Home > Star Trek: Voyager

Year of Hell: Part 2

NARRATOR: Last time, on Star Trek: Voyager...

CHAKOTAY: Looks like this entire part of space has changed somehow.

We should dismantle this weapon and rejoin our people.

No, not until every colony... every individual... every blade of grass is restored.

It appears that someone... or something has altered history.

Captain, that energy beam, it's pushing Voyager out of the space-time continuum.

He's trying to erase us from history.

I promised myself that I would never give this order, that I would never break up this family, but asking you to stay... would be asking you to die.

NARRATOR: And now, the conclusion.

JANEWAY: Captain's Log, Stardate 51425.4.

Our condition has left us

vulnerable to spatial anomalies,

and to any alien species eager for a piece of hardware.

We've taken refuge in a class-9 nebula.

( alarm beeping )

( beeps denial )

Oh, come on!

Don't do this to me now.

Emergency force fields are holding.

How the hell did all this gas get inside?

KIM: Looks like a malfunction in the ventilation system.

Okay, I'm going to try reversing the osmotic pressure on this deck.

Oh! Whoa!

The gas corroded the circuit relays.

Let's bypass.

( coughing )

We've got three minutes of air left.

How long can you hold your breath?

( coughing )

Ensign Kim found time to be treated, so can you.

How is Harry?

He'll be fine, but I'm surprised he didn't asphyxiate.

I told you eight minutes on that deck, not eight and a half, not nine, and certainly not 12.

Would you rather have an indoor nebula?

If we didn't stop it then and there, it would have flooded another two decks.

B'Elanna, engines? Not yet, Captain.

One of the warp nacelles is still off-line.

The other one's a lost cause.

Route all available power to the good one.

( coughing )

The alveoli in your lungs have been chemically burned.

I want you off your feet for the next 48 hours.

Impossible. I've got too much work to do.

There are seven other crew members on board.

You're the Captain. Delegate.

Inject me with trioxin.

That should help me breathe a little easier.

B'Elanna, stand by for the transfer.

Right.

Trioxin is used in emergency situations as a stopgap measure.

Your lungs have suffered serious damage.

They need to be treated properly.

Doctor's orders.

Captain's orders, trioxin, now.

Aye, aye.

It's your body.

Who am I to judge?

I'm only the Chief Medical Officer.

What do I know?

Thank you.

Now, where were we?

( coughing violently )

( door opens )

( door opens )

Well... you look rested.

Where's my crewmate?

He should have been here by now.

No doubt he's making himself difficult.

I've never seen such an intransigent young man.

You've had us in isolation for two months.

We've been scanned, poked and prodded.

How do you expect us to act?

With some degree of dignity and restraint.

Your crewmate has none.

What do you want from us?

At the moment... information.

Anything for such a charming host.

Are you all right?

The galley has prepared a selection of unique delicacies.

You won't find them anywhere else in the galaxy.

Please, join me.

Malkothian spirits, an extremely rare vintage.

The only bottle known to exist.

Your Captain said that... your vessel is trying to reach home.

I hadn't realized how far your home was.

You're an anomalous component, alone, disconnected, impossible to predict.

You have no idea how you've complicated my mission.

Glad to hear it.

When I first encountered your vessel, it was badly damaged, barely functioning.

What if I told you, that in the blink of an eye,

I could restore Voyager to its former condition?

That you and I would never have met?

That you might even find yourself closer to the Alpha Quadrant?

By using the weapon on this ship to alter history.

Yes.

I can control the destiny of a... single molecule or an entire civilization.

How's the wine?

Excellent.

This bottle is the only component left of the once powerful Malkoth race.

Everything else about them, cities, culture, the very species itself, never existed... because of me.

Every dish you see here comes from a civilization that... has been erased from time.

Mr. Paris, you're devouring the last remnants of the Alsuran Empire.

I have collected artifacts from... hundreds of worlds.

This vessel is more than a weapon.

It's a museum of lost histories.

You two gentlemen almost became artifacts yourselves.

But I've decided to... spare your vessel.

Why?

Call it an act of compassion.

