Home > Star Trek: Voyager

One Small Step

MAN: Ares Four to Kumagawa.

How was the sunrise from down there?

WOMAN: Beautiful. There was a little green mixed in today.

It was really quite spectacular.

Sorry I missed it.

Next time, Lieutenant.

Any luck drilling through that lava plain?

Roger that. We broke through the iron oxide barrier

and we're down to eight meters.

MAN: We should have some samples

by the end of the day if all goes well.

On to more important matters.

Received an uplink from Houston.

The Yankees won game five of the World Series.

WOMAN: You owe me 20 bucks.

It's not over yet. There's still game six.

We're not the only ones making history today.

Bokai just broke DiMaggio's record.

MAN: I don't believe it.

If you ask me, Houston's been manipulating the stats.

WOMAN: They do have a few too many Kings fans at Mission Control.

Well, how else do you explain Bokai beating out the Yankee Clipper?

WOMAN: Commander, we lost you for a second there.

The ride got a little bumpy. Stand by.

I'm picking up some turbulence.

MAN: At your altitude?

Checking Lidar.

What the hell...?

WOMAN: John, what's going on?

There's an object closing on my position-- azimuth 121.6.

Whatever it is, it's huge.

It's over 1,000 meters across.

MAN: How could something that big appear out of nowhere?

I don't know, but I'm getting out of its way.

Firing thrusters.

WOMAN: It's probably just a solar flare.

Let's hope so.

It's no solar flare.

( light jazz playing ) ( door chiming )

Come in.

( chiming )

Come in.

( chiming )

( chiming )

Chakotay to the bridge.

MAN: This is Transporter Room Two.

I'm trying to reach the bridge.

Your com signal was routed here, sir.

Can you patch me through?

( warbled ): Pardon me? Who is this?

Patch you through? Where?

Neelix? Commander?

MAN: Double check on the field generators.

( overlapping voices )

I see you're making some changes to the computer core.

I've enhanced the command sequencers with Borg algorithms.

Well, your enhancements are wreaking havoc with our secondary systems.

Insignificant malfunctions. I will correct them.

I don't recall authorizing any modifications.

The computer core is inefficient. It needed to be improved.

I appreciate your initiative, but that's not up to you.

I've explained the value of these enhancements on several occasions, but Lieutenant Torres chose to ignore me.

I thought a demonstration would be more persuasive.

Well, I doubt this one's going to change her mind.

Clearly Voyager is not yet ready for assimilation.

A joke. The doctor suggested that I diffuse tense situations with humor.

Good idea. Now how about getting these systems back up again so I can get back to my book?

We're experiencing a ship-wide power drain.

This is unrelated to my modifications.

KIM: Senior officers to the bridge.

It's 2:00 in the morning, Ensign.

This better be more than a little turbulence.

You won't be disappointed. We've got level-nine gravimetric distortions closing on our position.

TUVOK: They are emanating from subspace.

On screen.

Shields.

It's heading right toward us.

Evasive maneuvers.

Captain. Say good morning to 30 million terrajoules of subspace energy.

This thing is following us.

I can't outrun it at impulse.

Go to warp.

It's disrupting our warp field.

If it any gets closer, the gravimetric stresses are going to rip the plating off our hull.

Captain, I recognize this phenomenon.

Its Borg designation is Spatial Anomaly 521.

It's attracted to objects that emit electromagnetic energy.

We have to cut power and reverse our shield polarity.

Do it.

That was close.

I recognize this anomaly, too.

It's called a graviton ellipse.

According to the Federation database, it travels through subspace emerging occasionally without warning.

Ellipses have only been observed a handful of times.

Ares Four.

Commander?

One of the early Mars missions.

The command module and its pilot were engulfed by a similar phenomenon back in 2032.

I remember reading about that.

Two astronauts were stranded on the surface for weeks before a rescue ship arrived.

No one's gotten this close to a graviton ellipse and lived to tell about it.

This could be a remarkable opportunity.

Go to yellow alert.

Keep our power output at minimum levels.

Match its course and speed, but maintain a safe distance.

Aye, Captain.

I suggest we launch a probe, see if we can find out what makes this thing tick.

