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SUMMARY: On Earth, Starfleet's project to establish contact with USS Voyager is making no progress. The diffident and socially-inept team-member Lt. Reg Barclay suggests using a new communications array to transmit through an artificial wormhole, but is devastated when his superiors reject the idea and remove him from the project.
Lieutenant Reg Barclay was formerly a diagnostic engineer aboard the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E but has now for two years been working on Earth as part of Starfleet's project to establish contact with USS Voyager. But he has been removed from the project as a disciplinary-cum-health measure.
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During his time off, he invites and welcomes to his apartment Deanna Troi, a Starfleet Counsellor and former crewmate on the Enterprise. He lives with his cat, Neelix. As he explains to Troi how he came to be removed from the project, it becomes clear that he is obsessed with Voyager and that he has suffered a relapse of holo-addiction in the project's Voyager holosimulation. But it is also clear that he is obsessed with trying out a theory of his whereby Earth could make live two-way audio contact with USS Voyager. |
Recalling events for Troi's benefit, Barclay explains how his immediate superior, Commander Pete Harkins, rejects Barclay's theory that the new communications array called MIDAS (a loose acronym for Mutara Interdimensional Deep Space Transponder Array), which was developed in co-operation with the Vulcans, could be used to emit a tachyon beam directed at a class B itinerant pulsar and produce enough gravimetric energy to create an artificial singularity (or wormhole) through which a signal could be sent to and received from Voyager. Barclay fervently believes his theory will work. Harkins is a kindly team-leader but is sceptical of Barclay's new theory, especially after the failure of Barclay's previous suggestion that they try to create a transwarp probe.
Cmdr. Harkins |
Lt. Barclay |
The overall head of the project is Admiral Owen Paris, father of Tom Paris Voyager's conn officer. He visits the project for a presentational briefing on progress. Harkins informs him that, based on the Doctor's report when he briefly visited Starfleet in 2374 (as noted in [#82 Message In A Bottle]) they have extrapolated Voyager's course and believe the distant starship to be in one of three sectors. Harkins says they hope to use MIDAS to develop a contact method but no contact has so far been made. Against Harkins' specific orders, Barclay interrupts to propose his theory, but he accidentally offends the Admiral by suggesting that they are forgetting the Voyager crew. After the Admiral reminds him that his son is on Voyager and he has not forgotten the crew, Harkins immediately orders Barclay to go home.
Admiral Paris with Harkins |
diagram of MIDAS on the viewscreen of the project's lab |
| above and below: the presentational briefing to Admiral Paris |
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Later Harkins discovers that Barclay has been running his own holoprogram in the project's Voyager holoprogram. Barclay has created holographic representations of everyone in the Voyager crew, including Tom Paris. In reality, Barclay is diffident and socially-inept, but in his holoprogram he is well-liked, gets on easily with everyone, and all the holo-crew openly recognise his outstanding and invaluable talents in all areas - helping to run the ship and in social activities. He is so good at playing poker that holo-Tuvok declines to join their poker games any more, he is scheduled to teach holo-Kim Velocity, holo-Torres regularly brings him her engineering problems for him to solve, and he is a dab hand at cooking. As a result, Barclay feels confident when within the holoprogram, feeling the holographic crew are his family, and he even feels happier sleeping in his holographic Voyager private quarters than in his own apartment.
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| Barclay plays poker with certain senior staff in the holographic simulation of USS Voyager; the Maquis crewmembers wear Maquis their clothes not Starfleet uniform |
Barclay receives a massage and assurance that he is a valued member of the crew |
Barclay sleeps well in his holographic quarters |
in the holo-simulation of USS Voyager's engine room |
Despite Barclay's protest that he uses his holoprogram to help him solve problems, Harkins is concerned about the excessive length of time, 20-30 hours a week, that Barclay is spending in the holodeck and fears Barclay has suffered a relapse of his holo-addiction (which is depicted in [TNG: Hollow Pursuits]). Concerned for both Barclay's health and rejecting Barclay's amended suggestion of how to contact Voyager (create a microwormhole for the message's conduit so as to use less power), Harkins orders Barclay removes him from the project and bans him from the project's lab. |
picture of Tom Paris (as a Starfleet cadet) which is kept on the desk of his father, Admiral Paris |
Barclay visits Admiral Paris and hands over a PADD on which he has detailed his theory. Barclay needs access to the project's lab for just one more day in order to try out and prove or disprove his theory. The Admiral says that he concurs with Harkins' actions and, not prepared to interfere with Starfleet procedure for personal reasons, hands Barclay back the PADD. But Barclay points that he, Barclay, should be punished as he has broken protocols, but not thereby the Voyager crew. The Admiral accepts back the PADD and promises that he will order a review of Barclay's findings and if they are considered valid he will order Harkins to pursue it. |
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| Barclay's meeting with Admiral Paris |
But Barclay tells Troi he does not believe the Admiral will review or pursue his data and said he would just to get rid of him. He asks her to certify him as psychologically fit so that he can return to work and try out his theory, but she refuses to do so - he is suffering acute anxiety, sleeplessness and paranoia, and she says she intends to take time off to spend more time with him. Barclay admits that, unable to make friends on the project, he has created a new family to replace the family he left on the Enterprise. Troi gently reminds him that the family he has created is not real.
