Now Voyager
The Official Newsletter of the Kate Mulgrew Appreciation Society
Volume IV Number 1

Editorial Buzz

	I did an impulsive thing this August. I got a job. I saw a
classified ad in The Washington Post looking for someone with a journalism
background, basic knowledge of html, and "expertise in science fiction."
When I got done giggling at the thought that the latter could even exist, I
applied. I still don't know what "expertise in science fiction" is, but
they must think I have it, because they hired me (you can check
http://www.mania.com if you want further evidence of their insanity, or
mine). Suddenly, after ten years out of full-time journalism, I'm an
entertainment reporter. Mostly I am having a screamingly good time, even
though I have somehow convinced a large number of readers that I actually
like Babylon Five better than Trek. It must be one of the signs of the
apocalypse.
 	Obviously, this has necessitated some changes in my life. For
instance, I actually have to be in an office at least one day a
week--despite the sacrifice of not seeing Adam get peanut butter in his
hair for the umpteenth time, or having someone else insisting that my kids
clean up their toys rather than hiding them in the bathtub, this is...well,
really fantastic. Even more difficult to deal with is that now, when I'm at
some sort of science fiction gathering, and someone introduces me to
Richard Hatch, and I am tempted to fall into complete Fan Girl mode and
scream, "CAPTAIN APOLLO! I LOVE YOU!", I suddenly remember that I am
supposed to act professional. (I did wear my Voyager uniform to the office
on Halloween, so I think they are suspicious, but I have only slobbered
over Kate in two reviews so far. And they sort of expected that anyway--I
put Now Voyager on my resume.)
	Voyager's back at 8 p.m., Janeway got a haircut, Mulder's not dead.
We've got some changes going on at Now Voyager, too. For starters, my
beloved Vice President, Joan Testin, put this newsletter together and got
it printed and mailed, along with help from the Philadelphia Contingent--to
whom I owe big hugs for a variety of reasons, like getting our t-shirts
made and distributed. Joan did this partly because I simply didn't have
time, and partly because the printer I've been using for the past two and a
half years nearly doubled their prices, so Joan offered to research and
haggle over prices on behalf of the club.
 	In the course of these events, we made a decision which we've been
heading slowly toward for awhile now. I don't expect this to be a popular
decision, but I hope people will understand why it's necessary. We realized
that as this club has grown, it has become increasingly difficult for us to
keep up the pace we established when we started in terms of our financies
and our energies. We had discussed dropping to five issues next year, since
the post-hiatus issue always tends to be a little thin on content anyway
since there are no new Voyager episodes to discuss. We're running out of
old Kate movies to review, we're being careful about not running screen
captures to avoid copyright infringement. And we go nuts trying to get the
newsletter printed, collated, and mailed every other month.
 	So we're becoming a quarterly. Instead of putting out six 36-page
issues, we're going to put out four longer issues next year. We're going to
print five issues in the current volume, since this is the first--we'll
bring out new ones next January, April, July, and October. Everyone who
gets this issue as part of a past subscription will receive six issues
under your current subscription; anyone who joined as of November 1 will
receive five, this issue and the four next year. Anyone who joins
henceforth will receive the four issues next year. It's the only way we can
run this club affordably and manageably.
 	We're working on additional member benefits--like buttons, that
blasted membership directory which will be mailed out with the next issue,
photos when we can get them. This is still a pretty good deal. We're
considerably cheaper than the clubs which publish more often than that. I
think that in the long run, the newsletter's going to be higher quality and
more interesting if we do it this way.

Michelle


Reviewzzzzzzzz

SCORPION, PART II

	This is not the "Scorpion" I would have written. Rube Goldberg, on
the other hand, might have. The script couldn't have been more convoluted
had it been written by the guys who handled my first home purchase.
	This episode drew me in emotionally. Unfortunately, those emotions
were mostly negative. I found myself getting angry with characters I like,
particularly Chakotay, and that made me mad.
	We know that several things have to happen in this episode. First,
Voyager has to remain in one piece, and unassimilated. Second, a new
character needs to be brought on-board. Third, the incredibly expensive
Species 8472 needs to be dealt with ASAP. And fourth, something needs to
happen to justify the title, meaning the True Nature of the Borg needs to
reassert itself - and Voyager needs to be ready for it.
	Simple enough. (Heh.) Okay, now let's look at the episode, a piece
at a time.
	Janeway strikes a deal with the Borg. No problem, I was expecting
that. Nobody haggles like Captain Kate. She manages to maintain the
alliance and her individuality by sheer force of will; she believes Voyager
has the upper hand in the arrangement - and by the Borg responses, she's
apparently right. She's got all the cards for dealing with Species 8472
-modified nanoprobes, ideas for delivery systems - and the Doc for
insurance in case the Borg get any ideas.
	What she doesn't have is a contingency plan in case the Borg revert
to type and start plunging tubules into necks.
	When Janeway's plan goes so well that the Borg sacrifice a cube to
preserve Voyager, it's clear the die is cast. However, we still have only
half the puzzle. So, naturally, Janeway falls into a convenient 24-hour
coma, giving command to the guy who has more reason than anyone else on
board to distrust the Borg.
	Under Chakotay's leadership the alliance goes south, all those
extra Borg onboard Voyager get vented into space (a very cool effect, I
must say), and Voyager gets sucked into the home "space" of Species 8472,
where we learn that the war is the Borg's fault - something Janeway would
never have learned about on her own. And the events worked out as they did
only because the script said they did. At this point, logic was right out
the window, and we were firmly in Commander McBragg territory.
	So - just when Captain Chakotay had taken the plot as far as HE
can, with himself and the Borg at an impasse ... the captain's coma lifts,
and she's conscious and dressed and chewing duranium in sickbay.
	The only way to get out of their current two-front predicament is
to finish the argument they had in Part One, and to address the issue of
both enemies. Janeway and Chakotay were each part right, part wrong. Each
properly identified an enemy that could not be ignored - and each
improperly ignored the other enemy, at their peril. They somehow manage to
recognize the simple truth that together, they have a decent plan for
surviving this battle of the Titans ... but that neither of them alone has
all the answers.
	My problem with Scorpion 2 is that they should have realized this
back in Scorpion 1. No deal should have been floated to the Borg without
contingency plans already in place. But had they done so, the premiere
wouldn't have needed to be NEARLY as convoluted - and we couldn't have
that, now, could we?
	Once the pieces are in place, everything runs predictably. The new
malevolent species is taken out with minimal delay. All the invasion of
Kes' mind turns out to be a red herring; what could have been an
interesting takeover of her mind turns simply into the opening of a comm
channel. Species 8472 might have planet-killing weaponry, but their
strategy relies completely on their invincibility - and once that's
removed, they're easy pickings. Voyager leaves fluid space, into an area of
the Delta quadrant devoid of cubes but swarming with bioships, and one big
weapon takes them all out. Visually impressive, but dramatically it fell
flat. The subsequent neutralization of the Borg threat is also
anticlimactic.
	What bothered me most is that characters I like, I didn't like so
much this week. I yelled "what are you doing?" or "what were you thinking?"
at the screen far too often. I don't ask much from Trek; the characters
need not always be in control of the situation, but I do ask that they be
in control of their wits so they eventually CAN control the events - and I
questioned that here repeatedly. I didn't enjoy this episode, and that's a
bad reaction for a premiere to invoke. The performances were fine - Russ
and Picardo in particular filled their roles nicely, and Jeri Ryan as Seven
of Nine far exceeded the confines of her blackout-inducing outfit. And
Mulgrew and Beltran did a fine job of portraying their characters, giving
each the urgency and strength of conviction in their respective opinions.
	But what bugged me most, aside from the tortuous plot, was the
characterizations of the captain and first officer themselves. At arguably
the most dangerous point in their journey to date, the two top officers
were so split and so single-minded in pursuing their agenda and ignoring
each other's arguments that the ship itself was imperiled. Both characters
lost something in the "Scorpion" saga - a measure of my respect. I know
they wanted to introduce some professional tension between Janeway and
Chakotay - but they did so at the expense of their professional
credibility, and that is something I think is a real shame.
	A lot had to happen in the second half of Scorpion, and all of it
did. But though it was visually stunning, and well acted, I did not enjoy
the trip - the pod people inhabiting the bodies of Janeway and Chakotay
took the ugly route.

-Jim Wright


	I'm happy to say that this cliffhanger was well worth the wait.
Last year's Basics II was slightly underwhelming, but this year's season
opener is just the opposite. Happily, Scorpion II has something for
everyone: slam-bang action, a believable plot, character development,
command staff conflict, and gratuitous T&A for those who care about such
things.
	Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), the new Borg character, has breast cones
that would put Madonna to shame. Her rubber suit looks like they poured it
on her and the only way out is to cut through it with a blowtorch. Still, I
can't help but love this character with her arrogant, contemptuous attitude
towards Humans. Her words about Borg perfection fit hand in glove with
Alice Krige's spooky Borg Queen in First Contact, a movie scripted by none
other than Brannon Braga, who joined with Joe Menosky for this outing. Ryan
did some major scenery chewing in every shot, and the regular cast is going
to be hard put to upstage her. I am excited about this new character
because she has the potential to add much needed dramatic tension to
Voyager. The writing staff missed the boat on the Starfleet/Maquis pairing
during Season One, so they have a golden opportunity with Seven of Nine.
People on the crew are bound to have major problems with her presence,
starting with Commander Chakotay. If she becomes another one of Janeway's
pet projects, that could throw even more fat onto the flames. Imagine if
Janeway is put in a position where she has to defend Seven of Nine against
the wrath of her crew! That would be totally cool, and I hope they go with
something like that. For starters, where are they supposed to put this
woman? Will she be added to the rapidly thinning ranks of the Engineering
staff? Her attitude is sure to set B'Elanna's teeth on edge, and if Torres
complains to Chakotay, who probably doesn't want Seven of Nine on Voyager,
then things are bound to get sticky. From her "We are Borg" to her attempts
at challenging Janeway, this is someone to reckon with. If only they'd
refrain from using the catsuits and the Elton John heels, I could totally
endorse and enjoy this latest addition to the Voyager cast.
	If you watched the opening credits, then you probably noticed that
Jennifer Lien's name has been excised. Everyone in fandom already knows
that Jen Lien is history, but during the previews for next week's episode,
they're throwing out these bones about who is leaving the cast. It all
seems kind of pointless and dumb, and to be honest, Jen didn't add much to
Scorpion II. She was the conduit for Species 8472's telepathic
transmissions, but that's about it. Since they decided to transform her
into Farrah Fawcett with a Counselor Troi uniform, she's been about as
fascinating as the dust bunnies under my bed. Kes's character had a few
interesting moments, but they were few and far between. Personally, I think
she was one of the best actors in the troupe and her talents were
criminally wasted. I wish her the best of luck in her career.
	Major kudos go out to Foundation Imaging for the totally amazing
FX. From start to finish, this was a modeller's wet dream. Even I was
salivating when I saw all those Borg bodies sliding out into space,
complete with decompressed air. We weren't allowed to care about Voyager's
extra baggage, so I shed nary a tear when Chakotay pulled the plug on them.
This is the first time I've ever seen a spinning Borg cube throw off
shimmering balls of green, and the short burst of intense battle was one of
the coolest shots in the entire episode. At a recent con, Mojo from
Foundation told us he had to fight to get those shots put back in, so I'm
happy he out's there fighting the good fight. Way to go, Mojo!
	As for Chakotay's ruthlessness and tough stance, I say, "It's about
bloody time." I was starting to wonder when my favorite Indian would show
some cajones! As a former Maquis commander, we assume he's killed
Cardassians in large numbers and probably had to make some tough calls.
Chakotay was thrust between a rock and a hard place, and he did what he
thought was right under the circumstances. Personally, I agreed with him
and disagreed with Kathryn. Going back 40 light years would have been
madness, and for someone who claims that getting
her crew home is her highest priority, she sure was taking a lot of risks
with their lives.
	In Scorpion I, Chakotay made a very telling statement about
Janeway; he said that she gets so close to things that it blinds her. That
was certainly the case with her insistence on maintaining this alliance
against all odds. What should have been an intensely personal scene between
J/C in Sickbay left me feeling empty. Kate Mulgrew was tremendous here, as
she was throughout this episode, but I sensed no emotional connection with
Chakotay. We know there's chemistry between Beltran and Mulgrew, because
we've seen it so often. So what happened here? Rick Kolbe directed this
adventure, and I hold him partly responsible for this lapse. Beltran has
varied from wildly emotional in Coda to cigar-store-Indian impassive in
Scorpion II. How are we supposed to gain insight into his character when
the writers and directors can't seem to figure him out? Even at the end, he
maintained a professional distance from Janeway when he explained that
going against her orders was the hardest thing he's ever had to do. If the
man showed even the slighest bit of remorse, this scene would have had a
lot more punch. I'm grateful that it wasn't back to moonlight and roses and
sailing on Lake George after the altercation they just had. That would have
been totally inappropriate, and would have upheld beliefs that aTrek script
always comes complete with a reset button.
	Despite my nits about the aforementioned scenes , there were other
areas that partially redeemed it. In the opening scenes, we see that
Chakotay is tense and upset. He's been forced into this situation and is at
the end of his rope. The lines of his jaw are taut, and after listening to
Torres's excuses, he barks at her uncharacteristically and calls her
Lieutenant. Other than that time in "Parallax" where she received her field
promotion, I don't think he's ever used her title or raised his voice at
her. He was true to his convictions, and he risked Janeway's wrath to
follow the path he felt was right. That takes guts, and I'm glad to see
this change in his character. I hope the command staff butts heads on a
regular basis from now on!
	Generally speaking, Trek holds few surprises for me.The plots are
predictable and plod along in their usual way. But I have to give credit
where credit's due: Braga and Menosky really pulled it off with this
script. When Janeway and Chakotay agreed to stop fighting, I should have
been alerted that something was up. Janeway rejoined the ongoing chess
match with Seven of Nine, and this time, it was the Borg woman who became
the pawn. When Janeway resumes command and glances sideways, it was clear
she had regained the upper hand. Then, the writers threw out their curve
ball: Chakotay and his neural transceiver. It was an interesting plot
twist, but it left me scratching my head. Where in the heck did they get
this transceiver? Earlier on, Chakotay alludes to a transceiver that was
embedded in his spine, but as far as I remember, this was never brought up
in "Unity." I assume they used it to manipulate him after they cut him
loose, and the Doctor probably cut it out of him at the end, but you'd
think they would have mentioned it to the audience. Oh well, guess I have
to write it off as yet another Trek inconsistency (YATI).
	I only have a few other issues with this episode. I've lost count
of the number of shuttles destroyed over the past three seasons, but Seven
of Nine was offered one, and next week, Kes will also be sent away on one.
Voyager is a small ship and they should have run out of shuttles by now.
Sloppy writing fellows, unless you're attempting to mess with our minds.
	Species 8472 turned out to be another one of those alien races that
starts out with a lot of potential and ends up like a pile of soggy bread
ends on a wet lawn. We're given this information about how malevolent this
race is, but except for one brief glimpse, we only see them through the
eyes of someone else. I suppose they figured it wasn't worth spending the
money to create elaborate models, but it was still disappointing. And
what's with the nanoprobe weapons? On the first pass, it takes several
seconds before the bioships are destroyed, but when they launch the big
bomb, the effect is immediate. Wouldn't it take time for the nanoprobes to
infiltrate the bioships, or is this one of those deals where we have a
bigger lethal weapon, so it kills them immediately?
	All in all, Scorpion II was a very enjoyable hour of entertainment.
It's easily one of Voyager's finest hours, and I hope it's a continuing
trend. Brava!