Make it fast. There's no telling when our visitor is going to burrow back into subspace.

I'm receiving telemetry from the probe.

It appears to have entered a stable core within the anomaly where gravimetric forces are negligible.

The eye of the storm.

An apt metaphor.

Computer, run a multispectral analysis of the anomaly's core.

Analysis in progress.

The Borg developed shields to get through the gravimetric currents.

They intended to dissipate the anomaly from within.

Perhaps we should continue their efforts.

It would be shortsighted to destroy it.

We should study the phenomenon.

I didn't realize you shared this crew's penchant for exploration.

I am a Starfleet officer.

When the risks outweigh the potential gain, exploration is illogical.

We can't predict what we might find here, Seven.

One must allow for the unexpected discovery.

Core analysis complete.

There are more than 2.8 billion compounds in the core.

Fascinating.

The computer has isolated several synthetic alloys native to sector 0-0-1.

Titanium and polymer composites.

These materials date back to the 21st century.

They were used in the construction of Earth's early spacecraft.

Commander Chakotay mentioned a space capsule that was consumed by a graviton ellipse.

These alloys are consistent with the hull of that capsule.

An unexpected discovery, indeed.

She was 46 meters, 92 metric tons, powered by a third-generation ion drive and equipped with a transpectral imager.

Ares Four was piloted by Lieutenant John Kelly.

His ground team, astronauts Rose Kumagawa and Andrei Novakovich, were close to completing their survey mission when Kelly reported an object closing on his position.

Then he and the command module disappeared off NASA's Lidar scopes--

And into the history books.

That incident almost derailed the Mars program.

TUVOK: Mankind's first encounter with a spatial anomaly.

Seven, you said the Borg were working on a way to get inside a graviton ellipse.

Shield enhancements.

Well, maybe we could apply the same enhancements to the Flyer.

Captain, do you intend to try to find the command module?

Or what's left of it.

By my calculations, we have less than 16 hours before the anomaly goes back into subspace.

Then we have to work quickly. Harry, B'Elanna, help Seven modify the Flyer's shields.

Tom, review the database from the Ares Four mission.

It might tell us something about this anomaly we've missed.

We're going to need a mission leader.

I volunteer.

I thought you might.

Let's do it.

Something on your mind, Seven?

The anomaly is as dangerous and unpredictable now as it was 300 years ago.

The Delta Flyer is a little more advanced than the Ares Four was.

We'll be taking every precaution.

That may not be enough.

I appreciate your concern, but this is my call.

Searching for the command module seems more sentimental than scientific.

I can't argue with that.

If scientific knowledge was all we were after, then the Federation would have built a fleet of probes, not starships.

Exploration is about seeing things with your own eyes.

In this case, we're exploring the past.

How will retrieving this artifact enhance your appreciation of history?

By making us part of it, in the same way that excavating the obelisks of ancient Vulcan or finding the Shroud of Kahless made those explorers part of their history.

( sighs ): Here's the crux of it.

As a Borg, you didn't study the past; you ingested it.

You never really developed an appreciation for humanity's history.

Maybe this is an opportunity for you to do some exploring of your own.

Are you ordering me to join this mission?

Let's just say I'm encouraging you to volunteer.

( sighs )

It's no solar flare.

Wow.

KUMAGAWA: John, can you describe it?

It's... It's at least 1,000 meters wide. Bright.

NOVAKOVICH: Your transmission is breaking up.

It's generating an electromagnetic radiation

interfering with primary systems.

I can't get away from it.

Activating the transpectral imager.

I'll record as much data as I can.

It's right on top of me! I'll transmit as much as I...

That's all she wrote.

NASA received Kelly's last telemetry at 0922 hours, October 19, 2032.

I thought I was the Mars buff.

You seem to know more about the Ares Four than I do.

The Mars missions paved the way for the exploration of space.

Kelly was one of my childhood heroes.

Yeah, mine, too.

That's dedication.

The man's life's about to end, but he won't stop taking readings.

Makes you wonder if those old-timers were made of sterner stuff than we are.

You think we have it easy? Are you kidding?

Warp drive, shields, transporters--

We're traveling in the lap of luxury.

