Hello?
Anybody here?
Neelix?
Surprise!
Happy birthday, my sweet.
Happy birthday, Kes.
Imagine, two years old today. You don't look a day over one.
- Why was everyone hiding? - It's called a surprise party.
- Sorry if we startled you. - No, I liked it. It was very exhilarating.
Now, how about a glass of my special birthday punch?
- Garcon? - On the rocks or straight up?
Doctor! I'm so glad you're here.
My new bartender. Handsome, isn't he?
I'm here in an official capacity, of course. In case of a medical emergency.
Surprises have caused hyperventilation,
oesophageal spasms and in extreme cases, even coronary arrest.
One can never be too careful.
I've completed the diagnostic. All systems are operational.
Very good, Ensign.
- And I've recalibrated the relays. - Acknowledged.
Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?
I presume this notable impatience is due to your desire to attend the festivities.
Yes, sir.
Your duty shift does not officially terminate for another 34 minutes.
However, I believe the holodeck power conduits
would benefit from an inspection.
Yes, sir! I'll get right on it.
All stop. Mr Kim.
- What is that? - Magnify.
I'm afraid that holodeck inspection will have to wait.
Wait till you taste this cake.
Seven layers of Jimbalian fudge,
and the icing is made from pureed I'maki nuts, Kes's favourite.
Make a wish and blow out the candles.
- What do I wish for? - Anything your petit coeur desires.
And with a figure like hers, she'll probably get it, too.
- OK, I wish for... - Don't tell us!
The wish has to be a secret if it's going to come true.
I hate to interrupt this tender moment, but isn't it about time we shot a rack?
In a minute.
Birthday gifts are also an Earth tradition.
Thank you, Tom. You didn't have to.
Who am I to fly in the face of tradition?
Tom, it's beautiful. It must have cost you a week's worth of replicator rations.
Two weeks' actually, but who's counting? I'm just glad you like it.
May I?
That's lovely. You see, it's a locket. You put little photographs in here.
It keeps the people you love close to your heart.
Thank you.
- Did you see that? - See what?
He... He...
He did a lovely wrapping job.
- Bridge to Janeway. - Go ahead.
Captain, we have encountered an unusual phenomenon... phenomenon...
...phenomenon... phenomenon... phenomenon...
phenomen... omen... omen...
What is going on, Lieutenant?
It might be a localised malfunction.
My guess is... it's a problem with the com system itself.
Janeway to bridge... Go and run a diagnostic.
We have to cut your party short, Kes.
- Stations, everyone. Let's move. - But...
- What about the Jimbalian fudge cake? - Save me a slice, won't you?
The space ahead of us is literally changing shape.
I think it's a spatial distortion wave.
Is it responsible for the malfunction?
I think so. It's generating EM radiation.
If we don't move, it's going to intercept us in less than 10 minutes.
Acknowledged. Full reverse, Ensign.
We can't go backwards either.
The distortion has completely surrounded us like a ring.
- Then we will have to go through it. - That might damage the ship.
From what you have told me, the distortion ring will make contact with us
whether we pass through it or not.
I prefer to minimise that contact.
Shields at maximum. Warp 3. Engage.
The distortion ring has collapsed the warp field. Engines are off-line.
- Inform the captain of our status. - Yes, sir.
I've been trying to report a problem in the gym, but the com system's down.
A spatial distortion has knocked out several systems.
Maybe that explains why the gym got so cold.
I didn't notice it at first. Then I realised it was under ten degrees.
The environmental controls didn't respond to my commands.
Engines are off-line. I'll let the captain know.
- Should I report to my duty station? - Good idea.
- Everybody should be on standby. - I'll round up my security team.
When we get to the bridge, establish a com-link to engineering.
I want to know exactly what's going on.
- Where are we? - Deck 4.
The computer could be misreading our voice commands.
So it took us here instead of the bridge.
We'd better try setting the controls manually.
Did you enjoy your first surprise party?
- It was wonderful. - I thought you'd like it.
The cake, the presents.
What was your favourite part?
- I liked that all my friends were there. - That was nice, wasn't it?
And don't forget that beautiful necklace Tom Paris gave you.
- Do you really like it? - Why wouldn't I?
Paris obviously has excellent taste.
- I was afraid you might be jealous. - Who, me?
- Don't be silly! - Are you sure?
You have seen the last of that green-eyed pus hog called jealousy.
I'm glad.
