[Earth - Barclay's
Apartment]
(Someone is knocking on the door of a character previously seen in The Next Generation.) BARCLAY:
Just a minute. I'll, I'll be right there. (The apartment is a mess. The knocking resumes.) BARCLAY: I'm coming, I'm coming.
Deanna. (The USS Enterprise Ship's Counsellor is there.)
TROI: Hello, Reg.
BARCLAY: I'm so glad you could make it. It's wonderful to see you.
TROI: Would it be all right if I came inside?
BARCLAY: Yeah, of course, of course. Come in, come in. Is there something I can
get you? Some er, some coffee, tea? Oh wait a minute, don't, don't tell
me. Chocolate ice cream.
TROI: You know me too well. But just one scoop, I'm watching my figure.
BARCLAY: Why? You, you look lovely.
TROI: You always knew how to flatter me. Would you like me to get it?
BARCLAY: Get? Get what?
TROI: The ice cream.
BARCLAY: Right, right, the ice cream. No, no, no, no. Come in, come in. Sit
down, make yourself comfortable.
TROI: It's a nice place.
BARCLAY: Thanks. One scoop of chocolate ice cream.
TROI: Did you just move in?
BARCLAY: No, no, I've been here, er, almost two years. I just haven't
had a chance to unpack.
TROI: Is everything all right Reg?
BARCLAY: Of course, Why, why wouldn't it be?
TROI: To be honest, you seem a little on edge.
BARCLAY: Do I? Oh, it's just that I'm, I'm excited to see you.
TROI: I'm excited to see you, too. I think Geordi's a little
disappointed I didn't invite him to come along.
BARCLAY: Yes, well, I, I was hoping to get, get together with him
too, er, before the Enterprise leaves orbit, but I just wanted to spend
time with you first. That's all right, isn't it?
TROI: Of course it is. I hear you've been working on the Pathfinder
project.
BARCLAY: Well, I, I was. Er, I'm not anymore.
TROI: What happened?
BARCLAY: Oh, ah, nothing, really. Just got to be a lot of, er,
pressure. (A white cat enters and starts licking at the ice cream.)
TROI: Well, hello.
BARCLAY: Neelix! He's not used to company.
It's not polite to eat our guest's food. If you're hungry, just say so.
Deanna, Neelix.
TROI: Neelix. That's an unusual name. Maybe we should introduce him to
Data's cat, Spot. I have a feeling you didn't ask me here to reminisce.
Tell me what's wrong.
BARCLAY: I've lost myself, Deanna.
TROI: Lost yourself?
BARCLAY: In Voyager. I've become obsessed with Voyager. Here you are on
shore leave and what do I do? I lure you into a counselling session.
TROI: Don't worry about that. The important thing is, I'm here now and
I want to help.
BARCLAY: Thank you.
TROI: Now, start at the beginning.
BARCLAY: Has it ever occurred to you that a tachyon beam directed at a
class B itinerant pulsar could produce enough gravimetric energy to
create an artificial singularity?
TROI: I can't say it has.
BARCLAY: It occurred to me. But my supervisors thought it was an abuse
of MIDAS.
TROI: MIDAS?
BARCLAY: The Mutara Interdimensional Deep Space Transponder Array.
TROI: Reg, you're losing me.
BARCLAY: I'm sorry.
TROI: The beginning?
BARCLAY: The beginning. Right. Well, I suppose it all started in the holodeck. Doesn't it always?
TROI: Go on.
BARCLAY: Well I, I was running a few simulations.
[Starfleet
Communications Research Center - Holodeck - Voyager Bridge]
BARCLAY:
Computer, boost the gain on Voyager's transceiver by twenty percent.
COMPUTER: Transceiver gain is at maximum.
BARCLAY: Apply a narrowband filter to the signal processor.
COMPUTER: Filter engaged.
ADMIRAL PARIS [OC]: Voyager, come in. Come in, Voyager. Voyager, come
in, this is Starfleet Command. Voyager, come in, Voyager.
BARCLAY: Good, good, good. Now lower the filter band by point three
kilohertz.
HARKINS: Reg, what are you doing?
BARCLAY: Oh, ah, er, Pete. I, I, I was just, er.
HARKINS: Yes, running another simulation. I can see that. What about
the transmitter diagnostics?
BARCLAY: Right. The diagnostics.
HARKINS: You have finished them, haven't you?
BARCLAY: Er, almost.
HARKINS: Almost isn't good enough. We've got Admiral Paris first thing
in the morning.
