Good afternoon, Ensign. How are we doing today?
- We're doing just fine, thank you. - Good.
I was wondering if you'd take a look at the thermal array in the kitchen.
It overloaded this morning and vaporised an entire pot roast.
- I'd be happy to. - Wonderful.
I informed Ensign Kim hours ago, and he still hasn't come down to fix it.
There's a problem with the structural integrity grid.
I'm sure he hasn't forgotten about you.
If we're all eating cold leftovers, who do you think the crew will blame?
Looks like you need a new set of anodyne relays.
I'll go and get some for you out of storage.
And while you're here, would you mind taking a look at the replicator?
It can't make anything with large amounts of cellulose.
Cabbages, psyllium, green beans, celery -
it all comes out looking too yellow.
I thought you didn't use replicated vegetables.
Always fresh, organic, from the airponic bay.
The yields have been low lately.
Normally, I would never dream of using synthesised veggies.
It looks like a malfunction in the power grid. Shouldn't be too difficult...
What's wrong?
I think I'm having a contraction. Oh, yeah, it's a contraction, all right.
That's wonderful. Labour can't be far behind.
Let's get you to sickbay. Try to breathe now. Deep, regular breaths.
Not so fast now. We're having a baby!
Push!
Don't forget to breathe. Deep, regular breaths.
That's it.
Cervical dilation is at 10.2 centimetres. Prostaglandin levels are normal.
- Push, Ensign. - You push, damn it! I'm sick of pushing!
I know you're fatigued. Focus on your breathing.
Remember the exercises we did. When you feel a contraction, bear down.
It's been seven hours. How long does it take to deliver a baby?
- As long as it takes, Mr Paris. - Indeed.
- My wife was in labour for 96 hours. - Four days?
Pregnancy and patience go hand in hand.
I didn't expect to be this nervous. It's not even my child.
In a way, this child belongs to all of us. It is the first baby born on Voyager.
I'm just not sure whether I should be welcoming it on board, or apologising.
Voyager isn't my idea of a nursery, nor the Delta Quadrant a playground.
My father had a saying. "Home is wherever you happen to be."
Long-range sensors are picking up Vidiian communications ahead.
- All stop. A ship? - 20 ships within sensor range.
I am also detecting a G-type star system with two inhabited planets. Vidiian.
- We're headed into their territory. - I'm in no mood to donate organs.
Options, Mr Paris?
A large plasma drift bearing 40, mark 7, extends half the length of this sector.
Interference should block us from their sensors.
Lay in a course at full impulse. Deflectors at maximum.
- What was that? - What's wrong?
A pain... in my abdomen. It's different. Sharp. Oh, God!
The baby has shifted position and lodged in the uterine wall.
This happens in human-Ktarian pregnancies.
- Can we reposition the baby? - No. I don't want to risk nerve damage.
If we don't deliver the baby now, it could cause internal bleeding.
Kes, prepare for a foetal transport.
- We're clearing the Vidiian system. - Take us out of the plasma drift.
I've locked onto the baby's coordinates. We're ready to begin.
Initiating umbilical separation. Energising.
Congratulations, Ensign. It's a girl.
Is she all right?
There's a slight hemocythemic imbalance.
But we'll stabilise her cell membranes.
- What was that? - Some kind of subspace turbulence.
I can't tell if...
What the hell...? The warp engines just stalled.
- Go to impulse. - Impulse engines aren't responding.
We're losing main power. Switching to backup.
Red Alert. Bridge to Engineering. Report.
Our antimatter supply is being drained. The containment fields are in place.
We sprung a leak but I can't find the crack.
Infuse the warp core with repeated proton bursts. That should keep it going.
I can generate enough protons for a burst every 30 seconds.
These proton bursts will cause stress on the hull.
Reinforce structural integrity to...
Now what?
- What was that? - A proton burst.
Already? Bridge to Torres. Report.
Engineering, respond.