Of course, Paris did replicate that locket,
whereas I baked the Jimbalian fudge cake from scratch.
These aren't my quarters. Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?
I was just following you.
- Is everything all right, Lieutenant? - This isn't engineering.
And have someone look at the turbolift voice receptors.
This is engineering. What's going on?
It's more than a com system malfunction.
Computer, bridge.
- What are you doing here? - I wish I knew.
- I'm trying to get to the cargo bay. - I'm trying to get to engineering.
I can't find the cargo bay or my security team.
I've been wandering around for ten minutes.
At least I know I'm not crazy. Unless we both are.
No, something very strange is going on. Kim said it was a spatial distortion.
- Did he say what kind? - No, he went to find the captain.
The captain is on her way to the bridge. But who knows if she can get there.
- I'll keep trying to get to engineering. - Good luck.
The holodeck again?
- This is infuriating. - Stop playing games, mon cheri.
I know why you keep coming back, even though your bartending shift is over.
- It's to see me. - I am a doctor, not a bartender.
Of course you are.
Doc?
- Ensign Kim. I was just... - Playing doctor.
Hi.
The captain went to investigate the phenomenon Mr Tuvok reported.
So all of you heard his report?
- Only a fraction of it. - I'm sure Tuvok's filled them in by now.
What are you doing on the holodeck, besides playing doctor?
I have been attempting to transfer myself back to sickbay.
But each time I try, I reappear here.
- That's strange. - And irritating.
I can't seem to shut down Mr Paris's holoprogram either.
Computer, end holodeck program Paris 3.
Computer, arch.
Maybe the computer's not accepting voice commands.
- I don't have time to help you. - Wait just a minute.
- Where are you going? - Back to the bridge.
I should be back in sickbay.
The captain will be able to do without you for a minute.
I guess you're right. I'll have a look at the holocontrols.
Kyoto's quarters.
Nicoletti.
Hargrove.
- Ayala. - None of those are near my quarters.
This is deck 8. That's where your quarters are.
But Hargrove and Ayala are on deck 7. Nicoletti is on 4 and Kyoto is on 6.
How do you know?
I just remember.
How? Have you been in all their quarters?
Of course not. The point is, those quarters can't all be on the same deck.
Well, see for yourself.
This can't be.
Perhaps your memory isn't as reliable as you think.
This is impossible. I know Hargrove is on 7.
- Why Hargrove? - What?
Why are you so sure about Hargrove's quarters? What makes him so special?
He's not special. I just remember where his quarters are.
This way. It has to be this way.
Harry.
Shouldn't you be in engineering? What are you doing here?
Just answer one question. Where is here?
- What? - Where am I?
Outside holodeck 2. Are you feeling OK?
I have been walking in circles for 20 minutes trying to get to engineering.
Kes, you have many wonderful attributes.
Your sense of direction is not one of them, be...
Oh, Harry, B'Elanna. Maybe you can help us.
I know you'll find this hard to believe, but we can't seem to find Kes's quarters.
I don't suppose anyone here knows the way to the bridge?
Let me get this straight. This distortion ring has completely immobilised us.
We can't communicate with any other part of the ship.
No matter where we've tried to go - the bridge, engineering, Kes's quarters -
we've all eventually ended up here, right back at deck 6.
The bridge is on deck 1. Engineering is on deck 11.
- Deck 6 is halfway in between, right? - So?
So maybe this ring is pushing us all to the centre of the ship.
It's not just that we're being led back here. Rooms are in the wrong place.
Could this distortion ring be changing the layout of the ship?
There is another possibility.
Exposure to some types of EM radiation can cause hallucinations.
Perhaps it's not the ship that's changed, but rather your perception of it.
Unfortunately, without my medical equipment there's no way to tell.
We'll never figure it out sitting here.
We need more information - sensor readings, computer analyses.
We must find a way back to the bridge.
If we can't get back on foot or on the turbolift, we can beam ourselves back.
We'd have to get to a transporter room.
Or to engineering, wherever that is.
When we tried to go to the bridge, the turbolift took us to engineering.
Maybe it'll take us back there.
It's worth a shot. Lieutenant Paris, you're with Torres.
Maybe we can get to the bridge through a Jefferies tube.
There should be an access conduit
which leads directly from this deck to deck 1.
I'd like to try to get to the bridge on foot.
If the ship has been reconfigured, I can get a picture of what it looks like as I go.
