[Stardate 61914.3 - months ago, Solum]

VAU SCIENTIST: The wormhole isn't stable.
ASENCIA: Then stabilise it, you fool.
VAU SCIENTIST 2: We must shut it down! Our technology is not capable of handling...
ASENCIA: Gwyndala escape Solum on a ship with this power. If Starfleet harnessed it, we can do more!
WESLEY: It stops now!
ASENCIA: No! What? Who are you?
WESLEY: You're heading down a dangerous path, Asencia. I've seen the future and I know more than you can imagine. This technology isn't just a threat to the Federation, but to your world, to us all.
ASENCIA: How interesting.
WESLEY: It's not wise to test a Traveller.
(He turns to disarm the guards, and Asencia blasts him in the back with the wormhole device.)
ASENCIA: Hmm. It seems we've just had a breakthrough.
GWYN [OC]: Personal log, stardate 62083.5. Returning the Protostar to Tars Lamora will have to wait. Voyager's set a course for Solum. We've been ordered to find and neutralise the time-space technology that attacked us, to prevent all-out war with Starfleet. The fate of my home world and the Federation now hang in the balance.

[Briefing room]

JANEWAY: I don't like Jellico's orders any more than you, but the fact remains, Asencia's time-space manipulation weaponry is a grave threat. We need to know where she got it, if Starfleet hopes to defend itself.
TYSESS: Our presence alone could provoke them to retaliate in full force. It could spark a war.
CHAKOTAY: With Starfleet already stretched so thin, that's a war we may lose.
JANEWAY: A diplomatic powder king waiting to explode with no way out.
GWYN: What if there is another way? Let me go. Starfleet can't go in, but I'm not Starfleet, and neither is my crew. We can gather intel on her weapons without raising alarms.
NOUM: Who invited the kid to the adult table?
GWYN: The admiral. She won't give up on a peaceful solution. Neither will I. And as native of Solum, it's my right to return to help them.
EMH: Dangers aside, that technically wouldn't violate Jellico's direct orders, or the Prime Directive.
JANEWAY: And we're out of options. If you are going behind enemy lines, then you need to lead the team. You know Solum better than anyone.
GWYN: Yes, Admiral. With one suggestion, we also rescue my father.
TYSESS: With all due respect, Starfleet can't pick sides in a civil war.
JANEWAY: But we can offer asylum. Iltheran was captured by Asencia. His contacts in the citizens' uprising may know her plans. If peace is in the cards, he's an ace in the hole.

[Outside the briefing room]

DAL: Sounds like they're playing poker.
(Door opens.)
ZERO: Oh, is there a meeting?
ROK: Just walking by.
JANEWAY: I'm trusting you, Gwyn. Now get to work.
GWYN: Crew, we've got a mission to plan.

[Armoury]

POG: Feels like old times, huh?
DAL: Keep your com. badges hidden.
GWYN: We cannot be seen, we cannot be heard. We cannot fail. These scans of Solum will help us find the source of Asencia's new weapons and rescue Iltheran. Once there, Voyager can't beam us out, so we have this site-to-site transporter. It's got power for one emergency use before detection. If we lose it, we're stuck down there.
POG: Better hang on to that.
(Door opens and closes.)
DAL: Er... you know this is a mission for non-Starfleet personnel only?
MAJ'EL: Which is why, as of 0800 hours, I have resigned from Nova Squadron. Wesley Crusher told us we must stay together. Given the importance of the mission to Gwyn and Starfleet's survival, it was only logical.
GWYN: Glad to have you aboard.
ROK: To stay covert, engineering had me modify an experimental forcefield into a short-range cloak generator.
(Murf tests it.)
ZERO: Remarkable.
ROK: It still has some kinks. Giggling gives it away.
JANEWAY [OC]: Protostar crew to the bridge.
GWYN: All right, it's time.

[Bridge]

TYSESS: We're just outside warp detection. Long-range scans show a fleet on Solum nearly ready to launch. On screen.
JANEWAY: She's preparing for war. Remember, your mission is to collect intel on Asencia's weaponry, then get out safely with Ilthuran. Under no circumstances do I want you to engage with the Vau N'Akat.
GWYN: Understood.
JANEWAY: If caught, Starfleet will disavow your actions. For better or worse, you're on your own, so look out for each other.
ROK: Er, Commander? One last question. Could you Bribble sit for us? Don't worry, he's potty trained. Ish.

[Transporter room]

DAL: I've seen that look before. What's the matter?
GWYN: My last trip to Solum ended in disaster. What if I make it worse?
DAL: Or what if you make it better? This is your mission, so you make the hard calls and we'll follow.
GWYN: Engage!