Three EPS conduits just ruptured in engineering. Heavy casualties.
The incubator is losing power. Activate the auxiliary respirator.
We've got wounded here.
Second-degree plasma burns. Treat him with a dermaline gel.
Fractured clavicle, thoracic contusions,
nothing serious. She can wait.
Fused vertebrae. Prep him for surgery.
The baby's membranes won't stabilise.
Increase the osmotic...
That's not helping.
Increase osmotic pressure by 10%.
There's been a coolant leak.
Wounded on the way.
Torres to bridge! We're definitely being...
We're being hit by proton bursts.
I don't know where they're coming from.
I never even started the procedure.
She's right. Not a single burst was fired.
Yet they are originating from the ship.
These bursts are weakening the hull. We cannot take any more.
Increase power to reinforcement.
Our antimatter supply is too low.
There's just not enough power to go...
Hull breach on deck 15.
Emergency force fields are off-line.
I could enhance our portable force field generators to seal that breach.
Go.
Don't you worry. We have the best doctor in the quadrant.
Her cell membranes are losing cohesion.
Remodulate the osmotic pressure.
- No effect. - Hang on. I'll be right there.
Jefferies tube 12 runs over the breach. We can set up a containment field.
Its integrity is down to 22%.
So we need to reinforce the field. We'll use the power conduits on this deck.
I've analysed all the bursts. There's no indication of where they're coming from.
I don't care. I just want to stop them.
Do we have enough auxiliary power to magnetise the hull?
- We have just barely enough. - Give it a try.
I've stabilised my imaging array but it could go out.
Prepare for emergency resuscitation.
- Is my baby going to die? - Not if I can help it.
Here it is. The breach is directly below us.
Make it fast, Harry.
- Torres to Hogan. What's your status? - Almost got it.
I'm rerouting all power in this section to your...
Torres to Hogan. Hogan, are you there?
- I'm hurt. - We have to help him.
Just give me a minute.
- Again. - Nothing.
I'm sorry, Ensign.
Hogan to sickbay. I need medical assistance.
Deck 15, section 29.
I'll go.
The breach is widening. Let's get out of here.
- Damn it, Harry! Let's go! - Hold on. My minute isn't up y...
Harry, grab my hand!
HARRY!
- Lieutenant Hogan? - Kes, over here.
Torres to bridge. Ensign Kim is dead. Kes just disappeared.
- Disappeared? - I can't explain it. She just vanished.
There's a spatial rift right where she disappeared.
- Can you determine where it leads? - Stand by, bridge.
I threw a piece of conduit into the rift.
Just as it vanished, I detected another oxygen nitrogen atmosphere.
Whatever's on the other side of that rift, there's air. Maybe Kes is still alive.
Get out of there! I'm evacuating the entire deck.
You don't have to tell me twice.
Main computer core is failing. Switching to backup.
- Are you ready to magnetise the hull? - Stand by.
- I'm having trouble with alignment. - Remodulate the field emitters.
I've got alignment. Magnetising the hull.
- I think it worked. - I want a full damage report.
- Are you OK? - It's just a scratch.
- Maybe you should... - I'm fine.
Damage reports. The hull breach on deck 15 now includes deck 14.
There are 632 micro-fractures along the hull.
All primary systems are off-line. We are running on emergency power only.
The antimatter supply has dropped to 18% and is falling.
Warp coils in both nacelles are inoperative.
Environmental control is failing.
15 crew members have plasma burns,
27 experienced other injuries. The Doctor is setting up triage facilities.
I must also report that Ensign Wildman's baby did not survive.
I want those micro-fractures sealed before they become breaches.
- Mr Paris, go assist the Doctor. - Right.
Commander, you have the bridge. I'm going to go talk to Ensign Wildman...
The magnetic field is collapsing. The hull is depolarising!
The fire suppression system is out.
Hull breach on deck 1. Emergency force fields inoperative.