 - Elizabeth Klisiewicz

	Over the last year, or so, I've discovered just how difficult it
can be to put a really great idea on paper. It can be everything from
exciting to tiring, haphazard to harmonious, excruciating to entirely
joyful. As I have progressed, it has become easier for me to understand why
written artistic work can sometimes seem like a chore, even when it's one
of the most interesting jobs in the universe. Taking the written word and
turning it into a tangible, emotional image takes courage, determination,
talent, and dedication. Writing for film is putting your life on paper,
while distancing yourself just enough to be able to surrender your work to
the scrutinous public eye. One evening, when I was having particular
difficulties with certain sections of my work, my writing mentor said:
"Every word is like a drop of blood." It took me some time to realize this,
but once I finally did, I began to understand why it is so easy to
criticize those who create what we see and hear around us every day.
	I also began to realize the difficulty that producers and directors
can have when casting people for roles in important productions. They want
to be able to see themselves and their ideas and dreams portrayed through
the eyes of those who are trained to bring the written word to life.
Casting a character can be viewed as hiring someone to be an image, a
particular aspect, of the creator on stage or screen.  As the summer
passed, and I thought about my work and the new season, I tried to justify
decisions that were being made about Voyager with answers that I thought
were reasonable. Then, the season began.  And, with that, a whole new set
of questions arose. I found myself with two basic conflicts: 1) The events
which began to play themselves out happened too little, too late, and 2) I
was disturbed by the "need" for a male version of Beauty to parade across
the foreground of my television screen in order to boost Voyager's ratings.
Janeway and Chakotay's conflict in "Scorpion" just plain came too darn late
to be believable. Maybe a season earlier - even right after "Resolutions" -
it would have made sense. Then, their relationship was still early enough
to believe that they could argue that much over something of that level,
but I just felt that the producers waited too late to have that
disagreement. It still feels, no matter how much I know their characters
needed some kind of tension, that this effort just didn't really fit. By
now, their conflicts should be beyond disobeying orders and getting thrown
into the brig. Maybe this is why the producers are testing the Paris/Torres
long-term relationship idea. They know that people see where J and C are,
but they don't want to move too much further until they guage a reaction
from the audience about another admitted romance.
	But this is late, too. Or, in this case, early. It was obvious that
Torres and Paris would declare their "love" for each other when their lives
were in grave danger. Dire circumstances can do that to people. But what
about when their lives aren't "in danger"? Their flirting was almost gross
last season because it was too plain for all of us to see. It's wonderful
that the producers wish to branch out into new relationship territory, but
what will happen on T's & P's good days? Do the writers have the courage to
write tension into a "lasting" relationship? I don't know. They didn't do
it soon enough with Janeway and Chakotay. It will be a while before the
seriousness of Torres' and Paris' relationship actually becomes a
comfortable idea. 	Speaking of Janeway and Chakotay, Chakotay has some
serious owning up to do. Of course, so does Janeway. He, for not really
apologizing after letting himself get so caught up in another former Borg.
She, for seeming to ignore Chakotay's feelings (post-"Resolutions") and not
confront her own and the fact that her past is still too big of a personal
can of worms after three whole seasons. I recently read an article where
Kate said that she likes the unspoken romance their two characters share,
and that's all well and good, but where is the conversation? Why don't
these two characters at least attempt to open up to each other? Just when I
think that they might finally at least share some kind of insightful
revelation and start to heal some old wounds, they keep right on dancing
around the obvious. Quite frankly, it's annoying. And, hey. I know that
Kate was trying to reach out to viewers my age in that article. I'm nearly
twenty. But this is really testing me. Her own comments are discouraging.
So, there's no bedroom scene. Big deal! If the conversations were written
with enough feeling ("If it's not two feelings, then it's not a true
feeling."), passion, and intelligence, it is entirely possible that no one
would even have to question "bedroom scenes." Enough with bedrooms,
already! I want passionate conflict that makes sense!! On the second note,
Jeri Ryan is actually an intelligent actor who positions herself well and
executes her role with certain, excuse the phrase, "efficiency." However,
the only thing that I, and many others, could only think about was: "I know
why she was really hired." T & A always leads to controversy. Of course, I
tried to find better reasons for the decision: Jennifer Lien's character
had (not) been exhausted. The writers were looking for new ideas, and, when
they found them, they wanted to hire the best possible person to portray
them to the viewing public. Etcetera.  Instead, however, I found that I
needed to justify my criticism of Jeri more than to attempt to understand
the producers decisions for hiring her. It's not every day that a woman who
resembles the model for the original "Barbie" doll doesn't get fed lines
that would give women a real reason to cringe.
	The fact is that by criticizing Jeri, I allowed myself to be caught
up in a battle that ultimately limited my view of how we, as women, should
be allowed to view ourselves. "Beauty," just like many other factors, is a
relative term. Usually, I try to describe beauty in terms of who people
really are, not who they appear to be. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to
be distracted by what everyone else was talking about and forgot that I
should be judging this woman's work, not how many hours it actually took
her to get into that catsuit. Generally, I have found this to be a very
trying and interesting start to the new season. Yes, I criticized Kate
(constructively, I hope). Yes, I criticized the writers and producers
(again, constructively), but I also critized myself. When a viewer who is
also a creator in her own right can honestly ask herself about her own role
in life, and how to make it better, then maybe everyone is finally back to
doing their jobs.

- Cyclonewoman

	Scorpion II:  'In which Chakotay saves the ship and later
apologizes for it."  Chakotay's initial distrust of the Borg as expressed
in Scorpion I is justified again and again in Scorpion II. Chakotay KNOWS
the mind of the Borg. He's been there. Done that. Once burned, twice shy.
Won't get fooled again. In all fairness to Captain Kathryn Janeway I will
admit that hindsight is 20/20. I believe that Captain Janeway made the only
decision she could have made. Her priority is to get this crew back to the
Alpha Quadrant. The Borg alliance looked like her best bet. I don't fault
her decision. But she really should have listened to her First. It would
have saved them both a lot of grief.
	Chakotay's decision not to turn around and rendezvous with the Borg
cube was probably the best and most difficult decision we've seen him make.
Janeway's response to his decision is disturbing. The woman moved to tears
in Scorpion I because she feels alone responds to his tactical decision
with a personal attack: "You never trusted me... You were just waiting for
an opportunity to circumvent my orders."
	Talk about a lack of trust! What exactly were his options? As
Chakotay notes, Voyager was a prime target for 8472. Turning around to
rendezvous with the Borg cube had two possible outcomes; Voyager faces 8472
alone in route, or Voyager faces 8472 with the Borg. If Voyager faces 8472
alone and is somehow victorious, they are still deep in Borg space with a
cargo bay full of Borg ready to assimilate them. If Voyager faces 8472 with
the Borg cube and is somehow victorious then they are snuggled up with a
Borg cube that's ready to assimilate them. These are not good options.
	Janeway is self-reliant. This is a good thing. Voyager needs a
strong, determined, willful, self-reliant Captain is she is to survive.
But, as is often the case, Janeway's greatest strengths are the source of
her greatest weakness. Fortunately, Janeway is a strong enough person, and
a smart enough captain, to recognize this. The change can be seen in sick
bay, when Chakotay tells her of the Borg deception about how the war with
8472 really started. She realizes that his suspicions were right on target.
She recognizes almost immediately that division in the command team was a
mistake and that she cannot stand alone, but must stand with Chakotay.
	She makes her call. They stand and fight 8472 It was a good call.
It was the right call. It was an example of Janeway at her resolute,
determined best. Tucking tail and running through the nearest singularity
would have been disastrous. But she finally listens to Chakotay and it is
thanks to Chakotay's persistence that Voyager has a contingency plan to
deal with the attempted assimilation. An outcome he knew was inevitable.
	I hope that Chakotay, like me, realizes that Janeway is a 'package
deal'. Her strong will has saved the ship more than once. The
Maquis/Starfleet alliance was forged of this will and it is by her will that Voyager will find a way home. But that sort of strength comes at a price, and
the price is often paid in personal relationships. I think Chakotay is
confident enough enough to accept her as she is. We see in Scorpion that
when it comes down to it they can each stand their ground, and with mutual
respect admit their need for each other. This is the beginning of a
beautiful friendship.

 - Helen Anthony

"SCORPION"/"THE GIFT"

	In my opinion, these episodes belong together, but maybe that's
because I watched them in a row - thanks to a friend in the States, who
sent me a tape!!!  I watched "Scorpion", Part I for the first time during
my summer vacation in the States and I really liked it. The interactions
between Janeway and Chakotay were marvellous, in prosperity and in
adversity. The Borg appeared to have recovered quite well from the damage
done by Picard et al., when a sense of individuality was spread through
their collective by the young Borg they rescued and named Hugh.
Nevertheless, species 8472, which they easily could have borrowed from
Universal Studio's "Jurassic Park", seemed to pose a serious threat to
them. Their resistance definitely wasn't futile...
	I was wondering, am I the only one who found it a little
unsettling, that Janeway came up with the idea to seal a pact with "the
devil", after Da Vinci's suggestion to pray?!  Anyhow, I completely agreed
with Chakotay here, I thought this alliance with the Borg was a very bad
idea from the start.  And this time he didn't give in to her - so he does
have a spine after all. The past few months, I heard a lot of complaints
about Janeway's attitude towards Chakotay, when he told her he thought she
was making a fatal mistake, varying from "whining" to "blackmail". For me,
it was just the final proof that she's fallen in love with her first
officer, after the wonderful scene interupted by - of course - Tuvok:
"Three years ago I didn't even know your name and now I couldn't imagine a
day without you"  However, it seemed to me that Janeway gets a bit too used
to getting her way all the time. In the Delta quadrant, there are no
admirals to tell her no. She always has the last word - and I think that's
an unhealthy situation, for her herself as well as for Voyager.
	In "Alliances", she said to Chakotay, that she couldn't run the
ship by consensus. Even then, I thought "Why not?!" They're out there on
their own and after about a year, one can hardly call their journey a
Starfleet mission anymore.  Now, I'm almost sure it's time for a little
change in the command structure. When Janeway hailed Voyager from the Borg
cubicle, none of the senior officers on the bridge - exept for Harry, who
was laying in sickbay with tauge all over his face and chest - seemed very
pleased with her idea. Even Tuvok hesitated to carry out her order to beam
over to the Borg cubicle, and only did so when Chakotay told him that he'd
"heard the Captain".  I couldn't help wondering what would have happened,
if Chakotay had relieved her of command in this matter. I think Tuvok would
have supported him, as well as most of the other senior officers.
	For what it's worth, her crazy plan worked. Even though Chakotay
almost succeeded in sabotaging it by blowing the Borg, working on Voyager
with Janeway's consent, out of an airlock - except for one, or, to be more
precise, Seven. Whatever happened to respect for life?! And whatever
happened to "You're the Captain - I'll carry out your orders"?! She wasn't
dead yet!!!  In my opinion, he should either have relieved her of command
much earlier, or have cooperated with the Borg right then. Or he could at
least have asked the other senior officers for their opinions - but,
apparently, that's neither the Starfleet, nor the Maquis way.  Naturally,
Chakotay was right about the scorpion-like nature of the Borg: Seven of
Nine tried to assimilate them right after they'd defeated species 8472.
However, Chakotay, who wasn't in the brig, to my relief, but in sickbay,
could prevent that by linking to her long enough for B'Elanna to blow up
the conduits and disable Seven of Nine.  Maybe I'm just a nitpicker, but,
among billions of Borg voices, would his voice really stand out in the
crowd?! (Of course, he has an incredibly sexy voice, but still!)
	Personally, I really enjoyed the J/C scenes in "Scorpion", part II.
My favorite was the one in sickbay, where Chakotay hovers over an
unconcious Janeway and tells her that she's more than just his senior
officer. Maybe it was just in my mind, but after "You're my friend,"  I
heard a clear "And I love you."  She must have heard it as well, because
she wasn't nearly as mad at him as I'd expected her to be, for disobeying
her orders. And she also didn't succeed very well in giving him "The Look",
when she asked him why.  In the final scene, Janeway and Chakotay agree
that they have to face the future together.  How romantic that may seem, I
think they shouldn't forget about the other hundred and forty something
crewmembers (plus one Borg) on Voyager - I think it's time their voices are
heard as well when it comes to critical decisions.
	In "The Gift" Janeway keeps making critical decisions for other
people: Seven of Nine will become human. Granted, she did have a point that
Seven of Nine was assimilated at such a young age that she didn't know
better than to be Borg, so she couldn't really make the decision herself.
On the other hand, if they'd left her on the nearest planet, the Borg
certainly would have come for her - instead of after Voyager ... When Seven
of Nine told Janeway in the brig that she was "no different than the Borg",
I couldn't help thinking that she was basically right. Janeway seems to
start acting somewhat tyrannically at times, like when she told Seven of
Nine "You must comply", in combination with "The Look", in sickbay.
Marvellous acting by Kate, by the way. We really get to see all the aspects
of Janeway's character: the captain, the woman, the mother.
	In the goodbye scene with Kes we see Janeway cry for the first time
- we saw her on the edge of tears some times before, but this time it's for
real. (Because in "Coda" it all happened in her mind.) And this time Kes is
the one to comfort her instead of the other way around.  I really hope
we'll learn more about what happened to Kes. The whole thing reminded me of
the episode with the Caretaker's mate Suspiria ("Cold Fire"). She lived in
subspace as well, and she could transform into several shapes, varying from
humanoid to a liquid sort of form - not that I'd like to see Kes return as
a liquid!   Of course she gave the Voyager crew a wonderful goodbye gift,
by sending them ten years closer to home, out of Borg space. And, still on
Voyager, she also saved Seven of Nine's life.  In the final scene we see a
rather pleased Seven of Nine. (Or should I say Annika, now most of the Borg
implants are removed?!) From what I've seen so far, I think she'll be a
valuable addition to the Voyager crew. I'm really looking forward to
getting to know her better!