- What will keep you from getting lost? - I'll get a tricorder,
rig it to emit a photoplasmic trail.
Get tricorders and set them on active scan.
Gather information about what's happening.
May Kes stay here with me?
Besides helping stave off the predatory advances of that woman,
she may be able to help me transfer myself back to sickbay.
And I'll assist Commander Chakotay, Captain.
My tracking skills are legendary throughout the quadrant.
That all right with you, Commander?
Mr Kim, I'm with you. Let's do it.
Be careful.
This is how you got there before?
Relax, will you? So far, we're right on schedule.
The next stop should be...
- Voila! Engineering. - Finally. Let's get to work.
We've got an emergency situation. I don't have time to go into details.
Remain at your posts until notified, whether or not your duty shifts are over.
Prepare to configure transporter systems for a site-to-site transport.
I'll reset the pattern buffer controls. You check the targeting scanners.
Crewman!
There's an emergency situation aboard ship. Just stay right where you are.
That's an order.
I think you handled that very well, Lieutenant.
Commander, I would imagine you've had some experience with women.
- Some. - Oh, come now.
A... a... a... handsome man like you. I bet women find you irresistible.
Neelix, what's this about?
Erm... er...
Have you...
Have you... ever been jealous?
- Of course. - You have?
I imagine most people who've been in love have been jealous.
I see.
It's a perfectly normal response.
Then why is it so unpleasant?
It's about the fear of losing someone we love. There's no pain greater than that.
Neelix, are you afraid you're going to lose Kes to someone?
No.
I mean, I don't think so.
At least I certainly hope not.
I just can't seem to stop these awful feelings.
Nothing makes us more vulnerable than when we love someone.
We can be hurt very easily.
But what you get when you love someone is greater than what you risk.
Am I glad to see you. Do you know what's going on?
- Not exactly. - I can't find the cargo bay.
- Have you seen anyone else? - Some people roaming around like me.
I wound up in the mess hall. There were people there.
Go back. Tell people to come with you and stay in the mess hall.
When we figure out what's going on, we'll let you know.
- Gentlemen. - Tuvok, what are you doing here?
That is an interesting question. I am not certain how I arrived here.
- You're lost, too. - Indeed.
When I received no word, I came to look for you myself.
- Can you lead us back to the bridge? - I do not believe so.
I've attempted to retrace my steps, only to find myself here.
None of us can reach the bridge. In fact, Neelix and I can't get off deck 6.
Strange. I thought we were on deck 3.
What's our status?
The ring has penetrated our shields and is in direct contact with the hull.
Then the distortions may be reconfiguring the ship.
That would appear to be the case.
Neelix, let's go.
Neelix?
We should have found the hatch to the bridge ten minutes ago.
- I feel like we're crawling in circles. - Not according to this tricorder.
- Odd. - What is it?
A very faint electromagnetic reading.
Now it's gone.
- There it is from another direction. - I'm getting it, too.
It jumps from place to place.
It could be evidence of the ship's reconfiguration.
We'll have to compare this data with readings the others get.
- Harry? - Yes, ma'am.
You've been one of the bright spots of this whole mission.
You've exceeded any expectations I had of you.
Thank you, Captain. I... I appreciate that.
Wait a minute. Down there. I think that's the conduit leading to the bridge.
Good work. Maybe now we'll get some answers.
That's the hatch. This should let us out in the cargo hold behind the bridge.
- It's not working. - We better try it manually.
It's stuck.
Captain!
I can't get my arm out!
I think I'm OK.
There's an electromagnetic charge on the other side of that hatch.
That must have been pulling you in.
Everything on the other side is in a state of structural flux -
the walls, the atmosphere.
Those fluctuations match the readings from the distortion ring.
This phenomenon isn't just occurring in space. It's inside the ship as well.
We have to come up with a plan for combating this.
- Captain, what's wrong? - I don't know.
Oh!
- Oh, my eyes! - Captain?
Captain!
Come on, pal. One lousy game. Spot you six balls.
I'm not programmed to play games.
If he won't play pool and he won't make love, he can mop the floor.
These hands are surgeon's hands,
created by sophisticated computer imaging technology.
They do not play games, and they do not mop floors.
- Then I will find a new bartender. - I really wish you would.
Doctor!
Please tell me you've reinitialised the holo-emitters.
I did what you told me but it didn't work.
I'm starting to get worried about Neelix.