BARCLAY: Admiral Paris.
HARKINS: Don't tell me you forgot.
BARCLAY: Oh, no, of, of, of course not. I, I, I just got the days mixed
up.
HARKINS: Reg.
BARCLAY: Computer, end programme. Now that I think about it, it's a
good thing that Admiral Paris is coming tomorrow. We can brief the
Admiral on my theory.
[Pathfinder
lab]
HARKINS:
What theory?
BARCLAY: I've been going over the interstellar phenomena forecasts from
Deep Space Nine. They are predicting er, a class B itinerant pulsar
will pass within four billion kilometers of the MIDAS array in three
days.
HARKINS: You think the pulsar might damage the array?
BARCLAY: No, no. The shields will hold. Actually I was thinking, we
could use the pulsar to our own advantage.
HARKINS: How?
BARCLAY: Suppose, suppose we instructed the array to direct a tachyon
beam at the pulsar. Theoretically, we could produce a gravimetric surge
powerful enough to create an artificial wormhole. We could establish
two way communication with Voyager.
HARKINS: Reg, you're dreaming again.
BARCLAY: No, no, I really think this could work. Based on my
simulations that
HARKINS: Based on your last series of simulations, we wasted six months
trying to develop that transwarp probe.
BARCLAY: This, this is different. This
HARKINS: Reg, I really appreciate your imagination. It's what makes you
such a valuable part of this team. But I'm not about to tell the
Admiral that we've found a way for him to chat with his son because of
some cock-eyed theory that only exists up here. Now please, finish
those diagnostics.
BARCLAY: Yes, sir.
HARKINS: And, Reg, remember, while the Admiral's here, I do the talking.
BARCLAY: You do the talking. Understood.
BARCLAY [OC]: Pete was only trying to look out for me, but I was sure
my plan would work. I just couldn't give it up. (Later.) HARKINS:
Burning the midnight oil?
BARCLAY: I, I finished, er, the diagnostics, sir.
HARKINS: Yes. I know. I looked them over. Good job. Now, why don't you
call it a day?
BARCLAY: I just, er, have a few more things to take care of.
HARKINS: Well, see you tomorrow, then. Oh,. Reg, why don't, why don't
you drop by tonight when you're through here?
BARCLAY: Drop by?
HARKINS: Come to the house. Have some coffee. Angie's sister's in from
Boston. I, er I think she might like you.
BARCLAY: I, I don't, I don't think I can er. I'm spending the evening
with, er, Neelix.
HARKINS: Correct me if I'm wrong, Reg, but Neelix is your cat. Well, if
you change your mind.
BARCLAY: Thanks. I'll try.
BARCLAY [OC]: But I couldn't leave. Not until I'd strengthened my case
for accessing the MIDAS array. The meeting with Admiral Paris was only
fourteen hours away and I hadn't come up with anything. Poring over the
data wasn't helping. I decided what I needed was, er, a little
inspiration.
BARCLAY: Computer. Activate hologrid mess hall scenario Barclay eleven
gamma.
[Holodeck
- Voyager Mess hall]
(Starfleet are in their uniforms, the Maquis in their leather, and Paris has two pips on his collar.) PARIS:
Hey, Reg.
CHAKOTAY: Warning. The shark is circling.
TORRES: Let the games begin.
KIM: What'll it be, Reg?
BARCLAY: The usual.
KIM: Computer, one milk, warm.
BARCLAY: Oh thanks, Harry.
KIM: Just trying to get on your good side so you'll go easy on me
tonight.
BARCLAY: You know what I always say. (Jimmy Cagney) If you can't stand the heat.
KIM: Get out of the warp core.
CHAKOTAY: Sit down, Lieutenant, and give us mortals a chance to get
even. That's an order.
BARCLAY: If you insist, Commander, but I think it's only fair to warn
you I have no intention of letting my winning streak come to an end.
Now, where's er, Tuvok?
TORRES: He said it's illogical to continue losing to a clearly superior
player.
BARCLAY: Oh, that's too bad. I love to watch that Vulcan squirm Now,
you all know the rules. Deuces, one eyed Jacks and suicide kings are
wild. Five of a kind beats a straight flush every time. (Barclay deals the cards.)
KIM: The man is ruthless.
PARIS: He's a killer.
BARCLAY: Now, come on, guys. You know it hurts me to see you lose.
After all, you are my best friends.
[Barclay's
apartment]
BARCLAY
[OC]: I hoped that the poker game would help calm my nerves, so that I
could get a decent night's sleep before the briefing. But when I got
home that night I couldn't keep my mind off Voyager. I needed to get
back to the Holodeck.
