[Engineering]

JANEWAY: I scanned the entire ship. No sign of the Proto-Core onboard.
SOLUM: I'll never get to Starfleet without it. Where is it?
(Gwyn gets her blade to his throat first.)
GWYN: I never wanted it to come to this. You got your ship. Leave them alone.
SOLUM: Perhaps you've forgotten. That heirloom was a gift from me.
(The blade wraps round Gwyn's arms, binding them.)
GWYN: Why are you doing this?
SOLUM: What did you think would happen? You'd distract me? Beam your friends aboard? Raise power to the shields and reset all security protocols.
DREDNOK: Shields are locked.
JANEWAY: Shall I ready the brig?
SOLUM: Watch over my Progeny to ensure she does nothing to further inhibit my mission.
JANEWAY: Acknowledged, Captain.
SOLUM: Reactivate the Watchers and set a course to return to Tars Lamora at once. We have a star to catch.

[Tars Lamora]

DAL: We'll cover more ground if we split up. (to miners) The atmospheric shields will only hold for so long. Get to the REV-12 before this whole place goes!
GRJORDSLAT: I understand you!
TRODO: And I understand you. How?
DAL: It's a short wave translator. Now, if you would kindly make your way to the...
GRJORDSLAT: My name is Grjordslat!
TRODO: I'm Trodo. After so many years, it's nice to finally talk! I've been holding in these thoughts and feelings for so long, Grjordslat...
DAL: Sorry to interrupt this beautiful moment, but you have to go! Now! Go, get to the ship!
(Elsewhere.)
ROK: Jankom, Murf found the engine room.
POG: Oh, well done.
(Watcher activate as Rok forces open a bulkhead.)
POG: Nice going, Rok. Huh? The Watchers are back on?
ROK: Hurry! Get in!

[Engine room]

(Bulkhead dropped just in time.)
POG: If the Watchers are back on, that means...
ROK: We gotta fix this engine and get outta here.
POG: Whoa. Oh boy, they really toasted the place. Keep that hatch shut while Jankom works his magic.
ROK: You know, I can do more stuff than hold a door.
POG: Er... uh-oh.
ROK: Didn't know you could fix an engine by staring at it.
POG: The... the blast emptied the entire energy core. So let Jankom figure it out. Oh, unless you've got a better idea.
ROK: What if you interplex the plasma conduits, adjust for input variances in the dilithium matrix, and siphon off the energy of the Proto-Core to jump-start it?
POG: Er... new plan. Jankom holds the door, and you do all of that.
ROK: Stay close, Murf. We're gonna need some of that juice.

[Tars Lamora]

ZERO: It's okay, little one. I won't hurt you. It's time we leave this place.
DAL: Zero, watch out!
(A Watcher laser cuts one of Zero's arms off.)
ZERO: Oh...
DAL: Zero!
(He zaps the Watcher.)
DAL: Are you okay?
ZERO: I'll manage. Never had much control of them anyway.
DAL: We'll never get everyone onto the ship with our shortwave communicators. There has to be a faster way. The manacles.

[Engine room]

POG: How's that power coming?
ROK: Almost there.
POG: Well, they're almost here!
(A Watcher forces its way in.)
POG: Rok, watch out!
ROK: Huh?
(Pog uses bits of Watcher to attack other Watchers.)
POG: Aaaah!
ROK: Let's... hope... this works.
(Power up, shield restored. Also gravity.)
POG: Oh!
ROK: I got it, I got it!
POG: Way to go, Rok!
ROK: It's nice to see you can do more than just percussive maintenance.
POG: Yeah.

[Tars Lamora]

ZERO: They did it. They did it! They've done it! Oh! We can all breathe easier now. Except me, of course. A benefit of being non-corporeal.
DAL: If you can't use your hands, could you at least keep quiet? I can't concentrate. Just... need... a moment.
(The little Caitian miner points up. Protostar has returned.)
ZERO: We're all out of moments. They're back.

