Star Trek: Voyager s03e25 Episode Script

Worst Case Scenario

Where are you going? You were doing great.
You were in perfect position to deliver the death blow.
All you had to do was follow through.
Come on.
Let's try it again.
Don't push me, Tom.
Huh! I am not pushing you.
I'm encouraging you.
To do what?! Try something new.
This martial arts program is the best workout I've ever had.
No, it's more than that.
Working with a bat'leth is an art.
You have to use your mind and body, your movements Look, you may find all of this Klingon stuff really fascinating, but I don't.
I'm not going to waste my time trying to disembowel a bunch of holographic monsters.
I only came down here because you tricked me into that stupid bet.
Would you watch it! You could take somebody's head off with that thing.
I have tried this, and now I am finished.
Got it? Look, if you don't like the program, that's fine, but why do you always have to get so hostile? I am not hostile! Where am I? Paris to Bridge.
We have an alien visitor on Deck 6.
What do you want with me? Why have I been abducted? We didn't abduct you.
You just appeared here.
We had nothing to do with it.
What is this place? You're on a starship called Voyager Where were you before? My colony on Nyria III.
I was walking home and then I was here.
What's wrong? It's cold here and too bright.
Let us take you to Sick Bay.
Our Doctor can run some scans.
Maybe we can get some answers.
I've increased the temperature to 45 degrees Celsius.
And the light level should be more comfortable for you now.
Yes, thank you.
You're very considerate.
I hope you'll excuse my initial suspicion.
This experience has been very unnerving.
I'd feel the same way in your place.
Do your people possess technology which could have transported you here? Not that I know of.
I've heard of other races that have it.
Maybe one of them brought me here, but I can't imagine why.
Please describe the physical sensation of your experience.
First, I felt lightheaded and then everything around me seemed to bend or ripple.
There there was a moment of blackness and I felt a curious sensation of insects crawling on my skin and then I found myself on your ship.
Interesting.
I'll run a microcellular scan for residual energy traces.
Can you tell us where your colony is located? We're on the third planet of the Nyrian system a red giant star with a large cloud of interstellar dust just beyond the fifth planet.
Doesn't sound like any system we've encountered.
Unfortunately, our knowledge of this area of space is limited.
I'd like you to look at a star chart to see if you recognize any astronomical markers.
Of course.
In the meantime, my crew has begun scanning the area for any clues about what happened to you.
Lieutenant, if you don't mind.
Where is Kes today? I don't know.
She's late for her duty shift.
Computer, locate Kes.
Kes is not on board Voyager When did she leave? What time did our alien visitor come onboard? There's nothing to indicate that any other ships have been in this area for weeks and the nearest inhabited world is over ten light-years away.
Whoever or whatever did this had to leave some kind of energy trace.
Internal sensors aren't showing anything unusual in the corridor where the Nyrian appeared or at Kes's last known location.
Then let's concentrate on the time.
Run a level-1 analysis on all sensor readings, internal and external taken at the exact moment it happened.
I'll get it started, but it may take a while.
You don't think I'm hostile, do you? I, uh wouldn't describe you that way, no.
I know that I have a temper, but that doesn't mean that I'm always hostile, does it? No, of course not.
I am forthright; I speak my mind.
That is very different from being hostile.
Very different.
And if someone described me that way, they'd be way off the mark, wouldn't they? Way off.
Then why do you look like you're afraid for your life? What is this? Looks like a surge of polaron particles.
Localize the source.
I'll try to increase the sensor resolution.
You have anything yet? Harry? Torres to Bridge.
Ensign Kim just disappeared.
And we just got another visitor.
Mr.
Tuvok, have you made any progress? Increasing the shield strength has had no apparent effect.
However, if Oh Welcome to Sick Bay.
Take a number.
In the last three hours, we've lost 22 of our people.
According to the Nyrians, they've all shown up on their colony as though we're switching places.
I went over our navigational charts with Dammar, but he's completely unfamiliar with this part of space.
For all we know, that colony could be thousands of light-years away.
Any idea what might be causing these transfers? I'm not sure.
Harry and I detected a surge of polaron particles right before he disappeared.
They created a spatial distortion field around him, but it collapsed as soon as he vanished.
Could it have been some kind of spatial anomaly? It could have been anything a naturally occurring phenomenon like a wormhole, or a subspace flow field or a kind of technology like our transporters.
All right.
Get back to your stations and keep looking.
Confine the Nyrians to the cargo bays and post security details at every access point.
In all fairness, Captain, they haven't been threatening in any way.
They seem as puzzled by all this as we are.
Chakotay, I don't care how they seem.