Trust me, cherie. You are better off without him. All men are alike.
- In the end, they break your heart. - Can I get some help here?
- What happened to her? - Contact with the spatial distortions.
She seemed fine but then she started to fade in and out of consciousness.
I believe we should go this way, Commander.
What makes you say that?
If we are trapped in a labyrinth,
it is logical to eliminate all routes which do not lead to our destination.
The remaining route will be the correct one.
Since we have been making right turns,
we should continue to do so until certain this path is not the proper one.
- There's a flaw in your logic. - How so, Commander?
You're assuming there's a logical pattern,
but I haven't seen any evidence of that.
Even within chaotic systems, there is a pattern.
By the time we figure that out, these distortions may have overrun the ship.
- That is a possibility. - One of us must get to the bridge.
You go your way and I'll go mine, then one of us might be successful.
As you wish, Commander.
Tuvok, what does your logic tell you
about navigating a maze that's constantly changing shape?
- Scanners check out. - We're ready to try.
- Activate the pattern buffers. - Pattern buffers activated.
Targeting the bridge coordinates. Scanners locked.
Energise.
Would you mind moving your foot, Tommy boy? It's blocking my shot.
Tell me you made it to the bridge and you have a status report.
We locked onto the bridge coordinates, but this is where we ended up.
- None of you had any luck? - No one has reached the bridge
and the captain is now unconscious.
That's not all. We lost Neelix too.
- Lost him? - He turned a corner and he was gone.
The spatial distortions are changing the configuration of the corridors.
- Kes must be worried sick. - It isn't just Neelix who's missing.
Where's the rest of the crew?
They too must be trapped in other parts of the ship, unable to find their way out.
What do we do now?
This wave is reconfiguring the ship.
We've got to try to reverse it. If not, we may never get to the bridge.
How are we supposed to do that? No matter where we go, we end up here.
Corridors are realigning. Rooms are in the wrong place. What's the pattern?
We need a picture of what the ship currently looks like.
Then we would have a chance of getting where we want to go.
- Maybe we could make a map. - Ensign?
In all the wandering we've been doing
we've collected a lot of data about the structural changes.
If we fed that into the central database,
we could extrapolate a schematic of the ship as it's configured now.
What are we waiting for?
The computer has analysed our data.
This ought to be close to what it looks like now.
It's as if the ship is being compressed and twisted.
It's more than just a distortion ring.
It looks like some sort of spatial implosion that's slowly crushing us.
This part of the ship seems unaffected.
- That's deck 6 where we are. - Correct.
However, the area will not remain unaffected indefinitely.
How long?
Based on the rate of implosion thus far,
I estimate the ring will crush deck 6 in approximately 68 minutes.
Is this implosion ring some kind of weapon? Are we under attack?
Who'd want to attack us and why?
There is no clear evidence of an intelligence.
It may be a natural anomaly which does not conform to the laws of physics.
It's a little late to be speculating on who or what this thing is.
The important thing is to find a way of stopping it.
B'Elanna's right. We've got two options.
We get out of this implosion ring or we find some way of reversing it.
Turn the implosion into an explosion.
I may be able to generate a shock pulse strong enough to do that.
I'd have to raise the pressure in the warp core.
A shock pulse of that magnitude would create a subatomic particle shower.
Which could cause not only the ring to explode, but Voyager along with it.
Not if I can tune the shock pulse to the distortion frequency of the ring.
That will be difficult.
If we don't try, we'll get crushed anyway. Personally, I'd rather go down fighting.
With the com system down,
we can't alert the rest of the crew to a potentially lethal particle shower.
Do you have another suggestion?
It would be safer to attempt to access the navigational array
and engage thrusters to steer us out of the ring.
- Can't we try both? - It's too dangerous
to work at the array during a shock pulse.
Besides, there's no reason to expect we'd have any navigational control.
B'Elanna, let's give your plan a shot. You...
- Commander. - Yes?
In my many years of experience as Captain Janeway's tactical officer,
she often demonstrated a tendency...
The captain's not in any condition to make decisions.
I'm in command. Is that understood?
- Yes, sir. - Good.
Get down to engineering.
Evacuate whoever's on duty, then initiate the warp pulse.
Move it.
Dilithium matrix stable. Matter-antimatter reactor is at 80% of critical.
Warp core pressure at 36 mega pascals.
At 53 it'll trigger the shock pulse. We should get out of here at 50!
