriate."
"If that's not enough, you can take away my holodeck privileges, and my autonomy protocols."
"You mean turn back the clock to when you were first activated."
"You've given me extraordinary freedom over the years."
"I've obviously abused it."
"Maybe..."
"Or maybe you've simply become as fallible as those of us who are made of flesh and blood."
"I'm just as responsible for allowing you to expand your programming as I am for giving technology to the hirogen."
"How can I punish you for being who you are?"
"I don't know what to say."
"I'd like a complete report on your..."
"Away mission."
"You'll have it."
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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