All I care about is that I've had a knot in my stomach since the first Nyrian arrived.
Something about this is wrong; I can smell it.
Look at us running around the ship checking sensors and spinning theories while the Nyrians slowly replace our crew.
Consider this: There has been a consistent interval of nine minutes and 20 seconds between these exchanges.
At that rate, our entire crew will be gone in 18 hours.
Tell me that doesn't put a knot in your stomach.
You have your orders.
Captain's Log, Stardate 50912.
4.
It's been 12 hours since these mysterious exchanges began and we still haven't discovered their cause.
I've already lost over half my crew.
Cargo Bay 2 is almost full.
We'll have to start converting the shuttle bays.
Then do it.
I want them where we can keep an eye on them.
I'll have to reassign more crew members to security.
Our ranks are getting a little thin.
Shut down everything but the ship's essential functions.
We'll be operating on a skeleton crew before long.
B'Elanna, you've developed a theory about what's happening.
A Nyrian astrophysicist who arrived about an hour ago told me about some strange graviton fluctuations they detected at their colony.
I ran some scans on this end and found the same thing.
A wormhole? Possibly a baby one.
And if I'm right, one end is opening intermittently inside Voyager We could have passed through it while it was forming and snagged on it somehow.
Then how do we get it unsnagged? Well, now that I have this new information I'd like to have another talk with Rislan, the Nyrian scientist.
Is Neelix still helping out with the new arrivals? I think he's in Cargo Bay 2 now.
Janeway to Neelix.
Neelix here, Captain.
I'd like you to find one of the Nyrians who Neelix to Captain Janeway.
I lost contact.
What did you say? Chakotay to Neelix.
The Captain's gone.
We need you to find a Nyrian scientist called Rislan and get him to Engineering as soon as you can.
Right away, Commander.
Do what you have to do to get some answers, B'Elanna.
Excuse me.
Aren't you Dr.
Rislan? It's still too cold in here.
I'll adjust the environmental controls again.
But I must ask you And the air is too humid.
I'll take care of it right away.
But I must ask you to go to our Engineering room.
I believe you're urgently needed.
I trust it will be suitably warm and dark there? We'll make sure you're comfortable.
A security guard will escort you.
Right away, sir.
Commander, there's a problem with the internal sensors on Deck 4.
It looks like a circuit relay malfunction.
I can't spare anyone for repairs.
You'll have to make do.
How do you like your first day as Chief of Security, Ensign? It's everything I dreamed of, sir.
Who says there's no room for advancement on this ship? Another disappearance.
It's Neelix.
How many people does that leave us? Forty.
And more than a hundred Nyrians.
I want access to all systems restricted to authorized voiceprints only.
Seal off any part of the ship that we're not using and place security force fields around sensitive areas warp core, armory, torpedo bays.
And let's hope I'm just being paranoid.
If you ask me, a tetryon scan is a waste of time.
A multispectral sweep would be much more useful.
Actually, I didn't ask and I've already initiated the tetryon scan.
You're the expert.
Neutrinos, ionized hydrogen, theta-band radiation Just what you'd expect to find in a wormhole.
But it's what we're not finding that I'm interested in.
The scan shows no quantum level fluctuations whatsoever.
That's not so unusual.
It's more than unusual; it's impossible.
I don't think this is a wormhole at all.
Perhaps it's a subspace flow field then.
I'm going to run a pattern analysis from the original data.
Nope, definitely not a flow field.
The spatial harmonics are incompatible.
I don't think this is a natural phenomenon.
Don't move.
I won't hurt you unless you force me to.
Your people have been behind this all along.
What are you doing? Moving you to the head of the line.
B'Elanna, are you all right? Captain, the Nyrians are responsible for the exchanges.
I think they have some kind of technology What do they want with us? I don't know.
They refuse to answer any questions.
They've given us food, water and medical supplies everything but information.
Where's the rest of the crew? In other compounds just like this one scattered throughout the woods.
This doesn't seem like a Nyrian colony.
It's not warm enough or dark enough for them.
Exactly.
It's more like an idyllic version of Earth, as though it were created specifically for us.
Do we have any idea what planet we're on? Not yet.
I sent Tuvok to investigate the other compounds and see what he can find out.
Until he gets back, all we have are unanswered questions.
Decks 11 through 15 are completely shut down.
Most of the remaining crew are on security detail near the cargo and shuttle bays.
What, all 13 of them? Crewman Gennaro to Bridge.
I'm in Engineering, and I just found Ensign Molina.
He's unconscious but okay.
What about the Nyrian scientist he was watching? There's no sign of him, sir.
Find him.
That's a priority.
