Chapter 3
Captain's Log, Stardate Stardate 51383.39. Voyager continues to make its way towards the Alpha Quadrant. In the aftermath of our encounter with the neurogenic field and the aliens who produced it, most of my crew have been suffering from insomnia and acute stress. I have heard reports of flare-ups between colleagues in various departments and have asked Commander Chakotay to handle the most volatile ones. I just hope that my senior staff will be able to get past their fatigue and show the proper example...
"I'm getting tired of playing referee every time you two have a disagreement. If you have a problem, talk to her yourself."
As he accompanied B'Elanna Torres down the almost empty corridor, Chakotay tried to rein in his irritation. He knew that they were all suffering from the aftereffects of the neurogenic field and the nightmares that the unidentified aliens had inflicted on them. Still, listening to B'Elanna complain about the same person first thing in the morning, every damned morning, was starting to become... exasperating.
"Does the word irrelevant mean anything to you?" B'Elanna snapped, smiling angrily. "She won't listen. She may look human, and she may sound human, but she's all Borg."
That was the last straw. Chakotay swung round and stopped in front of B'Elanna, breaking her in her stride. "Part of the problem is your attitude."
B'Elanna looked shocked, but Chakotay pressed on. The foundation of their relationship had always been that they could be honest with one another. Returning to Starfleet may have put a curb on some of the more volatile expressions of that honesty, but Chakotay believed that all of the Maquis retained a little of the gung-ho attitude they had picked up while in the rebellion. "You've never tried to accept Seven as part of the crew."
Chakotay's obvious irritation did not seem to quell the Klingon engineer. "And with good reason. Guess what she did this morning. She took an isolinear processor out of-"
Whatever Seven had done was lost to the chirp of Chakotay's communicator. He held up a hand. "Chakotay here."
"Seven of Nine." Speak of the devil. "Report to the Astrometrics lab at once."
B'Elanna rolled her eyes. Chakotay ignored her. "On my way."
"Did you hear that? She's giving orders now. I'm telling you Chakotay, if she gets in my way again-"
"You will do nothing." He took a step closer to her. "You're a senior officer on this ship, B'Elanna. Start acting like one."
Without leaving her time to respond, he turned and strode back down the corridor towards the nearest turbolift. He just hoped that whatever Seven had found, it would be worth it.
xxx
Chakotay stepped into the astrometrics lab mere moments after Captain Kathryn Janeway. She turned her head slightly and acknowledged him before turning back to Seven-of-Nine.
"Your call sounded urgent."
"It was. I've been working to increase the range of the astrometric sensors, and I have detected something that you should find of particular interest."
The massive viewscreen changed to reveal a tiny object moving slowly across the starfield. As Seven zoomed in, Chakotay frowned.
"A ship. What's so special about it?" Something about the shape seemed familiar, although he couldn't quite...
"I've analysed the warp signature. It's a Starfleet vessel."
Chakotay felt himself take a step forward, feeling as though he had been punched in the gut. Janeway was a step ahead of him, though and from the look on her face she was looking into a living dream.
"The ship we're seeing is in the Alpha Quadrant."
"You couldn't have extended the astrometric sensors that far."
"No. But I increased them far enough to detect a large network of relay stations." Seven manipulated the station in front of her and the ship vanished, replaced moments later by a view of the Delta Quadrant, with a constellation of connected relays, creating a spider's web of connections across lightdecades of space.
"They're alien in origin, abandoned but still functioning. By establishing a sensor link with the nearest station I'm able to get readings from the entire network." The zoom increased a step further, centering on one of the relays, which began to flash in red. "The Starfleet ship is within range of one of the farthest sensors near the outer edges of the Alpha Quadrant."
Janeway stepped out from between Seven and Chakotay, making her way around until she stood in front of the astrometric's screen.
"It must be on a deep space mission." The captain's voice shook.
"I've extrapolated its course. It will move out of range in fifteen minutes."
"Can we use the network to transmit a message?"
"Yes, but only if we remodulate our signal to match the network's interlink frequency."
"We don't have much time." The captain sounded excited now. "Get it done Chakotay."
***
"When I requested more away missions, this isn't exactly what I had in mind."
The Doctor stared across the room at the vast screen that dominated the Astrometrics Lab. His mind was still whirling after being unceremoniously deactivated in sickbay and rushed down here by B'Elanna. The captain had quickly explained exactly what they needed from him. Apparently, they had found a way of communicating with a Starfleet vessel, but the only way to accomplish it was to transmit his holomatrix through some alien relay. Correction, multiple relays. The prospect was daunting to say the least.
"You may be our only chance to communicate with that ship."
Tearing his eyes away from the image of the Starfleet ship projected on the screen, the Doctor met Captain Janeway's eyes. Sheer determination mixed with the slightest hint of despair.
