Episode 94 : HOPE AND FEAR : Part C

The interior of the unknown starship shows gleaming, cutting-edge Starfleet technology. The bridge is deep, cylindrical, curvilinear, in pristine condition.

Paris, Chakotay and Tuvok beam in.

Paris: "Wow!" Tuvok: "'Wow' indeed."

They look round, examining the control consoles.

Chakotay looks at the master situation display which shows a cross-section of the starship. Chakotay: "I've never seen this kind of hull geometry. It looks like they've taken a whole new approach to starship design."

Tuvok reads from a console: "USS Dauntless, registry NX-01A. Launch date 51472." Chakotay: "60,000 light years in three months?" Tuvok: I'm trying to access the crew logs.....but there are none." Paris: "I don't think there was a crew. This helm was set for auto-navigation."

Tuvok: "Logic would suggest that Starfleet has provided us with a new ship."

Chakotay: "Let's not pack our bags just yet. I'd like to know how they-"

The ship trembles and there is a low rumbling sound. Paris reports the read-out on the helm console: "I'm reading power fluctuations in the warp core, if you can call it a warp core. I don't recognise this engine configuration." Chakotay: "Let's go take a look."

Chakotay, Tuvok and Paris enter the engine room.

They go up onto the circular gantry surounding a number of interconnected tubes containing pulsating technology. Paris: "I think we've found our engine core." Chakotay: "Some kind of new warp drive?"

Paris: "It's not anti-matter, it's...I don't know what it is." He reports from a console read-out: "They call this thing a quantum slipstream drive." Tuvok: "'Quantum slipstream'?" Chakotay: "I've never seen that in the engineering manuals."

The rumbling they heard before grows in intensity. The room, indeed the entire ship, vibrates. Audio alerts sound. The centre of the ceiling light starts to flash.

Paris: "The ship is powering up! Autonavigation's kicking in!"

On Voyager's bridge, Kim is in command. Via comms: "Voyager to away team. What's happening over there?" There is no reply. "Chakotay?" Again, there is no response. He contacts Janeway via comms: "Bridge to Janeway. The vessel's moving away at high impulse!"

In the Astrometrics Lab, Janeway, Seven and Arturis are working on the Starfleet message. Kim, via comms: "I can't raise the away team." Janeway, via comms: "Pursuit course, Ensign!"

On the Dauntless, Paris, Chakotay and Tuvok are trying to access the controls in the engine room. Paris: "I can't shut down the drive!" Chakotay: "Computer, disable propulsion!" The computer voice, which is the same voice for all LCARS systems in all Starfleet ships and facilities, responds: "Unable to comply." Paris: "Hang on!"

The starship starts to glow and distort in a strange effect, and then it vanishes from view, like going to warp but this time it is into a quantum slipstream!

On Voyager, Kim reports via comms: "Bridge to Janeway. They're gone!"

Meanwhile, in the quantum slipstream, there is a torrent of energy whipping past at amazing velocities. The Dauntless is racing through the raging river of energy at breakneck speeds!

In the Dauntless engine room, the three Voyager crewmen have to shout to each other over the noise, and hang on as the ship shakes. Paris: "Look at this! Energy from the quantum drive is being routed through the main deflector."

Chakotay: "Is that what's creating the slipstream?" Paris: "It looks that way!" Tuvok: "Fascinating. Can you make it stop?" Paris: "I'll try accessing the helm controls!"

With a blast of energy, the Dauntless comes roaring out of the quantum slipstream and into normal space! The ship stops shaking, the audio alerts stop sounding, and normal light resumes in the engine room. Paris: "We're back in normal space." Chakotay: "Scan for Voyager." Tuvok: "No sign of them." Then: "Commander, we've travelled over fifteen light years." They are all amazed.

Janeway: "Captain's log, supplemental. After two days at high warp we've rendezvoused with the Dauntless. Arturis has helped us reconstruct most of the Starfleet message. The pieces of this puzzle are finally coming together."

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