- Captain, do you have a minute? - I'm on my way to the shuttlebay.
- I thought last night went well. - Extremely. Everyone had fun.
I was thinking of making it a regular feature.
- It's worth a try. - You were especially good last night.
- Thanks. It's been a while. - You'd never know.
Uh, Captain. Um...do you think... I mean, I was wondering...
What is it?
Could you keep Mr Tuvok busy that evening?
I'm sure something could be arranged.
- Our secret. - We never had this discussion.
Harry's clarinet solo was OK.
I could have done without Tuvok's poetry reading.
But the highlight was Kathryn Janeway as the Dying Swan.
I learned that dance when I was six.
It was the hit of the Beginning Ballet class.
I hope you'll reprise it.
Not until certain other people take their turn.
Me? Perform in front of people? I don't think so.
Come on. There must be some talent you have that people would enjoy.
I could put an apple on my head and you could phaser it off.
If I miss, I get to be captain.
Turbulence. It might be a rough landing.
There was no indication of rough weather.
There are severe storms near the surface.
Maybe we'd better come back here when things have cleared up.
- Attitude control is out. - I'm switching to manual.
- The navigation system's down. - Reverse engines.
Warning. Hydrazine gas leak.
Altitude 12 kms. Hull temperature 4,000 degrees. We must reduce speed.
I'll try the antigrav thrusters.
Kathryn!
Kathryn! Kathryn!
No!
Warning. Hydrazine gas levels
at 112 parts per million.
Begin evacuation procedures.
Hang on, Kathryn.
Breathe, damn it! Breathe!
Don't you die on me now. Breathe!
Listen to me, Kathryn. You've got to breathe.
Breathe! Breathe!
Come on. Come on!
Yes.
Chakotay.
Don't ever do that to me again.
Thanks.
You went into shock. You gave me quite a scare for a minute.
This should help reduce your cranial swelling.
- You'll have a headache. - I'll live with it.
We need to set up a homing signal.
Take it easy.
I'm all right.
We're going to need the blankets...
and the rations.
I can get them. You set up the homing signal.
Here.
At least the storm seems to be dying.
- What was it? - Phaser burns on the hull.
- I think we were shot down. - By whom?
I don't know. I'll see if I can get an energy signature.
We might be telling someone just where to find us.
Disconnect it while I scan the shuttle.
- Can you tell anything? - The signatures are Vidiian.
But we'd moved beyond their space.
They'll be coming for us. We need to find a hiding place.
- What is it? - Life-forms. 50 metres from here.
- They're coming this way. - Let's go.
- There's another group in this direction. - Let's take cover. We'll have to fight.
Back off now. We'll fire if we have to.
Back off!
Chakotay!
Harry's clarinet solo was OK.
I could have done without Tuvok's poetry reading.
But the highlight was Kathryn Janeway as the Dying Swan.
I learned that dance when I was six. I assure you...
- What's happening here? - You're right.
We have been here before.
- Do you remember Vidiians? - Yes. They shot us down.
We may be in a repeating time loop. I'll scan for temporal anomalies.
Let's not try to land on that planet this time.
Agreed. I don't see any evidence of temporal flux or any anomaly.
- Or of Vidiian ships. - So far so good.
- Chakotay to Voyager. Do you read? - We're out of range.
What happened? Send a message that we won't land on the planet.
We'll be looking for temporal anomalies.
A ship is approaching on an intercept course.
- Is it Vidiian? - Yes.
It's a warship, loaded with weaponry. It's closing fast.
- Can we outrun it? - We can try.
They're 200,000 kms away and gaining.
- Setting evasive pattern Delta 4. - They're powering weapons.
Stand by all phaser arrays.
- Shields down to 84%. - Returning fire.
- Nice aim. - It didn't stop them.
- We've lost shields. - Firing starboard array.
- That hit the reactant injectors. - Shut them down.
- The magnetic fields are failing. - Dump the core.
We must be in a time loop. How do we break it?
Let's get back to where we were before all this started happening.
Agreed. If we're experiencing a temporal field,
a tachyon burst might disperse it.
Chakotay...
- Let me guess. It's a Vidiian ship. - Two.
20 million kilometres away but headed for us.
Sacajawea to Voyager. Do you read us?
- You've just come into com range. - We're being pursued by Vidiians.
