The "Protostar" is refusing our hails
from within the Neutral Zone.
We can't go in, they won't come out.
Whatever trouble they're in, they've locked us out.
This piece, it's beautiful.
Chopin's "Prelude No. 4"
His work always helps me bide the time.
It worries me. These thieves evaded the Tal Shiar,
not to mention our Federation starship.
Save for my brief encounter,
we still have no idea who we're dealing with.
- That's not quite true. - Not anymore.
Communications identified
a non-Federation subspace transmission.
It's a bounty seeking "The Unwanted."
- Look familiar? - Dal R'El, Jankom Pog,
Rok-Tahk--
So we finally have names to faces.
But why won't they answer our hails?
Until then, we bide our time.
Ah, ah, ah!
No, no!
Easy, easy!
We're trying to fix the auxiliary warp drive,
not destroy it.
- I don't fix things. - That's your job.
With the Admiral watching our every move,
it's everyone's job.
If we can't start charging for our next Proto-Jump,
we'll never be able to leave the Neutral Zone.
No need to blame others now.
We're all in this mess together.
Don't take it personal.
He's still sensitive about the augment-thing.
The "augment-thing"?
Forgive me if I need more than a day
to come to terms with being a failed genetic experiment.
Not that any of you care.
Uhh, you're not the only one on the ship with a sob story.
Well, who can top that?
Is your father hunting you down?
So maybe Gwyn has me beat.
I wouldn't be so sure.
We each have things in our past
we wish to forget.
Some more than others.
Hey, why would you read my mind?
- Because I care. - You know what?
We could use a break.
So, tell us, kid, how did you wind up on Tars Lamora?
Oh. You don't wanna hear that.
Come on, of course we do, kid.
- Come on, Rok. - Do tell.
You can tell us.
They called me The Monster.
Ah, ah!
Every hero needs something to fight,
and people came from all over to watch...
that hero fight me.
Mm-mm!
I tried to scare the hero.
But heroes
aren't scared easily.
- Yah! Ah-ha! - And the crowd couldn't wait
to see the hero win.
At first, doing the show wasn't so bad.
It was actually kinda fun.
After every fight, I had a bowl full of Nutri-goop.
And good company.
I even got to play with his sword.
It was just the hero and me.
We didn't share a language.
Just a word here or there.
But we could still tell a story.
Yah!
We loved seeing how happy we made the fans.
But the fans weren't happy
to see me, and suddenly,
it wasn't fun anymore.
I thought it was just pretend,
but maybe I am the monster.
Ahh!
One day, I just had enough.
Ahh!
But then...
something funny happened.
Hm! Uh!
Ahh! Ha ha!
Ohh!
Ahh!
Whoa!
Oh, oh!
Ohh!
Oh!
For the first time,
I was a hero.
After the fight, I didn't get a bowl full of goop...
only half.
And my good company, well, he was sad...
'cause he knew people didn't come from all around
to see a monster be a hero.
And that's when they hauled me off.
Don't feel bad.
If it didn't happen, I wouldn't have met you.
That's why you don't like fighting.
It helps to talk about it.
Perhaps we should get back to work.
The ship isn't going to fix itself.
Whoa!
- We're in the Neutral Zone. - The ship can wait.
You, on the other hand, need some attention.
- Jankom will handle it. - Be done in a jiff.
So you can read their minds,
- but what about yours? - Yeah.
How did a Medusan end up in the Delta Quadrant?
I wasn't always in this containment suit.
I remember how I used to be so free.
And we never had to speak.
We just were.
Curious minds who'd left their home world
long, long ago to explore.
Yah!
I'm so sorry.
Zero, I had no idea.
I thought my daughter and I were the only Vau N'Akat left.
You don't remember what they did?
The Medusan shattered his mind.
Who? Starfleet?
They saved me.
They destroyed our world.
Help me. Help me remember.
If you can believe it,
there was once a time we were the same age.
You were entice by Starfleet's lies
of bold new worlds,
but a great many were wary of their promises
Why would we join a primitive allegiance
when it was them who stood the most to gain?
Years of infighting rotted our decency,
replacing it with fear, anger, violence, civil war.
The Federation refused to choose a side,
abandoned us to face decades of our own self-annihilation.
Hope of Solum was dead.
Until decades later, the sky tore open
and hope returned.
I remember seeing the "Protostar" arrive
through the wormhole with my own eyes.
They called it an accident,
but we knew it was fate.
They had no idea how starved we were for retribution.
Mayday! Mayday!
We're lost somewhere in the Delta Quadrant.
The "Protostar's" sustained heavy damage
after passing through a temporal anomaly.
Ah!
We took them prisoner.
Ah!
And weaponized their ship
with our last surviving Construct
to be sent back in time to destroy Starfleet
before they could ever make First Contact.
But on the eve of our launch,
the Starfleet prisoners escaped.
Unable to board
or deactivate the weapon, they had one last resort...
They sent the "Protostar"
back into the time anomaly it came from,
without a crew to guide it.
Without us.
Our salvation lost in the past.
We had no way to track where or when it landed.
Any chance of saving Solum was gone.
But it couldn't be!
We wouldn't allow it!
Which is why we formed The Order.
Our greatest minds said the odds of finding it
were 1% at best.
So we sent a hundred ships to spite the odds.
Yes! Each of us took the last of our fleet,
one ship, one Drednok.
It was desperate, but all we had.