Where are you going? To have a talk with the Nyrians.
Chakotay to all hands.
Security alert.
The Nyrians may be trying to take control of the ship.
Everyone get to the Bridge or Main Engineering and secure them against possible intruders.
Second team, take control of weapons.
Start by reinforcing the containment fields.
Reroute emergency power.
We've got to seal those doors.
They're everywhere.
They're even decrypting our access codes.
The Nyrians obviously prepared for this before they got here.
They must have tapped into our computer somehow and gotten enough information to plan this mission down to the letter.
Larson? Chakotay to anybody who's left.
Please respond.
Gennaro here, sir.
Anybody else? The two of us aren't going to win this.
So we might as well make life as difficult for the Nyrians as we can.
Sabotage everything you can get your hands on.
Understood.
Good luck.
What's our status? We have shut off their security measures on all decks.
We should have full computer access soon.
But their navigational controls are not working.
Not working? There are two humans still moving through the ship.
They seem intent on causing damage.
Find them.
They're sabotaging the power systems.
The antimatter reactor's shutting down.
I can't see.
What happened? This way.
Warning.
Disabling lateral EPS relays may disrupt computer functions throughout the ship.
Let's hope so.
Chakotay to Gennaro.
They're trying to delete the Doctor's program.
Are you anywhere near Sick Bay? Gennaro? Computer how long ago did Crewman Gennaro leave the ship? Seven minutes and 20 seconds.
I've located the last human.
He's on the fifth deck.
Send a patrol to stop him.
I already have.
Activate emergency medical holographic program.
Please state the nature Hello? Doctor, over here.
Commander, what's happening? Your program's going to be deleted unless I can download you into the mobile emitter before I disappear, which should be any second now.
Got it.
All right.
I know when to quit.
I've never been completely cut off from the ship before.
What if the emitter's power supply runs out? Let's hope we're not stuck here long enough to find out.
Tuvok, what did you learn? There are ten compounds like this one spread over approximately four square kilometers.
They are surrounded on all sides by wilderness.
Could I have your attention? Now that you've all arrived here safely, I'd like to welcome you to your new home.
I'm not particularly interested in being welcomed.
Why have you brought us here? Your vessel will be used to defend Nyrian acquisitions.
Is this the way you operate? Gradually changing places with the crew of a ship? Ships, colonies, space stations.
We've found it's far more effective than warfare.
We aren't a cruel people.
We've tried to make this experience as painless as possible, and as you can see, we've gone to great lengths to create an environment in which you will be comfortable.
Nonetheless, we are being held here against our will.
Well, I'm afraid that's unavoidable.
But I think you'll be happy here.
The food dispensers have been programmed with selections from your own computer files.
We have even downloaded literature and entertainment from your cultural database.
What happens if we try to leave this little paradise? I think you'll find there's nowhere to go.
We don't accept that.
We will find a way out of here.
Captain your lack of gratitude is unbecoming.
You and your crew could have found yourselves somewhere far less hospitable.
It's still a prison.
If you want to be miserable here, that is your choice.
But since there's nothing you can do about your situation, I suggest you accept it gracefully.
We're ready now.
Tuvok tell me about this wilderness you found.
How rugged is it? Can we walk out? I don't believe so.
In every direction I went, I encountered a natural barrier a sheer cliff, an impassable river.
These obstacles completely surround the colony.
A perfectly isolated area doesn't that seem a bit convenient? This place does have an artificial quality.
I wouldn't be surprised if the whole thing is holographic and the wilderness was created to keep us from exploring too far.
Captain.
Uh sorry for the intrusion, but l-I wanted to welcome you.
I'm, uh Jarleth your neighbor.
Where did you come from? My people live in the other environment, uh, through that portal.
It's, uh, quite different.
More, uh desert-like.
This place, it's so, uh green.
But I'm sure it's suitable for you.
The Nyrians undoubtedly had a good look through your data banks.
Were your people brought here by the Nyrians? They took us one by one.
Oh, is this what you eat? They took you from your colony.
They claimed not to know what was happening.
By the time we got suspicious, there were too many of them.
We've been here ever since.
Do you have any idea where "here" is? No.
Uh-uh.
Mmm.
Not bad.
Um, would you be interested in trading for some of these? The last inhabitants of this environment had no concept of a barter system, but you strike me as a much more, uh sophisticated group.
If there were people here before us, maybe we could get out the same way.
Oh, I I don't think you'd like their method of escape.
Uh they all died from a plague.
Captain, there must be some kind of force field here, but I can't find it.
Pretty well-camouflaged, isn't it? It took me almost nine years to find the portal.
How did you get it open? Well, I I have my ways.
