FUTURE'S END, PART II


Last time on Star Trek: Voyager...
l'm Captain Braxton of the Federation Timeship Aeon.
l've come from 29th century Earth.
Why are you firing at us?
Your vessel is responsible for a disaster in my century--
a temporal explosion that will destroy
all of Earth's solar system.
l've come back in time to prevent that occurrence.
My mission is your destruction.
We seem to be caught in some kind of graviton distortion.
We're being pulled in, too.
l find it hard to believe a ship from the 29th century
could have landed on this beach without being noticed.
That ship shouldn't be here.
lt belongs to another century.
We have to take it back.
No one else knows there's something up there.
We've got to tell somebody about this.
We've got to call NASA.
She's a security risk.
Go to Griffith, get the data, get rid of her.
What the hell did you do to my computer?
lt is screwed up!
The hard drive is wiped.
Get down!
Starling is using 29th-century technology against us.
We may not be able to keep up with him.
Yes.
He's accessing our main computer.
Get us back into orbit
and l want a full damage report from...
Captain Janeway...
You're from the 24th century?
And here all this time, l thought you were from the 29th.
Looks like l have the home-field advantage.
And now the conclusion.
Let me guess.
Someone broke into the van last night
while l was sleeping, tried to snatch the stereo.
You bravely fought them off
and now you're repairing the damage.
That's exactly what happened.
My hero.
What's it like?
Life as a spy, l mean.
Classified.
Oh, right.
l forgot.
But you said ''secret agent''
and nobody says secret agent.
And you do that a lot.
You get things not quite right...
like you don't belong here.
Rain, you're fantasizing.
And you're insulting my intelligence.
Yesterday afternoon, l picked up a UFO in orbit.
Today, my life is completely out of control,
so don't think l'm too stupid to notice.
l apologize.
Accepted.
Would you also accept
that there are lives at stake here?
The more you keep asking me questions,
the more difficult you make things... for everybody.
l'll try.
So...
why'd you become an astronomer?
My brother.
Had a telescope-- a little refractor.
You could barely see in the tree house next door actually, but...
it was enough.
lt was enough to see the rings of Saturn.
l remember... l remember l used
to think that they looked like...
jewels from a pirate's treasure.
All l ever wanted since then was to...
reach up and touch them.
Good morning.
Agent Tuvok, what's up?
Breakfast is up.
Have you made any progress?
l think so.
Chili burritos, footlong hot dogs
and Goliath gulps.
This is not a breakfast.
This is an afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
And that is a non sequitur.
Would you please hand me a burrito?
Everything you guys do is just a little bit off.
These things are kind of...
crude.
So much for sending a locator signal.
There is another option.
The radio dish at the observatory.
We could use the same setup...
The same setup that l used to send that message to your...
whatever it is up in orbit.
We will require your assistance.
No kidding.
Well?
Not on an empty stomach.
Starling downloaded nearly 20 percent
of our computer core while we were trying to beam
the timeship out of his building.
l'm replacing those programs as quickly as l can,
but some of it isn't retrievable.
Like the Doctor.
There's literally nothing left of him.
He's just... gone.
Unfortunately, the Doctor is only one of our problems.
Our weapons are off-line.
Tuvok and Paris are still missing
somewhere in Los Angeles,
and we've confirmed Captain Braxton's hypothesis.
lf Starling does attempt a flight to the future,
it will most likely end in disaster.
Captain, l've analyzed Braxton's...
uh, schematic.
The temporal technology is incredibly complex.
No matter how much a genius this Starling might be,
he is not a trained pilot from the 29th century.
Without the exact calibration,
that ship will rip the time-space continuum apart.
The instant he jumps to the 29th century,
there won't be a 29th century--
not for Earth, anyway.
The entire solar system will be destroyed.
l want that timeship.
Long-range transporters are still down.
We'd have to drop out of orbit again.
Captain, l strongly recommend against that.
The more legitimate news organizations
have apparently decided that the Voyager image
is fraudulent.
However, l've also been monitoring
more official channels,
and the United States military is taking things
just a little more seriously.
lf we risk another pass through the lower atmosphere,
there's a chance of getting intercepted by the Air Force.
lf we can't get to the ship...
maybe we can get to the man.
