FALSE PROFITS
Episode 47
Part G

 

Chakotay and Paris assume their posts on the Bridge. Janeway: "Shield status, Mr Tuvok." Tuvok: "Shield are optimal." Janeway: "Mr Paris, engage maneuvering thrusters and ease us into position." Paris: "Aye, Captain."

The comm. signal sounds. comms. signal Doctor, via comms: "Sickbay to Lieutenant Tuvok." Tuvok, via comms: "Go ahead, Doctor." Doctor, via comms: "Ensign Murphy was just found unconscious on Deck 2." Kes to Doctor: "He has a severe concussion." Doctor, via comms: "We suspect foul play."

Chakotay to Janeway: "Murphy was escorting the Ferengi to their quarters."

Tuvok: "Captain, security has been breached in the Shuttlebay." Janeway: "Seal that airlock, Mr Tuvok." Tuvok: "The Ferengi have phasered the Shuttlebay door. They are exiting the ship."

Kim: "Activating emergency containment field."

The Ferengi shuttlepod leaves Voyager.

Paris: "They're setting a course for the planet, Captain."

Janeway: "Lock a tractor beam onto that shuttle." Chakotay: "The gravitational effects of the wormhole are refracting the beam. I can't get a lock." Tuvok: "The Ferengi are hailing us, Captain." Janeway: "On screen."

Arridor, on viewscreen, gloats sarcastically: "Thank you for all your assistance, Hu-mons." Kol, on viewscreen, with heavy sarcasm: "It was lovely doing business with you." Arridor, on viewscreen: "We'll be heading back into orbit to transport out acquisitions aboard." The Ferengi laugh. Contact ends. viewscreen (with bridge background sound)

Janeway: "Beam those men back now, Mr Kim." Kim: "I'm trying, but the targetting scanners are out of phase." Chakotay: "Try setting the scanners to a narrowband subspace frequency."

Ferengi shuttlepod. Kol: "What is it?" Arridor: "They're trying to beam us back to their ship again. They're using some sort of subspace carrier wave." Kol: "Do something!" Arridor: "Shields to maximum." Kol: "Shields are at maximum!" Arridor: "Send out a high energy graviton pulse. Let's see their transporter signal cut through that."

Voyager's bridge. Kim: "Captain, the Ferengi are emitting a graviton pulse. It's throwing the targetting scanners off again. Not only that, it's destabilising the wormhole."

Tuvok: "Captain, the gravitational eddy from the wormhole is attracting the Ferengi shuttle. They're being pulled in."

In the Ferengi shuttlepod, Arridor orders: "Reverse thrusters!" Kol checks the instruments and shouts: "They're offline!" They scream as their ship is pulled into the wormhole.

Voyager's bridge. Janeway: "Follow them in before that wormhole collapses, Mr Paris." Paris: "Aye, Captain. Resetting the co-ordinates." Kim: "Captain, the entrance to the wormhole's moving. The Ferengi graviton pulse must have increased its rotational momentum."

Paris: "Adjusting course to follow." He sighs in frustration. "It's too fast for us, Captain. I need more speed." Janeway: "Mr Tuvok, divert auxiliary power to the thrusters." Paris: "It's not enough." Chakotay: "Initiate a high-intensity impulse burst."

As Voyager rushes toward the wormhole, suddenly the opening collapses and disappears. Voyager remains in the Delta Quadrant.

Janeway: "Mr Kim, re-initiate the verteron field. Maybe we can attract the wormhole back." Kim: "The Ferengi graviton pulse knocked the wormhole completely off its subspace axis. It's jumping erratically now, on both ends." Janeway: "Options?"

She looks round desperately but everyone is at a loss and are silent.

Eventually Kim says: "There are none." After a moment, Janeway suppresses her disappointment. Being practical: "Mr Paris, reset a course for the Alpha Quadrant, warp six." Paris: "Aye, Captain."

Like all of them, Chakotay ponders just how close they came to going home.

On Takar, Kafar distributes the wealth from the Divine Vault to a queue of people. He is using the Ferengi equivalent of a PADD to do the calculations to ensure fairness.

The Sandal-maker points to the sky where Voyager can be seen like a bright star, "Look!" Voyager leaves orbit, trailing a wake of burning plasma so that the natives can see it. "The holy ones are going home!"