THINK TANK
Episode 114
Part D

 

Kurros and Seven enter the Bridge. Kurros: "Do you have a problem, Captain?" Janeway: "Two Hazari ships are approaching."

Seven: "I have declined their offer." Kurros: "Our first offer."

Janeway to Seven: "Glad you're sticking around. Take your station."

Seven goes to the secondary tactical station.

Tuvok: "They are dropping out of warp, flanking our position." Voyager lurches upon being hit by Hazari weapons fire. Janeway: "Which one fired?" Tuvok: "The ship to starboard. Shields down to 60%."

Chakotay: "Evasive maneuvers. Target their weapons systems and return fire." Tuvok does so then reports: "Their shields are holding."

Paris: "I can't get away. They're right on top of us."

The Hazari fire again, jolting Voyager. Kim: "Hull integrity's been compromised on Decks 7 and 12."

Kurros: "Captain, when the Hazari strike in pairs, one ship always remains behind to reinforce the shields of the attacking vessel."

Janeway: "So we should target the support ship. How much is this tip going to cost me?" Kurros: "This one is free." Janeway: "I'll take it. Tuvok." Tuvok: "Re-targetting. Firing photon torpedoes. They're disengaging." Janeway, to Paris: "Get us out of here, maximum warp." To Kurros: "Thanks for the help."

Kurros: "Consider it a friendly gesture of goodwill in the hopes that Seven will change her mind."

Seven: "I have not."

Kurros: "You are making a fatal mistake. We have already analysed hundreds of scenarios. Voyager will not survive without our help." Janeway: "Your scenarios, not mine." Kurros: "Your confidence is unfounded, Captain. Reconsider. Order Seven of Nine to join us." Janeway: "We have an old expression, Kurros. Don't call us, we'll call you. Re-modulate the shields to a phase variance frequency."

Seven does so. Kurros fritzes and disappears.

Tuvok: "His ship is vanishing from sensors. It's being absorbed into subspace." Chakotay: "I get the distinct feeling they won't take no for an answer."

Janeway: "Same here. Looks like we're facing two threats now - the Hazari and our would-be saviours."

Think Tank vessel. Kurros approaches the communications dome. "Our offer was denied. How shall we proceed?"

Fennim, telepathically: "We are already proceeding."

Alien floating in the tank, telepathically: "Our offer was refused. We must let the scenario continue."

Artifical Intelligence, telepathically: "Our calculations indicate a 96% chance the Borg will still be ours." Kurros: "Then it is decided. We will wait and let our problem solve itself."

Aboard a Hazari vessel as it flies through a debris field, Y'Sek looks at the read-out on a wll-monitor.

Y'Sek: "Duranium hull fragments, a thruster assembly, human organic residue. We were supposed to disable their ship, not destroy it!" He thumps the console angrily.

Voyager's Bridge. Tuvok: "They've entered the debris field." Janeway: "Detonate the spatial charges."

Spatial charges planted in the debris field explode, impacting the Hazari ship. On the Hazari Bridge, Y'Sek and his subordinate lurch heavily. Tuvok: "Their vessel has taken heavy damage. Shields and weapons are offline." Janeway: "Move us into position. Lock on a tractor beam and pull them into the Shuttlebay."

Paris: "We're in transporter range."
Kim: "I've got a lock - two lifeforms."
Janeway: "Energise."

In a transporter room, two surprised Hazari materialise.

They are immediately faced by two security guards with phaser rifles. Y'Sek stands up. He sighs irritably, knowing he and his companion are Voyager's prisoners.

On the Bridge of the Hazari vessel, Chakotay places a tricorder onto the main computer console and presses controls on the tricorder.

Janeway, scanning systems: "Any luck?"

Chakotay: "I'm still trying to access their primary database."

Tuvok enters. Janeway: "Let me guess. They're the strong but silent types." Tuvok: "Very silent." Chakotay: "Did you try a mind-meld?" Tuvok: "Without success. They're unusually resistant." Janeway, lightly, continuing to scan the ship's systems: "Well, hold off on the torture 'til we see what we can dig up here."

Chakotay: "I've found something - a series of encoded transmissions." Janeway comes over to look. "They've been discussing Voyager - our co-ordinates, our defences."

Tuvok: "Whoever hired the Hazari know a lot about us." Janeway: "Check these sensor logs. See if they've had any visitors recently." Chakotay: "I've got some bio-readings, but they're pretty scrambled." Tuvok: "If they are bio-readings, perhaps the Doctor can unscramble them." Janeway: "Tell him to give it a try." Tuvok leaves to do so.