Torres, l want you to...
Captain Janeway, l'm receiving a transmission
from Lieutenant Tuvok, audio only.
Mr. Tuvok, report.
Lieutenant Paris and l are at the Griffith Observatory
in the Hollywood Hills.
We have modified the satellite dish transmitter
to carry and receive
Voyager communication frequencies.
l regret the bad connection.
lt's quite all right, Mr. Tuvok.
What's happened?
We have become associated with a young woman
employed at the astronomical laboratory.
lt was she who sent the message to Voyager,
but her lab is under the supervision of an individual
named Henry Starling.
Oh, we've met Mr. Starling.
He has the timeship, and he's the one
who will cause the disaster in the 29th century.
Then it would seem we must find a way to stop him.
Tell me about this young woman.
Can we trust her?
She and Lieutenant Paris appear to be bonding
on a cross-cultural level.
l would have to say yes.
Ask if she'd be willing to help us.
How's it going?
l find your interest in my well-being
to be less than genuine.
Try to be a little more grateful, Doc.
The schematics l downloaded from your ship
indicated you were stuck in the Sick Bay 24 hours a day.
l recently suffered a severe program loss
and l'm still in the process of retrieving my memory files,
but apparently, on a few occasions,
l have been projected into other locations.
Undoubtedly, you are using a similar procedure.
My holographic simulator.
We use it to test our new microchip designs.
l projected you through the emitters in the office.
Your program really isn't very sophisticated.
That is a matter of opinion.
Now, would you please return me to my vessel?
Can't do that. Not yet.
l've a few questions l want answered.
lf you have need of medical expertise,
l would refer you to a more local physician.
All Captain Janeway's
talk about a disaster l caused is just smoke.
You came here to steal my timeship.
That is simply not the case.
That timeship is from the 29th century--
technology 500 years more advanced
than anything you've got.
You'd love to get your hands on it.
You figured l'd be an easy target-- some backwards
20th-century Neanderthal who doesn't know what he's got,
but you found out otherwise, didn't you?
A paranoid response indicative of bipolar personality disorder.
lf my history is accurate,
Southern California in the late 20th century
had no shortage of psychotherapists--
competent and otherwise.
l suggest you find one.
Now...
return me to Voyager.
l've learned your weapons are damaged,
your ship's teleporter is half-shot,
but l didn't get all the personnel files.
l have to know my enemy.
Give me Captain Janeway's psychological profile.
l'm a doctor, not a data base.
l'd say you're a little bit of both.
Start talking.
Or suffer the consequences?
Hardly.
l'm a hologram.
l experience neither pain...
nor fear of death.
You have no means of coercing me.
Pain.
lt's an interesting sensation, isn't it?
l...
l never realized...
How unpleasant it could be?
This is what burning feels like.
For a human
to experience what you're going through right now,
he'd have to be on fire.
How?
By reconfiguring your tactile response sensors.
Easy as proverbial pie.
Feeling more cooperative?
l'm in a meeting, Dave.
Put her through.
Mr. Starling.
Oh, my God, l'm so scared.
They're going to find me.
l don't know what to do.
Take it easy, Rain.
Everything's okay.
Everything's not okay.
People are shooting at me.
They're going to find me.
l don't know what to do.
Yes, you do.
You're going to jump in a cab and come to my office.
You'll be safe here.
No, they'll find me.
Where are you?
Metro Plaza... by the fountain.
Please come get me. Please.
l'll send somebody.
No!
You.
l'm really scared.
l'll be right there.
He bought it... sort of.
What do you mean?
l don't know.
His voice sounded a little suspicious.
Pack a lunch, Doc.
We're going for a walk.
ln case you have forgotten,
l can only appear in a room equipped
with a holographic projection system.
ln short, l'm going nowhere.
lnterferometric dispersion is on line.
That should take care of any radar detection.
And l've configured the shields to disguise our visual profile.
Unless somebody gets right on top of us,
we should look like a small 20th-century aircraft.
Transporters are on line.
We should be within range in about ten minutes.