Set a course for our shuttle.
We're experiencing a temporal phenomenon, a time loop.
- Scan for anomalies. - We're on our way.
If you're going to emit that tachyon burst, you'd better do it now.
Here goes.
- Is it affecting anything? - The Vidiians are almost within range.
- What happened? - They vanished.
- There's a residual temporal signature. - They were part of the time loop.
- The tachyon burst disrupted it. - Good.
I was tired of talking about talent night.
Voyager to Sacajawea, we will rendezvous with you in four minutes.
Believe me, we're looking forward to it.
Good to have you back.
I want to know what was happening to us.
Did Voyager detect a temporal field?
- Not to my knowledge. - Let's run a temporal scan.
I'd feel better if I knew what caused the phenomenon.
I'm not sure what you mean.
- The time loop we ran into out there. - Time loop?
Chakotay and I experienced a temporal loop. It involved the Vidiians.
They'd attack and kill us and then we'd be in the shuttle again.
- Tell them. - We were going to a binary system.
To collect some nitrogenase compound. But we crashed.
And then we were attacked but we escaped and got back here.
The Doctor treated your injuries and you proceeded here to the bridge.
I don't remember anything about a repeating time loop.
You don't remember how we kept ending up talking about talent night?
Then I'm the only one. Something strange is going on here.
I'll have the Doctor examine me.
In the meantime, I still want those temporal scans.
You heard the captain. Let's get moving.
I ran a microcellular scan after you returned.
- I have just analysed the results. - What did you find?
You have contracted a disease.
- The Vidiian phage. - The phage?
Is Chakotay infected, too?
- No. He shows no signs of the disease. - How did I get it?
You said a Vidiian grabbed you. The virus may have been transferred then.
We've encountered Vidiians before and had contact with them.
No one's ever gotten sick that way.
I can't explain. The phage virus might have become more infectious.
I believe this explains the hallucinations you've described.
There is often stress to the thalamus in the early stages.
It causes a kind of dementia that produces hallucinations.
- What's the prognosis? - I wish I could tell you.
For now it would be best if you remained under quarantine.
Of course.
It's possible that others on the crew may be infected.
Have you made any progress in finding a cure?
I hadn't pursued the matter since we'd moved beyond Vidiian space.
But I'll now redouble my efforts. I'd like to give you a sedative.
Captain?
- I'll be running a series of tissue scans. - I understand.
There. That should give you a good night's sleep.
I promise I won't deactivate myself until I have some answers for you.
Doctor...
I know I'm in good hands.
Doctor?
- Ah. You're awake. - How long have I been asleep?
- Almost 40 hours. -407?
This strain of the phage is particularly virulent. It's spreading rapidly.
Have you... Is there any hope of a cure?
I regret to inform you that I have been unsuccessful.
- Then what's the next step? - I've given that a lot of thought.
The prospects are unpleasant. You face a lingering, painful death,
marked by increasing periods of dementia and insanity.
- There's only one humane thing to do. - What's that?
- Euthanasia. - What?
I can't subject you to a prolonged, painful death.
The crew would also be adversely affected.
Surely there are other options. B'Elanna's DNA, for instance.
It produces antibodies against the phage.
That might provide a vaccine, but not a cure.
I'm sorry.
The space within the force field is filling with a toxin. It is fast and merciful.
Turn it off. That's an order!
Please relax and take deep breaths. It will be over more quickly that way.
Computer, delete Emergency Medical Hologram.
A security code is required for that command.
- Security code Janeway Lambda-3. - That code is not recognised.
- I'm the captain. Delete the EMH. - A security code is required.
Don't do this!
It isn't right!
- Chakotay. - I know. We're back.
That must be the anomaly. That's what's behind all this.
- It's exerting a gravito-magnetic force. - Divert all power to the engines.
Changing course.
- We're being drawn to it. - Reverse engines.
Structural integrity is weakening.
- Maybe we should go in. - No.
Maybe we're doing this wrong. Maybe we should fly into it.
- We must get away. - It will tear the shuttle apart.
The hull is breaching.
- Don't you die on me! - What's happening?
Start breathing! Breathe, damn it! Breathe!
Don't do this to me. Come on! Breathe!
- Can't you hear me? - Don't you die on me.