In Voyager's Sickbay, the Doctor, Janeway and Tuvok head through from the medical lab into the main Sickbay area, fetching up at the main computer console facing the surgical bay.

Doctor: "I've created a forensic reconstruction from the bio-readings, using the holo-emitters. Brace yourselves."

An image appears in front of them. Janeway: "Malon. Huh, they must really hold a grudge. We haven't run into them for months."

Janeway: "I'm sorry, Doctor, something doesn't feel right."

As Janeway adjusts the computer controls, Tuvok explains Janeway's reasoning to the Doctor: "The Malon are economically motivated." Janeway: "And there's no profit in revenge. Take a look at this - isomorphic signatures embedded in the bio-readings. This was no Malon, it was only a projection." Doctor: "You mean that's a hologram of a hologram?" Tuvok: "In a manner of speaking." He adjusts the control settings. "I believe I can restore the original bio-signal parameters." In repartee, to the Doctor: "Brace yourself."

click for animated image - the "Malon" turns out to be Kurros

The Malon image transforms into that of Kurros!

Janeway: "Well, it appears our Hazari paradox is more complex than we thought."

Janeway meets Y'Sek in Voyager's Briefing Room. A security guard is nearby. Janeway: "I believe we're both being manipulated by the same person." Showing him a picture on her PADD: "Recognise him?" Y'Sek: "No." Janeway: "His name is Kurros, The Malon you met with was nothing more than a projection." Y'Sek: "My sensors would have detected a hologram." Janeway: "Not this one. Kurros is a member of a Think Tank. They solve problems for a price." Y'Sek: "Ah." Janeway: "Oh, you have heard of them." Y'Sek: "They're notorious in this sector. They've made quite a few enemies." Janeway: "Enemies who might be willing to pay a hell of a bounty." Y'Sek: "Their technology is very advanced. It makes them difficult to track." Janeway: "Not if we work together. You're the best hunters in the Quadrant and we have the perfect lure. All we have to do now is out-think the Think Tank."

Voyager's Messhall. Janeway: "We've got a puzzle and we're not leaving this room until we solve it. The Think Tank is out there somewhere, hiding in subspace. How do we find them? And even if we can, their ship's hull is neutronium-based alloy, impervious to our weapons. How do we capture them?" Kim: "What if we send out a multi-spatial probe?" Torres: "It would take weeks of scanning to find them."

Y'Sek: "Weeks? We're not willing to wait that long."

Tuvok: "We could use subspatial charges to force them into the open." Chakotay: "Where do we target the charges? We've still got to find them first." Janeway: "Maybe we're going about this the wrong way. A direct assault seems unlikely to succeed. Pure tactics, psychology, that's how they solve problems. That's what we have to do. They've created this paradox to manipulate us into giving them Seven of Nine. How do we manipulate them? Think."

They break up to think about the problem both separately, together and in groups.

Later Neelix says: "I thought we were onto something with B'Elanna's plan-" Torres: "Forget it. I was wrong." Paris: "Let him talk." Doctor: "We're talking in circles."

Y'Sek, impatiently: "Enough! Three hours, no progress. I should've contacted my ships by now."

Janeway: "Maybe we can't out-think them."

Chakotay: "Captain?" Janeway: "We have to assume they've planned for every contingency, including anything we could come up with to undermine their plan." Of the Sheer Lunacy puzzle: "This thing has been driving me crazy."

Janeway: "You said you knew the solution. Prove it." She hands it to Seven.

Seven presses several buttons on it.

As she completes it, the puzzle's lights go out.

Janeway: "Seven, how'd you do that?"

Seven: "I scanned the device. Its mechanism operates on a simple fractal regression." Paris: "You scanned it? That's cheating." Seven: "Cheating is often more efficient."

Janeway: "If you can't solve a puzzle, cheat. If you can't out-think a Think Tank, don't try." Neelix: "Are you suggesting we give up?" Janeway: "Not at all. When you were in contact with the Artificial Intelligence you were linked through their internal communications array." Seven: "Yes, for several seconds." Janeway: "If you were to link with them again, we might be able to disrupt those systems. If they can't communicate, they can't function as a Think Tank. They'd be vulnerable." Doctor: "Back to square one. How do we find them?" Janeway: "Simple. We give them what they want. You're going to join their group willingly." Y'Sek: "They won't believe her."

Janeway: "We'll have to make them believe. Pull up a chair. We've got some more work to do."