 - AA

THE GIFT

	After hearing all of the actors at conventions stating that this
was the best episode that they have ever done, it was very hard to watch
this episode without expectations.  It was good to realize that the actors
were right.  My only regret is that I would have liked to see the effects
of Kes' telepathy and telekinesis spread out over the season instead of
over an hour.
	I loved this episode!  I was prepared to have to swallow some
bonehead method of adding Seven of Nine.  However, the story logically
brought her into the fold and set up wonderful interpersonal dynamics that
I hope are explored.
	The farewell scene between Janeway and Kes was outstanding!
Mulgrew and Lien had the screen crackling with intensity.  Mulgrew's face
and voice were perfect illustrations of her character's grief at losing her
"daughter".  I wish that Kes could have had a final opportunity to speak
with Paris (his face during the bridge scene showed that he wished the
same) and the Doctor (at least she did get some time with him earlier that
day).  I also thought it was cute that Tuvok was going to instruct her on
how to control her abilities.  Sorta like a caterpillar teaching a
butterfly, Mr. "there is nothing beyond the subatomic"!
	For awhile, I was upset at Janeway playing God, and disregarding
Seven's rights to determine her own existance.  But this may open up the
character as one who is willing to make the hard decisions.  We will have
to wait and see.  Nevertheless, I think that I am going to like this
Janeway.  She seems to have a purpose beyond ambling home.
	I was completely tickled at Seven of Nine's instruction to go to
Engineering to help B'Elanna.  I cannot wait to see more sparks.  Talk
about a cook not wanting help in the kitchen!  I also enjoyed the scenes
between 7 and Harry.  He seems to have taken on the admirable job of making
friends with people who are armored.  He did the same with B'Elanna and
Tom, so I can't wait to see him with Seven.
	Anson Williams did an excellent job with this episode.  He touched
on so many things;  little details that are, in the end, so very important.
I hope the following episodes of ST:VOY  do not wast his work.

- Rhonda E. Green

	Wow. Kes is gone, Seven of Nine is converting to a human lifestyle,
and the Janeway we saw in season one is back. That's quite a bit to put
into one episode, but I didn't feel rushed at all. I like that.   Now that
we've seen Kes do some extraordinary things with her telepathy, I wish that
the exploration of her abilities could've been spread out over a couple
episodes prior to this one, perhaps of species 8472. I never was clearly
defined as to why Kes' telepathy was developing at such a fast rate;
Tuvok's suggestion of an 8472 influence was only a theory that the Doctor
didn't confirm. Well, no matter what the cause, I'm glad that the door has
been left open for Kes to return. I'd like to know what she's doing with
her newfound powers and exactly where and what she is. Did she evolve into
a being like the Caretaker and Susperia? Or better yet, a Q?  Now that
would be interesting.
	One of the things I didn't particularly like about Kes' departure
was that she didn't say goodbye to many people. Captain Janeway had a final
conversation with her, and Tuvok had a chance to see her for a final time
(although they didn't exchange any last words), but Kes should have
definitely talked to the Doctor one last time. And what about Tom? He
deserved a special good-bye. Next week's episode will hopefully show some
grievance among the crew instead of the Trek reset button being pressed.
	The scene between Neelix and Kes was too much too late. They shared
more of a bond in this scene alone than in the entire time they were
considered a couple! It's great to see that they were still talking
together as good friends, but it doesn't make up for the little explanation
for them breaking up. Sorry, I don't buy it.
	Tuvok certainly shined in this episode. It looks as though the
writers are aiming for a Spock/McCoy relationship between him and the
Doctor. With Kes, I considered it brave of him to work with her on her
telepathic abilities, considering what happened in "Cold Fire." His closing
scene which ended the show left me feeling as though Tuvok will miss Kes
the most, Vulcan or not.
	Seven of Nine is the next member of Janeway's "conform to
Starfleet" project, as Paris was. She made a great deal of progress in just
this episode alone; In the beginning, Seven of Nine, was a full-fledged
Borg while in the end, she was beginning to accept her life among humans.
Right now, Seven of Nine has much more potential beyond that skin-tight
suit. I hope it's not wasted.  Overall, I enjoyed "The Gift." Seven of
Nine's transition is off to a good start, Kes' departure was both
interesting as well as emotional, and we saw some continuity! Not too bad;
I'm enjoying season four thus far.

 - Charlynn Kate Smith

	The Gift was an episode about transformation: Seven of Nine's
transition into the Human 'family' and Kes's ascendence into a higher life
form. Joe Menosky, the sole credited writer, has a firm grasp on these
characters and presented us with some compelling drama, but his journey was
not without some bumps.
	First, he needs to straighten out Seven's diction. The poor
ex-drone wavers between 'I' and the Borgesian 'we' in all her scenes, and
it's downright confusing. While this appears to be sloppy writing, it may
also be deliberate. It may reflect Seven's inner turmoil about her
situation: one minute she reverts to the Borg, the next she sounds
downright Human.
	Kes's sendoff was rather underwhelming. It's not often that a major
character departs from a show, so you'd think they would have spent more
time with this. Kes spent way too much time in Tuvok's company and their
meditation scenes were far too reminscent of "Cold Fire". Two of her
closest friends were Tom Paris and Holodoc, and she never got a chance to
say farewell. If you remember "Investigations", then you'll recall the
nicely written scenes where Paris said good-bye to his friends. Instead,
everything happened in a rush. Kes's physical degradation intensifies and
she throws the ship into immediate danger. So, they pull a shuttle from
their seemingly infinite supply and ship her off on it, where she explodes
and sends them beyond the fringes of Borg space. Tell me, how does Janeway
know they are out of Borg territory? As far as I know, no one has charted
the Delta Quadrant, so the Voyager crew should be clueless about this. Oh,
let me guess, Seven of Nine just happened to supply them with this
information. Seems to me she has other things on her mind, like how to
escape from the unwelcome clutches of her newfound family.
	Despite my nits about how this departure was handled, Kes did have
some really great scenes with Janeway and Neelix. When Kes had her little
talk with her ex-lover, I couldn't believe it. Last season's breakup was
practically non-existent and was explained away in one sentence. As for
Janeway, this was a truly wonderful scene. Our favorite captain is allowed
to be emotional, and the sentiments seemed sincere. It was almost like Kate
was crying over Jen Lien's departure.
	I've heard a number of people complain about Janeway's coldness
towards Chakotay, and frankly, I don't see it. Their discussion about Seven
of Nine seemed perfectly civil, and no different than countless talks
between Picard and Riker or other famous command pairings. The trouble is,
fans are looking for something that isn't there; constantly searching for
warmth or hidden feelings doesn't serve anyone. These characters work long
hours, and they're going through an ordeal with their newest crew member.
That situation alone should be causing a lot of stress! I can't speak for
anyone else here, but in my relationship with my spouse, we're not always
smiling, laughing or happy. All these emotions are balanced by darker
feelings, and in my opinion, this is a much needed dose of reality between
our favorite command team.
	The most intriguing aspects of this episode were Seven's
interactions with Janeway. The captain has decided to make Seven her pet
project, and in her infamous scientist mode, she tries to psychoanalyze the
young woman and decipher her feelings. Clearly, this scrutiny isn't
appreciated, and I loved it when Seven accused Janeway of being a hypocrite
and said she was no better than the Borg. Janeway's assumption that Seven
would want to freely join the Humanoid community and revel in their company
is a tactical error on her part. Janeway is just doing the job that any
good leader does, and when she got hit in the gut, I winced in sympathy.
She has her work cut out for her, and I hope that Seven continues to be
difficult and prickly. It makes her a far more interesting character, and
helps me swallow the high heels and catsuit without barfing. Jeri Ryan has
the talent to pull this off, and I hope they don't turn her into Season
Four's pinup girl. The scuttlebutt on the Internet and the gratuitous press
about her sexuality are not helping matters. This is a woman that deserves
more respect than being reduced to a pair of breasts and a shapely butt.
	One other moment that was especially nice was the final scene where
Tuvok looked out the window and placed his candle in it. The camera zooms
out and we are treated to one of Foundation Imaging's gorgeous shots of
Voyager. Now this was a sendoff, and almost made up for the frantic rush to
get Kes off the ship.
	In summary, Joe Menosky penned a very "nice" episode. It was not
without its flaws, but it does seem to indicate that the writing is headed
in the right direction. I'm sad to see Jennifer Lien go, and I wish her the
best of luck.

- E. Klisiewicz

	As a follow-up to "Scorpion," this works pretty darned well. The
continuity issues are welcome-the events follow mere days after the battle
with Species 8472, soon enough for the repercussions to still be evident.
	We all pretty much knew what was going to happen in this episode.
Picture if you will, though, a world in which we didn't know beforehand
what was going to happen with Kes, with Voyager, etc. The Trek writers of
today have no hope of enjoying the same level of pre-airing mystery that
TOS and early TNG enjoyed, and there are times that I feel very sorry for
them because of that-even the best ideas are old hat before they finally
reach the screen. It's like knowing what all your presents are weeks before
Christmas morning-it's nice to finally claim them as your own, but the
thrill of surprise is long gone. In this regard, the faster-than-light
rumor mill of the Internet is a mixed blessing for fandom indeed.
	We essentially have two stories here-one newly-adopted Borgish
stepdaughter, and one Ocampan debutante ready to step onto the
sub-subatomic society pages-both of which center around Mama Janeway. Toss
in the twin dangers of being stuck in enemy territory without a working
warp drive and the desire of the adoptee to return to her cybernetic
stepfamily, and the reality-warping danger to structural integrity formed
by Kes' wing-stretching, and we see we have a situation that will keep the
good captain quite busy.
	Performances here were generally excellent. Mulgrew's Janeway is at
once touching in her pride and affection and concern for Kes, and
infuriating in her consistent but questionable tough-love handling of the
world-shattered Seven of Nine. (I agreed with her actions, but many I've
heard from have not.) Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine was astonishingly good,
giving us a character at once strong and fragile, proud and pitiable. Her
transition did seem a bit too rapid to her final form and attitude at
episode's end, but it was understandable that they would want to shorten
her time in the coma-inducing Borg leather and makeup as much as possible.
	I do want to go on record, however, to state that the impossible
dimensions of Seven of Nine's torso, combined with the powder-blue and
silver of her new outfit, resemble nothing so much as a fair-sized drive-in
movie screen. I half-expect previews for coming weeks' episodes to be
projected onto it. Jeri Ryan is striking enough without the corsets and
Wonderbras and anti-gravity units "accentuating the positive" into the
stratosphere, and earning UPN (along with its new lineup of comedies) a new
nickname as the "United Pulchritude Network." It is to Ryan's credit that
her acting actually overshadowed the considerable efforts of the costumers
and cameramen to point out just how incredible she looks.
	The plot of Seven of Nine's transition from Borg back to human is
wrenching. However unwillingly she was assimilated as a young girl, she is
fully socialized into the Collective now. The billions of voices are a
comfort to her, a family; when that is ripped from her in "Scorpion II,"
she is utterly lost and yearns to return. But Janeway won't let her, for
strategic reasons-and for personal ones. It's just like Janeway to
assimilate someone into her own Collective, particularly when the image of
a little, smiling human girl calls out to her from the past with
unfulfilled promise of laughter and hope and human joy. It's understandable
that Seven of Nine wouldn't rush towards that view of herself-it's too
distant a part of her past, one the Collective part of her has long since
come to terms with. But now Janeway gives her as little choice in the
matter as those nanoprobes and implants did twenty years earlier.
	It is a pity that the farewell episode for Kes didn't take up even
a full episode-and that even the scenes she had were among the weakest of
the hour. Perhaps it was time for her to go. A lot went unsaid here-no
farewell scenes with Doc or with Tom Paris, no wakes or memorial services,
in this hour or since, no recognition whatever that Kes not only left, but
gave them an inestimable gift-a ten-year chunk taken from their journey
home. You'd think she deserves more than a candle in the wind(owsill) in
Tuvok's quarters, though that was a very nice touch. And she did have a
long-delayed chat with Neelix about their time together, and their breakup,
which was nice.
	The surprise about "The Gift" was the ending-even with the vaunted
Internet grapevine, I hadn't heard what the Gift was until it happened. It
caught me by surprise-and I liked that a lot.
	All in all, "The Gift" was a solid, moving episode. Perhaps
unintentionally, it also showed us that while we may be losing a character,
we're also gaining one - a character with a great deal of dramatic
potential.