[Engine room]

(Drednok beams in.)
ROK: Huh?
DREDNOK: Give me the Proto-Core, now.
ROK: Go, Murf! Get it outta here!
POG: Look over here, you big dum-dum!
(Drednok throws Pog and Rok around.)
ROK: Oof!
POG: Huh?
(Miners force the bulkhead open.)
MINERS: He's in here!
CAITIAN: Yeah, we now have a voice. Good for us. Bad for you.
(Drednok gets overwhelmed.)
DREDNOK: The mission will not be stopped. Our Diviner will prevail.
(The Caitian slashes off its head with her claws. Dal helps Pog stand up.)
POG: How did you get them all here?
DAL: It took a little jury-rigging, but Zero helped me turn their ankle monitors into universal translators.
GRJORDSLAT: I just lowered my head and ka-bam! Did you see that?
TRODO: We both did.
ROK: Murf, what's wrong?
POG: They got the Proto-Core!
ZERO: Drednok must have transmitted the coordinates before he was destroyed.
ROK: If the Diviner has the Proto-Core...
DAL: Gwyn.

[Engineering]

COMPUTER: Protostar Drive online in ten minutes.
SOLUM: There is no barrier we cannot overcome.

[REV-12]

DAL: We're coming, Gwyn.

[Bridge]

SOLUM: You're disabling the shield? Why didn't you warn me?
JANEWAY: Because I only answer to Starfleet.
(And transforms from all black to Protostar uniform.)
GWYN: I had upgraded her programming to prevent any of your overrides.
(Janeway physically stops Solum.)
JANEWAY: Like she said. Upgrades. Gwyn, the shields?
GWYN: I can't get through all the security lock-outs.
JANEWAY: You can. Keep trying.
(Solum tries to grapple with Janeway.)
COMPUTER: Security protocol S29 disabled.
(Janeway breaks Solum's life support.)
GWYN: I'm almost through.
SOLUM: Please... Progeny. Everything I've done will be for nothing.
JANEWAY: Lower the shields.
SOLUM: Don't. Our mission. We can still save our people!
GWYN: Save? Our homeworld was destroyed. No. No. You said we were the last of the Vau N'Akat.
SOLUM: You wanted to know the truth. This is it. Solum is here. Now. But it... it won't be for long. I was sent back in time to save it.
GWYN: Solum is here? I... I can see it?
SOLUM: There is no barrier we cannot overcome. Please. Please, Gwyndala. You will doom our people.
JANEWAY: Gwyn, what are you waiting for?
GWYN: Computer, freeze hologram Janeway. Tell me the truth. All of it.
SOLUM: Even better. I can show you.

[REV-12]

DAL: Why aren't we on that ship already?
ZERO: We can't beam over until the shield's down.
ROK: Gwyn should've done that already. Something's wrong, we need to help.
POG: Can't help so long as those shields are up. Unless you wanna blast our shields to smithereens.
DAL: We are not firing on our own ship.
ZERO: Actually, if we aimed this ship's weapons at the shield emitters...
ROK: That could lower the shields long enough to beam aboard.
DAL: I cannot believe I'm saying this. Target the Protostar.

[Holodeck]

SOLUM: Activate program Solum-1.
COMPUTER: Simulation upload complete.
GWYN: Solum.
SOLUM: As it exists today. The Vau N'Akat are flourishing, confident in our supremacy, believing it is just us in the universe. We can save it.
GWYN: What happens?
SOLUM: Computer, show Solum 50 years after the First Contact.
(A devastated dust bowl.)
GWYN: Starfleet did this? But they stand for hope and peace. They'd never...
SOLUM: Starfleet lit the fire and left us to burn. After their mere arrival, civil war splintered our people between those aligned with the Federation and those who would die to preserve our way of life. But history can be rewritten. We can stop First Contact.
GWYN: How?
SOLUM: By arming a weapon already onboard the Protostar, we can wipe out all of Starfleet from existence.
GWYN: What did you put on this ship?

[RAV-12]

ZERO: I'm reading energy fluctuations. The Proto-Drive is ready to engage.
ROK: If they Proto-Warp now, we'll lose them forever!
POG: Pog will keep blasting, but right now can only lower shields long enough to beam us over one at a time!
ROK: What's your plan?
DAL: I'll tell you when I got one.
(Dal beams out.)

