THE CLOUD
Episode 6
Part B

 

On the Bridge, as the objects splat against the hull, Janeway gets up quickly. "Red alert!"

the monitor displays data about the draining of energy reserves (pop-up window) [#6 The Cloud] firing a photon torpedo

Chakotay: "Whatever they are they're passing right through our shields." Janeway: "Try reversing the shield polarity." Chakotay goes to do this. "Mr Tuvok?" Tuvok: "They appear to be made up of a non-reactive material that our sensors do not recognise, Captain." Janeway: "Clarify. Are we under attack?" Tuvok: "Uncertain. There is no indication of directed fire." The comm. signal sounds. comms. signal "Torres to bridge." Janeway: "Go ahead." Torres, via comms: "These things are sticking to the hull, and I'm showing a drain on our energy reserves." Janeway: "A drain? Why would we be losing energy?" Torres, via comms: "I'm not sure, Captain. They seem to be drawing it through the shield grid right along the hull." Kim: "We've lost 5% of our energy reserves. Recommend we shut down all non-essential systems." Janeway: "Do it." Chakotay: "Reversing shield polarity hasn't had any effect." Kim: "Energy reserves are down 8%." Janeway: "This is not what I had in mind. Mr Paris, take us back through the energy barrier and out of here." Paris: "Reversing course." Janeway: "Full thrusters." Paris: "Thrusters firing." There is a jolt as Voyager comes up against the energy barrier. "We're not penetrating the energy barrier this time." Tuvok: "Sensors show a build-up of magnecite dust along the outer rim of the barrier." Janeway contacts Torres. "Engineering, I need more power." Torres, via comms: "We can't go back to impulse. That's how our problems started. Our best chance is to burn the aft thrusters beyond the recommended limits." Janeway: "Proceed." Torres, via comms: "Acknowledged. Accelerating the deuterium to rear thrusters." Chakotay to Janeway: "We have a complement of 38 photon torpedoes at our disposal." Janeway: "And no way to replace them after they're gone." Torres, as she reads the monitor display: "Aft thrusters at 105%, 115%." Paris: "Barrier's still holding. We need something else." Janeway to Tuvok: "Give me a two-second blast from the forward phaser bank." Tuvok: "Firing phasers." Phasers fire at the energy barrier. He reports: "The barrier's undamaged, Captain." Janeway nods to Chakotay who tells Tuvok: "Ready a photon." Janeway goes to the helm to have a quiet word with Paris. "Mr Paris, assuming we can breach the energy barrier, it's likely to close as fast as the first time." Paris assures her: "I'll be riding the tail of our torpedo, Captain." Tuvok: "Torpedo is loaded." Janeway: "Align co-ordinates along ship's heading." Tuvok: "Co-ordinates set." Janeway: "Fire." A tear is made in the energy barrier and Paris quickly steers Voyager through it. But it is a rocky ride as the ship is buffeted by energy currents. Tuvok: "50,000 kilometres to the perimeter." Paris: "I'm having trouble navigating through the energy currents. It's as thick as a Torean ice storm out there." Tuvok: "35,000 kilometres to perimeter." Kim: "Energy reserves are still falling." Tuvok: "15,000 kilometres."

After Voyager escapes, Tuvok reports: "We've cleared the central mass." Janeway: "Stand down red alert. Take us to 2,000 kilometres off the perimeter and hold position. Get a sample off the hull for Lieutenant Torres to analyse." Chakotay gets up and goes to attend to this. "I'd like to know what it was that humbled every defence system on this ship."

Janeway to Kim: "How much of our energy reserves did we lose, Ensign?" Kim: "11%, Captain." Janeway says to herself: "I'm just going to have to give up coffee, that's all there is to it."

Kim is asleep in his quarters when suddenly someone opens the doors. standard doors The intruder approaches the sleeping Kim....

....and lifts Kim's eye mask. Kim's eyes fly open as he suddenly wakes.

Paris: "Dark enough for you?" Kim: "What???" Paris: "Get up, Harry! Something you gotta see."

Kim: "See? How d'you get in here?!" Paris: "You'd be surprised the things you learn in prison."

Kim explains as they walk along a corridor. "McAllister. James Mooney McAllister. The guy never slept. He'd be studying his algorithms until dawn and the only I could get any sleep was to wear a mask." Paris: "You could always change room-mates." Kim: "Are you kidding? McAllister got me through fourth year quantum chemistry. Besides, I got used to wearing it. Something about it that reminds me of being in the womb." Paris: "Harry, in order to be reminded of something you have to first-" Kim: "I remember being in my mother's womb." Paris: "Right!"