[Holodeck
- Voyager Sickbay]
(Barclay gets a vigourous massage from the EMH,) BARCLAY:
That feels so good.
EMH: Therapeutic massage can be an effective treatment for insomnia,
Lieutenant, but we need to get to the cause of your sleeplessness if
we're going to find a more permanent solution.
BARCLAY: It's just that every time I close my eyes, my mind starts to
race.
EMH: Can you be more specific?
BARCLAY: Well, I worry about the project. Have I explored the problem
from every angle, or is there something else I should be trying? Am I
doing enough?
EMH: Hmm. Acute work related anxiety. Perhaps I should speak to the captain about reducing your schedule.
BARCLAY: Something tells me she's not going to be able to help.
EMH: You are an invaluable member of this crew, Mister Barclay.
BARCLAY: Thank you, Doctor. It's nice to be appreciated.
[Holodeck
- Voyager Corridor]
CHAKOTAY:
Turning in, Reg?
BARCLAY: Yes, sir.
CREWMAN: Hey, Reg.
BARCLAY [OC]: For some reason, I never slept in my apartment as
comfortably as I did in my holographic quarters. I suppose I felt more
at home on Voyager.
[Holodeck
- Voyager Mess hall]
BARCLAY:
Good morning, everyone.
KIM: Morning, Reg.
PARIS: You're awfully chipper.
BARCLAY: Slept like a baby.
KIM: Then maybe you've got the energy to whip up one of your famous
cheese omelettes.
PARIS: Oh, yeah. I'm starved.
BARCLAY: I'm sorry, guys, I have a very important briefing at oh nine
hundred. Just have time for coffee.
KIM: Er, don't forget about tonight.
BARCLAY: Remind me.
KIM: You were supposed to teach me how to play Velocity.
PARIS: No, no way. Reg and I have a hoverball game scheduled.
BARCLAY: Don't fight. Plenty of me to go around.
TORRES: Reg, I'm sorry to bother you again, but I'm still having
trouble with the warp core recalibration.
BARCLAY: It's no problem. I'll stop by Engineering later, talk you
through.
TORRES: Thank you. I really appreciate it.
PARIS: Velocity, hoverball, warp core recalibrations? Reg, I don't know
how you do it.
BARCLAY: Let you in on a little secret. There's two of me.
[Pathfinder
lab]
HARKINS:
The Delta Quadrant, sector 41751, grid nine. Voyager's doctor reported
this as the ship's position when his programme was briefly transferred
to Starfleet two years ago. Assuming they're still on course for Earth,
we've been able to extrapolate a range of likely trajectories.
Estimating an average warp speed of six point two, and accounting for
various astronomical obstacles, we can reasonably assume that Voyager
is now in one of these three sectors.
ADMIRAL PARIS: Can we contact them?
HARKINS: As you know, we've been working with the Vulcans on the
deployment of the MIDAS array. Though we're still in the testing phase,
we think it won't be long before we can use this technology to send
signals at hyper-subspace speeds. A message that would normally take
years to reach its destination could be received by Voyager in a matter
of days.
ADMIRAL PARIS: Impressive. Will they be able to respond?
HARKINS: No sir, but at least they'll know we're still looking for them.
We'll send data on the hyper-subspace technology and hope they can
eventually use it to return the call.
BARCLAY: Excuse me, Admiral Paris.
HARKINS: Lieutenant Barclay.
BARCLAY: I'm sorry, Commander, it's just that there may be a way to
establish, er, two-way communication with Voyager.
HARKINS: Now is not the time.
ADMIRAL PARIS: It's all right, Mister Harkins, let the man speak. I'm
all ears, son.
BARCLAY: Well, er, you see, there's a, er, class B itinerant, er,
pulsar, er, and we well, as you probably know, sir, sir, neutrino
emissions, ah. Oh, what I mean to say is that with the array, we could
open an artificial er, s, a sing, singularity.
ADMIRAL PARIS: A wormhole?
BARCLAY: Yes, yes, sir. We could use it as a conduit to to talk to
Voyager.
ADMIRAL PARIS: I can't give you high marks for clarity, Lieutenant, but
you've certainly got my attention. Is there any merit to what he's
saying?
HARKINS: Mister Barclay has a tendency to get ahead of himself, sir.
Unfortunately, what he's suggesting is beyond our abilities.
BARCLAY: But you haven't even
HARKINS: Mister Barclay.