OK. Pressure at 41 mega pascals. There's a fracture in the dilithium matrix.
- Attempting to compensate. - Fracture sealed. 44 mega pascals!
They must be close to initiating the shock burst.
Everybody take cover.
47! 48! 49!
Let's move!
In spite of Tuvok's dire predictions, we haven't blown the ship to pieces.
No, and radiation levels are acceptable.
Let's see if we dispersed this implosion ring.
Hold it. There's a massive distortion behind the door.
- I don't think it's just behind the door. - The ring's engulfed engineering.
Can I talk to her?
She may not hear you or be able to understand you if she does.
Captain!
What's wrong with her?
The spatial distortions have damaged her speech centre.
...her neural pathways.
Chakotay, it didn't work.
Instead of forcing the implosion outward, the pulse draws it in faster.
- It made things worse? - We only have a few minutes.
Paris, we have to get to the navigational array and try Tuvok's plan.
- There's no longer time for that. - Why not?
We're not going anywhere.
Is it possible to project a stable holographic force field?
We've tried everything else. Ready? Here we go.
The distortion is unaffected by the force field.
We've got to generate a stable field.
This ring has passed through the shields, crushed the hull, twisted the ship.
We'll never get enough power to stop it.
You're saying we're out of options?
Perhaps not. So far, we have been unsuccessful in all our attempts
to explain or combat this phenomenon.
The space we are currently occupying will implode in 3 minutes 17 seconds.
You said there was another option.
- We do nothing. - Excuse me?
- Are you suggesting we let it crush us? - Precisely.
- I can't believe I'm hearing this. - It sounds illogical.
When every logical course of action is exhausted,
the only option remaining is inaction.
So we just let this thing kill us?
One attempt we made to reverse the effect, the shock pulse,
only made our predicament worse.
If we continue improvising solutions, our own efforts may ultimately kill us.
There is no evidence to suggest that doing nothing will result in death.
Captain, please lie down!
What about the captain? She's dying.
We do not know that. She is merely delirious.
Chakotay, don't you agree we've got to keep trying?
Whatever this thing is, it's bigger and more powerful than we are.
Maybe... Maybe this is one bear we can't wrestle to the ground.
Maybe there's nothing we can do but hope for the best.
Fine. Fine, Chakotay.
Have it your way.
- Commander Chakotay. - Yes, Mr Tuvok?
Thank you for endorsing my recommendation.
I may not get another chance to say this.
Sometimes I find you arrogant and irritating.
- But you're a hell of an officer. - Thank you, sir.
And since we are speaking candidly,
I have not always been partial to your methods, either.
It must have been tough to accept my being elevated to first officer over you.
I have always respected Captain Janeway's decisions.
However, that particular decision put me in a position I am unaccustomed to.
If that ever caused me to make things more difficult for you, I apologise.
- Can I ask you a question? - Fire away.
Are you afraid?
I chose this life. And I guess I always knew it could come to this.
But yeah, I'm afraid.
- Me too. - I should be with Neelix.
As much as he may annoy me at times,
Mr Neelix is one of the most resourceful and resilient individuals I know.
If anyone can survive this calamity, he can.
- Hi. - Hi.
- What are you doing? - I'm trying to contact my spirit guide.
- Why? - Who knows what's gonna happen?
We might be in for another long journey.
I guess I could use a little spiritual guidance myself right now.
- Mind if I join you? - I thought you'd never ask.
Captain?
- I'm all right. - You were delirious.
- It was... some sort of message. - What was?
The spatial distortion.
It was... trying to communicate with us.
I want a full systems report
and every iota of information that was recorded regarding that phenomenon.
The distortion ring's directly ahead. It's moving away from us at 2,000 kph.
We've got a full crew complement. No injuries reported.
- No damage to the hull or ship systems. - Incredible.
You won't believe this, Captain.
20 million gigaquads of new information have been input into the ship's computer.
- Where did it come from? - I guess from the distortion ring.
- Somebody's trying to tell us something. - That's not all.
Our database has been copied and downloaded
into somebody else's system.
I guess they want to know everything they can about us too.
Maybe it was their only way of communicating with us.
Maybe they were just trying to say hello.
- Cake anyone? - Neelix, what happened to you?
It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it later.
Right now it's time to finish your party.
- I need a photograph of you. - What for?
Even when we're separated,
I want to have you where I can keep an eye on you.
Happy birthday, Kes.