	Kim: "I do. So what is it you have to show me?" Paris: "Nothing that's going to compare with that memory of your mother's womb. Computer, activate holodeck program Paris-3." The holodeck doors open and Paris waves Kim inside. The doors close behind them. holodeck doors
	They enter the Holodeck and find themselves outside a night club called Chez Sandrine, Marseille, Earth.
	A jolly, laughing alien comes out as they approach the entrance.

the view which greets them as they enter

As they enter, everyone there (who are all holocharacters) greet Paris warmly. "Hey, Tom!" "Hey, Tom, how're you doing?" Paris: "What do you think?" Kim: "What is it, a French bistro?" Paris: "This is where I spent most of my second semester at the Academy. I chose the Starfleet base outside of Marseille for physical training. I always had a thing about the French." Sandrine welcomes Paris with a kiss and a close embrace. "And the French always had a thing about you Monsieur Thomas. And with a name like Paris and a face like that how could anyone resist?" Paris: "Sandrine, this is my friend Harry Kim." Sandrine: "Enchanté." She holds out her hand for Kim to kiss. Not understanding, he shakes it. Paris: "Sandrine owns the place. It's been in her family over 600 years." A woman calls him. "Tommy. It's about time." She approaches Paris, embraces and kisses him. "I've been waiting for you." Paris: "This is Ricky. I include her in all my holoprograms." Ricky to Kim: "Hi." Kim: "Hi." Ricky complains to Paris. "Your friend the gigolo wouldn't leave me alone." Gigolo to Paris, apologetically. "It's what I do, Tom. Nothing personal." Paris describes the gigolo to Kim: "French father, Daliwakan mother." Sandrine is jealous as Ricky continues to embrace Paris. "She justs sits down and waits for you, eh, like a little puppy dog?" Paris: "I wouldn't have it any other way." Sandrine: "Oh, really, I thought you liked your women with a little bite." Ricky to Sandrine: "Everyone knows about your bite, Sandrine. It's when you start sucking blood they get scared." Paris ignores the female by-play. Sandrine turns her attentions to Kim. She puts her arms around his neck as embraces him, making Kim feel uncomfortable. "Monsieur, can I get you something to drink?" Kim: "Just a cup of tea." Hearing this Paris comes over to him and takes him toward a table. "Harry! This is France." He calls out: "Break open a bottle of that '46 St Emilion you saved behind the bar for me." Kim: "I don't like to drink this late at night. I get an acid heartburn." Paris: "Harry, it's holographic wine - doesn't give you acid. Try to get in the mood, huh?" Kim: "Sorry." Paris: "I learned a great deal that semester at the Academy. Most of it right here." Sandrine, as she pours the wine: "And most of it from me." Paris: "I found this place just after my pocket was picked walking by the harbour." Kim: "Somebody picked your pocket? On Earth?" Paris: "Oh, they just do it for tourists. They give it back, most of the time." Their attention is drawn to the pool table where a holocharacter is playing superbly, hitting the pre-designated balls into pre-called pockets. Paris: "You see that pool table, Harry? The table at Sandrine's in Marseille has attracted the world's greatest hustlers throughout the century. I thought it might be fun to program in some of the great players to shoot here. Gaunt Gary, Ames Pool Hall, New York City, 1953. They say that he hustled the great Willie Mosconi himself." Kim: "Mosconi? Is he some famous billiard player?" Gaunt Gary approaches Kim. Gaunt Gary: "Here's pool, kid. Pool. I don't suppose you'd care to wager a Finn on a game or two?" Paris: "He's not ready for you yet, Gary. Let me teach him a few tricks first." Gaunt Gary to Kim: "Watch out for him, kid. Can swallow your wallet without ever losing your smile." Kim: "I'll keep it in mind." He turns to Paris. "What's a Finn?" Paris: "I'm not sure. Some old kind of Scandanavian currency. Come on!" They leave the table for the pool table.

	Paris: "I'll rack 'em up, you pick out a cue."
	He is ready to play. As he goes to the other end of the table to start play: "Harry, this is my idea of home - my little piece of Earth out here in the Delta Quadrant."

	Kim: "You shrug it off, or you like to make the rest of think you're shrugging it off, but you miss it too, don't you?" Paris: "What?" He breaks. Kim: "Home." Paris: "Your shot, Harry."
	Kim smiles. He knows he is right and that Paris knows it too.