- Jim Wright

	I expected to hate this episode for a number of reasons - Kes
leaving, the new Borg babe getting fully entrenched in the crew - so I was
surprised and delighted at how complex and moving I found it to be. At its
core, this was a female coming-of-age story. The two main characters are
both adolescents, with the bodies of grown women but the experiences of
very young girls, and both are just beginning to learn about who they are.
I loved that they had someone like Janeway to talk to, and that, in this
episode, she could admit that she doesn't have all the answers, some of her
decisions are arbitrary, she can't always know the best course for her
entire crew. This is the Janeway of first season Voyager; I've really
missed her.
	"The Gift" may have focused on Kes and Seven of Nine, but it was a
fantastic Janeway episode - possibly the best one Voyager has ever done.
Most of the previous Janeway stories have not focused on her in her role as
captain. She was off the ship working alone in "Time and Again" and
"Resistance"; "Persistence of Vision" was about her loss of control,
"Resolutions" about her loss of Voyager, "Coda" about her loss of life.
We've seen her as a more emotional person on the holodeck than dealing with
live people, so it was illuminating to see her dealing with losing a good
friend and gaining an unwilling passenger. I really, really loved watching
Janeway the control freak deal with two upstart kids on their own terms - a
vast improvement over her artificial brats from the Victorian holonovel.
Kathryn should try living in the real world more often.
	Many of the more neglected characters of Voyager had great scenes
this episode, like Tuvok - who was more Vulcan than he's been in a season -
and Doc, who didn't seem as concerned about Kes as I would have expected,
but who brought some much needed comic relief. The scene between Neelix and
Kes in which they discussed their breakup seemed like too little, too late.
They dated for over a year, yet the level of interaction remained
pathetically superficial - these two considered having a child together
once! We should have seen more evidence of that bond, even if their
romantic relationship ended. Chakotay didn't get to do or say much about
anything, but after recent events, I'm not sure he deserves to.
	I absolutely can't stand her costume, and I hate her artificial
breasts and her runway model walk and her platinum hair. That said, I like
Seven of Nine a great deal. She and Janeway play beautifully off each
other: both very strong, but they couldn't be more different in style. The
chemistry's electric. Janeway's very verbal, deceptively soft, while
Seven's physically aggressive, sparing with her words and gestures, tough
as nails no matter how she's suffering. Jeri Ryan does a fantastic job
convincing me of the character's pain while in no way diminishing her
power. To hell with Chakotay; Seven makes a more interesting foil for
Janeway, ideologically and personally. Or at least, she will until the
writers inevitably get around to reducing the new babe to the
characteristics for which they ostensibly brought her on the show: the ones
which protrude in front of her.

  - Sara Unger

DAY OF HONOR


	DOH (acronym intended) answers the big question about where Voyager
is getting all their shuttles. Answer: replicator rations! Have you ever
seen a skinnier crew? Well-fed, my eye. The reason they couldn't spare more
supplies is because they have to sacrifice every last credit to build a
shuttle to replace the one they blew up last week.
	The good news is that DOH wasn't nearly as nauseating as I
anticipated from the treacly previews; the bad news is that it wasn't all
that great either.
	They've fixed Seven's grammar, but they still have her in that
horrible outfit! Tell me, why they need to put such a tall woman in spike
heels? Did you notice she was nearly eye-to-eye with Robert Duncan McNeill,
the tallest guy in the troupe? I guess catsuits and flats don't go
together, and lucky for Paramount that I'm not the wardrobe manager;
Voyager would turn into one of the most unsexy shows on the planet.
	The captain and her pet project had the best scenes together, but
there wasn't much competition. So, they've shortened her name and rushed
her along the path to humanity. By next week, she should be partying with
all the scantily clad babes on the Holodeck! For someone who lived with the
Borg for 18 years, she's forgotten her Collectivity with astounding
rapidity. Seven also had a decent scene with Tom Paris, who obviously
remembered how he felt when he was the pariah.
	Gee, how long can I avoid discussing the inevitable EVA scene? You
think Torres and Paris were the only ones gasping for air? While the whole
idea of floating in the void is quite cool, that only works if we have some
drama to back it up. I've never liked the way they wrote these guys, and
this is yet another nail in the coffin of Bad Trek Relationships (TM). They
can't write their way out of a paper bag when it comes to romance, and
unless they ship Jeri over to Baywatch, I'm afraid we're in for it, folks.
Roxann Dawson is pregnant, and they want to write it into the show! Excuse
me while I go find a waste receptacle. These two have barely started
dating; they can hardly say two words to one another before they fight;
they have no obvious chemistry, and what little relationship they have has
been off camera. So how do the writers expect us to swallow a love story?
Are they going to dream up some alien who impregnates B'Elanna (a la Troi),
or are they going to throw some unsafe sex into the mix? If this is the
case, then the writers are really stupid and irresponsible. This is not a
good message to be sending to the masses, and I'm not sure I want to hang
around to witness this.
	Anyway, I like these two characters, or at least, I like what I
remember of them from Seasons One and Two. I identified with them because
they weren't the perfect, shining models we usually get from Starfleet
Central. No, they were real people with compelling issues to work through.
Now, we get a Torres who still can't figure out what she wants for herself;
she can't even complete her Day of Honor ritual! The ritual isn't that
interesting in the first place, so why name an episode after it? And Paris?
Don't even get me started on him. After she says the "L" word, he just
gapes at her. Did he pass out, or was he incapable of expressing his
feelings? You know how they dropped Janeway and Chakotay's relationship
through a black hole? Well, I wish they'd forget about this one too.
	Lest you think I hated this episode, I should point out a few more
parts that I liked. Torres and Neelix had a very nice scene together, and I
appreciated the fact that she didn't snap his head off. It gives us an
indication of how far she has come from the rebel who wanted to attack
Janeway in Caretaker.
	I also enjoyed the little interchange between Chakotay and Torres.
Thinking that a simple refusal would be enough to dissuade her friend from
shoving Seven at her, Torres is taken aback when Chakotay pulls rank on
her! This is the second time in three episodes that he's called her
Lieutenant. I'm glad he has a backbone, but what about his feelings on the
subject? He's got to have some serious objections about Seven being there,
but they haven't brought it up.
	The aliens of the week made Janeway and company look pretty
foolish. Our favorite space cadets should have been tipped off when their
Dino-headed leader made snippy comments about how selfish and well-fed
Janeway's people were. The buzzer sure blared in my brain on that one,
especially in retrospect.
	With that said, and forgetting bad science and command protocols, I
thought the warp core ejection was the coolest thing. And did anyone spot
Voyager's reflection in B'Elanna's EVA visor? Once again, kudos to the gang
at Foundation Imaging for a stellar bunch of FX.
	Despite my objections, DOH was still a mildly entertaining episode.
There's a patented formula for each and every episode: check your brain at
the door and lower your expectations to the bottom of the barrel. If you
remember this simple ritual, then you too can survive the Voyager
experience.

- E. Klisiewicz


	Oy vey.  Times that you shoulda just stayed in bed.  First off, a
couple of nitpicks.  Janeway, for all intents and purposes, "storing" the
Borg in the Cargo Bay.  Even Lon Suder got better treatment.  And ... her
wanting to re-name Seven of Nine to make it easier to address her.  One
wonders what would have happened had Chakotay's name been
"Warrior-Who-Walks-With-Wolf?
	Overall though, I thought this episode was excellent.  That
writers' meeting in  April seems to have done wonders for the show.  The
addition of Seven of Nine has given the show a new set of dynamics to
explore, and opens up many story possibilities.  After this episode, I have
hope they might even use them.
	As far as Paris/Torres, I was prepared to buy whatever the writers
told me;  I've been waiting for months to see this relationship develop..
And they are soooooo cute.  It was fantastic to watch Paris offer her his
(figurative) hand, and then rip into her when she slapped it away.  With
the quality of writing so far this season, I am allowing myself to hope
that this relationship will also be written well.
	I loved the warp core ejection.  How many times have we heard
someone on a starship talk about ejecting the core?  We finally got to see
what that means and it looked fabuloous.  Kudos to Foundation Imaging!
	So far this season, Voyager seems to be paying serious attention to
characterization, interpersonal dynamics, scene writing and direction, as
well as taking advantage of the one thing that it has always had -- a
talented cast.  A toast to the future ... and pass the blood pie.

- Rhonda E. Green

	It's lust in space ... suits! I'm thrilled that Tom and B'Elanna
have finally pursued their romantic relationship; That was the better part
of the episode.  However, I do have one problem with the episode.
	The story we saw wasn't bad at all. It's what wasn't in it that
bothers me. Not even one comment about Kes? Her name wasn't spoken even
once. The continued lack of continuity between episodes holds back the
potential for viewers to keep tuning in each week to find out what happens.
	Now for what was actually in the episode. It's been a few long
months since the idea of a Paris/Torres relationship was given its
widespread hope. I think that Jeri Taylor brought out the progression of
events very nicely, specifically with B'Elanna, who went through some
extreme changes in one hour while staying true to her character. Now that
she's told Tom how she feels, I hope that their relationship won't be put
off for two or three episodes. I want to see their bond grow strong from
the very beginning, instead of an update here and there in a B-plot. TPTB
will also hopefully give both characters individual room to grow, instead
of the both-or-nothing trap Dax and Worf fell into on DS9.
	And as for Seven of Nine, I think she's growing on me. Although not the
star of the show, her character is a vital part of this episode. She's
adapting to human life very quckly, and that's interesting, but what really
has my attention is her conflict with B'Elanna. B'Elanna obviously doesn't
like her, but I think it's a tad beyond simple dislike. I think she's
jealous, envying every moment Seven of Nine has an idea using Borg
technology, as well as the attention she is receiving from the crew. Torres
also seems intimidated by Seven at times, and that feeling is made worse
when Seven doesn't react in any emotional way. It would be interesting to
see these two working together for some time.
	I really liked this episode, and the wide mix of emotions it
explored. It will hopefully be followed up with some continuity next week,
unlike the half-job that was done this time. I hope TPTB are, as they say,
"taking chances." They're working on it, but I'm waiting for the full
effect.

- Charlynn Kate Smith


	Voyager encounters its umpteenth desperate, duplicitous species
which takes advantage of their generosity, the same week the crew decides
to use Seven of Nine's help to see if she can help them recreate Borg
transwarp technology. The experiment fails, endangering the ship, so Torres
is forced to eject the warp core. When she and Tom Paris try to retrieve
the core, their shuttle is destroyed by the nasty aliens.
	As they wait in pressure suits for their inevitable rescue by
Voyager, B'Elanna confesses that she loves Tom. Of course, they're saved,
and the warp core gets recovered. Janeway throws the Prime Directive out
the window, Seven gets warm and fuzzy for a minute, and the crew's one big
happy family lost in space again. A real character development episode for
all.
	Oops. Did I sound sarcastic, there? Maybe because this episode was
odious. I usually agitate for relationships on Trek, particularly on this
show where, after three years lost in space together, you'd think people
would be falling in love and forming bonds. But whenever we get a
relationship episode, I remember the big drawback of them, namely: Trek
writers wouldn't know a mature, realistic, nondemeaning romantic
relationship - you know, like John and Delenn on Babylon 5 - if it were
taking place right in front of them. I might have to get off the
"Janeway/Chakotay - More Than Just CO & XO" bandwagon, for fear of hearing
the captain spout drivel.
	B'Elanna Torres says a couple of times that "Day of Honor" is the
worst day of her life, and she's right about one thing: Voyager's writers
would be hard-pressed to come up with worse dialogue for her than this. And
I thought "Persistence of Vision" was bad! The episode is a weak tie-in
with Pocket Books' miniseries about a Klingon ritual, the Day of Honor,
which nobody knows much about without buying all four volumes, so we got to
hear all the Klingon cliches we're usually spared on Voyager  about honor
and a warrior's heart without even learning anything new about Klingons.
	One of my favorite things about Voyager was that it has no full
Klingons aboard. I'm going to cry if Torres gets into this painstick and
bat'leth stuff. She's half-human - one would think she could give us a new,
refreshing perspective on Klingon ritual, which has been shown to be pretty
damn sexist. But no, she appears to consider it a failing on her part that
she doesn't buy right into the traditional mumbo-jumbo. Sigh.
	The Bad Science Meter was off the scale for this episode. I'm not
even going to dwell on Tom and B'Elanna wasting their oxygen discussing the
meaning of life. That permitted one of the fun gimmicks of the episode:
Torres sharing her air with Paris, just like in the classic Space 1999
episode about the robot who gave Martin Landau and Barbara Bain the Love
Test to see if they'd do the same.
	Then there are the annoying Trek inconsistencies. Two weeks, two
shuttles...well, maybe they're self-replicating. In that case, though, why
didn't Janeway and crew test the transwarp conduit with a shuttle,
rather than risking the entire ship? And there's the nagging question of
just who has the authority to dump the warp core. In "Cathexis" during the
first season, Chakotay took over Torres' body to make her dump the core,
and Janeway figured out that Torres couldn't have done it by herself
because only a command-level officer could eject the core. The entire
episode hinged on that revelation.  I thought it was stupid  at the time -
obviously the chief engineer should be able to dump the core if she needs
to! - but the writers might at least have been consistent about it.
	Once again, I find myself with only good things to say about Seven
of Nine. I still hate her costume - I will recite that every week like a
litany until they change it. But she was smart and smooth and tough with
the captain. I don't like that they're already softening her edges - they
did that with her body, can't they leave her attitude for a little while?
It made for some interesting moments with Janeway, though, who was having a
good episode until she contradicted the technological non-interference
policy she established in episodes like "Prototype" and "Alliances," just
to get her warp core back the easy way.
Things I liked:
	*Torres taking Neelix seriously instead of laughing him off like
most of the characters do, too often.
	*Chakotay telling her not to give him lip about having a Borg babe
in engineering.
	*The return of Vorick.
	I had mixed feelings about Janeway announcing that it's time to
stop talking and do something: she was right, but she's been doing a lot of
that lately before really thinking out alternatives.
	As for Paris and Torres, I have mixed feelings. Yes, I'd like to
see an ongoing pairing on Voyager, even if this is the wrong pair. There's
not a lot of chemistry - plus, I find Tom increasingly condescending as
he's rewritten in hero mode. The previews asked ominously of Tom and
B'Elanna's love story, "Will it end before it begins?" Given this
inauspicious start, I am tempted to hope that it already has.
	Next week, Angry Warrior Chakotay returns with a vengeance. Then
again, he's been angry and snappish at everyone this season already. I miss
the man who abhorred violence, but fat chance of that lasting on a mindless
action series.