BARCLAY: I know that I haven't explained myself very well, but with all
due respect, sir, what do we have to lose by trying? I think we're
forgetting that there are a hundred and fifty people stranded in the
Delta Quadrant.
ADMIRAL PARIS: I have a son on that ship, Lieutenant. I haven't
forgotten that fact for a single moment.
BARCLAY: I'm sorry, sir. I, I didn't, er I didn't mean to.
HARKINS: Take the rest of the day off, Reg.
BARCLAY: But
HARKINS: That was not a suggestion.
TROI [OC]: How did you deal with your feelings afterwards?
[Barclay's
Apartment]
BARCLAY:
What do you mean?
TROI: Well, did you talk to Commander Harkins after the meeting?
Apologise?
BARCLAY: Well, no. I wanted to, er, fine tune my plan, so, I er, just
went right back to work.
TROI: Be more specific. What exactly did you do?
BARCLAY: Well, I needed someone to, er bounce ideas off of. Someone to
help focus my thoughts.
TROI: Sounds reasonable. I suppose you consulted with some of your
Pathfinder colleagues.
BARCLAY: Well, not exactly.
TROI: You went back to the holodeck, didn't you?
BARCLAY: They're the only people that I can talk to.
TROI: They're not people.
BARCLAY: I know, but they, they help me with my work.
TROI: Poker? Massages? Sleeping in holographic quarters? Sounds more
like escape than work.
BARCLAY: I can't concentrate if I'm not relaxed.
TROI: Can't you relax with your friends?
BARCLAY: Friends?
TROI: Commander Harkins invited you to his home. You went to the holodeck instead.
BARCLAY: It's not what you're thinking, Deanna. This isn't a relapse of
my holo-addiction.
TROI: Okay. Tell me how the holograms helped you with your work.
BARCLAY: Well, I talked to them about my ideas. I worked out technical
problems.
[Holodeck
- Voyager Briefing room]
BARCLAY:
I need specifics here, people. (Janeway has the Bun of Steel on her head.)
JANEWAY: Take us through it again, Mister Barclay, one step at a time.
Maybe it'll spark an idea.
BARCLAY: We've got our itinerant pulsar. We've got our Interdimensional
transponder array. How do we get our wormhole?
TORRES: This one could keep us up all night.
BARCLAY: We know we can produce gravimetric energy, but, can we do it
at levels high enough to create the singularity?
KIM: We're talking about a massive subspace reaction.
BARCLAY: Maybe that's the problem.
CHAKOTAY: Reg?
BARCLAY: Maybe we need to think smaller.
PARIS: You're losing me.
BARCLAY: And how much bandwidth do we really need? The average wormhole
is huge, but if we compressed the datastream.
TORRES: We wouldn't need a conduit anywhere near as big.
JANEWAY: What's your idea?
BARCLAY: A micro-wormhole.
TUVOK: Impressive.
JANEWAY: You've outdone yourself this time, Reg.
BARCLAY: I'll still need, er, help with the details.
JANEWAY: Put together a team. Use whatever resources you need.
[Holodeck
- Voyager Engineering]
(Barclay and Chakotay are throwing a small ball to and fro on the upper catwalk around the warp core.) BARCLAY:
A power ratio of approximately sixty terawatts should do the trick.
CHAKOTAY: You think that's enough?
BARCLAY: Should be, but then we have to compensate for gravimetric
interference.
TORRES: And how do we do that?
BARCLAY: I was thinking, what if we applied a narrowband filter to the
transponder signal?
CHAKOTAY: Barclay strikes again. (Hawkins catches the ball.)
HARKINS: What's going on here?
BARCLAY: Commander.
TORRES: Who's your friend, Reg?
HARKINS: Yes, aren't you going to introduce me?
BARCLAY: Computer, delete characters. (Torres and Chakotay vanish.)
HARKINS: I thought I told you to go home.
BARCLAY: I was, er, working.
HARKINS: You call this work? You've created holograms of the Voyager
crew.
BARCLAY: Oh, it, it, it, it's not what you think. It's an interactive,
er, diagnostic programme. I designed it to help me solve problems.
HARKINS: How long have you been in here?
BARCLAY: Since the briefing.
HARKINS: The briefing ended ten hours ago.
BARCLAY: I, I know that I embarrassed you in front of the Admiral, and
I'm, I'm sorry. I wanted to refine my idea so that I could present you
with a specific plan. And I've done that, Pete. You were right about the
wormhole idea being too expansive. So I've, I've scaled it back.