Everybody out! Go!
Hurry, Captain!
I'm trying to reroute emergency power to the field emitters!
I can seal this breach!
Captain, let's go!
Ensign Kim, scan the bridge.
I just saw myself cross the bridge and enter that turbolift.
It was very faint, almost like a ghost image.
And I looked like hell.
There was a minor spatial fluctuation on the bridge, but only for a millisecond.
Bridge to engineering. How long until we can use the main sensor array?
Three hours. We're only halfway through the procedure.
See if you can speed up the process. We need the sensors.
Understood.
Mr Kim, modify a tricorder to scan for spatial anomalies.
Go over every centimetre of this bridge.
Examine the sensor logs from our trip through the plasma drift.
- I'll be in sickbay. - Aye, Captain.
Good news, Ensign. Our baby is perfectly healthy.
There's no sign of any abnormalities.
- Our baby? - A figure of speech.
I am responsible for bringing her into the world.
- You may hold her now. - Hello there.
Congratulations, Samantha.
She's adorable. Have you thought of a name?
Not yet. I really thought it would be a boy.
Let me know as soon as you decide. I've been making a blanket for her.
All that's missing is an initial.
Get some rest.
- How's our other patient doing? - She's still unconscious.
I ran a microcellular scan. We're almost identical.
- Almost? - There's a slight shift in their DNA.
- Do you know where she came from? - Not yet.
But I intend to find out. Can you wake her?
- I believe so. - Good.
I think she's going to have an interesting story to tell.
I was running through the corridor with my medkit. Deck 15.
And then suddenly... I felt dizzy,
and my vision started to blur.
After that, I don't remember anything, until you woke me up just now.
You were found unconscious on deck 15, holding a medkit.
We also found this lying next to you. It's a piece of damaged conduit.
Our analysis shows it's from Voyager,
deck 15, section 29-Alpha, bulkhead 052.
- But there's no damage to this ship. - There was massive damage.
The evidence seems to suggest that you've come from a different Voyager.
We did find a spatial rift on deck 15.
It's possible that it connects us to this other Voyager.
Where is the other ship? A parallel universe? Another dimension?
I'm not sure. The Voyager Kes described is almost identical to ours.
We've had similar experiences, similar personal histories.
We both entered a plasma cloud to avoid the Vidiians.
Both of our engines stalled, which caused our antimatter supplies to drain.
We both decided to keep our engines running by emitting proton bursts.
But after that, our experiences diverged.
We started emitting the proton bursts. They didn't.
Our ship was being damaged by proton bursts. We didn't know where from.
That's more than a coincidence. Janeway to engineering.
I want you to stop the proton bursts.
- But if we stop now, the power levels... - I'll explain later.
Understood.
I don't know how, but there's another Voyager out there,
and I intend to find it.
We analysed the sensor logs from the plasma cloud.
It was normal until we ran a quantum-level analysis.
Remember that subspace turbulence we hit?
Well, watch what happens.
We thought it was an aberration, but they were in perfect calibration.
So I analysed the subspace turbulence.
It was more than turbulence. It was a divergence field.
When we passed through it, sensor readings doubled -
mass, energy output, bio-signatures.
Every particle of matter on this ship was duplicated in that instant.
So where is the other ship?
According to these readings, another Voyager's right here, right now,
occupying the same point in space-time that we are.
Quantum theorists at Kent State University ran an experiment
in which a single particle was duplicated using different subspace fields.
Those same forces may have duplicated every particle of matter on Voyager.
- Matter. But not antimatter. - Captain?
In that experiment, they could duplicate normal matter,
but when they tried to duplicate antimatter, the experiment failed.
So the antimatter on the ships wasn't duplicated.
Both engines have been drawing power from a single source of antimatter.
- Like Siamese twins with one heart. - So what do we do?
I don't know. But we'll have to coordinate it with the other ship.
Find a way to communicate with them.
