BASICS
Episodes 42 and 43

Part I

 

Seska, carrying her baby, enters Voyager's Sickbay. Seska: "Activate Emergency Medical Holographic program."

The Doctor, who is hiding by the door to his office, realises that he cannot hide.

He pretends that he has just been activated and shows himself. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency." Seska: "Hello, Doctor. Remember me?" Doctor: "How could I forget such an intriguing medical mystery - a Bajoran crewman with a Cardassian physiology. How are you, Seska? I see we have a new passenger."

Seska, as the Doctor picks up a medical tricorder and scans the baby: "Doctor, I have to inform you about a change of command. I'm curious how you'll react. The Kazon-Nistrim have taken Voyager." Doctor, blandly, not looking up from reading the tricorder diagnostic: "How interesting." Seska: "Does your program have any problem with that?" Doctor: "One humanoid is pretty much the same as another from a holographic point of view. I'm programmed to provide medical care to anyone who needs it." He picks up a medical instrument and moves it around the baby's head. The baby is asleep and does not notice. The Doctor then uses the instrument to test the baby's eyes, first his right then his left. Seska: "Tell me, is it within your program's capabilities to lie or be deceptive?" Doctor: "I've learned that a bedside manner occasionally requires me to, how should I put it, soft-pedal the truth. But bald-faced lying, calculated deceit? I don't have much experience with that sort of thing. But my program is adaptive. If you really need me to be deceptive, I'm sure I could learn." Seska: "It's not exactly what I meant. I think we'll keep you just as you are." Doctor: "As you wish. Your baby's in good health." Seska, picking up her baby: "Ah, you don't know how primitive Kazon medicine is. I'm sure Chakotay would be glad to know you're looking after his son."

Doctor: "Chakotay's son? That isn't Chakotay's son." Seska: "But you're wrong, Doctor. I impregnated myself with his DNA."

Doctor: "That may have been your intention, but it certainly wasn't the result. Here. See for yourself." He shows her the monitor display. "Your child has Cardassian DNA strands here and Kazon DNA here. Human DNA has a significantly different nucleotide sequence."

Seska is chagrinned. "But I was so certain. He, he looks-" Doctor: "He's the first offspring of a Cardassian and a Kazon. We have no frame of reference by which to judge his initial appearance. Perhaps he will develop more Kazon features as he matures." Seska: "Maje Culluh will be so pleased." Her tone indicates that she herself is not.

She takes the baby, turns and heads for the door. "End Medical Holographic program." The Doctor goes offline.

Once Seska has gone....

....he immediately reactivates himself.

Doctor: "Medical log, stardate 50032.7. I have determined that Commander Chakotay is not the father of Seska's child. I only wish there was some way to inform him." He paces up and down agitatedly, wondering what to do, talking to himself aloud: "What am I supposed to do? Lead a revolt with a gang from Sandrine's? Conjure up holograms of Nathan Hale and Che Guevara? I'm a doctor, not a counter-insurgent. Get hold of yourself. You're not just a hologram. You're a Starfleet hologram. Maybe, maybe I could access a tactical database, teach myself guerrilla warfare. But that would take time."

Doctor: "Computer, what is the crew complement?" Computer: "There are 89 Kazon-" Doctor, appalled by the number he is up against: "Eighty-nine." Computer: "...and one Betazoid on board." Doctor: "What did you say? Betazoid?" Computer: "There is one Betazoid on board." Doctor: "Where? Who?" Computer: "Please restate a single question." Doctor: "Who is it?" Computer: "Crewman Lon Suder." Doctor: "Suder. Where is he?" Computer: "Between decks 8 and 9."

The Doctor taps his combadge. Via comms: "Doctor to Suder." Inside a Jefferies tube, Suder hears him and replies in a whisper. Via comms: "Yes. Yes, Doctor. I hear you." Doctor, via comms: "The ship has been taken over by the Kazon-Nistrim." Suder, via comms: "I know. I've been hiding." Doctor, via comms: "Can you make it to Sickbay?" Suder, via comms: "I think so."

Doctor: "Computer, emergency medical priority one-one-four. Delete the signature of Mr Suder's combadge from the system. There is to be no record of his being on board."

At the camp on Hanon IV, Janeway is directing the set-up of the camp: "Huddle together in groups. That'll preserve body heat. This is no time to be shy." The senior officers are also helping direct things. "Tuvok."

Kim and Torres arrive with supplies. "Captain. How do you like your eggs?" Torres: "We found a nest about two kilometres away." Kim: "And that's not all. Cucumbers, or something like them. There are vines full of them two hours from here." Janeway: "Take them to Neelix and tell him to hold off on the beetle stew, at least for the time being."

Janeway "How's she doing, Samantha?" Wildman, worried about her baby daughter: "I don't know, Captain. She seems tired, listless."

Janeway: "Maybe she's just adjusting to the environment. After all, she was born in space. Make sure you stay close to the fire, as soon as we have one."

Chakotay is rubbing sticks together trying to start a fire.

He is unable to do so and hurls the sticks down in frustration. "Trapped on a barren planet and you're stuck with the only Indian in the universe who can't start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. I was never good at this as a child and I'm still not good at it."
Janeway: "Don't be so hard on yourself. None of the others have had any success with it either. Must be the wood."

Chakotay: "We need kindling of some sort." He thinks then looks at her. Janeway: "What?" Chakotay: "Something my father once told me about starting a fire."

A moment later several crewmembers are having some of their hair cut off, including Janeway.

Kim hands Torres the hair he has taken from Janeway: "There you go." Torres adds it to the kindling pile as Chakotay rubs the sticks together again, and....

....he soon starts a fire. The crew gather round it. The fireglow lights up their tired, grimy faces.

Neelix: "If we put some bigger rocks around the fire, they'll reflect the heat better. I'm going to go get some."

After a moment when she hears nothing from him, Kes ventures after him. She calls out: "Neelix, you shouldn't go too far away from camp." But there is no reply. She herself is now some distance away.

Worried, she heads back toward the camp. Suddenly a humanoid figure ambushes her and captures her!

Kazon graphic web work by me. About the Kazon graphic / How to use the image map (pop-up)