Come on! Breathe!
Kathryn, listen to me. You have to breathe.
Start breathing! Come on!
Come on!
No, Kathryn! You can't die.
Chakotay, I'm here.
- Voyager to Sacajawea. Do you read? - Yes. Voyager.
- How far are you? - We are in orbit.
Transporters won't function in the storm.
- A shuttle is on its way. - The Captain's dead.
We have to get her to sickbay. The Doctor may be able to revive her.
The away team should be with you in minutes.
I know you can't see me or hear me. But I am here. I'm not dead.
Kathryn, we're going to get you back.
Ten milligrams cordrazine. We'll use it with the cortical stimulator.
Now.
No pulse, no blood pressure. Minimum midbrain activity.
- No response in the cerebral cortex. - Again.
We're getting a thready pulse.
75 milligrams inaprovaline. I'll begin synaptic stimulation.
Pulse is weakening. We're losing her again.
Cortical stimulator. Now.
- No vital signs, no brain activity. - Again.
- No change. Doctor... - Don't question me. Again.
Make a note in the log. Death occurred at 0320 hours.
Cause - massive cerebro-vascular collapse.
Computer, confirm Janeway voice pattern.
Kes, you're a telepath. You can sense things others can't.
Kes, can you sense me?
Kes, please go to the science lab and prepare the autopsy protocols.
I'm here, Kes. I'm staying with you until you realise it.
Captain?
Did you feel that? It was me.
Commander Chakotay, I need to talk to you.
I had the strongest feeling that the captain was there in the corridor.
It is possible that in your distress you imagined that you were aware of her.
It was more than that. I'm sure.
Kes has shown an ability to detect an unseen presence.
The captain might have moved out of our reality.
She could be in an alternate dimension.
- We have to find her. - We can run a subspace sweep.
- See if we can find anything. - Get on it.
Neelix, keep the crew's morale up until we can get some answers.
Yes, sir.
I suggest I work with Kes to help her increase the range of her perceptions.
Good idea. Tom, we'll take duty stations.
That's more like it.
I've reconfigured the lateral sensor array to scan subspace.
Don't forget to run a magneton sweep.
The forward array is ready to scan for temporal phase-shifting.
I'm going to activate the magneton scanner.
It might pick up an anomalous presence.
Now what?
Daddy.
Who are you? Are you responsible for this?
- You know who I am. - My father died 15 years ago.
Yes. Drowned on Tau Ceti Prime. It was devastating to you.
You may be a projection of my imagination, but you are not my father.
Kathryn. Kathryn.
I raised you to be a doubter, to look at the world with a scientist's eye.
- But in this instance, that won't work. - If you know what's going on, tell me.
Isn't it clear? You're dead.
- You died in that shuttle crash. - No. That's not possible.
I understand your confusion, your refusal to accept what's happened.
- I went through it after my accident. - What do you mean?
I went back to you and your mother and sister after I died for a long time,
until I realised it was futile.
That's what happens when death is unexpected.
One's consciousness isn't prepared to let go.
Is that what you're calling me? Kathryn's consciousness.
For want of a better word. Some say "ghost" or "spirit".
We thought the stories were the product of vivid imaginations
or self-induced hysteria.
I was surprised when I found they were true.
If you stayed with me after you died,
you should be able to tell me what happened.
You were so grief-stricken, you fell into a terrible depression.
You spent months in bed, sleeping, rather than confronting your feelings.
What would have happened if your sister hadn't forced you into the world?
If you're a part of me, you'd know those things.
Remember, several times after I died, you woke up thinking I was there.
You told your sister it felt absolutely real.
That's because I was there, trying to convince you to get on with your life.
Let's say you're right. What's next?
That's up to you. Eventually you will cross over.
The only question is how long it will take you.
- Cross over to where? - I don't know what to call it.
Another state of consciousness.
Unlike anything we ever could have imagined in life.
It's not a frightening place, Kathryn. It's full of joy and indescribable wonder.
Kes sensed I was here. They're looking for me.
People have always felt the presence of ghosts.
But the technology to find them hasn't been invented.
They won't give up easily.
But they will give up eventually. They'll accept what's happened.
And that's what you have to do.
Kes did it once, she can do it again. I'm going to help her.
If that's what you feel you need to do, I understand.