-Sara Unger


	I am starting to really feel for all the Star Trek (and other) fans
who have chosen to stop watching Voyager this season. This fourth season
has had some fantastic stuff going on and the more people who join in the
merrier.
	Although I am no great Torres or Paris fan, I found this to be a
terrific episode on a lot of levels, even tolerating the Kim/Seven of Nine
stuff. But what this episode did more than any other episode so far was
prove to me without a shadow of a doubt, that Jeri Ryan can act. I mean
really act. And that she can act circles around most of the existing cast,
excluding Mulgrew and Picardo. I had my doubts about Seven of Nine, but
they have gone away. I had my doubts about Jeri Ryan but they have gone
away. This whole episode sold me on her being a fine addition to this cast
and I'm just relieved that it didn't take a half or whole season to bring
me to this point. Perhaps I am beginning to like her so much... because she
reminds me of Kate Mulgrew. And Patrick Stewart. Jeri has that whole
face-thing down really really well. It struck me in the corridor scene
between Seven of Nine and Paris - when Paris continues to walk on and Seven
of Nine is just standing there... Jeri went through at least 5 facial
expressions and it was marvelous! I sort of sat there in shock - Wow! Kate
and Patrick can do that really well. So glad to see that there is someone
else on Voyager who can act past the rest of the wimps like Garrett Wang.
If Jeri Ryan keeps acting like she's been acting this season... and keeps
getting the really cool stuff they keep giving her, I will be sold on this
series for life!! Oops... actually, I'm already sold on the series for
life. I think I'll just die a happier person in the future...
	There were a lot of things to like about this episode - a great
deal of: Torres/Paris,  Janeway/Seven of Nine,  Torres/Seven of Nine,
Paris/Seven of Nine - must I go on? What an episode. There were so many
good scenes in this episode I lost count. And that doesn't happen very
often. Where shall I start?
	The writing was outstanding - the acting even better! For once
Robert Duncan McNeil didn't look like he was sleep walking through a scene
- because they writers gave him something to do! No offense to all the
McNeil fans - but as most of us are painfully aware, Paris has had precious
little to do on this ship - and in this series in general. It was
refreshing to see him doing something a little more than being an
overbearing puppy or just a "helm boy."
	Loved the whole Torres Day of Honor thing: Loved her Holodeck scene
and her reactions to things. The Blood Pie with Neelix - I really liked the
blood pie scene with Neelix. Both characters came across really well. And
the two characters hardly have scenes together anyway. I wish B'Elanna
hadn't said she felt like such a coward. I don't think that's true. I think
she has done the best that she could under her circumstances and has been a
warrior in a variety of different ways.
	The whole Torres/Paris thing: Unlike many other fans, I have never
been "in" to this relationship. I have been hot/cold on it. Or, more to the
point, I haven't really cared. But now I do. This episode was so well
written, the characters' chemistries came across so well (even in space
suits) that I bought the whole thing, hook, line and sinker. I hope they go
into a terrific relationship, I really do. I just wish Tom's answer had
been better after B'Elanna told him she loved him. Stupid guy.
	The whole space suit scene: I liked it. Thought it was well done
special-effects wise. The space suits were from Star Trek: First Contact
for those of you who didn't know: although Roxann's suit had to be made for
her because she was so small and couldn't fit into any of the bigger ones
made for the guys in the movie. I loved the hug through the space suits. I
had never seen that done before and I thought it was one of the most
touching moments I had seen in a long time. How damn sweet!
	The Janeway/Seven of Nine Stuff: I LOVED IT!! I LOVED IT ALL!
Everything from the discussion over the warp core accident and if Seven of
Nine sabotaged something to the "random acts of kindness" that came up in
the end on the Bridge. LOVED IT. If they keep coming with stuff like this
between Mulgrew and Ryan I will die VERY happy. There's REAL acting, REAL
characterization, REAL issues being addressed. About damn time!!
	Generic Aliens of the Week[tm]: . Yeah, it was different that
in small numbers they wanted to kick Voyager's butt... but still. The
make-up looked so much like... all the other aliens we've seen in Trek for
years. 
	So, all you Engineering people out there - who knew the bloody warp
core could be ejected and brought back in? Well, we knew that from a
previous 2nd season episode. But we had never seen it actually happen. I
was very impressed. Foundation Imaging did an outstanding job on the
effects in those relevant scenes - even the tractor of the core. I just
hope we don't have this happen too often. Sounds waaaay too messy to clean
up.
	Has Robert Beltran dyed his hair? That gray streak of his from 1st,
2nd and 3rd season appears to be gone. I could be wrong, but his hair
seemed awfully dark this episode. I guess being surrounded by younger
actors (who have been removed and added to the cast recently) isn't doing
much for his ego...
	Over all, a very enjoyable episode. Again, I wasn't really into the
whole Torres/Paris thing all that much, but it did catch my attention. I
was by far more interested in all the Janeway/Seven of Nine conversations
that were taking place there. A lot of depth, a lot of thought - it truly
appears that someone is paying attention to not only the characters and
what they are capable of doing together, but are considering the actresses
as well. Both Mulgrew and Ryan are coming through in spades as far as I am
concerned because they are being given real material to work with. My only
hope is that this trend can continue. Understand, I am biased toward
Janeway because she remains my favorite character to date (with a little
Tuvok mixed in). Anything that gives Janeway and Kate Mulgrew a great deal
to do on screen makes me very happy. And, after having had it proven to me
that Jeri Ryan is acting a storm around almost every actor on the series, I
am so please that Mulgrew and Ryan can tear up the set together. I think
we're in for a real treat ahead as, for the first time ever, we see two
strong female characters take the center stage of a dramatic series and
literally go where no women in Star Trek or 20th century television have
never gone before

- Sashi Alexandra German

NEMESIS

	I always watch episodes twice before reviewing them, and Nemesis
was no exception. During the second round, I really hoped I'd change my
opinion, but if anything, it only drove it home for me. This was
Dullsville, and even though I enjoy watching Robert Beltran in action,
there was nothing he could do to interrupt the leaden pace and stilted
conversation. Whose brainless idea was it to weigh this down with
ridiculous dialogue? Last week everyone talked real-ly s-low, and this week
we get the Vori, who ought to sign up for "Hooked on Phonics."
	And then, there was the faceless cast of thousands they thrust upon
us. Except for the imaginery girl who took a liking to 'Defender Chakotay',
I didn't give a damn who they nullified (or is it nullied). The first
twenty minutes were stifling, and suddenly, there's Voyager floating over
this planet and they mention this Ambassador. Raise your hands: how many of
you knew he was from the 'beasties'? And since when would Neelix know
anything about this war? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they leave
familiar Talaxian territory back in Fair Trade?
	They're also three for three on the shuttle death count. Isn't this
getting a little ridiculous? Are TPTB mocking us? I get that impression
sometimes, especially after last season's Worst Case Scenario.
	The only item that surprised me was the brainwashing bit. It was
unexpected, and it made me think about good vs. evil. "Bad guy" is a
relative term, isn't it? It all depends on how you look at it. Chakotay had
a lot of reasons to side with the Human looking dudes. Not only did they
look like guys from home, but their plight appeared to be similar to the
Maquis, so they reeled in the perfect trophy for their little war.
	To summarize, this is the first low point of the season. Yet, when
you compare it to dreck like "Threshold", it's a bonafide masterpiece; it
all depends on your frame of reference. Better luck next time, Mr. Biller!

- E. Klisiewicz

	I'm already growing bored of these story endings that don't close
everything up because of the lack of continuity. Where is it?!   No mention
of Kes since "The Gift."   Zero evidence that Tom and B'Elanna are
exploring their romantic relationship. Next week, I extremely doubt that
we'll hear Chakotay talking about his experience as a soldier. It's
sickening.
	Lack of continuity aside, I still didn't enjoy "Nemesis" as much as
I have the other episodes. Part of it, for me, was that I'm not very
interested in stories about war.  And the story was so predictable.   I
wasn't surprised to see Janeway working with Chakotay's "enemies" to return
him to Voyager. I wasn't even surprised to find that Chakotay had
involuntarily fallen into an alien military training facility of some kind.
I guess that it just wasn't written to the effect where I'd be thrilled
with twists like that. Then again, I was expecting a twist here and there,
simply to figure out what was going on.
	The moral of the story was most definitely the one thing that made
this episode worthwhile. I really liked Chakotay's closing line, "I wish it
was as easy to stop hating as it was to start." Very classic Trek and very
powerful. I like it.Other than that, this one didn't do much for me. After
a fairly better-than-normal start of season four, this was a
disappointment. Chakotay needs a good story to make up for this one. Two
stars out offour.

 - Charlynn Kate Smith

	I am happy to report that I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by
this episode.  I think I'll start with the ending and work my way back.
	First of all, it is rarely these days that I am acutally surprised
by the end of an episode.  Let's face it, the Voyager writers aren't strong
finishers.  But this season seems to have started a new trend.  I hope it
continues.  When the aliens that Janeway had been negotiating with to help
get Chakotay back were finally revealed, I was genuinely surprised.  I
suppose maybe I should have figured it out, but I didn't.  I think that's
great!   Please, surprise me more often.  I enjoy it.
	I really think that twist made the episode for me.  Up to that
point, I'd been going along with it and thinking, "So what?"  But here they
presented some really powerful issues, a very powerful look into perception
and how it works, and a powerful lesson - at least for me - in seeing that
how one is trained to look at things is all important.  Not that I didn't
already know that, but this is one of the things that I have always been
proud of Trek for doing:  tackling social issues and making a statement.  I
was thrilled to see Voyager doing this here.
	The couple of problems that I had with the episode seem small in
comparison to how pleased I was with what was done with this episode.  The
most minor of the two is this:  I found the affected way the aliens that
captured Chakotay spoke to be overly distracting.  As a writer, I know that
it is generally accepted that it is better to show such idiosyncracies
through the way a character speaks rather than through strange words and
such. Okay, so they're aliens.  Fine.  We all know there are universal
translators, so just get over the language differences and focus on writing
powerful characters.  The quirks of speech served only to detract.
	My last point of contention is just a little bit less of a nit
pick, however. Although I thoroughly enjoyed an episode that actually
focused on Chakotay and gave us some small look into his inner workings, I
think that the real story here was not his brain-washing as much as it was
what he is going to do, how he is going to heal, and how or who among the
crew is going to be critical in this process with him.  I was disappointed
that I didn't get to see Captain Janeway sitting down with him and going
over his experience.  If I had been asked to review the script on this one
(like that would ever happen - not!), I would have suggested that the
planetary scenes be summarized more quickly and that the meat of the story
focus on what happens once back aboard Voyager.  I have no doubt that
Robert Beltran could have portrayed the brainwashing that took place in
less time than was actually taken. And I am certain that Chakotay's
struggle to deal with the hate he'd acquired would have proven even more
powerful than the episode as it stood.

