Voyager cruising. Time passes.

Panning view across part of a darkened Sickbay. (pop-up window)

In Sickbay, Janeway comes to consciousness. The lights are low.

The Doctor enters. Janeway: "Doctor." Doctor: "Ah, you're awake." Janeway: "How long have I been asleep?" Doctor: "Almost forty hours." Janeway: "Forty." Doctor: "I'm afraid this strain of the phage is particularly virulent. It's spreading rapidly." Janeway: "Have you, is there any hope of a cure?" Doctor: "I regret to inform you that I have been unsuccessful."

Janeway: "Then what's the next step?" Doctor: "I've given that a great deal of thought. The prospects are unpleasant, Captain: you face a lingering, painful death, marked by increasing periods of dementia and eventual insanity." Janeway: "I see."

Doctor: "I've come to the conclusion that there's only one humane course of action." Janeway: "What's that?" Doctor: "Euthanasia." Janeway: "What?"

Doctor: "It would be wrong to subject you to such a prolonged and painful death. The crew would also be adversely affected if that were to happen." Janeway: "Surely there are other options to explore, Doctor. B'Elanna's DNA, for instance. It's coded to produce antibodies against the phage!" Doctor: "Klingon DNA might provide a vaccine against the disease but not a cure. I'm sorry, Captain. The space within the forcefield is filling with a neural toxin. It is fast-acting and restful."

Janeway: "Turn it off. That's an order, Doctor!" Doctor: "Please relax and take deep breaths. It will be over more quickly that way." Janeway: "Computer, delete Emergency Medical Holographic program." Computer: "A security code is required for that command." Janeway, gasping as her lungs fill with the toxin: "Security code Janeway lambda-three." Computer: "That code is not recognised." Janeway, her voice barely a croak: "I'm the Captain. Delete the EMH." Computer: "A security code is required for that command."

Janeway pleads with the Doctor as she collapses: "Don't do this." With her last breath: "It isn't right!"

Janeway and Chakotay are back on the shuttlecraft! Janeway: "Chakotay." Chakotay: "I know. We're back."

Ahead of them they see a phenomenon. Janeway: "That's it. That must be the anomaly. That's what's behind all this." Chakotay: "It's exerting a gravito-magnetic force." Janeway: "We've got to get away from it. Divert all power to the engines." Chakotay: "Changing course. We're still being drawn toward it." Janeway: "Reverse engines. Full power." Chakotay: "Structural integrity is weakening." Janeway: "Reinforce the hull." Chakotay: "Captain, maybe we should go in." Janeway: "No." Chakotay: "Listen to me. Maybe we're doing this all wrong. Maybe the thing to do is fly into it." Janeway: "No. I don't believe that. We've got to get away." Chakotay: "It's going to tear the shuttle apart. The hull is breaching!" There is white-out.

Suddenly Janeway finds herself back on the planet where she was "killed" by a Vidiian, but this time she is watching Chakotay who is crouched beside her prone unconscious body!

Much moved, she watches as Chakotay desperately tries to revive her and watches him fail.

She puts her hand out and touches him but her hand goes straight through him, as if she is a ghost! He is totally unaware of her, unable to see or hear her - for him the real Janeway is the one who has just died.

Janeway: "Chakotay, I'm here."
But he cannot hear her.
Tuvok, via comms: "Voyager to Sacajawea. Do you read us?"
Chakotay, via comms: "Yes, Voyager. How far are you? I have an emergency here."

Tuvok, via comms: "We're in orbit. We've located you but transporters won't function in the storm. A shuttle is on its way to the surface now."
Chakotay, via comms: "The Captain's dead. We have to get her back to Sickbay. The Doctor may still be able to revive her."
Tuvok, via comms: "The away team should be with you in minutes."
Chakotay, via comms: "Acknowledged."
Janeway: "I know you can't see me, or hear me. I don't know what's going on. But I am here, Chakotay. I'm not dead!"
Chakotay to Janeway's lifeless body: "Kathryn, we're going to get you back."