The only link we know of is on deck 15, the spatial rift.
We need a way to send Kes back through safely.
A portable phase discriminator might protect her from the spatial transition.
Get on it.
When can I start breast-feeding?
Right away.
However, her incisors will erupt within three to four weeks.
Since your skin lacks the scales of a Ktarian,
we'll have to discuss alternatives.
- When can I take her home? - In 24 hours.
I want to make sure there's no more damage to her cell membranes.
- You're welcome to stay the night. - I'd like that.
Congratulations. It's a girl. My imaging array could go out.
Her membranes are losing cohesion.
Remodulate the osmotic pressure.
- No effect. - Again.
Is my baby going to die?
- I'm sorry, Ensign. - She's going to die, isn't she?
- Are you all right? - Yes. It's just...
The baby's crying, it was like a bad memory.
What do you mean?
On my Voyager, during the delivery, there were complications.
- We performed a foetal transport. - Yes. The transport was successful.
On my ship, the medical systems were heavily damaged.
The osmotic pressure therapy didn't work. The baby died.
I'm sorry to hear that. But it wasn't your fault. It was out of your control.
I've got to get back. They need me.
The captain's working on it, Kes. In the meantime, try to get some rest.
Besides, I'm sure your Voyager
is also equipped with a proficient Emergency Medical Hologram.
It's harder to establish a com-link than I thought.
Their molecular signature is out of phase with ours.
- I can't get visual, audio, nothing. - You've remodulated the com carrier?
- Five times on 47 frequencies. - There has to be a way.
If they were recalibrating their carrier wave at the same time,
would that allow us to connect?
I think so, but we'd have to communicate with them first.
It's the chicken and the egg.
Maybe we need something primitive.
Is there a signal we could emit just to get their attention?
A rotating band pulse might do it, but it wouldn't be more than a shrill whistle.
That might be enough. Give it a try.
All of the ship's command functions have been rerouted to main engineering.
Welcome to the new bridge. Now, let's see about...
- What's that? - I don't know.
- It's some kind of com emissions. - Coming from where?
I can't tell. But it's got a Federation signature.
Recalibrate our frequency carrier to match it.
That's it! They locked onto our phase variant.
- What com can we establish? - Not much.
We can use the emergency encryption code for a short message.
That should be enough.
That's the emergency code. Run it through an alphanumeric sequencer.
I think someone's telling us to lock onto a frequency of 12 gigahertz.
Do it.
I'll try to clear it up.
Captain, this isn't an illusion.
What you're seeing is real, but it's going to take some explaining.
- There are two Voyagers? - That's what I was told.
Could this possibly be some kind of subterfuge? An alien deception?
She had very specific knowledge of what happened -
the damage, Wildman's baby, Kes disappearing.
And that when I was twelve I walked home in a storm because I lost at tennis.
And her explanation of how the ships duplicated - certainly plausible.
If it is true, what do we do about it?
My counterpart has suggested we try to merge the two ships,
recreate the subspace divergence field and then depolarise it.
Both ships would have to send out a resonance pulse at the same time.
We barely have enough power for life support.
How can we get enough to send an energy pulse of that size?
We could evacuate all the crew to this deck,
then divert all power to the deflector dish.
Re-establish the com-link with the other ship.
This is Janeway. What have you decided?
We think we can channel enough energy to try the merging process.
Good. When can we start?
- We'll need 15 minutes. - We'll be ready.
And Captain, we'll only have enough power to try this once.
I understand.
Chakotay, Tuvok, begin the evacuation process.
I'll tell the Doctor to use backup power.
We're ready, Captain.
We're standing by. I think you should take the lead
since you may have to allow for your weakened power.
Acknowledged. Lieutenant Torres and Lieutenant Torres,
charge the deflector dishes.
Deflector dish charging. Capacitance levels are rising.
60%... 85%... 98%.
We're ready to create the divergence field.
Initiating.
- Power flow nominal. - Synchronise computer event timing.