- Siobhan Wolf

	Voyager seems like two different television shows; just when I
think it's a travesty of Star Trek, a worthless piece of cliched drivel,
they go and do something like "Nemesis." Not that this was a fabulous
episode, it had assorted flaws, some pretty large. But it reminded me a lot
of the original Trek, particularly the Vietnam allegory episode "A Private
Little War," in which Captain Kirk was manipulated into involvement in an
alien conflict.
	This one wasn't as complex - as with most Voyager episodes, it was
too straightforward, with no deep questions about the broader politics of
noninterference. Still, it was subtler than I expected from the Commando
Chakotay previews, and surprisingly moving despite the transparent attempts
to manipulate the audience by making us identify with Chakotay, when we
could guess midway through that Voyager's allies were going to end up being
the Craydin rather than the Vori.
	That gimmick is undoubtedly the reason that we didn't even see the
ship till after the halfway mark. For the second time ("Distant Origin" was
the first), an episode did not center around Voyager's crew but an alien
culture, and it works wonders to break up the monotony. This crew should go
on away missions more often, no matter how much it costs to shoot on
location. Since Voyager has an endless supply of shuttles - they've
destroyed one three weeks in a row now! - it shouldn't be a problem to
keep sending people down.
	Chakotay's character stayed remarkably consistent with his behavior
in previous episodes - both the ones I liked and the ones I hated. The
scenes with the young soldiers and the little girl were almost redundant
for anyone who's seen second season's "Initiations," in which Chakotay
counseled and bonded with a young Kazon, but at least we know he's still
the same guy in that respect.
	The speed with which he became emotionally involved with the alien
war also makes sense, given how quickly the ex-Borg in "Unity" assimilated
him last season. But I wish it didn't. I wish he had a little more strength
of character, and we got more glimpses of the righteous terrorist Janeway
was sent out to arrest - if, as he keeps saying, he's always hated war, it
makes little sense that he would adapt to the struggles of others so
easily.  That pat ending about how it's easy to learn to hate didn't erase
Chakotay's flaws. It was chilling that he took orders from an alien kid so
well when told to pick up a gun. I have big concerns about Chakotay as
first officer, the role of a leader, when he's been so hasty to follow on
too many occasions.
	The slang dialect of the aliens was another interesting gimmick,
though it got cloying, especially when inconsistent - if "mother's mother"
is the translation for "grandmother" according to the Universal Translator
which hasn't done much of interest since Next Gen's "Darmok," then why did
Chakotay hear the little girl say "grandfather"? And "nullified" seemed an
awfully static verb for a crime which the Vori seemed to perceive as
cold-blooded slaughter.
	Those are nitpicks, though, compared to the illogic of the Vori
culture as explained at the end of the episode: they use huge land masses
and expend enormous resources to ensnare and brainwash aliens for their
wars? Sounds highly inefficient, and completely implausible. Why don't they
just brainwash the Craydin into laying down arms, or joining their cause?
Why did they create a projection of a standard Alpha Quadrant patriarchy
(which there are too many of in the Trek universe), and how did they adapt
to Chakotay's belief systems?  That Janeway's allies would turn out to be
the Craydin, who look a lot like The Next Generation's Nausicaans, was
entirely predictable. Though we only learned the truth of Chakotay's
brainwashing by sharing his experience of seeing Tuvok as a Craydin
assassin, this episode would have been far more effective had we not seen
Voyager at all until the very end - if we shared Chakotay's entire
experience on the planet and believed in it, instead of receiving
suggestions during the shipboard scenes that all was not as it seemed.
	Robert Beltran carried the episode - in addition to his strong
performance, he looks hot in fatigues. I think I should be allowed to
notice that, since during next week's preview, I had to put up with Seven
of Nine's catsuit and watch her decide she'd like to try sex. That was
fast, but I guess I should be glad someone on Voyager wants a little spice
in her life. Janeway's been out there for more than three years, and she's
apparently still not interested.

- Sara Unger

REVULSION

	In her first outing of the season, writer Lisa Klink provides us
with a fine character-driven drama. In the A story, Torres and the Doctor
attempt to help an insane sanitation hologram. The guest actor was decent
and they gave him an intriguing storyline, but I think they goofed when
they showed us all that blood at the beginning. Wouldn't it have been far
more interesting to think he really was in distress only to later see small
pieces of evidence that he tried to hide? Surprise and suspense are at the
heart of every good mystery, and those elements were missing here.
	As for the regular cast, Kate Mulgrew was mostly absent, but she was present for Tuvok's roasting... er... promotion. While I love to see the crew joki
ng around, the "live long and prosper" humor was about as subtle as a
sledgehammer. I was glad that Tuvok got his own licks in while he had the
chance. I was also happy that Neelix's ambassadorial duties were addressed,
because I called the writers on this discrepancy during "Nemesis" when he
had some knowledge of the alien war but was beyond familiar space.
	Robert Picardo was excellent as usual and he managed to snare most
of the good lines. His character's smugness can grate, but it can also be
endearing. He and Torres make a good team, and while he commiserated with
his fellow isomorph, he still knows his heart belongs with his fellow
organics.
	The B story with Seven and Harry also worked surprisingly well,
especially when she started terrorizing the poor boy. Mr. Kim is really out
of his element with this ex-Borg woman, and he should have listened to Tom
and kept his distance. Garrett Wang isn't much of an actor, and the only
reason I liked these scenes was due to Jeri Ryan's performance. It's hard
to ignore the dumb heels when she climbs down a ladder, but her character
is a lot of fun to watch.
	The only bad news continues to be the writer's ill-advised decision
to pair Torres and Paris. Not only have they softened B'Elanna to the point
of no return, but they've handed Tom a platter full of crap that makes him
look like a real heel. A few weeks ago as they gasped for their last few
breaths, he gaped at her and told her that she could have picked a better
time to declare her feelings. And this week he tells her to shut up and
kisses her in full view of any interested bystanders. Shouldn't B'Elanna
have been a little uncomfortable with Tom's behavior? Torres strikes me as
a fairly private lady, and her irritation with Holodoc when he comments on
her alleged relationship seems to back this up. I'm also starting to wonder
if her Klingon side has also dissolved into the ether with her Day of Honor
program. When she was attempting to elude the enraged hologram, I didn't
buy her gasps of terror. This from a woman who broke Vorik's jaw last
season!
	In summary, "Revulsion" was a flawed but fun episode with wonderful
character moments. If you continue to ignore the promos they spew at us
this season, then you'll find some tarnished gems strewn about.

- E. Klisiewicz

	I could do an Erykah Badu and go "on and on and on and on ...", but
I won't.  Suffice it to say, THEY KISSED!  Ah.  Okay.  I'm better.  I now
understand the J/Cers (and the Picard/Crushers and the Sheridan/Delenns).
	Even discounting this, it was a good episode, although it seems
that we are seeing a lot less of Janeway this year while stories
concentrate on other characters.  In this episode, at least, we did get
reminders of the scope of the Janeway/Tuvok friendship.  Since Janeway has
been set up at Seven of Nine's mentor, one hopes that this dry spell will
end soon and we'll be able to see more of our intrepid Captain.
	For anyone worried about the involvement of The Doctor with Seven,
this episode should have assuaged fears.  As always, it was great seeing
Robert Picardo do something more than patch up injured crew members - in
this episode we saw him take a stab at career counseling and tease fellow
crewmates about their hormones.
	I do have to say, however, that I found the "B" story much more
interesting than the "A".  Watching Seven of Nine realize, in horror, that
she was not human who made mistakes and wasn't invincible was a lot more
interesting than watching a psychopathic hologram do a Lon Suder.  Jeri
Ryan really seems to enjoy her role, and I enjoy watching her expressions
and listening for her intonations.
	As if her appearance didn't provide enough sexual overtones, the
scenes between Seven and Kim confirmed what many new viewers were thinking.
I've read that Voyager hopes to put the fun and sex back into Star Trek.
They are succeeding.  The conversations between and about these two were
convincing and amusing.  I wish that the show didn't feel that it was
necessary to add sex for ratings, but thus far, the addition of Seven of
Nine has been far from disturbing.

- Rhonda E. Green

	Finally, the continuity I've been asking for! Yay! This episode had
a great story to tell while patching up some unresolved elements from "The
Gift" and "Day of Honor." And that's not all.
	Tuvok isn't my first choice for a promotion, but at least someone
has finally received one after three years! I was very impressed with the
writing of the ceremony, from the humor of the "live long and prosper"
prank to how the conversation floated smoothly from one group of people to
another. It was a relaxed, light-hearted, and nicely-done scene.
	I was a little disappointed with how certain issues from "The Gift"
were patched up. The Doctor does need a replacement nurse, yes, and Paris
is the likeliest choice. I didn't have a problem with that. It's just
difficult to think that the Doctor is so unmoved with Kes' departure. I
don't buy it for a second.
	As for Tom and B'Elanna, on the other hand, I was very pleased with
what happened between these two. The confrontation was absolutely
brilliant, with humor brought to it by the Doctor. His comments later
brought out in the shuttle to B'Elanna were rather unnecessary, but did
bring with them the usual humor the Doctor brings to an episode. No failure
in that department.
	Speaking of the more entertaining parts of this show, Chakotay got
to put his odd sense of humor to use, much to Harry's embarassment. It was
just about the only scene Chakotay had in this episode, but it was
fabulous. Hopefully, our first officer will have another chance at
tormenting Harry over his crush on Seven. Then again, she doesn't seem to
be doing that bad of a job herself. Her direct honesty has already put
Harry into an odd kind of trouble with interacting with her; I doubt this
will change, althoug a certain kind of understanding will be found. I also
doubt that this developing relationship will progress as-is, but more on
that as the season continues. I want hints before I say anything on this
prediction I have.
	So, in a nutshell, this was a GREAT episode! Everything I've been
asking for. The hologram plot wasn't new, but was done well, and with
intense emotion that made me feel. Continuity from past episodes was a
definite plus, as was the astonishing amount of character development that
wasn't reserved for only one member of the cast. This episode is definitely
on the upper part of my list of favorites.

- Charlynn Kate Smith

	It's not that Voyager isn't trying. The writers are taking risks -
starting more and more episodes off the ship, permitting character
evolution, aiming for continuity and long-term arcs. They're even injecting
humor. The only problem is that the stories are still plodding,
predictable, and contrived.
	Take the Paris/Torres love story. It's hard to say that the
relationship's been rushed, since the seeds were sown back during the first
season... but the leap during this one episode from confession to public
kissing to acknowledged dating made it seem so. And what a waste of
potential tension in upcoming weeks - there could have been a buildup to
that first kiss, interruptions and duty calling, plus confusion over
whether and when to tell their friends. Instead, the writers are going for
blatant and obvious. Snore. These two had more sexual tension when they
weren't interested in each other.
	But who needs a mature sexual relationship when we've got Seven of
Nine? Astoundingly enough, considering the fact that the camera picks up
every angle of her stunning figure, I found Harry's attraction to her
completely unconvincing. He looked moody and tense rather than aroused and
embarrassed. It's kind of amusing that he can't manage to fake chemistry
with his Dream Borg, who's a ridiculous male fantasy in ways other than her
appearance - swaggering, inconsistent, sniveling when I'd expect her to be
strong and aggressive when I'd expect her to be uncertain. She's afraid of
an injured hand, but not of losing her virginity with a stranger? This
creature was obviously invented by men... adolescent men. Sure didn't take
long to turn her from a compelling character into a joke.
	The main plot had potential, but once again the writers played
their cards too soon. The setup was classic horror movie "woman trapped in
house with psychotic man," with skeletons in the closets and all that. It's
hard to be scared, though, when there are no red-shirted ensigns on the
away team; we knew perfectly well that B'Elanna wasn't going to get killed,
so there was no point in screaming. It was also entirely predictable that
the one item identified as a threat to the isomorph would end up becoming
the instrument of his destruction.
	The bigger problem with knowing that the isomorph was a murderer
from the teaser was that we had no reason to take him seriously as a foil
for the Doctor. When an outsider is clinically crazy, we don't take
seriously anything that character says about our society, even when it
makes some sense. In this case it did not; since the amount of energy
involved in maintaining matter-intensive holograms like the Doc and the
isomorph must be tremendous, surely they waste far more resources than
"organics" do eating and making love, even if the latter activities are
messier than matter-antimatter reactions.
	The Doc was way too quick to make jokes about the things the
isomorph said about humans; it would have been much more interesting if he
were disturbed, if he identified more, if he actually thought about the
advantages of leaving the ship and its grungy organic crew. There's no
depth to his psychology. If Kes were around, she probably would have
pressed him to feel something about the experience, but she's gone,
probably taking his personality with her - Seven now gets to be the alien
among humans, while Doc's merely the comic relief.
	For the second week in a row, the captain was present for less than
five minutes, and all she did in that time was kill the laughter at a party
by bringing up a yucky incident with Tuvok from her official biography (for
those who haven't yet bought Mosaic). Chakotay's the one interacting with
the crew these days, though he seems oddly paternal towards Harry for
someone who acted like such a gullible kid himself last week. I never
thought I'd hear myself say this, but I missed Neelix. He's had fewer
stupid lines than anyone else so far this season.

- Sara Unger

THE RAVEN

	I've watched this twice now, and if I go by surface impressions,
then I have to say I liked it. But it's getting more difficult to overlook
the obvious problems with this show, such as the sloppy writing. Biller,
Braga and the rest may think it's real funny to keep blowing up shuttles,
but it makes them look real stupid. Voyager started off as a flawed
concept, and it seems like they've blown every available opportunity to
present us with interesting drama. What happened to the Starfleet/Maquis
conflict? What happened to Janeway and Chakotay's relationship? Think of
the potential for storylines here! It certainly hasn't been lost on the
fanfic crowd, has it? I stay away from Babylon 5 vs. Trek debates, but in
my heart, I know which is the better show. Anyway, I digress.
	In "The Raven", directed by Levar Burton (Geordi LaForge) and
written by a bunch of outsiders, Seven (Jeri Ryan) gets a chance to strut
her stuff, and strut she does. Does she look cool with a phaser rifle or
what? She was as unstoppable as the Terminator, and she made the Voyager
crew look like first year cadets. Sound like a certain Cardassian we all
know and love? Jeri has quickly turned into my favorite character, and if
they keep writing her this well, then the catsuits and heels won't matter
much. One of my favorite scenes was the one where Neelix instructed her in
the culinary arts. When she swallowed her first bit of food and proclaimed
it a 'curious sensation', I thought that she'd make a great Vulcan. In
fact, I think she'd do a way better job than Tuvok, who always seems to
wear his emotions on his sleeve. Ryan and Russ delivered the goods, and
their scenes together were the best part of this episode. I did fail to
understand how Seven's parents got so far into the Delta Quadrant, but
perhaps they found a wormhole somewhere. Also, how could a Federation
beacon regenerate the Borg technology in Seven? And finally, why hasn't the
Voyager crew attempted to assimilate some of this technology for
themselves? Those personal shields and the ones wrapped around Seven's
shuttle were unbeatable. Seems to me that Voyager could use some help like
that, especially when the nearest starbase is 60,000 light years away.
	The aliens with the sports gear on their noggins (the Bohmar) were
marginally interesting, but this B story did little to enhance "The Raven".
And just what is going on with Janeway these days? When she's not on the
holodeck, she's letting aliens frolic around on the bridge and insult her
competence as a captain. While I'm happy to see her spending real time with
another human being, I wish it could be somewhere other than that damned
holodeck program of hers. It has become a crutch that she's dragged along
from her Academy days when she cavorted with Amelia Earhart. (As written in
the "Starfleet Academy" books.)  It doesn't seem likely that they'll fix
this increasingly irritating Janeway characteristic, so we might as well
get used to the fact that she feels more at home with holograms than
humans.
	In summary, "The Raven" was an entertaining if lightweight episode
which made a desperate attempt to rid Seven of Nine of any remaining shred
of Borg, the one thing which makes her fascinating!

