screen on magnification

In late 2371, Voyager encounters a swarm of small space-dwelling creatures. Kim interrupts Janeway and Chakotay who are discussing the likelihood of crewmembers forming romantic relationships, and reports: "We're in visual range, Captain." Janeway: "On screen." Chakotay: "Looks like some type of energetic vapour." Janeway: "Magnify." Chakotay: "Space-dwelling lifeforms." Janeway: "Full sensor scan, Mr Kim." Kim: "Their internal energy patterns appear to be consistent with discreet organic processes." Chakotay: "Captain, I'd like the chance to study them at close range." Janeway: "So would I, Commander." Chakotay: "But let's not get too close. We wouldn't want to disturb their natural behaviour." Janeway: "Half-impulse, Mr Paris. Take us into bio-scanner range." Paris: "Aye, Captain." At the science station on the bridge, Janeway, Ensign Wildman and Chakotay look at the xenobiology scan on the monitor. Tuvok: "The swarm is not particularly dense, Captain. I estimate their number at fewer than 2,000." Paris: "They're really moving." Kim: "He's right. They've accelerated to a velocity of approximately 1,000 kilometres per second." Wildman: "It's possible we're frightening them." Janeway to Paris: "Keep us within scanner range, Lieutenant, but try to avoid rapid acceleration." Paris: "Aye, Captain." Chakotay to Janeway: "Take a look at this. See the way they propel themselves?" Janeway: "They seem to flagellate, almost like protozoa." Chakotay: "Exactly, but they're achieving incredible speeds, over 3,000 kilometres per second." Janeway: "Ensign Wildman, scan the field for a repeating pattern. Maybe they're capable of some type of communication." Wildman: "Aye, Captain." Chakotay: "Their internal anatomy's also very unusual. They don't appear to have a digestive system of any kind, but they've an extremely porous outer covering. My guess would be that they absorb nutrients directly from space." Janeway: "Incredible. A space-dwelling lifeform capable of metabolising inorganic matter." Wildman: "Particle density in this part of space isn't very high. That might explain why they have to keep moving so fast." Chakotay: "Feeding at 3,000 kilometres per second. Not exactly leisurely dining, is it?" Later, Neelix takes Kes to sickbay after she exhibits the unusual behaviour of eating excessively and eating non-food things like spawn beetles. After the Doctor throws Neelix out of sickbay, Neelix comes to the bridge to complain to Janeway about him. Janeway is working at the science station where Chakotay and Ensign Wildman are also studying the swarm. As Neelix talks to her she hurries him to another part of the bridge so as not to disturb Wildman and Chakotay.

Neelix complains to Janeway who is at the science station on the bridge. Chakotay and Ensign Wildman are working close by.

Throughout this time and the following events, Ensign Wildman is at the science station. The swarm generate an EM resonance field, creating a magnetic wake which pull USS Voyager toward it. The crew try to resist but they cannot use thrusters and the shields are non-functional. As the swarm pull Voyager in, the ship suffers a power drain. Impulse engines are affected and they do not wish to use warp engines because the exhaust could seriously harm the creatures. Instead Torres modifies the main deflector to create an inverted magnetic pulse with the aim of projecting it toward the swarm, in the hope that it might be enough to nudge the creatures out of the way. When Voyager generates the pulse, it seems at first to work and Voyager starts to leave at a very slow speed, with thrusters moving the ship at 200 k.p.h.

Then, for some reason the small creatures start turning blue. This seems to trigger a massive energy drain in all ship's systems; impulse engines start losing power, and guidance, navigational and tactical systems start failing. Some of the small lifeforms attach themselves to the warp nacelles. Suddenly a much larger creature rapidly approaches Voyager's port bow.

