PART D

 

Engineering. Torres: "It's a little harder to establish a comlink than I thought, Captain. The molecular signature of the second Voyager is slightly out of phase with our own. I can't get visual, audio, nothing." Janeway: "Have you tried remodulating the com. frequency carrier?" Torres: "Five times on forty-seven different frequencies."

Janeway: "There has to be a way. If they're recalibrating their carrier wave at the same time so we could match phase variance, would that allow us to connect?" Torres: "I think so, but in order to get them to do that we'd have to communicate with them first. It's the chicken and the egg." Janeway: "Maybe we need something a little more primitive. Is there a signal on all subspace bands just to get their attention?" Torres: "A rotating band pulse might do it. But it wouldn't be much more than a shrill whistle."

Janeway: "That might be enough. Give it a try." Torres works the interface controls.

Janeway enters Engineering. Torres: "Alright, Captain. All of the ship's main control functions have been re-routed to Main Engineering." Janeway: "Welcome to the new bridge. Now, let's see about-" She is interrupted by a deafening shrill whistle. "What's that?" Torres: "I don't know. It's some kind of com. emission coming through all subspace bands!" Janeway: "Coming from where?"

Torres: "Good question. I can't tell. It's got a Federation signature." Janeway: "Try recalibrating our frequency carrier to match it."

Torres: "That's it. They've recalibrated and locked onto our phase variance."
Janeway: "What kind of communication can we establish?"
Torres: "Not much at this point. We can use the emergency encryption code for a short message, not more than five seconds."
Janeway: "That should be enough."

Janeway: "That's the emergency code. Run it through an alpha-numeric sequencer." Torres: "I think someone's telling us to lock onto a frequency of 12 gigahertz." Janeway: "Do it."

A picture full of interference comes up on the wall monitor behind the console. Torres: "I'll try to clean it up."

Janeway sees herself on the monitor! Janeway: "Captain, this isn't an illusion. What you're seeing is real. But it's going to take some explaining."

Engineering (serving as the Bridge). Chakotay: "There are two Voyagers and two crews?" Janeway: "That's what I was told." Tuvok: "Could this possibly be some kind of subterfuge, Captain, an alien deception?" Janeway: "That woman, whoever she is, had very specific knowledge of what happened here: the damage from the proton bursts, Wildman's baby, Kes disappearing. She even knew that when I was twelve years old I walked home in a thunderstorm over seven kilometres because I lost a tennis match." Torres: "And her explanation as to how the ships were duplicated - certainly plausible." Paris: "If it is true, what do we do about it?" Janeway: "My counterpart has suggested we try to merge the two ships: re-create the subspace divergence field we passed through and then depolarise it." Torres: "Both ships would have to send out a massive resonance pulse from their deflector dishes at exactly the same time." Chakotay: "They may be able to do that but we barely have enough power for life support. How can we get enough for an energy pulse of that size?" Janeway: "We could evacuate all the crew to this deck and cut off life support everywhere else. Then we could divert all power to the deflectors. B'Elanna, re-establish the comlink with the other ship." Janeway: "This is Janeway. What have you decided?" Janeway: "Captain, we think we can channel enough energy to our deflector dish to try the merging process." Janeway: "Good. When can we start?" Janeway: "We'll need at least fifteen minutes to make our preparations." Janeway: "We'll be ready." Janeway: "And Captain, we'll only have enough power to try this once." Janeway: "I understand." Janeway: "Chakotay, Tuvok, begin the evacuation process." Tuvok: "Aye, Captain." Paris: "I'll let the Doctor know he'll have to rely on his backup power supply."

exterior view of the two Voyagers during the attempt to merge them (pop-up window)

Torres: "We're ready, Captain. Janeway activates the comlink with the other Voyager and the other Janeway appears. Janeway: "We're standing by, Captain. I think you should take the lead in this operation since you might have to make allowances for your ship's weakened power systems." Janeway: "Acknowledged. Lieutenant Torres, and Lieutenant Torres, charge the deflector dishes." Torres: "Deflector dish charging. Capacitance levels are rising. 65 per cent, 85 per cent, 98 per cent. All ready to create the subspace divergence field." Torres: "Initiating. Power flow nominal, Captain." Janeway: "Synchronise computer event timing. Ready to release polarisation pulse on my mark. Now." Torres: "The pulse has been emitted, Captain. The fields are starting to depolarise." USS Voyager, starts to merge. But then....! Torres reports: "But we aren't merging. In fact we're going further out of phase!" Janeway: "Increase power to the deflector dish." Torres: "I can't - too much plasma backflow. If we keep this up we're going to lose our antimatter connection. We'll both be destroyed!" Janeway: "Abort!" Torres: "Aborting resonance pulse." Janeway: "What went wrong?" Torres: "I don't know. I think the plasma flow became too turbulent. The divergence fields were so chaotic we couldn't complete the merging. We've lost the comlink as well. Captain, the antimatter leak - it's becoming a haemorrhage. If we don't start the proton bursts we'll be completely drained in thirty minutes." Janeway: "The lives of both crews are at stake here. I can't make unilateral decisions that might affect that other ship."