You're trying to reach home.

In a way, so am I.

We can work together to achieve both our goals.

What do you propose?

In order to make the calculations required to restore Voyager,

I need to know about some of your experiences in this Quadrant.

What species you interacted with, how other components were affected by your presence...

You can't find her, can you?

I think Captain Janeway has been eluding you for the past two months.

Otherwise, you would've destroyed Voyager by now.

I'm offering you a way out of this situation.

You accept my offer... or when I do find Voyager, I will destroy it.

And how many civilizations will you have to erase to send us merrily on our way?

No, thanks.

We don't want that kind of blood on our hands.

Tom, hold on.

You said you could control the destiny of a single molecule.

If you made a precise enough calculation, could you restore Voyager without harming anyone?

It is possible... but it's extremely difficult.

That's why I need your cooperation.

( scoffs )

I'd rather spend a year in solitary confinement than listen to any of this.

Tom, have a seat.

Chakotay, we can't trust him.

You're correct.

Given the circumstances, there is no reason to trust me, but trust isn't necessary.

We need each other.

( beeping )

Obrist... show our guest to his new quarters.

I'll do everything in my power to make you comfortable here, Mr. Paris.

All I ask in return... is that you keep an open mind.

I was very impressed with your question.

You seem to understand the subtleties of time.

Professor Vassbinder might've disagreed with you.

I failed his course in temporal mechanics.

Beyond study and instrumentation, there is instinct.

Not everyone has the ability to truly perceive time... its colors, its moods.

Perhaps you do.

I'm certainly willing to give it a try.

TORRES: To distant friends.

NEELIX: To friends.

JANEWAY: Hear, hear. KIM: Cheers.

Well?

Interesting.

Not bad.

Not bad at all.

What...is it exactly?

I call it "the elixir of endurance."

It's loaded with amino acids, carbohydrates, all the nutrients necessary for the crew to withstand these stressful conditions.

Ration cubes.

Well, yes, yes, but this time, pureed, and mixed with water, and enhanced with Talaxian spices.

It is offensive.

( chuckles )

Fortunately, taste is irrelevant.

Well, it's been a few days since we've gathered in one place.

Now's a good time to catch up.

How are the repairs proceeding?

DOCTOR: I'm happy to report that I've repaired the optronic error in my program.

And the power grid?

We're operating at 32 percent efficiency.

I think I can bring it up to 50, but I'll need a few more days.

Warp drive?

I'm still having trouble with the starboard nacelle.

How long?

Three weeks, minimum.

( sighs )

I thought this nebula would be a safe haven until we finished repairs, but it's turning into a permanent residence.

We've got to get back into open space, find allies, put together a fighting force to take on Annorax.

We're leaving this damn cloud first thing tomorrow morning.

SEVEN: Captain, you are in error.

Really?

At the moment, this vessel is defenseless.

We should remain here until we are functioning at our peak efficiency.

I appreciate your opinion, Seven, but I disagree.

We leave tomorrow, 0800 hours.

It is inappropriate to contradict the Captain in front of the crew.

That was not my intention.

I simply pointed out that her decision was wrong.

In your view.

And yours.

I know you well enough to say that.

Then you should also know that my trust in Captain Janeway is absolute.

The decision you or I might have made is irrelevant.

As a Borg, I submitted to a single authority, the collective.

Over the past several months,

I've been encouraged to think and act as an individual.

It is difficult to know when to restrain myself.

Remember this guideline,

The Captain is always right.

Even when you know her logic is flawed?

Perhaps.

CHAKOTAY: Component 37329, a rogue comet.

About eight months ago,

Voyager made a course correction to avoid the comet.

According to my calculations, it led to our entering Krenim space.

Your solution, then, would be to erase that comet from history.

Exactly.

Voyager would have stayed on its course, and bypassed Krenim space altogether.

Sounds simple enough. Conduct a simulation.

Temporal incursion in progress.

What happened?

Had you actually eradicated that comet, all life within 50 light-years would never have existed.

Congratulations.

You almost wiped out... 8,000 civilizations.

I didn't consider the entire history of the comet.

