search engine keywords: Star Trek Voyager Caretaker USS Voyager Maquis Kathryn Janeway Chakotay Delta Quadrant Starfleet Tom Paris B'Elanna Torres, Tuvok, Neelix
 | The Voyager crew find themselves on a country ranch of the 19th/20th century North American west! |
 | A middle-aged friendly-looking woman, dressed in the costume of that period, calls to them from the house. (Her name, given in the credits, is Aunt Adah. The name is not mentioned in dialogue.) "Come up here. Come on, now! I have a pitcher of lemonade and some sugar cookies!"
The crew near there gather round Janeway. None of them accept the country woman's offer or join in with her good humour. |
 | Paris asks, bewildered, "Captain?"
Janeway, who is looking at her tricorder, says: "Don't believe your eyes, Mr Paris. We've only transported a hundred kilometres. We're inside the Array." Kim too has a tricorder: "There's no indication of stable matter. All this must be some kind of holographic projection." Aunt Adah: "Oh you poor things. You must be tired out. So come on, sit down and rest a while. Have a cold drink, hmmm?" Janeway: "No, thank you. My name is Kathryn Janeway, Captain of the Federation starship Voyager-" Aunt Adah: "Now, just make yourselves right at home. The neighbours should be here any minute. Oh, why, here they are!" She waves at the neighbours who arrive. |
A number of country folk arrive, some carrying baskets of food goodies.
One of them, an old man carrying a banjo, greets the Voyager crew: "Well, good to see you, welcome."
An attractive farmer's daughter tells Paris: "We're real glad you could drop by."
Aunt Adah: "Now we can get started. You're all invited to the welcoming bee!"
There are calls from the country folk: "Let's have some music!"
The old man sits down on the verandah and starts playing a jolly dance tune on his banjo.
 | The country neighbours dance to the banjo music. The Voyager crew watch but do not participate. |
 | Paris: "The crew's scattered around this 'farm', Captain, but they're all accounted for."
Janeway: "Move around. Scan the area. See if you can find anything that might be a holographic generator." Paris and Kim move off together. |
 | Aunt Adah: "Have some nice fat corn-on-the-cob. Fresh corn-on-the-cob. Corn-on-the-cob? Corn-on-the-cob?"
Janeway: "Can you tell us why we're here?" Aunt Adah: "Oh we don't mean you any harm. I'm sorry we've put you out." Janeway continues to look round while the woman talks. "Why don't you just put your feet up and be comfortable while you wait?" Janeway turns to her. "Wait for what?" The woman realises she has accidentally revealed some information. She ignores Janeway's questions and moves through the crowd: "Isn't anybody hungry? Come on now, make yourselves at home. I'm sorry if we put you out." |
 | Paris and Kim head away from the house, passing two crewmembers. The farmer's daughter who earlier greeted Paris, seems smitten by him. (She is denoted in the credits are farmer's daughter.) She insists on joining Paris and Kim as they move away from the house. The farm dog also comes along, tail wagging.
Country lass: "Hey, let me show you around. There's a root cellar right over there." Paris: "What's down there?" Farmer's daughter: "Potatoes, onions, but it's real private." Kim watches as Paris seems about to give in to her charms. "Paris, she's only a hologram." Paris to Kim: "No reason to be rude." |
 | Kim looks at the readings on his tricorder. "Whoa."
Paris: "What?" Kim: "Sporocystian lifesigns." |
 | The lifesigns emanate from a barn, and they head toward it.
Paris to the lass: "What's in the barn?" Farmer's daughter, trying to get them to leave the barn alone: "Oh nothing. A big ol' pile of hay. Hey, come on, let's go see the duck pond. There's nothing in there. It's just a dark small barn. Hey, do you want some devilled eggs, eh?" |
 | As Paris and Kim reach the barn she stands in the doorway to try and deter them from entering. Paris takes hold of her and moves her aside so that Kim then himself can enter. They look around inside, but find nothing apparently out of the ordinary for a barn. "See, nothing but hay."
Kim, still using his tricorder: "There is a life form here, just one." Paris: "Where?" Kim: "It's everywhere. I'm also reading some kind of matrix-processing device - may be the holographic generator. Paris, humanoid lifesigns, over here." He indicates the wall opposite the door. "I'm reading a Vulcan and several humans." |
 | Suddenly the farmer's daughter stops being friendly. Instead she turns menacing, hissing at them: "I'm not ready for you yet!" She stands with her back to the wall where the lifesigns were detected, fiercely protecting it. |
 | The dog barks - he is no longer the friendly tail-wagging companion but is fierce like a guard-dog.
Paris taps his combadge. "Paris to Janeway-" The girl knocks him flying. |
 | "Janeway here. Paris?" There is no reply. She calls to several of the crew. "Come on!" They hurry after her as she traces their transmission. |
 | In the barn, as Paris feels his bleeding lip, the hostess suddenly materialises, holding a pitchfork in a threatening manner. |
 | Suddenly several neighbours materialise, armed with farm implements. They outnumber the humans and start to close in on them. |
 | Then Janeway and several Voyager crew enter.
Aunt Adah, with no trace of the earlier bonhomie: "Very well, since no one seems to care for any corn we'll have to proceed ahead of schedule. |
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The barn wall dissolves, the 'country folk' disappear, and the Voyager crew stare into....
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.... an enormous alien laboratory. Along its side are the missing Maquis, unconscious, laid out neatly for some mysterious alien experimentation! |
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 Janeway notices Tuvok amongst them. |
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| The next thing Janeway is aware of it that she and her crew are also laid out helpless in the laboratory. A needle descends and she cries out in pain as it pierces her. | Kim screams when he suffers the same fate. |
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Later Janeway regains consciousness and finds herself back in Engineering. She and the other crew there pick themselves up.
She taps her combadge. "Janeway to bridge. Anybody there?"
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Rollins on the Bridge, via comms: "Yes, Captain. We're here."
Janeway, via comms: "How long were we over there?" Rollins, via comms: "Almost three days." Janeway, via comms: "Three days!" Rollins, via comms: "Captain, the Maquis ship is powering up its engine." Janeway, via comms: "Tractor them." She signals ship-wide: "All senior officers report to the Bridge immediately." |
Star background by me.
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