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SUMMARY: The Voyager crew are compelled to fight deadly battles on the holodeck without safety protocols, hunted by their captors the Hirogens, and if hurt they are medically treated and sent back in. Kim and the Doctor are two crewmembers being respectively forced by the Hirogen to extend the holodecks and patch up the crew between fights. The pair hatch a daring plan to attempt to retake the ship.
The Hirogen have captured USS Voyager and are forcing the crew to engage in deadly battles in holodeck simulations with the safety protocols off. The crew are controlled by implanted neural interfaces which make them believe they are characters within the simulations.
neural interface implanted in Janeway's neck |
the Hirogen Medic with Alpha Hirogen |
One simulation comprises Klingon caves, the setting for duels and wars. The other holosimulation is that of the Nazi-occupied strategically important French city of Sainte Claire several months after World War II's D-Day. The French Resistance is active in the city and American forces are soon expected to try and liberate the city. In the World War II holoscenario, Janeway's persona is that of Katrine, owner of the bar 'Le Coeur de Lion', and she is the leader of the Resistance cell in Sainte Claire. Her group is gathering information on the Nazis to help the Allies. Alpha Hirogen assumes the role of Kommandant Karr, in charge of the city's occupation. Visiting 'Le Coeur de Lion' and talking with Janeway/Katrine, he explains that he intends to hunt down the Resistance.
Janeway as a defeated and injured Klingon warrior |
Janeway as Katrine with Alpha Hirogen as Kommandant Karr |
Janeway/Katrine's cell-members comprise Tuvok, her bartender, the Baker (Neelix) who acts as secret message courier, and Seven of Nine (persona: Mademoiselle de Neuf) who is the munitions expert and also the bar's chanteuse. There is also Torres whose persona is that of Brigitte, who has taken advantage of the Nazi Kapitan's fancy for her, in order to obtain information from him; she is pregnant with his child. Tuvok suspects that Seven/Mlle. de Neuf is a Nazi infiltrator.
Seven of Nine as Mlle. de Neuf |
Tuvok as the barman |
Neelix as the Baker |
Torres as Brigitte |
taking down the message from Allied High Command via a coded BBC radio broadcast |
When Allied Command sends a coded message via the Baker that they will be invading Sainte Claire in two days' time at dawn, they ask Janeway's/Katrine's Resistance group to disable the Germans' communication system. |
Torres/Brigitte with her lover the Nazi Kapitan |
Torres/Brigitte makes a reconnaisance trip inside the Nazi Headquarters building by visiting the Nazi Kapitan, father of her child. She notices where the radio is located. |
Meanwhile, the Hirogen second-in-command, named Turanj, is getting restless and disagrees with Alpha Hirogen's prolonged use of Voyager's holodecks. He lusts to proceed with the hunt, kill the prey (the crew) and take his hunter's trophies (namely the crew's body parts) to adorn his starship. Having already told the Baker that if it were up to him he would already be dead, when Turanj sees the Baker returning from his errand, he and a fellow-hunter open fire. The barrage destroys the return message Neelix/the Baker is carrying. A brave but headstrong Seven/de Neuf rescues Neelix/the Baker by firing at the two Hirogen.
Turanj and a fellow-Hirogen hunter approach Seven and Neelix after Turanj shoots them; the Holodeck exit doors can be seen in the distance |
But eventually she and Neelix/the Baker are discovered and are shot by Turanj, who removes their bodies to Voyager's Sickbay. |
the Doctor, Alpha Hirogen and the Hirogen Medic, in Sickbay |
Alpha Hirogen orders Neelix to be placed in the Klingon simulation, and Seven returned to the Sainte Claire simulation. The Doctor objects to being forced to repeatedly tend to the crew's injuries only for them to be sent back into the holodeck simulations. He protests that he has had 28 wounded and one fatality in the past 12 hours, but Alpha Hirogen refuses even to engage the holodeck safety protocols. |
Alpha Hirogen chastises Turanj for harming two of his favourite prey, and propounds to him his belief that the Hirogen is dying as a species with everyone too scattered and they must rebuild their civilisation. He explains that he is researching the holotechnology with a view to using it for all Hirogen - he intends that in future Hirogen will hunt holographic prey. With the safety protocols off, Alpha Hirogen argues that the hunt will be just the same. Turanj, though he disagrees, gives a small nod when Alpha Hirogen asks for his support.
