COUNTERPOINT
Episode 104
Part B

 

USS Voyager: Bridge. Paris: "The Devore vessels are out of range." Janeway, via comms: "Bridge to transporter team. You're clear."

USS Voyager: Cargo Bay 1. Seven taps combadge. Via comms: "Cargo Bay 1 to Ensign Kim. Pattern enhancers are in place."

USS Voyager: Transporter Room. Kim, via comms: "Initiating rematerialisation sequence."

Torres, in Engineering, via comms: "Harry, I'm routing maximum power to the transporters."
Kim, via comms: "Got it." To the transporter duty officer: "Align the confinement beam to ten angstroms." She does so. "Energising." USS Voyager: Cargo Bay 1.
Seven, via comms: "Ensign Kim, the confinement beam is unstable." USS Voyager: Transporter Room.
Kim, via comms: "We're trying to correct it now."

USS Voyager: Cargo Bay 1. Janeway hurries in. Janeway: "What's the problem?" Seven: "We're unable to consolidate their patterns. They've been in suspension too long."

Janeway, crouching and adjusting controls on a pattern enhancer, via comms: "Harry, increase power to the imaging scanners." Kim, via comms: "Aye, Captain."

USS Voyager: Transporter Room. Kim, via comms: "It's working."

USS Voyager: Cargo Bay 1. Janeway uses a tricorder to monitor the transporter signal as.....

.....transport is in progress to rematerialise a group of people.

They are a group of Brenari, which is a telepathic race.

There are also Vorik and Tuvok.

Janeway, via comms: "Nice work, Harry. All our guests are present and accounted for."

Kir, leader of the Brenari group: "Captain?" Janeway: "They're gone, for now."

Janeway: "Captain's log, supplemental. After weeks of playing hide and seek with the Devore inspectors, our goal is near - a transport vessel that will take our passengers to a wormhole leading out of hostile territory."

In Voyager's Sickbay, the Doctor is giving medical check-ups to have to keep going into transporter suspension.

Janeway enters. Janeway to Kir: "Back to your old self again?" Kir: "Each time we do this, I feel as thought I've left a few molecules behind in your Cargo Bay." Janeway: "Well, I'll have someone scan the room if it'll make you feel better. Kir, we received an encoded message from the transport vessel." Kir: "They've changed the rendezvous point again." Janeway: "I'm afraid so." Kir: "Did they send the new co-ordinates?" Janeway: "We're still waiting for them."

Tuvok: "Captain, we may have another problem." Doctor: "I've just treated Tuvok and two of the refugees for acute cellular degradation. I've repaired most of the damage but unfortunately the effect is cumulative." Kir: "Meaning?" Tuvok: "If we continue to go into transporter suspension some of us may not survive." The com signal sounds. Chakotay, via comms: "Bridge to Captain Janeway." Janeway, via comms: "Go ahead." Chakotay, via comms: "We're receiving another transmission." Janeway, via comms: "Acknowledged." They head for the exit.

USS Voyager: Astrometrics Lab.

Seven: "The new co-ordinates are here, within a Mutara-class nebula 2.36 light-years from our current position." Chakotay: "It's definitely out of the way. Less chance of being discovered, but it'll take two more days to get there."

Janeway: "Two days. That increases the chances that we'll run into another inspection." Tuvok: "Given the frequency of patrols in that area, it's likely we'll be stopped at least once." Janeway: "Just what the Doctor didn't order. Tuvok, Seven, I want you to lay in a course that'll attract as little attention as possible. Avoid their colonies, space stations, tourist attractions if they have any."

USS Voyager: Messhall. Neelix: "The Ogre of Fire's Castle hovered over the forest like a great black spaceship, turning day into night. Flotter and Trevis knew they had to find a way to keep the Ogre from burning the forest down, but his castle it was higher than the tallest tree. It seemed hopeless, until they discovered-"

The Brenari boy named Adar: "A door." Neelix: "A door. Right, a mysterious door right in the middle of the-" Adar: "The clearing." Neelix: "You know, it's, it's not nice to read people's thoughts when they're telling a story." Adar: "I'm sorry." Neelix: "It's alright."

Janeway enters and waits by the door. Neelix realises she wants to talk to him. He says to the children: "Why don't you all go play by yourselves for a while. We'll finish the story later." They go over to the table by the window.

Janeway: "How are they doing?"

Neelix: "Oh, fine, more or less. They don't understand what all the fuss is about. But they're telepaths, Captain. If the parents are concerned or fearful, the children feel it too. You did the right thing. If we hadn't taken them off that freighter, they'd be in a detention centre by now."

Janeway: "Well, we're going to make sure that doesn't happen. Is the kitchen still open or are you just serving stories?" Neelix: "For you it's always open." She smiles and taps him on the chest playfully, and puts her arm round his shoulder.

USS Voyager: Bridge. Tuvok: "I'm detecting a vessel, 300,000 kilometres and closing. The signature is Devore."

Chakotay: "Red alert." Klaxons sound and the lights dim. "Shields up." Via comms: "Bridge to Captain."

USS Voyager: Messhall. Janeway, stopping eating and wiping her mouth on the napkin, replies via comms: "More company, Commander?" Chakotay, via comms: "Looks like it." Janeway, rising, via comms: "Get our visitors to the Cargo Bay. Stand by for transporter suspension." Chakotay, via comms: "Aye, Captain."

Janeway signals Neelix, meaning the children: "Neelix." Neelix: "Right away." He goes over to the children: "Come on now, we're going to go see your parents. Let's go." They head for the doors.

USS Voyager: Bridge. Janeway enters the Bridge. Janeway: "Report." Chakotay: "It's a scout ship, one pilot, no other crew."

Paris: "The vessel hasn't raised shields or charged weapons." Janeway: "If this is another inspection it's certainly a different approach." Kim: "We're being hailed."

Janeway: "Open a channel." Kashyk, on viewscreen: "Captain." Janeway: "Inspector." Kashyk, on viewscreen: "It's urgent that we speak."

Janeway: "You know the way to my Ready Room."

A security officer shows Kashyk into the Captain's Ready Room. Janeway: "It's alright, Ensign." The ensign leaves.

Janeway: "I submitted to your previous inspections because you outgunned me, but I don't see any of your warships nearby. I have no intention of co-operating." Kashyk: "I'm not here to search Voyager." Janeway: "Then what do you want, Inspector?" Kashyk: "Call me Kashyk, please. I never liked that title. In fact, I've left it behind." Janeway: "Did somebody offer you a promotion, or are you just having a bad day?" Kashyk: "I'm defecting, and I need your help." Janeway: "Me." Kashyk: "I've come to ask asylum, safe passage out of Devore space before I end up in a detention centre myself." Janeway: "Now, why would I risk the safety of my crew by harbouring a defector?" Kashyk: "Because of what I'm about to tell you. If you continue on your present course you'll be intercepted by a squadron of my warships. Voyager will be seized, your crew imprisoned or worse. The nebula is a trap, Captain, to catch vessels smuggling telepaths." Janeway: "You've inspected my ship three times. You know we aren't smuggling telepaths or anyone else." Kashyk: "What I know is that you have twelve refugees aboard right now. That you rescued them from a freighter three weeks ago, and that you've been concealing them in Cargo Bay 1 using your transporters. I could have exposed them at any time but I wanted them to escape as much as you do. I can still protect them, but only if you take me with you. My people know about the wormhole. It's only a matter of time before they find it. You have no choice, Captain. I'm your only hope."