Four billion years ago, fragments from that comet impacted a planet.

Hydrocarbons from those fragments gave rise to several species of plant life, which in turn, sustained more complex organisms.

Ultimately, several space-faring civilizations evolved and colonized the entire sector.

By erasing the comet,

I altered all evolution in this region.

Past, present and future... they exist as one.

They breathe together.

You're not the only person to make this mistake.

When I first constructed this weapon ship,

I turned it against our greatest enemy, the Rilnar.

The result was miraculous.

With the Rilnar gone from history, my people, in an instant, became powerful again, but there were problems.

A rare disease broke out among our colonies.

Within a year, 50 million were dead.

I had failed to realize that the Rilnar had introduced a crucial antibody into the Krenim genome... and my weapon had eliminated that antibody as well.

And you've been trying to undo that damage ever since, but each time you pull out a new thread, another one begins to unravel.

You can't imagine the burden of memory that I carry, thousands of worlds, billions of lives, gone, brought back, gone again.

I try to rationalize the loss.

They're not really being destroyed, because they never existed.

Sometimes I can... almost convince myself.

You've been at this for 200 years, Annorax.

What makes you think you're ever going to succeed?

What makes you think Voyager will ever reach Earth?

The odds against you are astronomical.

Yet, you keep trying.

You're right, but we don't destroy everything that stands in our way.

You can help me to change that, Chakotay.

Together, we'll restore the Krenim and Voyager, and we'll undo the damage that I've caused.

I've still got a lot to learn.

Come.

It's time I show you the heart of this vessel, the temporal core.

( slow theme playing )

JANEWAY: Engines?

I'm doing my best!

Captain, with the deflector down, those micro-meteoroids are beginning to erode the hull.

Emergency power to the deflector.

None available.

( thumps and bangs on hull )

I'll be in Deflector Control.

TUVOK: Captain, that entire section has been designated hazard-level 4.

I know.

( suspenseful theme plays )

( screams )

Oh, why do I get the feeling you're testing me, Voyager?

Bridge, there's a fire in Deflector Control.

Any luck with the engines?

The warp core's still off-line.

Micro-meteoroid density is increasing.

The nacelle pylon is buckling.

Bridge, I'm going in.

Stand by to engage the deflector.

Tell the Doctor I'll be coming back with severe burns.

Captain...

Do it.

Be kind.

( rumbling )

The Captain's accessed manual control.

She's stabilizing the particle emitters.

( beeping )

She's got it.

Deflector's on line.

Activating deflector field.

Bridge to Janeway.

Captain, please respond.

( moaning )

What's my condition?

You suffered third-degree burns to approximately 60 percent of your body.

I've healed most of them, but without a dermal regenerator,

I couldn't repair all the damage to your skin.

You've been left with scars on your face and arms.

( sighs )

I'll consider them mementos.

Not so fast.

You're spending the next few days here with me.

What for?

Observation.

Is there something else wrong with me?

Not physically.

What are you suggesting?

Traumatic stress syndrome.

Symptoms, irritability, sleeplessness, obsessional thoughts, reckless behavior... all of which you've demonstrated over the last few weeks.

My only obsession is with saving my ship, my people.

If I've been taking some reckless chances in order to do that, it's hardly a medical condition.

I'm not going to stand here while you rationalize yet another brush with death.

You don't have to.

As Chief Medical Officer, I have the authority to relieve you of your command.

You're not going to do that.

If, in my medical opinion, your judgment has been impaired, I can and I will.

Try it and I'll shut down your program.

That threat in itself is evidence of your unstable condition.

I am sorry, Doctor.

I've been operating on instinct for so long,

I did not think before I spoke.

I have no intention of deactivating you, but I won't stay in this Mess Hall.

Is that final? Final.

Then you leave me no choice.

Captain Kathryn Janeway, under Starfleet Medical Regulation 121, Section A,

I, the Chief Medical Officer, do hereby relieve you of your active command, effective immediately.

Have a seat.

How do you plan to implement this protocol, Doctor?