	In engineering Torres is working late, analysing the sample of the 'sticky' matter that clung to the hull. She stops the centrifuge.
	She reads the monitor read-out.
	She examines the sample closely.

the Doctor materialises Torres enters Sickbay and activates the EMH. (pop-up window) [#6 The Cloud]

Torres enters Sickbay. "Computer, activate Emergency Medical Holographic program." The Doctor materialises as his program comes online. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency." Torres is startled by his sudden appearance right next to her. "Why do you always have to say that?" Doctor: "I can only speculate about my programmer's motives. Perhaps he thought I might be summoned for," being sarcastic, "important reasons?" Torres: "Under the circumstances, don't you think you really ought to change your program?" Doctor: "Now there's an interesting concept - a hologram that programs himself. What would I do with that ability? Create a family, raise an army?" Torres: "I know a little about holographic programming. I could probably reprogram you." Doctor: "That makes me feel particularly confident." Torres: "Has anyone ever told you you have a lousy attitude?" The Doctor goes and sits at the desk in his office: "If you don't like the doctor's attitude there's a man sitting at a console in the Jupiter Station Holoprogramming Centre you can write to. His name is Zimmerman. He looks a lot like me actually." She enters the office. "Now, not that I don't enjoy the repartée, but was there a reason you stopped in?" Torres: "I need a second opinion on this." She hands him the sample. Doctor: "Who gave you the first opinion?" Torres: "I gave it to myself. It's a sample of residue we picked up in a nebula." Doctor: "What were we doing in a nebula? No wait, don't tell me, we were investigating. That's all we do around here. Why pretend we're going home at all? All we're going to do is investigate every cubic millimetre of this quadrant, aren't we?" The sample appears on the display of the Doctor's molecular microscope. Torres: "The molecules are isolinear, no polycyclic structures but-" The Doctor interrupts and points to something on the display: "But this is what brought you to me, isn't it, the nucleogenic peptide bonds." She makes a guess at what it is. The Doctor clicks his fingers. "And you were doing so well. No, I suspect it's something far more interesting than that."

	Janeway is working in her Ready Room when the door signal sounds. door signal "Come in." standard doors Chakotay enters carrying something. He reports: "Repair crews have degaussed the hull, Captain." Janeway: "Good. Let's plan an 0700 departure-" She looks up. "What's this?" Chakotay: "My medicine bundle. I've never shown it to anyone before. After what you said this morning I thought it important to let you see."
	Janeway: "Will it help me find my animal guide?" Chakotay: "Eventually you'll have to assemble your own medicine bundle but this will allow me to assist you in your quest for a guide." Janeway: "Now?" She smiles broadly: "Now." and lays down her PADD.
	He goes over the table and sits down crosslegged by it on the floor. He starts opening the medicine bundle.
	She gets up from her desk and comes and sits likewise next to him. Chakotay, as he shows her the items as he lays them out on the table: "A blackbird's wing, a stone from the river, an akoonah." Janeway: "Akoonah?"
	Chakotay: "My ancestors used psychoactive herbs to assist their vision quests. Now they're no longer necessary. Our scientists have found more modern ways to facilitate the search for animal guides."
	He instructs her: "Place your hand on it, and concentrate on the stone."
	He begins the ritual: "A-koo-chee-moya, we are far from the sacred places of our grandfathers. We are far from the bones of our people. But perhaps there is one powerful being who will embrace this woman and give her the answers she seeks."
	He tells her: "Allow your eyes to close." She does so. "Breathe to fuel the light in your belly and let it expand until the light is everywhere. Prepare yourself to leave this room and this ship, and return to a place where you are the most content and peaceful you have ever been."
	She opens her eyes and finds herself in the "place".
	He tells her: "You can see all around you and hear the sounds of this place." Janeway, in wonder: "I know this place! It's-"
	Chakotay: "You must not discuss with me what you see or it will offend your animal guide. As you continue to look around, you will become aware of other life that shares this place with you. He will be the first animal you see. That is the one you will speak to. Do you see an animal?" Janeway: "Yes." Chakotay: "Speak to it." Janeway: "What do I say?" Chakotay: "You know what you want to ask."
	But they are interrupted by the door signal. door signal Abruptly Janeway's eyes fly open. "I'm sorry. I should've asked the computer for no interruptions." Chakotay quickly wraps up the medicine bundle so that whoever enters will not see the contents. "Come in," calls Janeway. Torres enters. standard doors Janeway: "The Commander was introducing me to my animal guide."
	Torres: "I hope you have better luck with yours than I had with mine."
	Chakotay explains: "B'Elanna's the only one I know who tried to kill her animal guide."
	Torres: "I'm sorry to interrupt but the Doctor and I have come with a rather surprising analysis of the matter on the hull." She hands a PADD to Janeway. "It's organic." Janeway: "Microscopic lifeforms from the nebula." Torres: "That's not what I mean. The samples are clearly organic elements of a much larger lifeform. It appears, Captain, that this nebula is not a nebula at all."