- E. Klisiewicz

	If Voyager had done a storyline like this six months or so from
now, I probably would have thought it was terrific. We'd have had a long
period of getting used to Seven as a Borg, still resisting fitting in with
the humans of the Federation despite being thousands of light years from
Borg space, and it would be dramatic and frightening suddenly to have her
Borg side re-emerge. But Voyager's writers are apparently determined to
throw away most of Seven's potential as an alien source of confrontation
before it starts. Like they did with the Maquis, the writers are
assimilating her into the Federation crew faster than we can say
"Resistance is futile."
	Seven is currently the most interesting character on the show.
She's still conflicted, angry, oddly innocent; Jeri Ryan has played her
subtly and superbly, even during last week's sexploitation scenes. It's
also a lot easier for me to look at her now that the silver catsuit has
been replaced with a brown one, though I'm glad they're putting her on
solid food - she looks like she's about to drop dead from anorexia. I'm
still astounded that Seven was ready to try lovemaking before eating, but
hey, we all have our own priorities...
	I can't figure out Janeway's, however. She looked really
incompetent letting the Bohmar, her new reluctant allies, come onto her
bridge in the middle of a red alert, especially considering that she had no
clue what was going on nor how to stop her rebellious ex-Borg crewmember.
Her later lame threat when they warned her not to interfere in their space,
"You're still on my ship," was laughable. I agree with the Bohmar:
Janeway's security is so dreadful that Voyager shouldn't be trusted in
anyone else's space. They're down another shuttle, too, but with their
infinite supply, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
	Janeway did figure out what was going on in Seven's mind, but too
late to help Voyager; she was able to retrieve her crewmembers, but she's
going to have to add a lot of months to their journey. What happened to the
captain who was so anxious to get home that she forged - practically forced
- a treaty with the Borg? I guess she's been too busy being creative on the
holodeck to get up to speed on command skills. She says it helps her
efficiency to forget about Voyager for awhile... sorry, Captain, but I beg
to differ. I hope Seven chooses to be creative around other people rather
than with artificial constructs... even with Harry, whom she says she finds
predictable - she's not the only one!
	Chakotay's consistent as well; he still doesn't trust Seven, still expects
her Borg side to keep reasserting itself. Maybe this is a good thing, since
he's more ready to protect the crew from the problems she causes than
anyone else seems to be, but I have to worry about the poor woman, having
to answer to a man with such an obvious prejudice. Tuvok was far more
sensitive with Seven - their dialogue was lovely, restrained as a
Vulcan-Borg exchange should be yet still moving, and his commitment to
seeking the truth with her made up a little for his gross inadequacy as a
security officer earlier in the episode. I think Janeway should make Seven
the new chief of security; Seven did a great job bolstering her shuttle's
shields while whomping alien spacecraft and hiding from Voyager.
	Still, I like Tuvok. He was a lot more sensitive to humans this
episode than B'Elanna, cracking jokes about Harry's crush on Seven when in
all likelihood the poor boy was never going to see her again. I'm curious
why Tom got to sit in on the briefing with the aliens when Tuvok didn't -
the Vulcan's the one who just got a promotion, after all - but I guess they
had to give Tommy the Superhero something to do.
	Visually, the flashback sequences of this show reminded me a lot of
"Birthright Part I," the Next Generation segment where Data dreams about a
bird flying through the Enterprise - since LeVar Burton directed this
episode, that makes sense, though Burton's images are more heavily shadowed
and ominous than were Winrich Kolbe's in the TNG episode. This wasn't a bad
episode, but it cut off the possibilities for all sorts of intrigue down
the line about Seven's past and future. Like Chakotay's capitulation to
Starfleet, like Paris and Torres falling in love, the writers seem to have
plunged in heedlessly, tossing out one episode instead of developing
characters and situations which will hold interest over the long haul.

- Sara Unger

	From beginning to end, this episode drew me in and held me there.
I'd have to say that is one of the best of the lot so far this season.  If
I didn't already love Captain Janeway, her time in DaVinci's workshop with
Seven would have hooked me.  As a matter of fact, I fell in love with her
all over again during those scenes and the touching ones following Seven's
flashback.  Kate Mulgrew brings to this role everything I could imagine and
more were I asked to define the perfect female role model.  I hope that we
continue to see this relationship grow over time,  much as Janeway's
relationship with Kes grew.
	Jeri Ryan continues to blow me away with her acting ability.  I
didn't expect to like Seven of Nine much when she was introduced, but my
experience has been quite the opposite.  It takes a special talent to
portray both the unemotional distance of one raised by the Borg while at
the same time allowing the innocence and curiosity, and fear, of a child to
peek through.  Jeri accomplishes this in a way that comes across
effortlessly, naturally, and thus I both love and believe her character.
	I am also glad that we are getting to see some of the crew members
in a different, and frankly, more flattering, light.  The scenes in the
mess hall with Neelix introducing Seven to food and the joy of eating were
priceless!  It is a relief to see Neelix as less the buffoon and more in
the role of a vital Voyager crew member.
	The other crew member I was happy to see improving was Tuvok.
Until this point I have found that character stiff, boring, and even
cliched  (yes, I know he's a Vulcan).  However, this is the first time I
really connected with Tuvok as anything more than a caricature.  This is
what I felt was missing - his heart and connectedness with other crew
members.  I am glad that it has been found; I hope we continue to see more
of it.
	I was particularly fond of the way that Seven's past was explained
within the plot of the story.  It didn't seem forced or as though we were
just being handed information.  As with all good storytelling, we were
shown the events as they played out.  This served, at least for me, to draw
me directly into the episode.  Therefore, I could feel Seven's fear and
then her pain as she came to the realization of where she was and what she
was remembering.  The entire series of scenes that unfolded while aboard
The Raven were wonderful!  Not only did they serve to provide necessary
back story, they also brought Seven understanding of herself and brought a
sympathetic element  to the character that the audience can grab hold of
and relate to.  Of course, the emotions passing across Jeri Ryan's face
during these scenes had as much to do with the overall feel of them as the
writing.  Again, I cannot say enough good things about her portrayal.
	I want to end this review on a Janeway note.  Though the scenes
with Seven were touching and brought me nearly to tears at times, it is
still Captain Janeway that gives me thrills.  I am speaking of the scene
where she and Harry are discussing the contents of  Seven's personal logs.
Janeway reads the description of the bird and you can see the wheels of her
mind working the puzzle that has thus far eluded her.  Finally, when she
says, "Or a raven," in that whispered voice of discovery, chills literally
ran up my spine and down my arms.  Even though (on first viewing) I had no
idea what that meant at the time, I knew that the Captain had solved the
puzzle.  Kate's ability to take the emotion of discovery and sprinkle it
over the viewer without giving the puzzle away is amazing.  I have watched
that scene over and over again, always with the same tingling response
passing over my body.  (A minor nit-pick with the description of the bird:
The journal entry read, "with yellow eyes," yet the bird we were shown over
and over throughout the episode had the black eyes of a raven.  Ooops.)
	All in all I have no quarrels to pick with this episode at all.  I
enjoyed it throughout and am certain that it will be one of the ones I pull
up to watch again and again.

- Siobhan Wolf

	I really enjoyed this episode - it's one of the few I haven't
figured out before the characters did and I love it when that happens.
Everyone put in a strong performance and there was lots of Janeway, which
is always a good thing.  It was nice to see her interacting with a real
person on the holodeck for a change.
	The story was fascinating but self-defeating in a way because it
answered a lot of questions about Seven of Nine that would have been more
interesting if left alone for a few months while she struggled with
adapting to humanity again.  Give her some time to get used to things like
eating (which doesn't seem like something she would have forgotten so
completely) and needing to sleep and working with more of the crew, so that
it would be that much more unexpected when her Borg implants began
reasserting themselves, and more dramatic when she discovered the repressed
memories of her parents and their assimilation.  I still think she's
fascinating, but a lot of the mystery that made her so interesting at the
beginning of the season has been removed already.  What's left?  More inane
dialog about what's irrelevant?
	Speaking of irrelevant, how about Voyager's security force.  Once
again, they looked totally useless and much to my chagrin, I had to agree
with the gyroscope-headed alien about Janeway's apparent incompetence.  It
wasn't just her though.  Just once I'd like to see Voyager's internal force
fields and/or shields hold up against whatever they're supposed to be
containing or keeping away.  I'd like to see Tuvok's security team prevent
or stop the menace, I'd like to see aliens who are completely wonderful and
potential first allies for humans in the Delta Quadrant the way Vulcans
were in the Alpha Quadrant.  And I want to see Chakotay supporting Janeway
in a way that doesn't make me think he's suppressing a deep anger about how
she's welcomed a Borg, however disconnected from the collective, into their
community.
	I would love to spend some quiet time in DaVinci's workshop with
Captain Janeway, talking about imagination and art and politics and
religion and philosophy.  I'd ask her how she's feeling, how she's holding
up under the pressure of being on duty essentially 24 hours a day.  Captain
of a Starfleet vessel, leader of a community... I'd ask her why she keeps
retreating from the women and men who are now her only friends and family
in favor of computer constructs and clay.  It's not that I think it's a bad
thing for the captain to have some time alone, but that's all we've seen
her doing on her own time for the last season or two--tennis with the
holocomputer, painting in her ready room, talking Holo-DaVinci into a
corner of his workshop, sculpting.  The only time she's been with other
people is when she's on duty or being motherly with Seven of Nine, or when
there's a group celebration like Tuvok's promotion.  Kate's done an
excellent job showing us how lonely the captain might be, but it's time now
to find the warm, confident Kathryn Janeway from Season 1 again.  SHE is
the captain I'd follow without question for the next 60 years.

-Meredith Antonelli

	Here we have another marvelous Janeyway/Seven of Nine episode,
which continues the superb dialogue and relationship started in "The Gift."
"The Raven" surprised me in many ways because I did not think the writers
would keep in mind this terrific bond between Janeway and Seven of Nine,
yet here it was and once again, in full force.
	As we saw in "The Gift" Janeway is someone who, as Voyager history
has shown us, is willing to give people a chance - again and again. From
1st season's "Caretaker" when she brings aboard Tom Paris to 4th season's
"Scorpion II" - Janeway shows that she is willing to give people a first
chance and even a second - people who normally would never have been given
opportunities in the reality of both the Alpha and Delta Quadrants. There
are many who would say that Janeway is foolish for doing this. That even
after getting tricked (Seven of Nine in "The Gift") Janeway should cut her
losses and stop believing in the goodness of people.
	But it is that goodness that often leads to others around her
bettering themselves and often becoming more than they, themselves, ever
imagined they could become. And that brings me to "The Raven", an episode
that I enjoyed quite thoroughly for how it started and how it ended. The
opening scene with Janeway and Seven of Nine in Leonardo DaVinci's workroom
set the stage, once again, for what I feel is this marvelous relationship
between two characters who are so different, yet so alike. They both have a
great deal to learn from another, and with Janeway leading the way, I think
we have a lot to look forward to.
	My favorite scene in the whole episode is really the first one. We
have Kate Mulgrew who, my God, looks more relaxed as Janeway than I think
we've ever seen her. Everything from her mannerisms to voice inflection to
the way she walks, stands and sits - the whole scene for me just oozed
complete believability. Kate reminds me so much of William Shatner as Kirk
- where the actor and the character have truly fused into a whole being and
become so utterly believable. I can never say I have ever reached that
point with Patrick Stewart/Picard or Avery Brooks/Sisko. So, watching Kate
like this for me is a real joy.
	The whole dialogue concerning  imagination and creativity was
beautiful - how many of us, in our hectic lives, have forsaken the time for
just those things because we were too busy working overtime, or racing on
another errand, or trying to get that one more thing done! I know I have
been guilty of that. And this marvelous scene once again reminded me of the
beautiful aspect of art, imagination and creativity and what it can truly
do for our souls. And frankly, if Janeway has time to do that kind of stuff
- why can't we?
	We learn more about our dear Captain in this scene. We learn that
she enjoys art, likes to creative things and that, almost more importantly,
she feels the need to "forget about Voyager" now and then - something we
never really knew she needed to do. We learn more of her great love of
Davinci - of how he brought art and science together and she enjoyed
studying that as a child. Janeway speaks with a of passion on these
subjects and one can't help but see her more a full 3-dimensional character
than before. Sometimes it's little scenes like this that can make all the
difference for a character.
	This episode mostly deals with Janeway helping Seven of Nine deal
with nightmares or day dreams that involve the Borg chasing Seven of Nine
and her fear at that - she is not only unaccustomed to fear, but feeling
fear about her fellow Borg. What would be causing this? Then, in the midst
of all of this, Seven of Nine's dormant Borg implants spring to life and
she leaves the ship for a planet that she eventually discovers is the key
to her behavior. Throughout this primary story, Janeway is dealing with
Seven of Nine's inner conflicts as well as the Aliens Of The Week[tm] who
are placing strict rules on where and how Voyager can travel through their
space. In the end, though a variety of machinations, Seven of Nine and
Tuvok visit the source of her dreams - The Raven, the ship in which she and
her family were aboard 20 years ago when the Borg attacked and assimilated
them. Seven of Nine suddenly remembers her father and his experiments, her
birthday party, her family - the fear of being attacked and assimilated
against her will by the Borg. It's in this scene onboard the ship that
Seven of Nine can see and experience how much of what Janeway has been
trying to explain to her about her humanity is, in fact, true. That they're
not just words - but that Seven of Nine (Annika) truly had a life, had
feelings, emotions and human impulses that were all taken away once she was
taken by the Borg. This experience is important for Seven of Nine for it
can only help convince her more that Janeway is telling her the truth and
that there is a future for her among humanity.
	So all the scenes of Seven of Nine struggling against Janeway in
"The Gift" and "The Raven" do, in fact, make sense. However, from this
point on, one can hope the direction of Seven of Nine's teachings will
perhaps grow with her experience. We shall see.
	If it were not for Janeway's decision to give Seven of Nine a
chance (again) with the crew, if it weren't for Janeway's determination to
try and understand what Seven of Nine was going through (KJ standing in
that Borg Alcove had elements of horror and endearment in it - loved it!),
if it weren't for Janeway's true desire to give people a second and even
third chance even when someone didn't think they needed it - this is what
Janeway and her command style is about. This is something I do not think we
have seen in other Star Trek Captains and I am so glad to se it here.
Granted, KJ will sometimes go over the edge and give people a chance one
too many times. But she treats her crew well and gives them every chance to
prove themselves worthy. And so far, Seven of Nine has shown (as has Tom
Paris, Chakotay and others who have betrayed KJ or Starfleet at one point
or another) that she is worth the chance. Worth the time and effort and
belief that Janeway is putting into her. And the more we see of that the
happier I know I will be.
And finally, on a lighter note, how about a brief list of Things That Just
Made You Scream:
	* When the Borg implant popped onto Seven of Nine's right hand
	* When Seven of Nine told Neelix that she was unaccustomed to
sitting because, "Borg do not sit." How many people heard Jeri Ryan follow
that up with, "I cannot sit in this tight outfit."
	* How come every alien idiot that comes along can steal a shuttle
craft out from underneath every officer onboard Federation starships - not
matter how  much advance warning they have that Said Alien is headed to the
Shuttle Bay? (And how are they gonna fix that big hole anyway?)
	* Who knew the Borg knew the Vulcan Nerve pinch? Who knew every
Borg could carry the traits of the races they have assimilated?