HARKINS: All the extra time you've been putting in. If I checked the
holo-logs, would I find you've been spending those hours in here?
BARCLAY: Well, not, not all that time.
HARKINS: How much of it?
BARCLAY: Maybe, er, twenty or thirty hours a week.
HARKINS: Don't you think that's a little excessive?
BARCLAY: Not if it helps us contact Voyager.
HARKINS: Before I brought you onto my team I reviewed your file. You've
struggled with holo-addiction before. From where I stand it looks like
you've had a relapse.
BARCLAY: I know it it may look that way.
HARKINS: I think you need counselling.
BARCLAY: What I need is for you to pay attention to my ideas.
HARKINS: I should have been paying more attention to your behaviour. I
thought I was being a friend by giving you some leeway. I didn't
realise how involved you've become with Voyager.
BARCLAY: Is it really so wrong? Do you have any idea what it must be
like for them to be stranded sixty thousand light years from home? Do
you have any idea how lonely that must be?
HARKINS: I'm sorry, Reg, but until you get some help, you're off the
project.
BARCLAY: You, you can't do that.
HARKINS: You've given me no choice. This hologrid and the lab are
officially off
limits. Now go home.
BARCLAY: I won't leave. Not until you've heard what I have to say.
HARKINS: Reg! Don't make me call security.
[Starfleet
Command]
(On his desk, Admiral Paris has a picture of Nick Locano from The First Duty, played by Robert Duncan McNeill.) ADMIRAL
PARIS: What is it, Nicole?
NICOLE [OC]: He's still here.
ADMIRAL PARIS: You told him I have a meeting scheduled at fifteen
hundred?
NICOLE [OC]: Yes, sir. He won't go away.
ADMIRAL PARIS: Send him in.
NICOLE [OC]: Yes, sir. (Barclay enters.)
BARCLAY: Admiral, er, thank you, thank you for seeing me.
ADMIRAL PARIS: You're frightening my secretary, Mister Barclay. You
have five minutes.
BARCLAY: Five minutes. Right.
ADMIRAL PARIS: Sit down.
BARCLAY: Er, first, first I, I want to apologise for speaking out of
turn yesterday. It's, it's only because I, I, I care so much about
Voyager.
ADMIRAL PARIS: Yes, Commander Harkins has informed me about your
attachment to the crew. I understand you've been spending time with a
holographic re-creation of my son, among others. Frankly, I find that
rather disturbing.
BARCLAY: Well, I understand how, how you could see it that way but, er,
that does not negate the fact that I have a plan for communicating with
Voyager.
ADMIRAL PARIS: Commander Harkins doesn't seem to think your plan is
viable.
BARCLAY: I have refined the idea. I've simplified it. All I'm asking
for is a chance to try. And if I'm right, it could mean a chance to talk
to Tom.
ADMIRAL PARIS: In my opinion, Commander Harkins removed you from the
project with good cause, and that's his prerogative. I won't let my
personal feelings interfere with Starfleet procedure.
BARCLAY: I, I've broken protocol and I should be punished, but the crew
of the Voyager shouldn't be, and neither, neither should you. I just
need access to the lab for one more day. After that, if I er, if I'm
wrong, I'll resign my commission.
ADMIRAL PARIS: I'll order a review of your findings. If it's concluded
your ideas are valid, I'll instruct Commander Harkins to pursue it.
BARCLAY: But I'm the one who knows the
ADMIRAL PARIS: That's the best I can do, Mister Barclay. Good day.
[Barclay's
Apartment]
(Night has now fallen.) TROI: So
the meeting went well?
BARCLAY: No, no, no. It didn't, not at all.
TROI: The Admiral said he'd review your findings.
BARCLAY: Don't you see? He was just trying to get rid of me, just like
Harkins.
TROI: Try to relax.
BARCLAY: Now you understand why I need your help.
TROI: Yes, I do.
BARCLAY: You, you have to call the Admiral in your official capacity as
a Starfleet Counsellor and tell him that I am psychologically fit to
return to work.
TROI: I can't do that.
BARCLAY: Why not?
TROI: Look at yourself. You're experiencing acute anxiety,
sleeplessness, paranoia. You did what you could. Now it's time to let
Starfleet worry about Voyager. We need to take care of you.
BARCLAY: There is nothing wrong with me!
TROI: You said yourself you've become obsessed with Voyager.
BARCLAY: What if I have? If an obsession helps me to do my job better,
it's a sacrifice I am willing to make. A little instability in exchange
for contact with a stranded starship. Isn't Voyager more important than
my psychological condition?