Kelly and Kumagawa, Armstrong and Glenn, they were the real pioneers.

Am I interrupting?

We're just admiring someone, a fellow explorer.

Hero worship-- the glorification of an individual's accomplishments.

I guess you didn't have many role models growing up.

In the collective, personal accomplishments are irrelevant.

The shield modifications to the Delta Flyer are complete.

We're ready for launch. We?

You'll need someone familiar with Borg technology to monitor the shields.

I'm volunteering.

Well, you don't sound too happy about it.

I'm not, but this mission can benefit from my expertise.

In that case... welcome aboard.

I'm preparing an inoculant to counter the effects of gravimetric radiation.

Of course, if you were a hologram, you'd simply adjust your mobile emitter.

That's what I did on Arakis Prime, one of my first away missions.

I don't recall that.

This was before you came aboard.

Such an enchanting planet-- crystalline glaciers... magnesium vapor atmosphere.

I had to stop my metallurgical scans just to admire the sheer beauty of it-- to... "smell the roses," to coin a phrase.

An inefficient use of your time.

Perhaps.

We're all finished here, except for one thing.

Would you mind recording some images when you're inside the ellipse for those of us not lucky enough to make the trip?

You envy my participation on this mission.

There isn't a crewman aboard who doesn't.

Why? I can only tell you how I felt that morning when I materialized on Arakis Prime.

I left my footprints in the magnesite dust and thought, "one small step for a hologram, one giant leap for mankind."

To coin a phrase.

Well, I know the sentiment isn't exactly original, but the fact is I was exhilarated.

Chakotay to Seven of Nine. Report to Shuttle Bay Two.

Good luck.

We're approaching the perimeter in five, four... three, two, one.

We're within 2,000 kilometers.

Gravimetric interference is increasing.

It's nothing compared to what they're going through.

They're really getting knocked around in there.

The shields have weakened, but they're still holding.

Harry, keep your finger on that tractor beam in case we have to pull them out.

They're approaching the anomaly's core.

We've lost sensor contact. Harry.

The com link is still active.

The gravimetric shear is increasing.

I'm reading diminished turbulence directly ahead.

Full thrusters, Tom. Punch us through.

Chakotay to Voyager.

We're in.

CHAKOTAY: I wish you could see this, Captain.

It's incredible. We're all ears.

It's very calm, no gravimetric distortions.

The E.M. activity is creating a natural luminescence.

Tom called it "mood lighting."

PARIS: Hey, B'Elanna, it's the perfect romantic getaway.

I'll take your word for it.

CHAKOTAY: We've detected asteroid fragments, pieces of vessels,

matter from every quadrant of the galaxy.

Next time I lose something, I'll know where to look.

Instead of a graviton ellipse we should call it the "kitchen sink anomaly."

The chemical interactions have even created a primitive atmosphere.

PARIS: Nothing you'd want to breathe, of course.

What do you make of it, Seven?

SEVEN: Well, I suppose it's intriguing.

Some of the matter appears to be extra-dimensional in origin.

Sounds like this anomaly's gotten around.

Any sign of the Ares command module?

PARIS: We're picking up traces of the hull,

but our sensor readings are being refracted

by all the debris in here.

That was a gravimetric surge caused by the anomaly altering its course by .006 degrees.

We just had a big jolt out here.

CHAKOTAY: We didn't feel a thing.

By our estimate, you have five hours, 36 minutes before the anomaly returns to subspace. You better get a move on.

CHAKOTAY: Understood.

I'm having difficulty isolating the debris from the command module.

I'll lay in a search pattern.

It may take a couple of hours to cover an area this large.

Seven and I can use the time to take some samples.

We'll get a better idea of where this anomaly's been.

We should focus on achieving our objective and returning to Voyager.

We're not here just to find the module.

We've got an opportunity to... To explore.

I am familiar with our mission.

In that case, let's get started.

The fossilized microbes in this ore appear to have had metallic membranes.

We've speculated about the possibility of metallic life-forms, but we've never discovered one.

You're excited by this discovery.

This piece of rock is billions of years older than Earth, from a time when the galaxy was still forming.

Here.

Commander.

Take it.