I'd consider that information a valuable commodity.
Well, I'd be happy to make a trade, but the portal only leads into our environment.
You're welcome to, uh, visit, of course.
There may be other portals if you can show us how to find them.
I look forward to our collaboration.
What do you see now? Fascinating.
Everything is glowing with its own energy.
Even the plants are emitting a faint thermal signature.
It's really quite lovely.
Aside from the aesthetic consideration, how's your optical resolution? The Captain sent me down to get an update.
Well, we're just about ready.
I've reconfigured the Doctor's optical sensors.
And, as soon as they're aligned, he should be able to detect the microwave signature of the portals.
Then I can begin my new career as a tricorder.
About the other day I might have been a bit oversensitive, uh, about the Klingon program.
Don't worry about it.
That should just about do it.
I think we can start scanning now.
Good.
I'll tell the Captain.
Um about the program l-I didn't mean to push you.
I know.
You didn't.
And I didn't mean to, um, lash out at you like that.
A typical defensive reaction using an aggressive outburst as a shield against a perceived emotional threat.
That says it, all right.
Oh, that's very funny coming from you.
And what is that supposed to mean? Well, you're hardly one to talk about being defensive.
And why is that exactly? Well, you just pretend that nothing bothers you and then you turn everything into a joke.
That's a valid observation.
Defense mechanisms come in many forms.
That's ridiculous.
I am an easygoing person who is just trying to be friendly to someone who is obviously terrified of having a friend.
Fear of intimacy is a common indication of low self-esteem.
Perhaps if you stopped to analyze the root cause, you might If you find it so difficult to be my friend, then why keep trying? That's a good question.
I think I'll stop wasting my time.
I pulled a power cell and some relay circuits out of a food dispenser.
And this little thing looks like some sort of capacitor.
It should do.
If you can find another like this one, we'll be able to construct a second weapon.
You're assuming the first one will work.
Yes.
I'll get on it right away.
Maybe if I take apart the sonic shower assembly.
I've got to give you credit, Tuvok.
Working on the fly with nothing but random parts with no guide to follow I never thought Vulcans had much of a knack for improvising.
Our circumstances seem to require a certain flexibility.
You could say that.
This reminds me of those survival classes they put us through at the Academy surprise tactical simulations.
Getting dropped off in the woods with no chance to prepare.
They certainly taught you to live by your wits.
That was a lesson I had already learned.
During the Rite of tal'oth, I survived in the Vulcan desert for four months with a ritual blade as my only possession.
After that, Starfleet training exercises seemed less of a challenge.
I guess so.
This weapon is complete.
When Mr.
Neelix returns with a second capacitor, I'II improvise another.
Lieutenant, I haven't seen any sign of a portal.
Frankly, I'm getting tired of this.
Holograms don't get tired.
Keep looking.
We've tried to get out of here for years.
The closest I ever came was finding the portal between our two environments.
L-I don't mean to be pessimistic, but I don't think there is a way out.
There must be we just have to keep looking.
Well, I know it's too early for you to accept this, but life here isn't so bad.
Once we stopped trying to escape, we actually began enjoying ourselves.
Captain, we found something.
It's directly in front of me.
Here? Yes, right there.
Well, if my scanning services are no longer required, I'll return to my medical duties.
We can cover more ground if we split up.
Tuvok and I will take this direction.
You three go that way.
We'll meet back here in 20 minutes.
I don't think we're supposed to be in here.
B'Elanna, over here.
There's another one.
Self-contained biospheres every one of them different.
It's definitely some kind of control station.
I can bring up information, but I can't understand what it says.
If the Nyrians downloaded Voyager's cultural database, you may be able to tap into the translation algorithm.
Oh, much better.
"The Federation habitat.
Population: 148.
" At least they haven't detected that anyone's missing.
Here's another environment.
And another.
How many are there? Captain, there's data here for 94 different environments.
They're holding thousands of prisoners.
There's got to be something that'll tell us about the layout of this place.
Authorized access only.
I'll try to bypass their security codes.
Good.
I'm getting something.
Incredible, Tuvok.
We're on a ship.
We should attempt to locate the Bridge.
If there is one I can't find it, but there seems to be a more extensive command center four decks above us.
Maybe I can access it from here.
More security lockouts.
We may need to disable the entire security subroutine.
There's been an unauthorized access at one of the terminals.
Some of the life-forms have escaped their habitat.
Find them and put them back.
We are attempting to do that now.
However, if they resist, stronger measures may become necessary.
If they leave you no other alternative you have the authorization to use force.
How soon can we go to warp? I want to go back there.
Just a few minutes.