Ready to release depolarisation pulse. On my mark.
Now.
The pulses have been emitted. The fields are depolarising.
But we aren't merging. In fact, we're going further out of phase!
- Increase power to the deflector dish. - I can't! Too much plasma back flow.
We're going to lose our connection. We'll both be destroyed!
- Abort! - Aborting resonance pulse.
- What went wrong? - The plasma flow became too turbulent.
We couldn't complete the merging.
We've lost the com-link as well.
Captain, the antimatter leak is becoming a haemorrhage.
If we don't start the proton bursts, we'll be drained in 30 minutes.
The lives of both crews are at stake here. I can't make unilateral decisions.
Janeway to Kim. Is the spatial rift still stable?
Yes. I've rigged a phase discriminator. Kes should be able to return.
Rig another one, Ensign. I'm going with her.
This should protect you from the transition.
Keep trying to re-establish a com-link.
I will but we have hardly any antimatter left. Whatever you do, do it fast.
- Understood. Are you ready? - Yes.
- It's gotten worse here. - Let's go to command control.
I don't know how to stop the drain without proton bursts.
We can't do that. We'd damage the other ship.
- Think people. We need options. - I agree, Captain.
And I think we need to talk.
Our antimatter supply will run out in less than half an hour.
The attempted merger is throwing us further out.
- Quantum cohesion is breaking down. - Just like the Kent State experiment.
The atoms couldn't occupy the same point for long before...
Mutual annihilation.
- What are our options? - Let's try a different tack.
Instead of merging the ships, let's try to separate them.
We could divide the antimatter between us.
No. We've studied that theory.
Any attempt to disrupt the antimatter supply will destroy us all.
What about evacuating your crew to my ship? We could manage.
We've been studying that theory.
Sending any more than ten people through the rift
would radically alter the atomic balance of the ships and destroy us both.
You should return to your ship and run a metallurgical analysis.
Find out the precise phase modulation of your hull. I'll do the same here.
Maybe we can realign the phase displacement.
- You're going to self-destruct your ship. - What makes you say that?
That's what I would do if your Voyager were intact,
and my Voyager were crippled, my crew wounded or dead.
I'd sacrifice my ship so yours could survive.
Then I'm glad we agree. Go back to your ship.
I didn't say I agree, I said I understand.
I won't let you do that yet. We haven't explored all the options.
Yes, we have and we both know it.
- This is my decision. - I won't let you...
Please don't make me have you escorted off my ship because...
you know I'll do it.
All right. But give me 15 minutes to come up with another solution.
After that, it's your decision.
15 minutes. Good luck.
To both of us.
- I've re-established a com-link. - Hail them.
Captain, I've got an idea. Actually, it was yours.
We could realign the phase displacement.
My plan is the only one that's going to work. It's time that we both accept that.
We've got a perimeter alert. A vessel is approaching bearing 005, mark 318.
- They've dropped out of warp. - Can you identify them?
They're Vidiian, sir.
Red Alert.
- Shields. - Still off-line.
A Vidiian ship is heading this way. Can you see them, too?
- Yes. - Do you have any weapons?
- Stand by. Tuvok? - Negative.
We had to reroute power. It would take hours to bring weapons back on-line.
What is it?
Their ship seems to be trapped in a spatial flux.
- Have they detected us? - Yes. But they can't raise their shields.
Whatever is happening to them has disrupted their weapon systems.
Load a hyperthermic charge.
Fire.
- They have fired an energy weapon. - Brace for impact.
Damage control teams, stand by.
What happened? They couldn't have missed.
- Maybe they hit the other Voyager. - Hail them.
- I've lost the com-link. - Try to get it back.
We have destroyed their weapons.
Manoeuvre us to within grappling range.
They are cutting an access route through the hull on deck 5.
The phaser damaged the right kidney but the other organs are healthy.
Begin with them.
I've erected an emergency force field around sickbay.