You're holding a piece of history.

Maybe even the beginnings of life itself.

Unlikely.

It's more likely than you think.

This anomaly is as old as anything we've ever encountered.

I could spend a lifetime studying the things it's collected.

And leave Voyager without a first officer.

They'd manage.

Paleontology was always my first love.

It's the reason I joined Starfleet.

Why didn't you pursue it?

My sense of responsibility got in the way--

First the Maquis, then Voyager.

What I wanted always seemed to take a backseat.

Do you remember what you wanted to be before you were assimilated?

I was assimilated when I was a child.

I knew I wanted to be a paleontologist when I was six.

A ballerina.

Maybe it's not too late.

It was a juvenile fantasy.

Those are the ones that stick with you.

PARIS: Heads up, folks.

I think we're getting close.

I've isolated the module. Bearing 39, mark 1-5.

There.

It appears to be intact.

I'm reading hull breaches and corrosion but, all things considered, it's pretty well preserved.

We weren't expecting to find a fragment this big.

We can't just stow it in the aft section.

We'll use a tractor beam to tow it back to Voyager.

Captain, the anomaly just made another course change-- .003 degrees.

That's the third one in an hour. Something has to be attracting it.

There's nothing on the sensors.

I think it enjoys being unpredictable.

We know it has a taste for electromagnetic energy.

So what could generate an E.M. field large enough to get its attention but still not show up on sensors?

An energy burst from a pulsar, a neutrino cloud.

Dark matter.

Realign the sensor array to scan for E.M. fluctuations.

I've got a spatial disturbance... three million kilometers away.

It's a dark matter asteroid.

Bingo. The anomaly's heading right for it.

Time to impact?

Four minutes. Captain, we can't predict how the impact will affect the anomaly.

But it's a safe bet it won't be a gentle nudge.

Janeway to Delta Flyer. We've got a problem.

The anomaly's on a collision course with a dark-matter asteroid.

We've located the Mars orbiter.

We're adapting a tractor beam; give us a minute.

You don't have it; get out of there.

Captain... Now.

Is the tractor beam ready?

Just about, sir.

Lock onto the module and take us out.

We don't have time.

I gave you an order. Commander.

We're not leaving without that module.

Tom!

Captain, both the anomaly and the asteroid are accelerating.

They're attracting each other like a pair of magnets.

At this rate, it'll impact in... 56 seconds.

Chakotay, you've got less than a minute. Acknowledged.

The module is slowing us down.

Maintain tractor lock.

How long until we clear the anomaly?

At our current speed, 40 seconds.

We can do it.

30 seconds to impact. They're still not clear.

Chakotay, status.

We're on our way.

20 seconds.

The gravimetric distortions are increasing.

The Flyer.

I've lost the signal.

How badly is he damaged?

He's got a severe concussion and internal injuries.

We need to get him back to Voyager. That may not be possible.

Communications, shields and propulsion are still off-line.

Well, he's stable for now. I'll give you a hand.

We can repair the shields, but the engines are unsalvageable.

It can't be that bad. It's worse.

The anomaly is showing signs of returning to subspace.

We have less than two hours.

( groaning )

He's regaining consciousness.

Easy. Easy. Lie still.

It feels like I went ten rounds with an Andorian.

More like 20. You were hit with a plasma discharge.

The gravimetric surge from the asteroid caught us at the edge of the anomaly, tossed us back inside.

The command module?

It's adrift, 300 meters off our port bow.

Then we can still salvage it. Not so fast.

We can't get engines or shields back on-line, not to mention a tractor beam.

We'll be lucky to get out of this in one piece.

I can help. You're in worse shape than this ship.

You want to help? Lie in the bed-- doctor's orders.

Another gravimetric surge.

I'll see if I can reinforce the structural integrity field.

You might try drawing power from auxiliary life support.

The system was damaged as well.

What about the secondary relays?

They're off-line.

That doesn't give us many choices.

Try rerouting the phaser couplings.

We explored that option while you were unconscious.

Then maybe you can bring me up-to-date.

There's no time. I suggest you recuperate.

We have the situation under control.

It doesn't look that way from here.

I'm still in command of this mission. I want to know what's going on.