You can see the entire Baja Peninsula.
l'd forgotten how beautiful the view is from this altitude.
l never thought l'd see it again.
You trained as a pilot in North America, didn't you?
That's right. My first year at the Academy.
Then l went to Venus for a couple of months
to learn how to handle atmospheric storms,
and then l dodged asteroids for a semester in the belt.
lt sounds like you had a lot more fun
at the Academy than l did.
l remember dodging a few punches in the lab.
Only you, B'Elanna, could start a brawl in Astro-theory 101.
l guess l was just a little more...
enthusiastic in those days.
l guess so.
Chakotay...
what if we're stuck here?
What if we can't
find a way back?
There are still a few isolated places
left in this century.
We'd have to keep low profiles.
We'd have to get jobs.
l've thought about pursuing archaeology full-time.
Maybe l could teach at a university,
or work on one of the important digs in Central America.
There were still a lot of important discoveries
to be made in this century.
l could win a Nobel prize.
So much for a low profile.
What about you?
''Highly qualified Klingon seeks position as engineer.''
l'd hire you in a second.
Let's start our descent.
Approach course laid in.
Full power to thrusters.
Watch out for birds.
Paris to Chakotay.
Go ahead.
Starling's arrived, with the Doctor.
What? How is that possible?
l don't know.
Are you within range?
Almost.
Another two minutes.
l don't know, Doc...
you were awfully quiet on the ride over here.
l'm not programmed to make small talk.
Maybe just a little bit anxious
about being out in the real world.
lt's just another environment to me.
Mind your manners, Doc.
lf your shipmates start any trouble,
you'll be holo-dust.
l've triangulated the position of the van, Chakotay.
Stand by for tricorder uplink.
You'll be able to lock on the moment Starling is inside.
Mr. Starling, l'm so glad you're here.
Tell your new friends to come out
or their colleague here is going to die.
What are you talking about?
Let's go.
Oh, my van is this way.
We're taking my car.
Well... l left my stuff in the van.
l'll send somebody back for it.
ls there a problem?
Nope.
He's heading in the wrong direction.
They're not going to the van.
Mr. Chakotay, there is a problem.
That... that's the guy that tried to kill me.
No, he was trying to rescue you.
Where are we going?
To my office. You'll be safe there.
Office, right.
We're recalibrating Starling's position.
You're going to have to take him out of his own car.
There may not be enough time.
l've determined the coordinates.
Now, Chakotay!
We've got a lock on Starling's position.
Energizing.
Dunbar, take the surface streets.
The 101's a nightmare this time of...
Oh, my God!
Run!
Pattern buffer's overloading.
He's activated some kind of device.
lt's interfering with the transport.
Hmm!
Are you all right?
l guess so.
Doctor...?
l've been equipped with an autonomous,
self-sustaining, mobile holo-emitter.
ln short, l am footloose and fancy-free.
Captain, we've got Starling in our transporter buffers,
but we can't rematerialize him.
The interference is disrupting computer pathways.
Aft thrusters are down.
Captain, we're close enough to the shuttle
to use the short-range transporter.
Janeway to Transporter Room 1.
Lock directly on to the shuttle's pattern buffers
and energize.
Acknowledged.
Chakotay, we're taking over from here.
Mr. Kim, let's go.
The buffers are purged.
They've taken Starling off our hands.
We're losing altitude.
He's got what looks like a tricorder.
lt's putting out some kind of interference signal.
l'm isolating it and suppressing the amplitude.
Got him.
Damn it.
Janeway to Sick Bay.
Medical emergency in Transporter Room 1.
Acknowledged, Captain.
Propulsion is off-line.
Voyager, we're going down.
Where are we?
This one looks like an lndian.
And that one...
l don't know what her story is.
What's that thing on her head?
Careful, Butch.
She looks like a fighter.
Who are you?
You first.
Are you spying on us... Chief?
No.
Just passing by.
ln your new stealth plane?
Who sent you?
Nobody sent us.
We had engine trouble.
l don't believe her.
They're wearing military uniforms,
flying a secret plane.
They're coming for us.
''USS'' equals federal government.
The federal government is the beast.