Mr. Tuvok doesn't have a security team, both the brigs have been destroyed, and with the internal force fields off-line, you'll have a hell of a time keeping me confined.

You'd better grab a phaser, because before I give up command, you'll have to shoot me.

You realize this incident will be noted in my official logs.

By refusing my orders, you risk a general court martial.

Compared to what I've been through the past few months, a court martial would be a small price to pay.

If we make it back home...

I'll be happy to face the music.

Another ruptured EPS conduit.

Thirty two so far...

33, 34, 35...

And that fluidic converter needs to be purged.

Right.

The gravitational plating in this room has buckled.

Chakotay's quarters.

( tricorder beeping softly )

( beeping intensifies )

You disobeyed orders.

Captain?

Chakotay gave this to me five months ago, a birthday gift.

I ordered him to--

What do you think? Handsome.

Come on.

Astounding.

Not really.

I get lucky now and again.

Uh, your end game sequence, it, uh... it was the same one favored by my brother.

To quote a long lost friend of mine,

"It seemed logical."

Now what?

I used to honor the day of his birth.

Who?

My brother.

And my parents, my closest friends.

Every year, at first.

Then one day, I realized, a century had passed... and for years, I had been celebrating birthdays... for the dead.

Mmm.

Or for people who never even existed.

I'm sorry.

You can put that thing down, Chakotay.

No need to strain your eyes anymore.

I've got a plan.

Let's hear it.

This ship's temporal core keeps the vessel out of phase with normal space-time, but its shields are incredibly weak.

You take that core off-line, and a photon grenade could penetrate the hull.

How do you know all this?

I've been spending time with our friend Obrist, who seems more than willing to share information.

And that's not all.

Does the name Captain Bligh mean anything to you?

This is not a happy crew.

They've been at this for 200 years now.

They're tired of it, Chakotay.

They want it to end.

Good work, Tom, but I'm not quite ready to start a mutiny.

Keep gathering information.

Lie low.

I'm starting to make progress on the temporal calculations.

With a little time and luck,

I think we can get the Krenim back on their feet, and Voyager back to the Alpha Quadrant.

You're starting to sound like Annorax, always one more calculation.

This time it's going to be perfect.

This can work.

If you'd take time to listen, you'd understand what Annorax is trying to do.

What? Wipe out civilizations to help his own race?

I understand perfectly. It's more complicated than that.

Annorax is an enlightened man, misguided, but I think he wants this to end as much as anyone.

I guess I don't have the instinct for time, or whatever it is Captain Nemo out there calls it.

Chakotay, he's been flattering you and it's gone to your head.

You're out of line, Lieutenant.

( sighs )

Maybe I shouldn't start a mutiny, but I might be able to get Obrist to help us send a message to Captain Janeway.

Not yet, if you get caught, we lose everything.

I can get us out of this.

Not if I can get us out of here first.

You're not doing anything against Annorax.

That's an order.

( scoffs )

What are you going to do, take away my holodeck privileges?

Either we maintain our command structure, or else we settle our differences the old-fashioned way.

( alarm blaring )

What's happening?

We're preparing for a temporal incursion.

What incursion?

You didn't say anything...

I had an inspiration last night.

By my calculations, the eradication of the Ram Izad species will result in a 52 percent restoration of the Krenim timeline.

I thought we were working to avoid more destruction.

When time offers you an opportunity, you don't ignore it.

We're within range of their homeworld.

Take us into orbit.

Full power to the weapon.

Prepare for total erasure.

Is this what you call enlightened?

Targeting the focal point.

Locked.

Please, this isn't necessary.

We'll find another way.

Fire.

Trace elements?

Diminishing.

Counter-indications.

None so far.

Scan the continuum.

Bring me the results once they're complete.

Yes, sir.

I'll be in my chambers.

Have you seen enough yet, Chakotay?

If you don't do something about this maniac, I will.

You didn't need to fire on that planet.

I'm altering history on a massive scale.

The destinies of countless star systems are in my hands.

The fate of one species is insignificant.

You're trying to rationalize genocide.

One species is significant.

A single life is significant.

It seemed so... easy the first time.