TROI: Voyager is important, but so are you.
BARCLAY: That ship, that crew, they're all I have.
TROI: Tell me why that is.
BARCLAY: Ever, ever since I, I left the Enterprise, things haven't,
haven't been the same. It's as if I lost my family.
TROI: So you created a new family on the holodeck. Only they're not
real.
BARCLAY: I didn't know how else, how else to cope.
TROI: Do you remember when you first came aboard the Enterprise? You
had trouble fitting in, didn't you? But after a while you started to
make friends. You can learn to do the same thing here on Earth.
BARCLAY: Oh, I, I don't know how.
TROI: We'll work on it together.
BARCLAY: You're scheduled to depart tomorrow.
TROI: I've decided to ask Captain Picard for a temporary leave of
absence. To spend some time with an old friend.
BARCLAY: Oh, Deanna, you, you, you don't, you don't have to do that.
TROI: Try and stop me. (Later, Barclay wakes with Neelix lying on his chest.) BARCLAY:
I'm sorry, Neelix. I have to leave. No, no, you can't talk me out of
it.
[Outside Pathfinder
lab]
COMPUTER:
Authorisation code required.
BARCLAY: Barclay alpha one seven gamma.
COMPUTER: Access denied. That code has been de-authorised. (Barclay opens the access panel and zaps some isochips.)
BARCLAY: Computer, re-enter authorisation code Barclay alpha one seven
gamma.
COMPUTER: Access authorised. (The door opens. He shuts the panel and goes inside the dark lab.)
[Pathfinder
lab]
BARCLAY:
Computer, interface with the MIDAS array. Activate the control matrix.
(In deep space, the three panels of the array send a beam to the
central point.)
COMPUTER: Matrix activated.
BARCLAY: Full power to the graviton emitters.
COMPUTER: Emitters powering.
BARCLAY: Scan the area surrounding the array for a class B itinerant
pulsar.
COMPUTER: A pulsar has been detected at coordinates two two seven by
four one mark six.
BARCLAY: Good, good! Direct a sixty terawatt tachyon beam toward the
pulsar.
COMPUTER: Tachyon beam initiated.
BARCLAY: How long until levels are sufficient to produce a gravimetric
surge of five million teradynes?
COMPUTER: Approximately seventeen minutes. (The array sends a beam out into the dark.) BARCLAY:
Computer, is there a micro-wormhole present at coordinates three four
three by two seven?
COMPUTER: Scanning. Affirmative.
BARCLAY: I knew it. Adjust the phase alignment to direct the wormhole's
trajectory to Delta Quadrant, grid nine, sector 41751.
COMPUTER: Trajectory established.
BARCLAY: Open Starfleet Emergency Channel and transmit toward the
singularity.
COMPUTER: Channel open.
BARCLAY: Starfleet Command to USS Voyager. Come in, Voyager. Voyager,
do you hear me? This is Lieutenant Reginald Barclay.
HARKINS: Step away from the controls.
BARCLAY: Pete. I, I've sent a message.
HARKINS: Stand down, Mister Barclay.
BARCLAY: All right, you win. Computer, transfer controls to hologrid
programme Barclay pi three and restrict access.
HARKINS: Stop him. Stun him if you have to.
[Holodeck
- Voyager Corridor]
(Barclay diverts the two security men through an opening and closing holodeck door.) BARCLAY:
Tuvok. Did you see those two men?
TUVOK: I did not.
BARCLAY: Well they look like Starfleet security, but they're not.
TUVOK: Intruders?
BARCLAY: They're after me. I need your help.
TUVOK: Tuvok to all hands. Intruder alert. Computer, locate any
unauthorised personnel aboard Voyager.
COMPUTER: Two unidentified humans, deck four, section eight.
TUVOK: Isolate them with force fields.
[Pathfinder
lab]
SECURITY [OC]: Security to Commander Harkins. We've been isolated by the forcefields. Can you shut down the programme? HARKINS:
I'm working on it.
COMPUTER: Access denied. Hologrid controls have been encrypted.
HARKINS: Harkins to Security. I need reinforcements.
[Holodeck
- Voyager Engineering]
BARCLAY:
Computer, redirect the wormhole's trajectory to Delta Quadrant, grid
11, sector 64238 and retransmit the message.
COMPUTER: Trajectory established. Transmitting.
TORRES: A wormhole? What's going on?
BARCLAY: I'm just trying to help some friends. Is there a response?