Wildman: "It's physiologically similar to the smaller creatures, just a lot bigger." Tuvok: "Perhaps it is the parent." Chakotay: "Or it could be a difference in gender. It's hard to say without further observation." Torres: "With all due respect, Captain, haven't we done enough observing? These creatures have attacked the ship's key systems. For all we know, they were setting us up for an attack." Janeway: "It's possible. Mr Paris, let's keep moving. If we can put some distance between us and the swarm, maybe the ones on the nacelles will drop off and rejoin their friends." Paris: "Aye, Captain. 200 k.p.h." Tuvok: "The larger creature is moving with us." The ship is rocked. Paris: "Now what?" Kim: "The creature has emitted an electrically charged plasma stream." Janeway: "All stop. Damage report." Kim: "No significant damage, Captain. Shields are holding." Torres: "A plasma blast is a hostile move. Shouldn't we be thinking about responding?" Janeway: "If the creature threatens serious damage to the ship, I'll consider it an enemy. Until then, they're all to be treated as indigenous lifeforms behaving normally in their natural habitat. We're the intruders here." Chakotay: "Captain, look at this. They're attaching themselves to the larger creature the same way they did to us." Kim: "And I think I know why. That plasma stream it ejected has almost the same subspace signature as our warp nacelles." Janeway: "Then the smaller creatures are attracted to our subspace emissions." Chakotay: "Perhaps in the same way some species are attracted to pheremones." Janeway: "Pheremones? You think it's a sexual attraction?" Chakotay: "Colour change and provocative movement are frequently associated with mating rituals." Paris: "Then these guys think we're one of them?" Chakotay: "Well, their behaviour toward us and the larger creature is similar. It's possible they've mistaken us for a potential mate."

many of the small creatures turn blue Wildman at the science station

Chakotay observes that if the smaller creatures are sexually attracted to Voyager's subspace emissions then the large one may perceive the ship as a rival - the plasma burst it sent out might have been aggressive posturing. The crew try to leave the swarm using a short burst at impulse by releasing power from the impulse capacitance cells straight into the driver coils. But when they use impulse the large creature reacts by deliberately slamming its body against Voyager, shaking the ship! This reduces structural integrity. Launching a probe makes the large creature angry instead of distracting him. Shields go down to 64 per cent. When Janeway notes that they should ram the large creature because he is ramming them, Wildman comments: "It's probably the response he expects."

Wildman can be seen manning the science station on the Bridge.

the large creature rams Voyager

Voyager rolls

The creature rams Voyager again. Shield strength drops to 47 per cent and Kim says that the hull will start to buckle if there are further collisions. They ram the creature but he hits back harder. Before Janeway gives the go ahead to detonate a field of photon charges between Voyager and the creature, Chakotay suggests: "If we're right that the creature's responding to us as a sexual rival, we might try behaving in a submissive way. That may appease him. We'd be acknowledging that he's dominant and we're no match for him. ... Maybe we need to mimic the behaviour of the smaller creatures. We saw them rolling over and changing colour."

Accordingly, they put Voyager into a roll on its starboard side, and vents plasma residue leaving a trail of blue. A moment after the maneuver the small creatures detach from the nacelles. Voyager has successfully lost its 'sex appeal', and slowly moves away. With Voyager well away from the EM influence of the swarm, Kes' premature elogium (Ocampan time of fertility) which had been triggered by its nearness, comes to an end.

The issue of how Voyager will deal with romantic affiliations and eventual children during the long journey home does not go away for Janeway. Wildman seeks an interview in the captain's ready room.

Janeway: "Yes, Ensign. What can I do for you?"
Wildman: "I'm sorry to disturb you, Captain, but I thought, I thought I should inform you of my physical condition."
Janeway: "Your physical condition?"
Wildman: "We've been trying for months. I wasn't even sure until a few days ago. My husband is still at Deep Space 9. He doesn't even known. We were only supposed to be out two or three weeks."
Janeway: "Wildman, are you pregnant?"
Wildman nods. "I know this isn't the best place to have the baby. It's all I have left of my husband."
Janeway: "Well, congratulations, Ensign."

Wildman's pregnancy ends Janeway's inner debate on whether Voyager should be a generational ship - it is going to be whether she wants it to be or not.

Notes Ensign Wildman's first name is not given in this episode. [#18 Elogium] takes place toward the end of 2371, though because the last four episodes of Season One were held back to Season Two when the show first aired in the USA it seemed that [#18 Elogium] occurred in very early 2372. Tthe correct demarcation of episodes was restored after that first broadcast. Episode stardates support the original chronology.   We learn from [#18 Elogium] that Ensign Wildman is married and that her husband stayed behind on Deep Space 9 when Voyager departed on its mission to the Badlands in [#1 and #2 Caretaker]. In [#18 Elogium] Wildman notes that Voyager's mission was expected to last two to three weeks only. In [#143 Fury] we learn that Janeway has met him there.   We learn that Ensign Wildman's husband is a Ktarian, and his name, in a later episode ([#33 Dreadnought]).   It seems strange at the time we see [#18 Elogium] that Ensign Wildman discovers that she is pregnant six months into Voyager's mission/journey. Once we see [#33 Dreadnought] and learn the father is Ktarian, we see that that could account for the difference in pre-natal development.