In the blink of an eye, I had changed history itself, allowed my people to thrive again.

But when I changed history a second time...

I lost more than you can imagine.

The colony on Kyana Prime.

How could you know that?

I've been studying your previous incursions.

No matter how close you get to restoring the timeline, one component is always missing...

Kyana Prime.

Who was on that colony?

Who did you lose?

My wife... and with her, my future.

My children, grandchildren, all erased because of me.

This is all I have left of her.

So many years I worked through the night while she was sleeping.

How could I have known I was... calculating her fate?

I can't stop until I've restored Kyana Prime, and forced time to give me back my wife.

Maybe it isn't possible.

When I tell you that time has moods... a disposition to be intuited...

I'm not speaking metaphorically.

What do you mean?

Anger is one of its moods, anger and the desire for... retribution, vengeance.

Time itself has tried to punish me for my arrogance.

It has kept me from my wife, denied me my future.

Sir, we've achieved a 52 percent restoration.

Kyana Prime?

Negative, sir.

Resume scanning the continuum.

OBRIST: Yes, sir.

( door closes )

( clears throat ): I've, uh...

I've studied your calculations, Chakotay.

They're promising... premature.

We'll keep working on them.

In the meantime, my mission must continue.

You don't have the right--

To fight for what is mine?

That's not for you to decide.

Only time can pronounce judgment against me.

( sighs )

If that little display doesn't convince you,

I don't know what will.

He's insane.

No, he's not.

Wounded maybe, even tortured, but I can still reach him... convince him to stop.

Not from what you've told me.

This guy thinks that time has a personal grudge against him.

That's called paranoia, Chakotay, with a hint of megalomania.

You don't know what he's been through.

He's lost his family.

Okay, that's a terrible thing, but so has everyone else on this ship, and frankly, so have we!

What kind of progress have you made?

Obrist is coming around... and I think we can trust him.

He says he'll give me access to their communications array.

I can send a message to Voyager from the comfort of my own quarters.

And the temporal core?

That's going to be a little trickier.

With Obrist's help, I'm pretty sure I can disable it, but not without setting off every alarm on this ship.

We're only going to have one chance.

It'll require precise timing.

You and me working from within...

And Captain Janeway attacking from Voyager.

That is... if the Captain's still alive.

She's alive.

Send the message.

Transmit our coordinates.

Done.

And... give Kathryn my best.

JANEWAY: Captain's Log, Stardate 51682.2.

I've forged a coalition with the Nihydron,

and the Mawasi.

Together, we're preparing to attack the weapon ship.

I've analyzed every carrier frequency of their transmission.

It contains a classified Starfleet ID code that could only have come from Tom Paris.

It's real.

The coordinates he sent should lead us directly to the weapon ship.

Location?

Approximately 50 light-years from here.

Our new allies are assembling reinforcements.

Once we're in range, Tom says he'll try to take the weapon ship temporal core off-line.

When that happens, they'll be vulnerable to conventional weapons.

Tom will then transmit the exact location of the core.

Our job will be to disable the ship, and get our people out.

Is everyone clear?

KIM: Yes, ma'am. TORRES: Aye, Captain.

B'Elanna, Harry,

I want you to beam over to the Nihydron vessel.

Work with their engineers.

The entire fleet needs to be equipped with temporal shielding.

Aye, Captain.

Tuvok, Neelix, Seven, you'll be working on the Mawasi ship.

NEELIX: Yes, Captain.

Doctor, once the attack begins, your skills will no doubt be required.

Join Tuvok's team.

What about yourself?

I'll be piloting Voyager, coordinating the attack.

TORRES: Captain, there's barely enough of this ship left to get there, much less wage a war.

There's fight in Voyager yet.

It's still got temporal shields... six photon torpedoes.

It'll hold together.

Besides, you know the adage,

Captain goes down with the ship, right?

You have your orders.

Dismissed.

Tuvok, I can hear your objections already.

I am not leaving.

Given Voyager's damaged state, the probability of your surviving an armed conflict is marginal.

Oh, I know the odds, but I have to stay.

Voyager's done too much for us.

Curious.