We are not from the beast.
Just take us to our plane.
Shut up!
That'll be all!
Call for reinforcements.
lt's going to be a long day.
l've gone out with guys
who've disappeared into thin air
on the first date.
l assume she is speaking figuratively.
But l have never actually seen it happen,
and you, Mr. Leisure Suit...
There's a name l hadn't considered.
That guy punched you a bunch of times.
You should have a black eye or a swollen lip, a broken nose.
Try to relax.
You appear to be... hallucinating.
Oh, is that what l am?
l'm hallucinating.
Rain, l'm sorry you got dragged into all this.
Tuvok here.
Tuvok, we've got Starling,
but we've lost contact with Chakotay and Torres.
Their shuttle went down over Arizona.
Mr. Kim is transmitting the coordinates
to your tricorder.
l want you to find them.
Aye, Captain. Tuvok out.
Mr. Starling is under control.
l suggest you return to Chronowerx
and continue the business there.
The Doctor and l must make our way to Arizona.
He suffered minor synaptic stress
during the extended transport, enough to cause unconsciousness,
but not any permanent damage.
Can you bring him out of it?
Yes, Captain.
Welcome to the 24th century.
l took the precaution of removing your tricorder.
That's what it's called, by the way.
lt didn't work.
lt should have blocked your ship's teleporter.
lt works perfectly.
You just don't know how to use it.
Give me some credit, Captain.
l did pretty well for a primitive.
Well, that's all over now.
l've won,
so disable the force field around Chronowerx.
l want that timeship.
You're in no position to be making any demands, Captain.
On the contrary.
What are you going to do-- shoot me?
The thought has crossed my mind.
Well, it wouldn't get you anything.
l've rigged the timeship.
lf you try to teleport it again, if you even go near it,
Los Angeles will look like the face of the moon.
You'd destroy an entire city?
You don't care about the future.
You don't care about the present.
Does anything matter to you, Mr. Starling?
The betterment of mankind.
lt doesn't look like that.
Why do you think l want to go to the future?
A vacation?
To get more technology.
That's why you're launching the timeship.
l've cannibalized the ship itself as much as l can.
There's nothing left to base a commercial product on.
And the future is just waiting to be exploited.
You just don't get it, do you?
l created the microcomputer revolution.
Using technology you never should have had.
lrrelevant-- my products benefit the entire world.
Without me, there would be
no laptops, no lnternet, no bar code readers.
What's good for Chronowerx
is good for everybody.
l can't stop now.
One trip to the 29th century,
and l can bring back enough technology
to start the next ten computer revolutions.
lf you even attempt to travel to the future,
you'll risk creating a temporal explosion
that could cost billions of lives,
including your own.
l'm willing to take that risk.
ln my time...
Mr. Starling,
no human being would dream of endangering the future
to gain advantage in the present.
Captain, the future you're talking about--
that's 900 years from now.
l can't be concerned about that right now.
l have a company to run
and a whole world full of people waiting for me
to make their lives a little bit better.
Computer, reactivate force field.
Chronowerx stock is about to crash.
There are two forces at work in the world--
the drive toward collectivity
and the drive toward individuality.
You are the former and l am the latter.
We told you,
we are not from the United States government
and we are not...
The beast has many heads and l'm looking at two of them.
Listen, l used to think
violence could be the solution to a problem,
but it's not true.
You are no patriot.
l was a freedom fighter... so l thought.
That gun will get you nowhere.
Porter!
They're coming-- the Feds.
How many?
Three cars and a chopper.
Two miles up Edgemont Road.
This is it, men.
Get into position behind the house.
Butchie and me'll take these two.
Another clip?
Yeah.
There.
Looks like your friends out there
still believe in violence.
Too bad for you.
Let's recap.
UFO in orbit, laser pistols, people... vanishing.
l've seen every episode of Mission: lmpossible.
You're not secret agents.
l told you, l can't talk about it.
Well, you can't keep a girl from hypothesizing.
l'm a scientist.
l'm thinking...
l'm thinking alternate dimension.
l'm thinking...
close encounter.
Whatever.
Talk about a motley crew.