That night, convinced his theory will work and unable to sleep, Barclay breaks into the project's lab, activates MIDAS and transmits a hail in the Starfleet emergency code hoping it will reach Voyager.
Barclay interferes with the lab's computer security controls so that it accepts his de-authorised access code, and thus he is able to enter the lab |
MIDAS transmits |
While he retransmits the hail and awaits results, Harkins arrives with a security team. Barclay tries to evade arrest by locking everyone out of the computer controls and leading the security guards a chase through the Voyager holo-simulation.
Barclay turns to find Harkins arriving with a security team |
the security guards are isolated and contained by forcefields set up on holo-Voyager |
Meanwhile on the real USS Voyager, Seven detects via the Astrometrics Lab's scanners an artificial micro-wormhole whose origin is in the Alpha Quadrant. Janeway immediately orders a course toward it. They receive Barclay's message but it is unintelligible so they work to remove the interference.
Harkins brings the chase to an end by entering the holoprogram and causing an imminent breach in the holographic warp core. As holo-Janeway orders her crew to abandon ship, Barclay realises he is cornered, says farewell to her, and ends the program.
Harkins phasers holo-Torres as she tries to prevent him initiating a warp core breach |
holo-Janeway is startled to see intruders in Starfleet uniform entering her Bridge to confront Barclay |
As Harkins and security guards lead Barclay from the holodeck, Admiral Paris arrives with news that he thinks Barclay's findings are viable and should be tried out. Harkins informs the Admiral that Barclay has just tried, and failed, and broke into the lab and resisted arrested as well.
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| the Voyager holoprogram - active and closed down |
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| Admiral Paris faces Barclay, the latter about to see his career ruined |
Before the Admiral can pronounce appropriate disciplinary measures that would end Barclay's career, Janeway's voice is picked up - Barclay has succeeded in establishing audio contact with Voyager! The co-ordinates are logged as Delta Quadrant, Grid 10, Sector 3658.
There follows the first live two-way contact between Starfleet and USS Voyager since the latter's disappearance into the Delta Quadrant. Janeway converses briefly with Barclay and Admiral Paris (he was her commanding officer on the Arias Expedition, noted in [#1 Caretaker, Part One].) The Admiral assures the Voyager crew that Starfleet is doing everything in their power to bring Voyager back, and is able to send his son the brief but moving message that he misses him and is proud of him. Barclay transmits data to Voyager instructing the crew on how to re-create the hypersubspace technology, so that they can be in regular contact in the future, along with suggested modifications to Voyager's com system, and Voyager transmits ship's logs, crew reports, and navigational records.
Janeway: "They're an exemplary crew, your son included." |
Admiral Paris: "Tell him, tell him I miss him and I'm proud of him." |
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Although contact was brief, it is an historic milestone, and both Admiral Paris and Harkins readily give credit where it is due - to Barclay. Thanks to him, Project Voyager has begun. |
Meanwhile, on Voyager, far away in the Delta Quadrant, the crew, their morale hugely boosted by the contact with Earth, celebrates in the Messhall with a champagne toast to Barclay whom Paris designates an honorary member of the crew. At the same time Seven reports that Starfleet's transmitted data on new technology is promising, and they all look forward to further contact with home.
Meanwhile, in Barclay's apartment, at almost the other end of the galaxy, Troi congratulates Barclay whose success has boosted his confidence. He is now socialising with at least one member of the project's team, as he reveals that he is dating Harkins' sister-in-law called Hope. Neelix the cat has almost the last word, or purr, and Barclay happily reveals that Hope loves cats.
 | | BARCLAY TO TROI: I've lost myself, in Voyager. I have become obsessed with Voyager. |
| | ADMIRAL PARIS: I want you to know we're doing all we can to bring you home.
JANEWAY: We appreciate it. Keep a docking bay open for us. |
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