Let us try one more time.
Open yourself to the impressions around you,
the thoughts, the minds that are on this ship,
all the minds that are on this ship.
I hear them. So many voices.
They are a turbulent storm,
and you must rise above the tempest, to a place that is quiet.
- It's difficult. - Lift yourself from the storm.
Soar into the quiet space among the stars, where everything is still.
I'm in that place now.
Is there a voice that you can hear? A single voice, isolated in the stillness?
Kes, I'm here. Focus on me. On my voice.
There are only two beings in the void. You and Captain Janeway.
Nothing else exists that can interfere.
Can you hear her voice, however faintly?
- I'm trying. - Is there anything?
Any presence in the void with you?
- I don't think so. - Kes, keep trying.
Now I am with you, moving through the quiet space,
my thoughts joined with yours, extending the range of the search.
Tuvok, surely you must know I'm here. We've shared so much.
- I'm just not getting anything. - Nor am I.
I felt empty. Alone.
Maybe what I sensed was me wanting to believe the captain wasn't dead.
We've been trying for three days, without success,
nor have Torres and Kim found any indication that the captain is alive.
There is a point at which we must accept her death.
Thank you for helping.
I wouldn't have accepted it if you hadn't tried.
Good night.
Tactical officer's log, supplemental.
My attempt to help Kes detect the captain's presence ended in failure.
I am forced to conclude that we have, in fact, lost Kathryn Janeway.
I would like the record to show that I have lost a good friend as well,
one whom I can never replace.
- Oh, Tuvok. - They all love you, Kathryn.
- It's going to be hard for them. - I don't believe this is happening.
Because you don't want to. Tomorrow, it will become easier.
My memorial service.
When I came to this ship,
I resented the fact that Captain Janeway was responsible
for our being stranded in the Delta Quadrant.
I didn't think that she made the right decision,
and I certainly didn't want to serve under her command.
In the beginning, I fought her.
Even when she made me chief engineer, I didn't trust her reasons.
I kept looking for a hidden agenda.
I actually believed that she'd set me up to fail.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
She saw... She saw something in me that I didn't see.
She saw a worthwhile person, where I saw a lost and hostile misfit.
And because she had faith in me, I began to have faith in myself.
When she died, the first thing I thought was that I couldn't do this without her,
that I needed her too badly.
Her strength and her compassion.
But then I realised that the gift that she gave me,
and gave a lot of us here,
was the knowledge that we are better and stronger than we think.
I wish I had said these things to her. I wish I'd taken the time.
- Would anyone else like to speak? - I would, sir.
Captain Janeway wouldn't want us to sit around moping.
She'd want us to be remembering the good times.
Like the away mission when we found bushes of overripe fruit.
I must have eaten half a kilo. My hands and mouth were all purple.
And the captain...
The captain came and sat down next to me...
and her mouth was all stained, too. She put her arm around my shoulder...
and she said...
she said...
"Ensign, these are the times we have to remember."
It...
It's... Sorry.
I know this hasn't been easy, but I think we'll all be better for it.
We will honour the captain one last time.
Release the pod.
Kim was right when he said the captain wouldn't want us to be sad.
Neelix has prepared some food
and it would be nice if we could share the good times we had with the captain.
It's over, Kathryn.
There's nothing left for you here. Come with me.
- What do I do to leave here? - Just decide.
The only thing that keeps you is your refusal to leave.
You may be right in everything you've said.
But I'm not ready to accept it. I'm not ready to go.
My poor little bird. You always made it hard for yourself.
If there was a rocky path and a smooth one, you always chose the rocky one.
If I stay, maybe it will be easier for them.
Maybe I could be comforting somehow.
That's what I told myself when I refused to leave you.
I was hoping you wouldn't have to go through that.
It's a horrible existence, Kathryn.
As time wears on, you begin to see how potent, how destructive, loneliness is.
You'll see the people you love doing all the things you used to share with them,
but you won't be a part of it any more.
You'll be forever shut out of their existence.
It becomes agonising. I don't want that to happen to you.
Maybe that's what it will take for me to make this decision. I'm not ready.
- What can I do to convince you? - Nothing. I can't.
I won't abandon them. We're too much a part of each other.
We've been through so much together.
I have to know what's going to happen to them.
To see Kes continue to grow and learn.