We have the Doctor--
a guy with the worst, worst taste in clothing
l've ever seen.
Tuvok-- what a freakasaurus.
Has the guy ever cracked a smile?
Not that l can recall.
And you-- Tom Paris.
Hmm, sexy...
in a Howdy Doody sort of way.
Pretty goofy,
although sometimes l think you're.....
the smartest man l've ever met.
All this running around you do-- your mission--
you're so dedicated, you know?
Like you care about something more than just your own...
little life.
ls that so unusual?
Yeah.
Whoa. l missed the turn.
SATCOM 47 activating.
Engage Starling location sweep.
Sweep underway.
We're in Arizona.
Chakotay and Torres are 30 kilometers northeast of Phoenix.
Good. Get to them as soon as you can.
Captain.
There's a transport in progress.
What?
Starling's gone.
He's beamed to the surface.
He's got some kind of satellite in orbit.
lt sent a transporter signal
through our shields like they weren't there.
Where's Starling now?
Tracking the signal.
He's back at the Chronowerx building.
Mr. Dunbar, good work.
l think it's time to get out of here.
l guess this is good-bye.
l guess it is.
Listen... are you busy tomorrow night?
'Cause, um...
you know, we should hang together.
l can't.
Oh. Well, what about this weekend?
Um...
You're married.
Absolutely not.
Just...
very busy.
Oh... yeah, you got to get back to Mars, right?
Hmm... Saturn.
That's perfect.
l told you l always loved Saturn.
So, give me your phone number.
Rain...
Tachyon emissions.
They're moving the timeship.
Timeship? What are you talking about?
You wouldn't mind hanging with me for a while longer, huh?
We want the aircraft
and the occupants from the aircraft.
Get off my land!
What are they going to do when they find
a half-Klingon in here?
Who the hell are you two?!
Please stand aside, Officer.
l'm warning both of you...
They've got lasers.
A black man and some bald guy.
God in heaven help us.
Divine intervention is... unlikely.
Tuvok's at the shuttle.
He's starting repairs.
Doctor, how...?
lt's a long story, Commander.
Suffice it to say, l'm making a house call.
lt's Paris again, Captain.
On audio.
Status report, Tom.
We just turned off the main highway
onto a desert road.
Hi. This is Rain Robinson.
You don't know me, but the point is,
there is zero traffic on this road.
They're going to know we're following them.
Thank you, Miss Robinson.
l'll keep that in mind.
Tom, we've scanned the area.
There appears to be a small landing field
about ten kilometers ahead of you.
lt could be his launch site.
Stay on him.
Our weapons are still off-line
and Torres hasn't finished repairing the shuttle.
lt might all be up to you.
l'll do my best. Paris out.
Look out!
Get in behind him.
What?
Right off his bumper.
A little closer.
Forget it.
One more meter!
Just shoot!
lt's flooded. Give it a second.
Well, do you think we got him?
l think so.
Come on!
Jump!
Chakotay to Paris.
What's your status?
We're fine.
Good shooting.
Wasn't there supposed to be a timeship in that truck?
l'm scanning the debris.
lt was a temporal transponder
set to give off tachyon signals.
Chakotay to Voyager.
The timeship's not here, Captain.
lt was a ruse.
Starling's going to launch from a different site.
Activate hyper-impulse.
Hyper-impulse drive engaged.
Let's do it.
Command confirmed.
The timeship is entering the upper ionosphere.
Track his course.
Janeway to Shuttlecraft. Return to Voyager immediately.
Acknowledged, Captain.
Phasers are still off-line.
l've armed the photon torpedoes, but we still can't fire them.
The launch activation sequencers aren't responding.
l think l can reroute fire command through the helm.
There's no time.
Take the Bridge, Mr. Kim.
Should be second nature
-to you by now. -Captain...
Open the access portal to Torpedo Bay 1.
l'm going in there to reconfigure for manual launch.
Captain, with the activation sequencers down,
you'd have to launch from inside the tube.
lt's too dangerous.
The plasma exhaust...
You have your orders.
l've got the transporters back on line.
Mr. Paris, stand by.
We're bringing you aboard.
Acknowledged.