Very well. We were ordered by the Captain to leave this anomaly, but you chose to disobey that command.

As a result of your obsession with the module, we are now trapped along with it.

In all probability, we won't survive without...

Point taken.

Now, why don't you continue... without the attitude?

An inventory of the damaged systems.

Read it for yourself.

I made a mistake.

I put the mission at risk.

You put our lives at risk.

Well, if we don't make it out... someone's bound to come looking for us in a few hundred years.

Diffusing a tense situation with humor... remember?

JANEWAY: Voyager to Delta Flyer.

They're using a probe as a transmission relay.

Voyager to Chakotay, please respond.

We can't detect you. Captain, we can hear you.

I'm matching their frequency.

Voyager, this is the Delta Flyer, respond.

JANEWAY: Are you all right? What's your status?

We've sustained heavy damage, Captain, but we're alive.

It's good to hear your voice.

We could install the same shielding on a class-two shuttle, and take it in.

It took us hours to make the modifications to the Flyer.

We've only got 82 minutes before this thing disappears into subspace.

It may be possible to modify a tractor beam to cut through the gravimetric interference.

You'll never be able to get it all the way to the core.

Start working on it anyway.

You said all the energy conduits are fused?

Correct. We can't get power to any of the primary systems.

If the replicators were working, we could whip up a new plasma manifold and be on our way.

What if I could get you an old manifold?

Excuse me?

The command module may be three centuries old, but the power distribution system isn't that different from the Flyer's.

Right here.

This control panel in the main cockpit--

It was called an ion distributor.

With a few tweaks, it could be modified to channel warp plasma.

SEVEN: Even if it were possible, we'd have to obtain the object before we can adapt it.

Do you have enough power to beam one of you to the module?

Yes, ma'am. I'll go.

Not so fast, Tom.

If another gravimetric surge hits, we'll need you at the helm.

Seven?

Are you encouraging me to volunteer again, Captain?

You read my mind.

Come on.

Just a little closer.

That's it for thrusters, but I got us within transporter range.

Ready?

Stand by.

Ironic. You're doing what I've always dreamt of.

Remember, when you set foot in that module, you'll be stepping into history.

History is irrelevant.

Irrelevant?

Do me a favor.

When you're over there, download whatever you can from their database, and also, take a minute to look around... so you can tell us what it was like.

There may not be time... but I'll try.

Good luck.

PARIS: What's it like in there?

Dark.

The ambient temperature is minus 260 degrees.

There appear to be fractures in the aft bulkhead.

Is the cockpit intact?

Yes.

I've brought the main computer on-line.

KELLY: I've lost contact with the team on the surface...

and I can't get a fix on my position.

PARIS: What was that?

There's an active data file.

It appears to contain log entries.

Can you play them for us?

I believe so.

( grunting )

Consider it my last request.

KELLY: ...and I can't get a fix on my position,

but I'm alive, and the C.M. seems to be intact.

( sighing ): I'm inside this...

whatever it is.

Could you hear that, Chakotay? It's amazing.

Everyone assumed he was killed instantly.

It's very calm--

like I'm in the eye of a hurricane...

something spooky.

The way I figure it, if there's a way in, there's got to be a way out.

I'm going to fire up the transpectral imager before I initiate another engine burn... collect as much data as I can.

Jeannie, I may not be bringing you back a Mars rock, but I promise you, I'm going to do everything I can to get home.

Ares Four, mission record, October 23:

I'm starting to feel like Jonah.

How long was he in the belly of that whale? Three days?

I got him beat by a day or two already.

The E.M. interference is disrupting communications and Lidar, and I can't see the stars, so there's no way I can get a fix on my position.

If this thing's moving as fast as it was when it pulled me in,

I could be a long way from Mars by now.

The imager's been working overtime, cataloguing all the matter in here, but a lot of it defies analysis.

I think we're going to need to make room on the periodic table.

Where the hell am I?

Power levels have dropped another 15% since my last systems check.

( metallic scraping )

I... I think I just saw another spacecraft.

Either that... or all this dehydrated food has gone to my head.

( beeping )

I got it. The hull's made of some kind of alloy.