I have never understood the human compulsion to emotionally bond with inanimate objects.

This vessel has done nothing.

It is an assemblage of bulkheads, conduits, tritanium... nothing more.

Oh, you're wrong.

It's much more than that.

This ship has been our home.

It's kept us together.

It's been part of our family.

As illogical as this might sound...

I feel as close to Voyager as I do to any other member of my crew.

It's carried us, Tuvok... even nurtured us... and right now, it needs one of us.

I respect your decision.

Live long and prosper, Captain.

Same to you... old friend.

Voyager to Mawasi vessel.

TUVOK: Go ahead, Captain.

I'm picking up the weapon ship, dead ahead.

Confirmed.

Temporal shields status.

All vessels are bringing them on line.

This is Captain Janeway to the fleet.

Plot an intercept course to the weapon ship.

Sir, six vessels are approaching our position.

Identify.

Three Nihydron warships, two Mawasi cruisers... and Voyager.

We're outside space-time, impervious to their weapons.

Let them come.

I know Captain Janeway. She wouldn't be attacking unless she knew she could do some damage.

( controls beeping softly )

( console beeps )

Good work, Obrist.

If she's given the other ships temporal shielding, they've undoubtedly informed their homeworlds.

They'll be able to protect their planets against your weapon.

Bring the weapon to full power.

Stand by for multiple incursions.

We'll have to disable their temporal shields first.

Make the necessary calculations.

TUVOK: All vessels report ready.

Let's see if Tom has done his part.

Janeway to the fleet.

Attack pattern omega.

Engage.

Condition?

No damage.

Temporal core is stable.

Return fire.

TUVOK: Captain,

two Nihydron vessels have been destroyed.

Janeway to the fleet.

Evasive pattern delta. We're going to have to wait.

Come on, Tom. Come on.

Target the other vessels.

Obrist... I said target the vessels.

( equipment powering down )

( alarm blaring )

You're deactivating the temporal core.

I'm sorry, sir.

It's over.

Get back to your stations.

You will not disobey me.

We're phasing back into normal space-time.

Reconfigure to conventional weapons.

( console beeping )

TUVOK: Captain, Chakotay and Paris were beamed aboard our vessel.

Everything's going as planned.

Tom sent me the coordinates of their temporal core before he left.

I'm transmitting them to you now.

KRENIM: Conventional weapons are on line and fully charged, sir.

Fire at will!

( cries out )

( groans )

KRENIM: Sir, weapons are back to full capacity.

Target Voyager.

Put Janeway out of her misery.

TUVOK: All our ships have been disabled, Captain.

Do you have weapons?

Negative. Torpedo launchers are down.

I'm setting a collision course.

Janeway to the fleet.

Take your temporal shields off-line.

TUVOK: Captain, we won't be protected.

Exactly.

If that ship is destroyed, all of history might be restored, and this is one year I'd like to forget.

Time's...up.

The core is destabilizing.

It's going to cause a temporal incursion within the ship.

JANEWAY: Captain's Log, Stardate 51252.3.

The past couple of weeks have been uneventful,

but we've made excellent progress

on the new Astrometrics Lab.

When can you bring it on line?

SEVEN: We just did.

KIM: In fact, we're in the process of charting a new course home.

JANEWAY: I'd say this is cause for celebration.

TUVOK: A vessel is approaching off the port bow, Captain.

On screen.

They're hailing us.

JANEWAY: Open a channel.

You've entered Krenim space. State your identity.

Captain Janeway of the Starship Voyager.

We're just passing through, trying to get home.

This region is in dispute.

I suggest you avoid our territory.

Thanks for the warning.

Good journey.

Tom, plot a course around Krenim space.

Aye, sir.

CHAKOTAY: So what do you think?

How about a ground-breaking ceremony for our new lab?

Sounds great.

I think I'll replicate a bottle of Saint Emilion for the occasion,

2370, I hear that was a good year.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Join me for breakfast?

In a little while.

I still have a... few more calculations.

There are always

"a few more calculations."

It's a beautiful day.

Spend it with me.

I suppose I can make the time.

( theme music plays )