[Solum]

GWYN: Coast is clear. This used to be a vibrant place, but now they live in fear.
DAL: That's why we're here. Let's get a move on. We'll need cover. Rok?
ROK: With pleasure.
(Cloaks them all.)
DAL: Ow, my foot.
POG: You're on mine.
GWYN: Bit of a tight fit, Rok.
ROK: I didn't know Maj'el was coming.
GWYN: Just shuffle as one.
(Dal nearly knocks a bottle over. Pog trips.)
ROK: Shuffle quieter!
GWYN: Anyone else getting this?
ZERO: An encoded message.
DAL: From the Uprising.
MAJ'EL: And it's coming from the location of Ilthuran's last transmission.
GWYN: My father's observatory.

[Observatory]

POG: Would it kill your dad to clean up every once in a while?
DAL: He was captured. Look around for clues on where they took him.
GWYN: Someone sent encoded messages from here after my father was taken.
LOREKEEPER: Greetings. What knowledge do you seek?
GWYN: Where did they take Ilthuran?
LOREKEEPER: Knowledge not found.
GWYN: Who just sent the encoded message?
LOREKEEPER: Asencia.
Y-ASENCIA: Step away from that.
POG: Don't shoot. Starfleet disavows us.
DAL: A trap. We walked right into it.
GWYN: No, wait. You're not Asencia. At least, not the one who tried to kill us.
Y-ASENCIA: You thought I was my older self.
DAL: There's two of her? Gah. Of course there's two. I hate time travel.
Y-ASENCIA: I hope I never turn into that monster after what she's done. It seems we have a common enemy.
GWYN: You've been helping my father organise the Uprising.
Y-ASENCIA: Well, we were gathering intel on Asencia's military ambitions. Astonishing, aren't they? Temporal accelerant vaults, unprecedented progress. It happened too fast.
ZERO: Even in the future, your people could not do these things. How?
Y-ASENCIA: She's captured a Traveller.
ROK: Wesley Crusher?
Y-ASENCIA: You know him? He's locked in a high security lab, his mind drained of secrets. She just takes what she wants.
POG: That's no good. He's the only one who knows how to send the Protostar back and fix the time loop.
DAL: And what about our mission? Solum, Gwyn's dad, peace among worlds?
Y-ASENCIA: I'm sorry. Right now he's being loaded onto a prison transport to the Wastes, a place no one returns from. I wanted to save him, but he needed me to carry on his cause.
ZERO: There isn't time to rescue both.
MAJ'EL: It would jeopardise our already slim chances for success. ZERIL Who's more critical to our mission? Wesley or Ilthuran?
ROK: They're both important. Ilthuran's trying to save Solum, but Wesley can help us close the time loop.
DAL: Gwyn, what's the call?
GWYN: We'll split up and rescue both.
DAL: But we need to stick together. We only have one transporter if anything goes wrong.
GWYN: I'm not leaving anyone behind. What happened to where you go we'll follow?
DAL: Gwyn's in charge. We split up.
GWYN: Rok, Murf, Zero, you'll join me freeing Wesley.
ZERO: Of course.
GWYN: Dal, you take Jankom, Maj'el and... Asencia...
DAL: To rescue your dad.
GWYN: Our mission comes first, and I trust you.
DAL: If we have the transporter, how are you going to get back to Voyager?
GWYN: If all goes well, we'll have a Traveller. Remember space, time, thought? He can imagine us home.
DAL: Gwyn, I don't...
GWYN: That's an order. We save everyone.
DAL: Understood. We got your back.

[Outside the lab]

(Under the cloak.)
GWYN: This should be the lab where they're keeping Wesley. Gravimetric power conduits.
ZERO: More importantly, how do we get past those guards?
(The cloak is flickering.)
GUARD: Vel Tuuk.
GWYN: Wait, can they see us?
ROK: Of course not. We're invisible.
GWYN: It looks like they can see us.
ZERO: Everyone, stay still. Don't breathe.
(The guard disrupts the cloak.)
GUARD: Hey!
(Rok thumps one, Gwyn phasers the other.)
ROK: Okay, they did see us. It's fritzing from all the gravimetric distortion.
GWYN: No time. Let's just get inside.

[Transport hub]

ESCORT: Zath. Velthuun. Zax chanath.
Y-ASENCIA: They're about to depart. There! It's Ilthuran!
(Ilthuran is put into a force-cage.)
DAL: So what, we steal the whole train?
POG: Oh! Are you trying to suggest lousy plans that'll get us killed?
MAJ'EL: Your demeanour is brutish, but your logic is sound. Dal, may I suggest a more subtle approach?
(Maj'el neck-pinched one of the armed escorts while Dal phasers his way in through the underside of the carriage.)
DAL: Sorry, trip's been cancelled.
ILTHURAN: It's you again.

[City]

ILTHURAN: I must go with our allies, but the Uprising will give you refuge.
BOROM: We'll share this hope your friends have rekindled until you return.
ILTHURAN: Thank you for saving my life and joining our cause.
MAJ'EL: Despite the odds, we seem to be on track for a successful mission.
DAL: I got a feeling Gwyn and the others might not be so lucky.