"When you get there," B'Elanna Torres cut in, drawing the Doctor's attention, "you'll be downloaded into their EMH system. I'm sending an initiation code along with your programme, so you'll be activated immediately."
The Doctor opened his mouth to ask exactly what he should expect once he did get there, but Seven-of-Nine spoke up from behind him before he got a chance. He and the Captain both turned to look at her.
"We have less than ninety seconds before that ship moves out of range."
Although a dozen experts in the Alpha Quadrant would have said that it was impossible for a photonic being, the Doctor felt his stomach clench at the thought of what awaited him. Brushing past Janeway, unable to just stay standing, he walked towards the screen.
"How am I supposed to get back here?"
"When you've completed your mission, instruct them to move within range of the sensor network. With luck, they can send you back the same way you came."
The Doctor turned to face Janeway, who had come up behind him. He frowned. "Luck?"
Janeway's face remained impassive, her voice full of steel. "I won't lie to you, Doctor. A lot of things could go wrong." For a moment, he could see the frustration reflected in her eyes. "We're relying on an alien technology to send you across thousands of light-years."
"So there's a chance my programme could be lost."
"Yes." He had not expected the captain to pull any punches and it looked as though he had been right. "And I'm asking you to take that chance."
The Doctor looked away, unable to hold her gaze. What was he going to do? For what might be the first time in his life, he felt actively terrified at what the future might hold. They were asking him to undertake what could possibly be a suicidal mission, with no guarantee of success. And they were asking him to do so in record time. As if from a distance, he heard the console where Seven was working begin chirping, heard her announce in that almost emotionless voice: "Thirty five seconds." He gazed at the sight of the strange relay network on the screen, trying to make a decision.
"Doctor."
Although every photon in his body screamed for him to refuse, he also knew that this might be Voyager's only chance to get back in contact with Starfleet.
"Far be it from me to turn down an opportunity to become a hero. I'm ready."
Giving him a little smile, Janeway pushed him forward. He allowed himself to be guided up onto the small platform in front of the Astrometrics' screen, studying the relay network as if it were an unknown virus he needed to heal. Behind him, he could hear Torres and Chakotay discussing the procedure.
"Ten seconds."
"Good luck, Doctor."
Turning back around, the Doctor couldn't resist retorting. "There's that word again." He smiled.
Smiling back, Captain Janeway nodded. The Doctor felt a surge of pride as Seven of Nine turned away from her screen to look at him. Moments later, Lieutenant Torres input the final command. Light infused his being as his matrix decompiled itself, rearranging itself so as to be better transmitted. The Doctor had no memory of the passage. As far as he was concerned, one moment he was aboard Voyager and the next he was somewhere else.
A medical bay. Starfleet design. Lots of beiges and browns. He felt a moment of pleasure that the transfer had worked before he heard a sharp voice.
"Who the hell are you?"
Spinning round, the Doctor found himself face to face with an attractive young human woman wearing a strange uniform he was only barely able to recognise as Starfleet issue. All black and purple, with a blue undershirt the only indication of medical speciality, it seemed much too military to be from the Starfleet he knew.
"I- I-"
"Dammit, who activated this antique?"
The Doctor spluttered as she turned away. "I will have you know that I am not a-"
"Computer, terminate EMH."
The Doctor winced, expecting to feel the familiar electrical wash as his matrix deactivated. He was surprised to see that he was still there. From the look on her face, so was the woman. Well done, B'Elanna.
"Computer, I said-"
"My name is the Doctor," the Doctor said quickly, in case the first time had been a fluke. "I am the emergency medical hologram aboard the USS Voyager. I have been sent here by that ship from the Delta Quadrant. Please, we need your help."
For a brief moment, it looked as though the woman had believed him. Then she rolled her eyes.
"Carter, what did you do to the EMH?"
"What?" A young human male in an ensign's uniform walked in from one of the chambers off the main sickbay floor. He held some kind of engineering instrument - it appeared to be a sonic screwdriver of some description - in his hand. When he saw the Doctor, he paused. "Hey, why did you activate a Mark I?"
The young woman sighed. "Come on, Carter. It was a nice joke. Just get him out of here before the Captain sees him."
Carter - the young ensign - shook his head. "Seriously, Laura, I didn't do this."
"But-" She spun back to the Doctor. "Could he be a Founder?"
The Doctor felt his irritation reach a boiling point. "Listen, I do not know who you are, what a Foundler is or even where I am. If you would just check your communication's log, you will see that I was transmitted to you from a relay that is on the very edge of your sensors. I am telling you the truth!"
Carter and the young woman - Laura - stared at him in surprise. Finally, Laura reached up and tapped her comm badge. "Lieutenant Vasquez to Engineering. Chief, I think you should come to sickbay. We may have a problem."