[Holodeck]

GWYN: Tell me. What did you put on the ship?
SOLUM: Just as the Federation ignited our civil war, when the Protostar comes into contact with a Starfleet vessel, our weapon will release a signal that will corrupt their systems, turning their ships against each other until the entire alliance is reduced to nothing!
GWYN: Our ship will destroy Starfleet?
SOLUM: This ship is part of our destiny. Starfleet will welcome its return with open arms, and it will tear itself apart from within. In time, you will understand. Once Starfleet falls to ruin, we can return to Solum, where we belong.
GWYN: Our dreams of going to Starfleet... If we go, we... we'll...
SOLUM: Destroy them, yes.
GWYN: We can't go. We can never go. You can't trade one tragedy for another! You need to talk to Starfleet, not destroy them.
COMPUTER: The Proto-Drive is online.
SOLUM: The time for talk is over. Computer, open archway.
DAL: Step away, old man. She's with me.
(Dal has two phasers, but Solum uses that liquid metal to truss him up.)
DAL: Okay. I was really hoping that would go a different way.
SOLUM: You would help the inferior before your own people? He alone is no match against the Vau N'Akat.
ZERO: Who said he was alone? I will not let you hurt my friends.
SOLUM: Zero.
ZERO: You used me to hurt others. It's time I show you who I truly am so you cannot hurt anyone else!
(Zero drops their metal casing. The glow of the Medusan fills the holodeck.)
DAL: C'mon. Look at me! Don't look or you'll go mad. Look at me.
(Gwyn sees a reflection in Dal's comm-badge and falls backwards.)
DAL: No. Ah. No, no, no! Zero! Shut it down!
(Zero goes back into their container, Solum is staring at the 'sky', then falls to his knees.)
DAL: Look at me! Look at me!
GWYN: We can't go. We can't go, we can't go.
DAL: Gwyn! Gwyn! Look at me!
GWYN: We can't go.
DAL: Look at me.
GWYN: We can't go.
ZERO: I... I didn't mean to. Not Gwyn.
GWYN: We can't go. We can't go. We can't go. We can't go, we can't go. We can't go. We can't go. We can't. We can't go.
JANEWAY [OC]: Training Log, Stardate 61103.1. Though victory came at a price, the crew of the USS Protostar proved exemplary in securing transport for a large many who could not help themselves, transforming a symbol of captivity into a vehicle for liberation. While learning to fly a ship has its inherent struggles, after what I've seen from my own crew, I have faith they'll figure it out. As for the Diviner, he is now the sole Unwanted, banished to live the rest of his life in the ruins of his own making, his reign of terror foreseeably over. But was the price too steep? Since the incident, Zero hasn't left Gwyn's side. Had she seen more than a reflection, Gwyn could've been lost forever. Thankfully, the only thing lost were her memories of the event. These voyages have left an indelible mark on this crew. New worlds, sought new life and new civilisations... all to gain a little understanding of our greater galaxy, the potential of our greater selves. And they've learned they will always be stronger together.

[Bridge]

ZERO: Gwyn!
JANEWAY [OC]: The Diviner referred to Gwyn as his progeny. An offspring. But that word says nothing about who she is, nor what she's capable of. In fact, you could look at any of these kids... I mean, crew... and dismiss them at first glance.
ZERO: Where to, Captain?
DAL: It's time we return their ship. Set a course for Starfleet. Is everything okay?
GWYN: Everything's fine, Captain. Let's go to Starfleet.
JANEWAY [OC]: Each of them has exceptional qualities that they've only just begun to discover. Each of them... a prodigy in the making.

[USS Dauntless]

ASENCIA: I am detecting a Proto-Warp signature again. That makes three times now, Admiral.
JANEWAY: Two times is a coincidence, three is a pattern. Finally, it's back on the grid. It's time we rescue our missing ship and get some answers. Take us to the last Protostar signature, maximum warp. I'm coming, Chakotay.