[Lab building]

ROK: I think they know we're here.
ZERO: Wesley, I sense him. He's right around this corner.
GWYN: I've got this.
(She tackles one of the guards and ends up shooting controls as well as him.)
GWYN: Oops, sorry, that was...
ZERO: No, no, I'm sorry. I've always struggled with sensing Vau N'Akat.
ROK: The controls are fried. There might be another on the inside. Be careful. You got this, Murf.
(Murf squeezes through the hole.)
ROK: Go Murf.
GUARD [OC]: Rahk Te'Tu vanu ve? Vanu ve?
GWYN: They're coming.
ZERO: We've got to do something.
ROK: Hurry!
GWYN: Murf, faster.
GUARD: Douth. Rahk Te'Tu vanu ve?
(Zero is holding up the dead guard's body.)
GWYN: Er... Aah Kra-kume ke Vau N'Akat.
GUARD: (laughs) Vakuun a keh.
ZERO: Oh, that was too close. Remind me to brush up on my puppetry.
(Murf stretches to activate the door controls.)
ROK: Go Murf!
GWYN: Well done, Murf.

[Lab]

ROK: Wesley!
WESLEY: What a sight for sore eyes. I do wish the room would stop spinning. Anyway, you're here and you're right on time, I think. Apologies for the mess. If someone could just tell me what the stardate is. I wasn't expecting you here so soon.
GWYN: Wait; You're saying you were expecting us?
WESLEY: Yeah, of course. We had a plan, remember? The future I saw to save us all? You didn't forget, did you? You went to Chakotay's island, I fought off the Loom, and then came here to guide events so Asencia would invent the wormhole tech you need. Oh. I wish there was an easier way to get her to do it, though. My brain, it feels like it went through ten rounds as a Nausicaan punching bag. Anyway, totally worth it. Okay, now we can use it to send the time loop.
GWYN: What?
WESLEY: We're so close. The plan's foolproof. You can check my equations for yourselves. Go ahead.
ROK: Wait, you plan to get captured and almost start a war with Solum?
WESLEY: Well, I mean, almost doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.
ZERO: I lost my body. We nearly died!
WESLEY: Well, once again, nearly, a synonym for almost, so don't worry, it all works out for the best. Once the timeline is restored, Solum and its people will be led into a better future by, uh... Oh, oh, help me out here, the guy! You know the guy! You... we... you know the guy! Ilthuran! Ilthuran.
GWYN: First, we have to get out of here. Now's a good time to use your powers and send us back to Voyager.
WESLEY: Great idea. Let's give it a shot. Okay. Oh, my mind is a bit... frazzled. Frazzled. I can't concentrate enough to shift space-time.
ROK: How are we supposed to save anyone if we can't escape?
WESLEY: Well, it never hurts to have a fail-safe, so Rok, a little tap, if you would.
(Punches a hole in the wall to reveal a tunnel.)
GWYN: You really did plan everything.
WESLEY: After you.

[Outside the building]

WESLEY: One, two, three, four, and...
GWYN: Okay, we need to...
WESLEY: Wait; Wait, where are the others?
GWYN: Others?
WESLEY: The one with the purple dingle-dangle, the little one who argues, and that... the Vulcan.
ROK: They went to save Ilthuran.
WESLEY: What? No! No, no, no. This was not part of the stratagem.
GWYN: I split the crew. It was the only way to save you and Ilthuran.
WESLEY: No! No, no, no, no, no. From the very beginning, I've been telling you, you have to stay together.
ZERO: We thought you meant team spirit, unified in our purpose.
WESLEY: No, I meant never separate.
GWYN: I wasn't going to let my father die. You said Solum needs him.
WESLEY: Ilthuran would have been safe if you'd sent the Protostar through the wormhole. He would have led the overthrow of Asencia. But now, I have no idea. We're on the wrong path. The future is uncertain. I am lost.
GWYN: I made the wrong choice.
ROK: Hey, it's Dal!
ZERO: Something's wrong.
GWYN: No.
ZERO: Oh, no!
GWYN: You.
ASENCIA: Welcome home.
POG: Hey, watch it!
DAL: We tried, Gwyn. There were too many.
WESLEY: Definitely not part of my plan.
ASENCIA: You've truly outdone yourself, Gwyn. Without this laughable rescue, I'd have never learned Ilthuran would escape and overthrow me. Now, I can keep my pet and crush the insurrection against me. With them both, you have ensured Solum's future is mine alone. Say your goodbyes.
GWYN: I'm sorry. I wish we could have left here together, but sometimes you make the hard call.
(Dal's 'hair' pulls the site-to-site transporter out of the back of his top and throws it to Wesley.)
DAL: Two to beam up!
ASENCIA: No!

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: Ilthuran. And... Wesley Crusher?
WESLEY: I know. I should really stop dropping in like this.
(He collapses.)
JANEWAY: Where are the others? Are they...?
WESLEY: In danger. We're all in danger, and I don't know what happens next.