Turanj (left) and Alpha Hirogen |
Alpha Hirogen (left) and Turanj |
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Kim has no neural interface implanted in him, as Alpha Hirogen is forcing him instead to expand the holodecks and turn Voyager essentially into one huge holodeck. Despite a Hirogen guard, Kim manages to secretly hatch a plan with the Doctor. |
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Accordingly, while Seven is in Sickbay awaiting a new neural interface to replace the one that was damaged by Turanj's shots, the Doctor uses one of her Borg implants so that it will create a jamming signal once she returns to the holodeck. While her mind free from Hirogen control, she admits that she does not remember anything after the Hirogen invaded Voyager. The Doctor explains the situation, then sends her back into the World War II simulation with instructions to find the control panel and access the Bridge relay so that he and Kim can deactivate the rest of the crew's neural interfaces. |
In 'Le Coeur de Lion', Tuvok tells Janeway/Katrine that evidence is building against Seven/de Neuf. The latest is that while the Baker was shot she somehow survived. Later, just before dawn when the Americans are due to attack, the Resistance cell infiltrates Nazi Headquarters and disables the radio. Seven is ordered to place explosive charges. But Janeway/Katrine sees Seven working on a mysterious device, actually the holodeck controls, and suspects her of contacting the Nazis.
Janeway/Katrine, with unconscious radio
operator, inside Nazi Headquarters |
Seven finds and accesses the Bridge
relay from behind the books on a bookshelf |
After Seven accesses the holodeck controls, the Doctor disables Janeway's implant just before her character decides to shoot Seven. With her real personality restored, Janeway and Seven escape from Nazi headquarters as American soldiers, including Chakotay as Captain Miller and Paris as Lieutenant Bobby Davis, arrive and begin firing.
Janeway's neural interface is disabled |
on the streets, Tuvok and the Americans fight
the Hirogen and the Nazi holograms |
As the holodeck safety protocols are off, when Nazi Headquarters blows up, it blows out some of the hologrid and disables the holodeck controls. The holographic Nazi and American soldiers see into Voyager's decks and mistake them for a Nazi munitions compound. As the holographic troops swarm into the rest of Voyager, the Hirogen realise that they are involved in a real war.
Seven and Janeway flee as the Headquarters building explodes |
holodeck damage |
World War II is waged throughout the ship. Alpha-Hirogen is unwilling to destroy the holodeck technology or the Voyager crew who are needed both to maintain it and be used as research. He insists that Janeway be found and brought to him. Meanwhile, after accessing scanners on the Astrometrics Lab to discover how many Hirogen there are, Janeway and Seven realise that they will need help to disable the rest of the neural interfaces.
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Accordingly they return to 'Le Coeur de Lion' where Janeway stops Chakotay/Miller from ordering an air strike. She says that, instead, she can destroy the generator of 'secret compound' with help from her inside man (Neelix) whom she must contact. Chakotay/Miller insists on going with her, and leaves Paris/Davis in charge of the new military command post namely 'Le Coeur de Lion'. Janeway tells Tuvok that Seven is above suspicion. |
Seven fetches Borg technology from Cargobay 2 and works to try and enhance the World War II munitions.
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In Sickbay the Doctor is horrified and objects when ordered to treat Hirogen with non-severe injuries in preference to Voyager crewmembers with serious wounds. The Hirogen Medic takes his program offline, and orders that in future wounded prey should be left where they fall, and that only Hirogen wounded should be treated. |
Taking Chakotay/Miller to the Klingon simulation, Janeway meets Neelix whose persona is now that of a Klingon warrior, and she makes contact with the Doctor who informs her that the neural interfaces are controlled from the main surgical console in Sickbay. She and Chakotay/Miller set a large explosive charge under Sickbay (it will work despite being holographic charges, because the holodeck safeties are off), but because there is a level 9 forcefield around the console they are obliged to enter Sickbay. There he removes the Hirogen Medic outside to the corridor where he guards him, while Janeway disables the forcefield. But when her computer access is detected by Alpha Hirogen and Hirogen hunters approach to investigate, the Hirogen Medic manages to overpower Chakotay/Miller, rush into Sickbay and shoot Janeway. Suffering a leg wound, she limps quickly out, while the Hirogen Medic finds he cannot access the computer to re-establish the forcefield. The resulting explosion disables the rest of the neural interfaces.
Janeway uses a portable computer to access and disable the forcefield |
Chakotay/Miller guards the Hirogen Medic |
the Hirogen Medic shoots Janeway..... |
.....in the leg |
In 'Le Coeur de Lion', the Resistance members and Paris/Davis are struggling to hold out against advancing German forces. When the neural interfaces are disabled, they suddenly become fully themselves again. But they are surprised by a sudden assault and captured by the Germans, commanded by the Nazi Kapitan and Turanj. The latter wants to kill the captives as they are prey, but Alpha Hirogen insists that they be kept alive as hostages. The Nazi Kapitan strikes Torres across the face upon realising that, as a member of the Resistance, she deceived him. Paris comes to her defence and faces the Kapitan's pistol but Turanj orders him to stand down which he does so reluctantly.
the Nazi Kapitan tells Torres that the thought of her carrying her child disgusts him and she responds in kind |
Turanj orders the Nazi Kapitan to desist |
Janeway, who was apprehended by the Hirogen outside Sickbay, is brought as a prisoner to Alpha Hirogen in the Captain's Ready Room. There he explains his plans:
Alpha Hirogen: "My people are hunting themselves into extinction. Your holodeck technology might offer us an alternative, a new way of life. Instead of scattering ourselves across the Quadrant in pursuit of prey, we could simulate the hunt and give ourselves a chance to rebuild our civilisation."