She activates the comm. system to contact Kim on the Bridge. "Janeway to Kim. Is the spatial rift still stable?" Kim: "I think so, Captain. And I've rigged a phase discriminator. Kes should be able to go back safely."

Janeway: "Rig another one, Ensign. I'm going with her."

Kim: "This should protect you from the spatial transition." Janeway: "Keep trying to establish a comlink between the ships." Torres: "We will, but remember that we have under thirty minutes of antimatter left. Whatever you do over there, do it fast." Janeway: "Understood." To Kes: "Are you ready?" Kes: "Yes."

They go into the rift....

...and arrive on the other Voyager.

Kes: "It's gotten worse here." Janeway: "Command control is in Main Engineering. Let's go!"

Engineering. Torres: "I don't know how else to stop the antimatter drain except with proton bursts." Janeway: "We can't do that. We'd damage the other ship just like this one. Think, people: we need options." Janeway stands in the entrance. "I agree, Captain. And I think we need to talk."

Janeway: "By my estimates our antimatter supply will run out in less than half an hour." Janeway: "The attempt to merge our ships is throwing us further out of phase. The quantum cohesion on both Voyagers is breaking down." Janeway: "Just like the original Kent State experiment. The duplicate Adams couldn't occupy the same space in time for very long before-" Janeway: "Mutual annihilation." Janeway: "What are our options?" Janeway: "Let's try a different tack. Instead of trying to merge the two ships, let's try to separate them. Maybe we could divide the antimatter between us." Janeway: "I'm afraid not. We've been studying that theory. B'Elanna tells me that any attempt to disrupt the antimatter supply would destroy us all. What about evacuating your crew to my ship? It might get a little crowded, but we could manage." Janeway: "We've been studying that theory, and my B'Elanna tells me that sending any more than five to ten people through the rift would radically alter the atomic balance of the two Voyagers. We'd both be destroyed. Captain, I think you should return to your ship and run a metallurgical analysis. Find out the precise phase modulation of your hull. I'll do the same here. Maybe we can find a way to re-align the phase displacement." Janeway: "You're going to self destruct your ship." Janeway: "What makes you say that?" Janeway: "Because that's what I would do if your Voyager were intact and my Voyager were crippled, my crew wounded or dead. I'd sacrifice my ship so that yours could survive." Janeway: "Then I'm glad we agree. Go back to your ship." Janeway: "I didn't say I agree. I said I understand. I'm not willing to let you make that sacrifice yet. We haven't explored all the options." Janeway: "Yes we have, and we both know it. This is my ship and my decision." Janeway: "Captain, I'm not going to let you-" Janeway: "I've made my decision. Please don't make me call Security and have you escorted off my ship, because you know I'll do it." Janeway: "I don't suppose there's any way I can change your mind. I know how stubborn you can be. Alright, I'll go back. But give me fifteen minutes to come up with another solution. After that, it's your decision." Janeway: "Fifteen minutes. Good luck." Janeway: "To both of us."

Kim, as Janeway enters the Bridge after the meeting: "Ok, I've managed to re-establish a comlink with the other Voyager." Janeway: "Hail them." The other Janeway appears on the main viewscreen. "Captain, I've got an idea. Actually it was yours. It might be possible to re-align the phase displacement between us." Janeway: "We don't have time to try it. My plan is the only one that's going to work. It's time that we both accept that." Paris: "We've got a perimeter alert. A vessel is approaching bearing 005 mark 318. They've just dropped out of warp." Chakotay: "Can you identify them?" Paris: "They're Vidiian, sir." Janeway: "Red alert." Janeway: "Shields?" Chakotay: "Still offline." Janeway to her other self: "Captain, we're picking up a Vidiian ship heading this way. Can you see them too?" Janeway: "Yes." Janeway: "Do you have any weapons?" Janeway: "Stand by. Tuvok?" Tuvok: "Negative, we had to re-route power to compensate for the antimatter loss. It would take several hours to bring weapons back online."