COMPUTER: Negative.
BARCLAY: Computer, redirect the wormhole's trajectory.
TORRES: Reg.
SECURITY 2: You'll have to come with me, sir.
TORRES: I'll cover for you. (Torres fires at the man and woman, but her holographic phaser has no effect.)
[Holodeck
- Jefferies tube]
BARCLAY:
Computer, seal Jefferies tube door J53.
[Pathfinder
lab]
HARKINS:
Computer, cut all power to the hologrid.
COMPUTER: Unable to comply. Main power controls have been encrypted.
HARKINS: Very clever, Reg.
SECURITY 2 [OC]: Security to Commander Harkins. We've lost him,
sir.
HARKINS: I've got an idea. I'm coming in.
[Holodeck
- Voyager Engineering]
TORRES:
I know you. You're Reg's friend. You've got something to do with what's
going on here, don't you?
HARKINS: Computer, disengage primary coolant system.
TORRES: Are you crazy? That'll cause a warp core breach.
HARKINS: Exactly. (Harkins' phaser fire removes Holo-Torres.)
[Holodeck - Voyager Bridge]
JANEWAY:
Mister Barclay, I want an explanation for what's going on aboard my
ship.
BARCLAY: I'm looking after Voyager's best interests, Captain. You're
just going to have to trust me on that.
JANEWAY: You've never given me any reason to doubt you before.
BARCLAY: Computer, redirect the wormhole's trajectory to Delta Quadrant, grid ten, sector 3658, and retransmit the message.
COMPUTER: Trajectory established. Transmitting.
KIM: Who are you trying to contact, Reg?
COMPUTER: Warning. Warp core breach in forty five seconds.
JANEWAY: Bridge to Engineering. Report.
HARKINS: Shut down the programme, Reg.
JANEWAY: Janeway to Security. Intruders on the bridge.
BARCLAY: Computer, establish a forcefield around the science station.
COMPUTER: Warning. Warp core breach in thirty seconds.
JANEWAY: Harry, get down to Engineering. Seal that breach.
HARKINS: Forcefields aren't going to help you, Reg. It's over.
BARCLAY: But this is my last chance.
COMPUTER: Warp core breach in twenty seconds.
JANEWAY: Captain to all hands. Abandon ship.
COMPUTER: Warp core breach in ten seconds. Nine, eight
HARKINS: One way or another, this programme's going to end.
COMPUTER: Seven, six, five.
BARCLAY: Good-bye, Captain.
COMPUTER: Four.
BARCLAY: Computer end programme.
COMPUTER: Two.
[Astrometrics
lab]
NEELIX:
I'm ready for my lesson.
SEVEN: I've concluded that teaching you to sing is an inefficient use
of my time.
NEELIX: But I, I've been, I've been practicing.
SEVEN: In your case, practice is irrelevant. Your vocal chords are
incapable of producing basic diatonic tones, not to mention your
rhythmic shortcomings.
NEELIX: I sound so good in the sonic shower.
SEVEN: Perhaps you should confine your efforts to that location.
Astrometrics to the bridge.
[Bridge]
JANEWAY:
Go ahead, Seven.
SEVEN [OC]: I've detected what appears to be a micro-wormhole at
coordinates one nine four point six by three five.
JANEWAY: A micro-wormhole.
[Astrometrics
lab]
SEVEN: I
believe a message is being transmitted through it, on a Starfleet
emergency channel.
[Bridge]
JANEWAY:
Let's hear it, Harry.
BARCLAY [OC]: (indistinct) Starfleet Command to USS Voyager. Come in, Voyager.
JANEWAY: Try applying a narrowband filter to the signal processor.
BARCLAY [OC]: Do you hear me? This is Lieutenant Reginald Barclay.
KIM: That's it. Whoever this Barclay is, he stopped transmitting.
TUVOK: The micro-wormhole is collapsing at a rate of point two percent
per second.
JANEWAY: That doesn't give us much time.
CHAKOTAY: To do what?
JANEWAY: To send a message back through and hope Mister Barclay is
listening.
[Pathfinder
lab]
BARCLAY:
It should have worked. I don't understand why it didn't.
ADMIRAL PARIS: There you are. I've reviewed Mister Barclay's plan. I think
it's worth an attempt.
HARKINS: He's already tried, sir, without your authorisation. It didn't
work.
ADMIRAL PARIS: I'm sorry to hear that.
BARCLAY: So am I, sir. I appreciate your confidence in me, but I, I
don't deserve it.