I can't make heads or tails of it.

I shouldn't have been so dismissive.

I remember giving Kumagawa a hard time

when she claimed she saw a UFO over the Gulf.

I told her it was a meteor or another piece of Mir.

I guess I owe you an apology, Rose.

Ares Four, mission record, October 25.

This has been a nice place to visit, but I'm ready to come home.

I've prepped the ion drive,

channeled all the power from the thruster reserves

into the main tank.

I have enough fuel for one last engine burn.

Wish me luck.

Ignition sequence.

( power surging ) Five, four, three, two...

( engines roaring )

I'm losing pitch control.

Gyros aren't responding.

( engines powering down )

Power failure.

I've got to abort.

I'm not going to make it!

KELLY: All systems go.

Watch me, Dad. I'm flying.

Bad landing.

Call the medevac team.

( monitor fritzing )

Paris to Seven. Status?

I've located the device, but it's fused to the hull.

Stand by. Make it quick.

We've got less than 15 minutes.

Understood.

KELLY: All systems go.

Watch me, Dad. I'm flying.

( imitates crash landing )

Bad landing.

Call the medevac team.

( laughing )

John Kelly's first flight... not exactly a-okay.

Remember that, Dad?

I jumped off the roof with a parachute made out of blankets.

I guess I didn't calculate the aerodynamics.

Of course...

I was only six.

I guess this is John Kelly's last flight.

This time...

I can't blame it on pilot error.

This time... no regrets.

What I've seen... proves...

We were right to come out here.

We're not alone.

I know that now.

The module's losing power.

I'm taking life support off-line.

Rerouting whatever's left to the imager.

Keep it running... as long as possible.

Mission Control...

Dad...

Whoever finds this... do me a favor.

Take all the data I've collected... and put it to good use.

I hope you don't look at this as a failure.

( coughing )

I don't.

Actually...

I do have one regret.

I never found out--

who won the World Series.

( sighing )

I'm tired.

I can't...

Paris to Seven. How's it going over there?

I have the distributor. I'm downloading Lieutenant Kelly's database.

Hurry. We're running out of time.

( beeping )

Lock onto my bio-signature and my com badge.

PARIS: Seven? Energize.

Delta Flyer, report.

PARIS: We're trying to integrate the distributor.

Stand by, Captain. How long do they have?

Four minutes.

Try bypassing the power couplings.

No effect.

Resequence the ion modulators; see if that does it.

SEVEN: Power conversion in progress.

We have propulsion, shields.

The plasma flow is still fluctuating.

Stay on top of it.

Paris to Voyager. JANEWAY: Go ahead.

Open the shuttle bay doors; we're coming home.

Acknowledged.

Laying in an escape trajectory.

The ellipse is returning to subspace.

The Flyer.

They're approaching the perimeter...

2,000 meters... 1,800.

The anomaly's submerging.

Are we in tractor range? TUVOK: Not yet.

Take us closer. Captain?

Do it. They are still out of reach.

Another 300 meters. Closer.

We'll be pulled right in with them.

Just a few more meters.

We're too close! I've got a lock.

Reverse thrusters, full impulse.

Captain's log, Stardate 53301.2:

the away team collected over 60 terraquads of data on the anomaly.

Before we begin to analyze them,

we've decided to pay our respects to an old colleague.

Space.

Literally, it means "nothing..." a vacuum between stars and planets, but by the same token, it means everything.

It's what connects all our worlds--

Vulcan, Kronos,

Talax, Earth.

Centuries ago, mankind sent its first wave of explorers into that void.

Astronauts like Mr. Kelly.

They paved the way for the first colonies, the first starships, for those of us who've made space our home.

We commend the spirit and the bravery of Lieutenant John Mark Kelly as we commit his body... to space.

He will not be forgotten.

Captain...

I did not know this individual.

Had I encountered him while I was a Borg,

I would have found his technology unworthy of assimilation.

But we are more alike than one might think.

In a sense, his desire to explore was not unlike a quest for perfection.

His contribution helped secure humanity's future

and in some ways, my own.

( softly ): The Yankees... in six games.

All hands, attention.

Honor guard.

( whistle blowing )