MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
Episode 82
Part A

 

USS Voyager.

Torres and Chakotay are walking along a corridor. She is airing her complaints about Seven. Torres: "Cold, patronising, arrogant-" Chakotay: "I know she can be difficult." Torres: "Difficult? She's impossible." Chakotay: "I'm getting tired of playing referee every time you two have a disagreement. If you have a problem, talk to her yourself." Torres: "Does the word 'irrelevant' mean anything to you? She won't listen. She may look human, she may sound human, but she's all Borg."

Chakotay: "Part of the problem is your attitude. You've never tried to accept Seven as part of the crew."
Torres: "And with good reason. Guess what she did this morning. She took an isolinear processor out of Engineering without asking, and when I went to Astrometrics to get it back she had locked the door, like that lab is her own private domain."
Chakotay: "What do you want me to do? Throw her in the Brig for the rest of the trip home?"
Torres: "I've heard worse ideas."
The com. signal sounds. "Seven of Nine to Chakotay."
Chakotay, via comms: "Chakotay here."
Seven, via comms: "Report to the Astrometrics Lab at once."
Chakotay, via comms: "On my way." Contact ends and he starts to head off.

Torres: "Did you hear that? She's giving orders now. I'm telling you, Chakotay," she sighs, "if she gets in my way again, I am not responsible for what happens." Chakotay comes back to her: "You're a senior officer on this ship. Act like one. Find a way to deal with her."

Torres gives a small huff sound once he leaves, surprised that Chakotay did not take her side.

En route to the Astrometrics Lab, Chakotay sees Janeway and catches up with her. Chakotay, surmising her destination: "Astrometrics?" Janeway: "I've been summoned. Any guesses what this is about?" Chakotay: "None."

They enter the Astrometrics Lab. Chakotay to Seven: "Your call sounded urgent."

Seven: "It was. I've been working to increase the range of the astrometric sensors, and I have detected something that you should find of particular interest." Janeway: "A ship." Unbothered: "What's special about it?"

Seven: "I've analysed the warp signature. It's a Starfleet vessel." Janeway and Chakotay move closer to the screen, now paying full attention. Seven continues: "The ship we're seeing is in the Alpha Quadrant."

Chakotay: "You couldn't have extended the astrometric sensors that far." Seven: "No, but I increased the range far enough to detect a large network of relay stations. They're alien in origin, abandoned but still functioning. By establishing a sensor link with the nearest station I'm getting readings from the entire network. The Starfleet ship is within range of one of the farthest sensors near the outer edges of the Alpha Quadrant." Janeway: "It must be on a deep space mission."

Schematic of the alien relay network.

Seven: "I've extrapolated its course." Chakotay: "It doesn't look like we'll be able to keep track of it very long." Seven: "The ship should move out of range in forty one minutes." Chakotay: "Can we use the network to transmit a message?" Seven: "Yes, but we will have to remodulate our signal to match the network's interlink frequency." Janeway: "We don't have much time. Get it done, Chakotay."

He leaves and she turns to stare at the screen. They may be able to contact home!

USS Voyager.

Shortly afterwards, Seven finishes her preparations and taps her combadge. "Seven of Nine to Ensign Kim."

Kim, at Ops on the Bridge, via comms: "Kim here." Seven, via comms: "I'm sending you the interlink frequencies." Kim, via comms: "Got it."

Janeway, via comms: "Seven, how much longer do we have?" Seven, via comms: "16 minutes."

Torres finishes adjusting controls.

She puts the engineering tool in her jacket pocket. "That should do it. The subspace transceiver is at 200 per cent output and online. We're ready."

Janeway: "Open a channel." Kim: "Open." Chakotay and everyone watches and waits hopefully. Janeway, via comms: "Starfleet vessel, this is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager. We are in the Delta Quadrant, at co-ordinates 18, mark 205, mark 47. Remodulate your signal to match our interlink frequency."

Tuvok: "We're receiving a transmission." Janeway: "Let's hear it."

But the response is Janeway's original communication, badly degraded so that only a few words can be heard: "....Starship Voyager. We're in the-" Janeway, via comms: "Bridge to Seven. What went wrong?" Seven, via comms: "I don't understand. My readings show that the station picked up our message and relayed it across the entire network." Torres: "We should try widening the subspace bandwidth and sending the message again." Janeway: "Do it."

Kim: "Transmitting."
Seven, via comms: "The signal is being relayed. No sign of interference. Wait. It's being deflected back again."
It is Janeway's original message again: "This is Captain Kathryn Janeway Starship Voyager....the Delta Quadrant."
Seven, via comms: "I have a possible explanation, Captain. As our carrier wave moves along the network it may be degrading."

Paris: "Can we try a different kind of signal? Something stronger?"

Torres: "A holographic data stream might work. It wouldn't degrade so quickly."

Chakotay: "It would take too long to reconfigure the message, unless-" Janeway: "The Doctor!" Torres: "Exactly!" Janeway: "Bring him to Astrometrics and I'll meet you there. We don't have much time."

She heads for the turbolift, leaving Chakotay in command.

In Sickbay, the Doctor is taking a sample from a test-tube when Torres hurries in. Torres, going to the console where his mobile emitter is: "Doctor, you have to come with me, quickly."

Doctor sighs and puts down his work: "Would you mind at least telling me what all this is about?" She deactivates him and he is downloaded into the mobile emitter. She takes it and hurries out.