- I won't let them take my baby. - It'll be all right.
Give her to me and I'll hide her. If they do break in, they won't find her.
Trust me. I won't let anyone touch our baby.
- Mama will see you soon. - Give me a hand. Move this.
We'll have to cut away the internal circuitry to...
Vidiians. They're using a disruptor to break down the force field.
The force field's down.
They've got everything below deck 5 and we can't keep them from the bridge.
- How many Vidiians are on the ship? - 347 and more are boarding.
- We're outnumbered. - I've got an incoming subspace signal.
- It's from the other Voyager. - On screen.
Captain, what's happening over there?
We've been boarded. The Vidiians are on the verge of taking over our ship.
- Are they on yours? - No. They can't detect our ship.
We can have a security detachment cross the spatial rift
and board your ship within five minutes.
No. If we do that, the Vidiians might become aware of your Voyager.
- That would put both ships at risk. - We can't just let you all be killed.
I'm not about to let that happen. I'll destroy this ship.
There's no way I can change your mind? I know how stubborn you can be.
True. But there is something else I can do for you.
I'm sending Harry Kim over with Ensign Wildman's baby.
- Somehow, it seems only fair. - We'll be waiting for them.
Just make me a promise, Kathryn. Get your crew home.
I will. I will.
You've got five minutes. Get the baby.
- But Captain... - Move it, Ensign! That's an order!
Computer, initiate the self-destruct sequence.
Authorisation Janeway Pi-110.
Set at five minutes and mute voice warnings.
Enable.
Self-destruct sequence has been initiated.
Warp core overload in four minutes, 55 seconds.
There will be no further audio warnings.
Ocampa. Female. The organs are healthy.
She has a high rate of regeneration.
Extract her pelvic ridge. We'll analyse the bone marrow for phage resistance.
The others are human.
Their pancreatic tissues are well suited for transplant.
Begin the extraction procedure.
This one. A female human. She's recently given birth.
- Are you certain? - Her haemo-uterine levels are high.
Where's the infant?
Set your bio-probe to maximum. Find it.
NO!
Ensign Kim, is that you?
- Doc, am I glad to see you. - Have we retaken the ship?
No. The Captain's put the ship on self-destruct.
I must take the baby to the other Voyager.
You'd better hurry.
- Goodbye, Doc. - Ensign.
Tell my counterpart that I've corrected all signs of hemocythemia.
Will do.
I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway. Welcome to the bridge.
Commander!
- It's about time. - Tuvok to Janeway.
Ensign Kim has made it through, with the infant.
Acknowledged.
Captain, the Vidiian ship has been destroyed.
So has the other Voyager.
Captain's log, stardate 49548.7.
There are no signs of any pursuing Vidiian vessels
and we have resumed a course toward home.
Repair efforts are underway. We'll be able to return to the bridge in three days.
Good. B'Elanna won't tolerate my standing over her in engineering.
- Is there something on your mind? - I am curious, Captain.
When you were in disagreement with the other captain about...
Would I have self-destructed our ship?
I've gone over that moment a thousand times.
The truth is, yes, I would have given the order.
But I will admit, there was a part of me that could see her point of view.
One could say that you were both the doubter and the doubted.
I do not envy the paradox of logic you were faced with.
Neither did I. And neither did she.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
You're welcome. But you should also thank the Doctor.
It was his counterpart who saved her.
I'm not surprised. I am programmed to be heroic when the need arises.
By the way, Ensign, this other Doctor, did he have a name?
- I really didn't have time to ask. - May I go back to my temporary bridge?
By all means.
- It's good to have you back, Ensign. - Thank you, I think.
- Something wrong? - I'm not sure.
I mean, this isn't really my ship, and you're not really my captain
and yet you are and there's no difference.
But I know there's a difference. Or is there?
- It's all a little weird. - Mr Kim, we're Starfleet officers.
Weird is part of the job.