Let's go back.
No.
We've got to find the Captain and Tuvok.
They might need our help.
We have to help ourselves.
This is our chance to get back into our own environments.
If you want to go, then go.
We're not leaving them behind.
Don't move.
I surrender.
I'm sorry.
It wasn't my idea.
They made me come along.
They, uh went around that corner.
Follow them.
He just activated a translocator control.
One life-form was sent from an access tunnel to the biosphere adjacent to ours.
That must have been Jarleth.
This translocator is what the Nyrians used to get on our ship.
Then we should be able to use the same method to return to Voyager Assuming we can figure out how to use it.
We're getting an incoming transmission from the biosphere vessel audio only.
Taleen to Dammar.
Some of the life-forms have accessed the control systems.
They have weapons.
We need reinforcements.
We're on our way to you now.
Increase speed to maximum velocity and take us close enough to translocate my entire security force at once! Yes, sir.
Something's wrong with the phaser.
The power cell's probably running out.
These aren't exactly Starfleet issue.
We've got to get out of these tunnels.
There must be somewhere to hide in one of these habitats.
Tom, I think I found one.
Here it is.
Remember how we had to warm up the ship for the Nyrians? This is the last place they'd want to follow us.
Stop! Follow them.
That's an order.
This translocator has an extremely long range over ten light-years.
Great distances must limit its capacity.
That's why the Nyrians could only send one person to Voyager at a time and bring one of us here.
Their method has the added advantage of appearing innocent, at least in the beginning.
I can't find the command pathways to get the system operative and I don't imagine we have much longer before they find us.
Maybe coming in here wasn't such a good idea.
Let's hope it's worse for them than it is for us.
Careful.
That phaser's just about dead.
They can't last much longer.
We've just got to stay one step ahead of them.
We don't want to get too far away from the portal.
Maybe we should find a place to hide.
Let me see the phaser.
My hands are completely numb.
Here.
I would have thought all that hot Klingon blood would have kept you warm.
Shows how much you know about Klingons.
They have much less tolerance for the cold than humans do.
Really? I thought that was Cardassians.
No, they just complain about it more.
Better? I think that'll amplify the power cell enough for one more shot.
B'Elanna.
Nice shot.
Now, let's get out of here before we freeze to death.
I've got the basic operation down, but I can't quite figure out how to lock on to a target.
Can you access anything that might function like our targeting scanners? There are bio-sensors contained within the monitoring programs of each habitat.
- Perhaps - What is it? I'm detecting human life-forms in one of the environments.
The Argala habitat.
Tom and B'Elanna.
Possibly.
They may have taken refuge there to hide from the Nyrians.
Doesn't look very inviting, does it? The temperature is minus 20 degrees Celsius.
They can't last long in that.
We've got to get them out.
Captain, there's a ship approaching at high warp.
It's Voyager If the Nyrians are bringing in reinforcements, we're in trouble.
Keep working on those bio-scanners.
I didn't think we went this far from the portal.
I don't think I can go on any farther.
You have to keep moving.
Oh, I'm so sleepy.
No, B'Elanna, get up.
No, you go on.
I'm just going to rest here.
If you do that, you'll die.
No, I'll be fine.
I just have to close my eyes for a minute.
Oh, no, I am not going to let you do this.
On your feet now, Torres.
That's an order! You can't give me orders.
We're the same rank.
I am a Bridge officer, and I have seniority.
Oh, yeah, by about two days.
On your feet, now! Come on.
You been wanting to take a swing at me for days.
Now's your chance.
You're just trying to get me moving.
You will keep moving.
Or do I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you out? Don't even try it.
Where are we? The Argala habitat, sir.
Get us out of here.
Where's the portal? You did this.
I've taken control of your translocation system.
My Tactical Officer is standing by waiting for my next order.
And-And what would that be? That depends on you.
Surrender my ship and release all the prisoners here.
Unacceptable.
All right.
You can stay where you are, and greet your fellow crew members as we translocate them here to join you.
And if we do surrender? We'll find you a nice, warm habitat where you'll be comfortable while we contact the native worlds of your prisoners and arrange for their return.
And once we've disabled your translocator you'll be free to go.
I'm sorry you don't wish to be reasonable.
Mr.
Tuvok, get me out of here and prepare to No! Wait! Captain's Log, Stardate 50929.
6.
The Nyrians have surrendered Voyager and my crew is safely back on board.
The former prisoners on the habitat vessel have contacted their native worlds and are waiting to be taken home.
Nice day.
Beautiful.
Things were pretty chilly there for a while.
I guess they were.
Feels good to be warm again.
Yeah.
It sure does.

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