To know if Tom and B'Elanna will ever develop a real friendship.
You can only be an observer, never a participant.
I'd rather be here in spirit than not at all. A captain doesn't abandon ship.
Every hour you stay makes it more difficult to leave.
Why are you pushing me? I've made up my mind. I'm staying here.
I'm getting a weak pulse.
- She's coming back. - I'll use cordrazine.
- What happened? - What do you mean?
I saw Tuvok, Chakotay and the Doctor.
- Here? - No, it was different.
As though I were looking up at them.
- A hallucination. - It didn't feel like it.
I didn't see myself. I was looking up at them.
That's the real me, isn't it, lying on the ground on that planet, dying.
And this is the hallucination. This isn't real.
You're only making it harder on yourself.
Why are you trying so hard to convince me to come with you?
Why not let me come to the decision on my own?
- I'm sparing you unnecessary pain. - My father would never act like this.
He always believed I had to make my own mistakes.
He never tried to shield me from life.
Why would he try to shield me from death?
You're not my father. I could be imagining you, but I don't think so.
You have such a specific agenda.
You're determined that I go with you somewhere.
- Who are you? - I'm trying to help you.
- Stop fighting me. - Are you an alien being of some kind?
- Her eyes are open. - Blood pressure 60 over 30.
But the entity is still impeding your treatment.
Kathryn, just fight a little longer.
Direct synaptic stimulation might drive out the alien.
I was right. I heard Tuvok and Chakotay and the Doctor.
You're an alien. You've created all these hallucinations.
This is what my species does.
At the moment before death, one of us comes to help you understand,
to make the crossing over an occasion of joy.
What is that?
Our matrix. Where your consciousness will live.
It really is a place of wonder. It can be whatever you want it to be.
Then why didn't you tell me this? Why pretend to be my father?
People are comforted to see their loved ones.
It makes the crossing over much less fearful.
I've done this many times.
I've never encountered someone so resistant.
The alien presence is getting stronger again.
- Fight it, Kathryn. - I'll have to try a thoron pulse.
- My people are trying to save me. - They're trying out of desperation.
You're not trying to make me comfortable.
You just want me to come with you.
- Because it's inevitable. - You're no Good Samaritan.
You're more like a vulture, preying on people at their most vulnerable.
I've been patient.
But your patience is wearing thin. Why do you want me in that matrix?
It has nothing to do with everlasting joy.
- You must go with me. - If you could force me, you would have.
You need me to agree, don't you? I have to go voluntarily.
That's better than this endless debate.
We can stand here for all eternity, and I will never choose to go with you.
Captain, you face death every day.
There will be another time and I'll be waiting.
Eventually, you'll come into my matrix...
and you will nourish me for a long, long time.
Go back to hell, coward.
I'm no longer detecting the alien. Vital signs are responding.
Blood pressure 110 over 65.
- Doctor. What happened? - Perhaps you can explain.
You and I crashed here. You were badly injured.
The Doctor arrived and began treating you.
We detected an alien presence within your cerebral cortex.
It was preventing our attempts to heal you.
Eventually it was dislodged, but I thought we'd lost you.
But you seemed to fight back.
He kept telling me to let go, but I wouldn't.
- He? - My fath...
The alien.
He wanted to take me into another place.
Another place? Some kind of afterlife?
Maybe.
But I can tell you this...
from what I saw, it's certainly not where I'd like to spend eternity.
Captain's log, stardate 50518.6.
The Doctor has pronounced me physically fit,
but it will take me longer to work through the emotional impact.
Come in.
The Doctor told you to take it easy for a few days.
Taking it easy makes me feel worse.
You shouldn't push yourself. You've been through a lot.
To tell you the truth, I'd rather stay busy than dwell on what happened.
I can understand that. I can't help thinking about it.
That alien was like the spider who has to lure a fly into his web.
Do you think it's possible that the near death experiences we've heard about
are the result of an alien inhabitation?
- It's a little hard to believe. - I hope so.
I hope his species is unique to the Delta Quadrant and I've seen the last of him.
After going head to head with Kathryn Janeway,
he must have realised he'd met his match.
Come on, Chakotay.
I cheated death. That's worth a celebration.
Bottle of champagne, moonlight sail. How does that sound?
Like something worth living for.