HARKINS: What would you like me to do with him, Admiral? He broke into
the lab, accessed the MIDAS array and resisted arrest.
ADMIRAL PARIS: You've put me in a difficult position, son. I was hoping
that we'd be able to
TECHNICIAN: We're receiving a transmission.
ADMIRAL PARIS: From where?
TECHNICIAN: Coordinates three four three point six by two seven.
BARCLAY: The wormhole.
JANEWAY [OC]: Starfleet Command, come in.
ADMIRAL PARIS: Voyager.
HARKINS: Reg, give me a hand clearing up the signal.
BARCLAY: Lower the filter band by point three kilohertz.
JANEWAY [OC]: This is Captain Kathryn Janeway. Do you read me?
HAWKINS: I think she's talking to you.
BARCLAY: Captain.
[Bridge]
BARCLAY
[OC]: This is Lieutenant Reginald Barclay at Starfleet Command.
JANEWAY: It's good to hear your voice, Lieutenant. We've been waiting a
long time
[Pathfinder
lab]
JANEWAY
[OC]: For this moment.
BARCLAY: The feeling is mutual. Unfortunately, the micro-wormhole is
collapsing. We have only a few moments.
[Bridge]
JANEWAY:
Understood. We are transmitting our ship's logs, crew reports and
navigational records to you now.
BARCLAY [OC]: Acknowledged. And we're sending you data on some new
hyper-subspace technology.
[Pathfinder
lab]
BARCLAY:
We're hoping eventually to use it to keep in regular contact, and we're
including some
[Bridge]
BARCLAY
[OC]: Recommended modifications for your comm. system.
JANEWAY: We'll implement them as soon as possible.
[Pathfinder
lab]
BARCLAY:
There's someone else here who would also like to say something.
ADMIRAL PARIS: This is Admiral Paris.
[Bridge]
JANEWAY:
Hello, sir.
ADMIRAL PARIS [OC]: How are your people holding up?
JANEWAY: Very well. They're an exemplary crew, your son included.
[Pathfinder
lab]
ADMIRAL
PARIS: Tell him, tell him I miss him.
[Bridge]
ADMIRAL
PARIS [OC]: And I'm proud of him.
JANEWAY: He heard you, Admiral.
[Pathfinder
lab]
BARCLAY:
The wormhole is collapsing.
ADMIRAL PARIS: I want you all to know we're doing everything we can to
bring you home.
[Bridge]
JANEWAY:
We appreciate it, sir. Keep a docking bay open for us.
[Pathfinder
lab]
JANEWAY
[OC]: We hope to see you
BARCLAY: That's it. They're gone.
HARKINS: You did it, Reg. I'm sorry I doubted you.
ADMIRAL PARIS: Why the long face, Mister Barclay?
BARCLAY: Because, because it's over, sir.
ADMIRAL PARIS: No, Lieutenant. I'd say that Project Voyager is just
beginning, thanks to you.
[Mess
hall]
(A champagne celebration is taking place.) TORRES:
Anyone know this Barclay?
EMH: I took the liberty of reviewing his personnel file. He's had a
rather colourful career, not to mention an unusual medical history.
He's recovered from a variety of maladies, including transporter phobia
and holo-addiction.
JANEWAY: Well, whatever his problems, he certainly came through for us.
CHAKOTAY: Starfleet should give him a promotion.
SEVEN: I finished analysing the data Mister Barclay sent. The
hyper-subspace technology is promising. I believe we can look forward
to future communications with Earth.
NEELIX: Well, that calls for a toast.
JANEWAY: Care to do the honours, Tom?
PARIS: To my Dad. It's nice to know he's still there. And to the newest
honorary member of the Voyager crew, Reginald Barclay. Whoever you are.
JANEWAY: Here, here. To Mister Barclay.
[Barclay's
Apartment]
(Another champagne celebration.) TROI:
Congratulations.
BARCLAY: Well, I'm not not sure I deserve congratulations.
TROI: Why not? It's quite an accomplishment.
BARCLAY: I, I couldn't have done it without your help.
TROI: What did Commander Harkins have to say about it?
BARCLAY: Well, I think, I think he was pleased.
TROI: Why wouldn't he be? You're quite a catch.
BARCLAY: Well, not everyone would want a sister-in-law to date someone
with my history.
TROI: It's a new era. So tell me all about the lucky lady. I want
details.
BARCLAY: Well, her name is Hope.
TROI: You're kidding.
BARCLAY: No And, and, and she loves cats.
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