Janeway: "And confine your killing to holograms."
Alpha Hirogen: "With the safety protocols offline, the pursuit is just as challenging." ...........
Janeway: "Let's end this. I'll call a ceasefire and we can try to contain the damage. I want my ship back, but in return I will give you what you need to create the holodeck technology."
Alpha Hirogen and Janeway in the Captain's Ready Room
Accordingly, Alpha Hirogen orders Turanj to release the hostages and implement the ceasefire. Chakotay orders American forces to lay down their arms. But the Nazi Kapitan sees the Kommandant's ceasefire as weakness and persuades Turanj to mutiny, telling him: "We must countermand the Kommandant's orders, stay and fight. We must be faithful to who we are." Turanj is a hunter, and he finally decides to continue the hunt.
The Nazi Kapitan attacks the Voyager crew in Sainte Claire, who quickly start defending themselves from behind barricades in the street.
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In the Klingon simulation, the Doctor realises the outnumbered and beleaguered Voyager crew desperately need new allies. So Neelix forces the Klingons to pay attention - he wants to talk to them. |
In Engineering, Alpha Hirogen is with Janeway, who says the best way to shut down the entire holo-emitter network is to overload it. She transfers optical processor control to Kim at Ops on the Bridge and orders him to start charging the secondary power relays so that they can be used to trigger the overload. Barely has she ordered this than Turanj arrives and murders his superior. He does not shoot Janeway too, telling her that she is prey. He lets her escape, so that he can hunt her - this time the hunt is real and he intends to kill her.
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Seven finishes enhancing a grenade with Borg technology so that it will give off a photonic burst harmless to organic tissue but it should disrupt all holographic activity within 20 metres. However, when she gets up to throw it she is shot and injured and the grenade explodes still behind the barricades. It deletes the crew's weapons and holographic allies. The Nazi Kapitan again captures the crew. He is about to execute them (though he postpones Torres' death as she carries a German child) when the Klingons attack. A fierce hand-to-hand fight ensues between the Nazi holograms and Hirogen hunters against the Voyager crew aided by their Klingon holographic allies.
the Nazis capture the Voyager crew |
the main crew are about to be shot when the Klingons arrive |
Meanwhile, Turanj is intent solely on hunting down Janeway and to make kill his prey. Waging her own war, Janeway comes across an area without functioning holo-emitters. She lures Turanj into the area. When his holographic rifle disappears, she clouts him with a length of pipe, knocking him over. Then she becomes the hunter, picking up his fallen rifle and pursues him as he flees.
He comes upon the rip in the holodeck and is amazed to see the battle raging below in the Sainte Claire street. Janeway catches up with him and tells him to order the Hirogen to stand down. He tries to rush her, and she is compelled to shoot him, and his body plunges the height of several decks onto the street below.
Turanj's view of the fighting |
Janeway corners Turanj |
At last, with an anxious Kim having secretly implemented Janeway's orders to implement the procedure to overload the holo-emitters, the procedure is complete. The holo-emitters overload and the simulations end.
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The battle between the Hirogen and Voyager's crew reaches a stalemate. A truce is negotiated with the remaining Hirogen, and, true to her promise to the former Alpha Hirogen, Janeway offers them a Federation holo-generator. They accept this 'trophy' and leave Voyager for good. |
Janeway offers the optronic data-core, i.e. holotechnology |
a young Hirogen, the leader after the deaths of Alpha Hirogen and Turanj |
 | | ALPHA HIROGEN expounding his vision for the future to Turanj: "Species that don't change, die. We've lost our way. We've allowed our predatory instincts to dominate us. We disperse ourselves throughout the Quadrant, sending ships in all directions. We've become a solitary race, isolated. We've spread ourselves too thin. We're no longer a culture. We have no identity. In another thousand years, no one will remember the name Hirogen. Our people must come back together, combine forces, rebuild our civilisation. The hunt will always continue, but in a new way. I intend to transform this ship into a vast simulation, populated with a varied and endless supply of prey. In time, this technology can be duplicated for other Hirogen. These Holodecks will allow us to hold onto our past while we face the future." |
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