We gave up our lives, our futures,
our identities to protect Solum.
Lone soldiers with singular purpose.
You became The Diviner, and I--
The Vindicator.
Few survived as the wormhole collapsed.
Ah!
None of us knew when or where
we would end up.
Yet, we arrived here, in the Alpha Quadrant
three years ago.
And that's why you haven't aged.
I infiltrated our enemies.
Hitched a ride with the only person
just as determined to find it as I was.
Imagine my surprise when we found you alone on Tars Lamora.
I spent 20 years searching.
I thought I wasn't going to live long enough to see it.
So you defied The Order and made a progeny.
You had to ensure the mission was completed.
But tell me, why did she betray us?
She met a boy
Ha! I fixed it!
I think you mean we fixed it.
It's called being a part of a team, Captain.
- Would you look at that. - The Proto-Core is responding,
and it looks like the systems need to reboot
- before it'll start to charge. - Ugh!
How long will that take?
Hey, the holodeck is back up and running.
Maybe the team could kill some time while we wait.
Actually, I prefer to hear more of your stories.
We never heard from you, Jankom.
You are the most miserable of the lot.
I bet you have an interesting story.
Oh, he has an especially good one.
Would you like to tell my story,
or should Jankom?
Fine. So, you'd expect being a noble Tellarite,
Jankom had a royal upbringing.
But it was a royal pain.
Pre-Federation on Tellar Prime,
the orphans were enlisted for deep space missions.
Lemme tell you, waking up in a cryo-sleep chamber
ain't no picnic.
Warning, warning, warning.
Huh? Huh.
Ah. What's the deal?
Why'd I wake up so early?
I am the M-M-Miner Transport Emergency Assistant.
- Uhh-- - Please state
- your full name and query. - Ugh.
I said, why'd I wake up?
Do not compute.
Please state your full name and query.
Ahh! My name is Jankom Pog.
Ugh! Turn my cryopod back on.
- I gotta go back to sleep. - Request denied.
Emergency in progress.
- Then wake the engineer. - I'm only a trainee.
Do not compute. State your--
Jankom Pog would like you to wake up a real engineer.
- Request denied. - Gah!
- Emergency in progress. - Okay, okay.
I can fix it.
Huh. What do ya know?
Percussive maintenance.
I did it again.
Oh, boy.
Oops. Air flow in the engine room obstructed.
Ugh, I can fix it.
Please state your full name and--
No, no, no.
Ahh, Jankom Pog! Jankom Pog can fix it.
Ahh.
Oops. Fire suppression system failing.
Ah. Ahh!
Jankom Pog can fix it.
- Oops. - Arboretum needs attention.
Whoa! Ahh! Oh! Oh!
- Jankom Pog can fix it! - Oops. Electrical problems.
J-J-Jankom Pog
- can f-f-fix it! - Oops. Toilet blockage.
Ugh, Jankom Pog's not fixing that.
Jankom Pog can't fix it.
Oops. Insufficient power.
- Ahh, Jankom Pog! - Jankom Pog can fix it.
- Oops. Cracked warp core. - Ohh! Jankom Pog can--
- Oops. Oops. - Jankom Pog can fix it!
All systems now optimal.
So, uh, Jankom Pog is done?
Yes, Jankom. Now you can rest.
Ohh.
Ohh. Ha.
Huh--
Oops. Oxygen levels depleting.
What? No, no, no, no!
You said Jankom Pog could rest!
That's not rest. You liar!
Your excess exertion means there is not enough air left
for the 30 life signs aboard to reach their destination.
Uh, what if there were 29?
Goodbye, Jankom Pog.
You made for an excellent engineer.
Thank you, Boxy.
And when the others wake up and ask who saved them,
speak my name.
Let them shout it from the stars.
Please state your full name and--
What? Are you kidding me?
It's me, Jankom Pog-- Aww, you know what?
Forget it. Jankom Pog is outta here.
Jankom Pog fixed it.
So-- there Jankom was,
drifting endlessly, stinking up my pod, and then--
- Caught by a Kazon. - All those Tellarites,
and they'll never know your noble act.
Royalty, if you ask me.
- Aww! - Ah!
All your stories, everything you shared,
I guess we all have a past.
And together, a brighter future.
We never asked Murf.
Got anything you wanna share?
Well done, crew.
The "Protostar" is prepped and primed to charge.
Whew, already?
Feels like we've been talking the whole time.
Give it a whirl, kid.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Ehh?
Finally, it's working!
Now, as soon as it's fully loaded,
we can blast outta here.
A ship is only as good as its crew.
What about you, Janeway?
What about me?
- What was Janeway like-- - Eh, before she was a hologram?
Yeah! We'd love to know.
Well, now, have I ever told you about Mollie?
Who's Mollie?
She was the runt of the litter.
Sounds like Jankom.
Hang on!
Kidnapped, sold, traded--
They're not criminals, they're just some kids
who found themselves way over their heads.
Perhaps it's not them we should be after.
But who put this bounty out?
The Diviner?
A serious name for what I presume
is a serious individual.
Perhaps it's serious enough to jog our guest's memory.
Where is he?
Hmm, scans show he's with Ensign Asencia in her quarters.
- Thank you, Commander. - You have the bridge.
It's time we get to the bottom of this.
Security, dig up anything you can
about an individual named The Diviner.
Alert me of any findings.
What is this?
What are you doing?
Ensuring the mission.