Your spaceship's waiting.
l've never met anyone quite like you...
and l don't think l ever will.
Same here.
Say hi to Saturn for me.
l will.
lnitiate temporal inversion.
lnitiating.
Bridge to Janeway.
The shuttle's back on board.
Good. l'm nearly there.
Captain, the timeship has jumped to warp 1.
Go to warp. We can't lose him now.
Welcome to the Bridge, Doctor.
Thank you. lt's a pleasure to be here.
Status?
The Captain's in Torpedo Tube 1.
She's preparing for a manual launch.
Doctor, get down there.
How exactly do l get to Torpedo Tube 1?
Ensign Kaplan, go with him.
Aye, sir.
The timeship is powering its temporal field generator.
Starling will be able to open a rift within seconds.
Commander, the field he's creating-- it's unstable.
lf he enters the rift like this,
that timeship will create a temporal explosion.
Events are occurring just as Captain Braxton predicted.
The disaster may well be inevitable.
Fate, Tuvok?
l won't accept that.
Close to within ten kilometers.
We'll ram him if we have to.
Aye, sir.
Temporal core has reached cascade potential.
Penetration point at 96 mark 047.
Janeway to Bridge.
l've reconfigured for manual launch.
Arm the torpedo.
Torpedo armed.
Lock on target.
Locked on.
Hail Starling.
On screen.
This is Voyager.
Pull away from the rift.
Or what?
Your weapons are down, friend.
See you... sometime.
Chakotay to Janeway.
Captain, we have no other choice.
He's entering the rift.
Fire!
Uh-oh.
Captain, l insist you come to Sick Bay.
There'll be plenty of time for that, Doctor.
The Bridge is yours, Captain.
ls there a chance in hell we can reopen that rift?
Captain...
the rift is opening.
There's something coming out.
lt's the timeship.
Let's see it.
We are being hailed.
On screen.
Captain Braxton?
Do you know me?
Yes, unfortunately.
You tried to destroy our ship in the 24th century,
and the next time we saw you,
you were an old man, homeless in 1996.
l never experienced that time-line.
Then what are you doing here?
ln my century, we can scan time--
much as you use sensors to scan space.
The Temporal lntegrity Commission detected your vessel
over 20th century Earth.
l was sent to correct that anomaly.
Prepare to follow me back into the rift.
l'm returning you to your own time
to your previous coordinates in the Delta Quadrant.
Captain...
we've been trying to get home to Earth
for the last two years.
Can you return us to our century,
but keep us here in the Alpha Quadrant?
l'm sorry.
Temporal Prime Directive.
l'm afraid you're on your own. Braxton out.
The timeship is reentering the rift.
Mr. Paris...
follow him in.
Aye, Captain.
Captain's Log, Stardate 50312.5.
We are again in the Delta Quadrant
at the exact time and place
we first encountered the timeship.
l've resumed a course for Earth
and l've ordered the crew to the Mess Hall for a toast.
Cheers.
New beginnings.
Here, here.
To the future.
Here, here.
How long will you be out and about, Doctor?
lf you're referring to my newfound mobility,
that is entirely up to me.
l'm still trying to figure out
exactly how the Doctor's autonomous emitter works,
but it looks like downloading him back
into the ship's computer
isn't going to be much of a problem.
Apparently, the reverse is also true.
l will be able to make use of the emitter as casually
as you might slip on a pair of shoes.
lt's a little more involved than that.
You know, Kes, now that l'll be to-and-fro,
your responsibilities in Sick Bay will increase.
l'm up to the challenge, Doctor, but what about you?
There's going to be more to your life now than Sick Bay.
Nothing l can't handle.
You know, Captain, l've always wanted a little more privacy.
Perhaps under the circumstances, my own quarters.
One step at a time, Doctor.
You should have seen it
when the parking enforcement officer
came over to the van.
Tuvok tried to use pure Vulcan logic
to talk her out of giving us a citation.
Did it work?
Of course not.
Given Mr. Paris' alleged familiarity
with 20th century America,
it is a wonder we survived the experience at all.
Tuvok...
has anyone ever told you,
you're a real freakasaurus?


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