- Sashi Alexandra German


Katewatch

SOJOURN'S SEASIDE SOIREE
27 SEPTEMBER 1997

	On Saturday, September 27 I attended the Seaside Soiree for
Sojourn, an organization that provides shelter for battered women and their
children in the SouthernCalifornia area. Every year the group holds a
charity fundraiser and honors various people for different contributions
not only to Sojourn but to the community as well. For this year, the group
was honoring Kate Mulgrew as their 'Inspiration of the Year.' The other
three honorees were Michael King for 'Humanitarian of the Year' and Diane
and David Robbin for the Sheila James Kuehl Award. This was a black tie
affair held at the Loews Resort in Santa Monica, which is located in front
of the pier and other buildings where beach scenes from "Futures End, Part
1" were filmed.
	The evening kicked off with a silent auction and cocktails from
6:30 until 8:30. Kate arrived quietly with several supporters in tow: her
two sons, Alexander and Ian; Rick Kolbe; Roxann Dawson, Garrett Wang;
Robert Picardo and Brannon Braga. Roxann was just starting to show and
looked charming in her black dress with a lace overskirt. Kate also wore a
black dress (as did about 99% of the women there) with spaghetti straps, a
long flared skirt and a slit up the side. To me she looked a little pale
but that may have been because of the bright lights and her dark dress. Of
course, her freckles still caught me by surprise-she looks so much younger
when she doesn't cover up them up with makeup. She wore very simple
jewelry-rhinestone earrings, a thin chain around her neck, a gold bracelet
on her wrist and that ring that seems to be in every picture I see of her.
	Guests and honorees milled around before dinner, chatting and
sipping champagne. Bids for the auction were written on small notepads
placed in front of each item. Gifts donated for auction included dinners at
local restaurants, photography sittings, stuffed animals, walk-ons for
television shows, computer software, leather jackets and all sorts of
autographed scripts and movie posters. Kate had autographed several
editions of Voyager paperbacks and there were also two copies of the
"Scorpion II" script signed by the new cast-not Jennifer Lien but Jeri
Ryan. I spent most of my time chatting with my friends Ari and Jen, who
volunteered for the event and were in charge of one specific table of items
to be auctioned. I ran into Lynda Foley, whom I had met on the Paramount
lot back in June and we stood and talked for awhile. On our way to the
ladies room we passed Kate, who reached out and touched Lynda's arm and
began to talk with her. I just stood there until she realized I was with
Lynda. She extended her hand and said, "I know I have met you before." I
told her that we had indeed met-at UCLA in May when she read parts of Bleak
House for the English Department fundraiser. I passed Michelle's 'hello' on
to her and she inquired about her, wondering how she was faring with two
small children and a new job. Until dinner was served I just wandered
around looking at all the treasures for auction. I caught glimpses of Kate
here and there-once she was fussing over her youngest son Alexander, who at
13 is eye level with his mother.
 	Guests were called into dinner at 8:30. At each place setting there
was a teddy bear in either a red or blue sweater, a program for the evening
and a bag filled with all sorts of treats. Mine contained a video of an old
movie, a CD with dance hits on it, a Star Trek Original Series poster and
several samples of hand creams, gels and makeup. The program was full of
dedications to different people associated with Sojourn. Many were for
Kate, including Paramount Pictures, MTA Talent Agency, different theatres
in Southern California and of course, Now Voyager. Rick Kolbe wrote a
lovely one that said "Kate. Loving, Caring, Gracious, Magnanimous.
Congratulations, My Love, Rick." During the salad course the band began
playing soft jazz music and several couples got up to dance, including Rick
and Kate. What a terribly cute couple! Unfortunately for us admirers, that
was the only time they were on the dance floor. Dinner was salmon with dill
sauce and rice pilaf or spinach soufflé for those of us that do not like
seafood.
	After the dinner dishes were cleared there was a little more dancing-this
time with a mixture of big band music and old rock and roll. Then another
break in the music while the honorees were presented with their awards. The
statutes were triangular shaped pieces of colored glass on a black base.
Mr. King spoke briefly and then Kate was introduced. She too spoke very
briefly. In fact, I was lucky to get the two photos I did because she was
at the podium for only a few minutes.  She opened with a request to the men
at her table to "please stop playing with the teddy bears because that has
gone on long enough!" Then she stated that she wasn't quite sure why she
was an inspiration, except to give young girls a desire to study physics
for endless hours, take command of a starship and then get lost in the
Delta Quadrant far from home. Kate very politely thanked the Sojourn
organization for honoring her and complimented the staff on their fine
work. The last speakers were a couple that was both on the advisory board.
Mrs. Robbin at one time had been a battered wife and had turned to Sojourn
for help.
	The band began playing again but by this hour several people had
begun to leave. Ari, Jen and I wandered over and stood in line (behind
Robert Picardo nonetheless) and asked Kate for a group picture. She more
than graciously agreed.  Then Lynda walked by and Kate asked her to take
another group picture so that we could include Jen, who had taken the first
two.
	Ari and Jen offered to drive me to my car because I had parked
several blocks away. While we were downstairs at the concierge's desk
waiting for my bag, Kate walked by us and waggled her finger stating "don't
drive home too safely!" I laughed out loud and stated that she was a "silly
woman-she thinks we're going home!" We stayed out very late that night, but
that's a different fan club. As we left, Kate, Rick and her sons were
sitting in the downstairs lobby with a few other people that I didn't
recognize.
	Despite some professional differences of opinion, I still have
respect for this woman and all she and the character she plays stand for.
During the whole evening she was very gracious and charming and so were her
sons. They are both very well mannered. Every person that approached her
was treated with a warm smile and a handshake and requests for photos were
gladly given. She does possess a certain degree of elegance that very few
women have and with Kate it seems very natural. She just likes people and
her celebrity status doesn't seem to have gone to her head. And it was a
treat to see her not only out of character but also as a mother. The few
moments I saw her with her two boys (who look alike but Alex has her copper
colored hair and Ian has dark hair) were heartwarming. It was a truly
magical evening.

--Annmarie Daneker

	I volunteered for the fund raiser for Sojourn, where Kate was given
the "Inspiration of the Year" award. I was monitoring the silent auction
tables. I did see Kate and her two boys (I recognized one from the Rosie
O'Donnell show). I told the one boy how cool his tie was--because it was.
Roxann was also there with her husband. She was dressed in a slinky black
dress and looks so much different in person--very cute and "perky" and
classy (reminded me of a darker Anne Heche). She didn't look pregnant to
me, but my roommate said you could tell when she stood sideways that her
tummy was growing a bit.
	Anyway, Kate. She looked incredible. She reminded me of Princess
Grace or Princess Diana. She obviously had makeup on, but I couldn't really
tell--it was subtle and natural, just made her skin look radiant and
healthy. She just glowed with grace and presence. I'm sorry, I just don't
remember what she was wearing. I wasn't going to go up to her and say
anything, but I was looking at an item that I had bid on and praying that I
wouldn't get stuck with it, when I sensed someone else looking at it. I
looked up and She was standing so close to me our shoulders were
practically touching. My mouth probably dropped open or I gasped or
something, because she looked up and smiled. Well, at that point I had to
say something. So I said, "Hi, I'm Julie and I'm a member of your fan club.
It's so nice to meet you." She held out her hand and said, "Thank you. It's
great to meet you." We shook hands--hers was warm and firm but not too
tight--like some people who know that a "firm" handshake makes a good
impression so they grip you like a vise. Nope, just right. She smiled
warmly, then we were interrupted by one of the organizers who dragged her
away. The whole thing probably took 45 seconds, but it was great.
	Robert Picardo was also there with his wife, as well as Garrett
Wang with a lovely woman (don't know his marital status). Garrett looked
quite handsome and appealing; I think I would like Garrett much more than
Harry Kim. Garrett laughs and smiles all the time. Both he and Picardo
seemed to be having fun. Rick Kolbe was escorting Kate.
	The real thrill of the evening was meeting Lynda Foley. We chatted
for quite some time, though she had to get home to finish a script for a
promising pitch meeting that Monday. I also met fan club members Jennifer
[Schlenzig] and Alana [Voeller] and fan club friend Ari [Oyola, who was
pictured in a recent newsletter].
	Kate gave a brief speech. She said "First of all, I'd like to tell
everyone at my table to stop playing with their teddy bears. I mean, enough
is enough." She said she didn't know what she could possibly inspire anyone
to, unless it's to "inspire young girls to study physics for years and
years and years and leave their homes to command spaceships only to get
their entire crews lost in the Delta Quadrant." This got a small laugh from
the crowd. Kate basically said what a great cause Sojourn is (shelter for
battered women) and how honored she was. It was short and sweet.
	One of the organizers of the event told me that Kate was the big
draw. Because of Kate, she said, they'd had their biggest turn-out ever--a
sold out event. She said they had used Kate's personal mailing list and
contacted the fan club, and that her supporters had been incredible. She
told me again what she had told me twice before--that the response from
Kate's fan club had been surprising and overwhelming. I only wish I could
have met more of the people who I know were there.

--Julie Aiken

Now Voyager raised over $800 for Sojourn, in addition to the individual
contributions of members who attended the event. Anyone interested in
supporting the organization should write to P.O. Box 7081, Santa Monica, CA
90406-7081.


The  People  Page

INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT BELTRAN
by Becky Olsen and Diane Nichols

This was at Vulkon in Atlanta, Georgia, September 13, 1997. Diane and Becky
want to thank Nancy Molik who saved the day with her tape recorder, and
Irma Zamot who provided videotape of both days...as well as Joe Motes and
Ruthann Devlin, for leaving them alone in a hotel room with Robert Beltran
and a king sized bed . They also extend sincere thanks to Robert,
who was exhausted and starving but still managed to smile, and that's a
true gift. The final question was asked by a local Starfleet chapter.

NV: Since I talked to you two years ago in Ft. Lauderdale, what's changed?

RB: It's pretty much been, since Ft. Lauderdale, pretty much the same. The only
thing that changes is what we personally do on hiatus.

NV: Does that leave you time for family on the weekends?

RB: Yes. Yeah, weekends are free, we're free on weekends. And some episodes
we don't work every day.

NV: Tell us about working with Kate. What's it like working with her? What are
her strengths?

RB: Kate is a terrific actress, first of all. And second of all she's easy
to work with. And thirdly, she sets the tone on the set and we definitely
get down to work when we have to.

NV: Could you see anyone else playing Janeway?

RB: Bette Davis maybe. And my mom.

NV: We see a lot of chemistry between you and Kate, of course everyone talks
about Janeway and Chakotay, but very little of it is scripted. Do you think
that
really comes from you and your friendship with her?

RB: Yeah. They do write good scenes for us most of the time and because we
are friends, and I consider her a very good friend, I think it adds to the
scenes, definitely. Just a natural ease that we have with each other. I
think we like each other personally so it comes through.
NV: Can we talk about Hamlet?

RB: Sure.

NV: How did that come about? How did you end up directing, acting, doing
everything?

RB: Well, I knew the play very well... I did want to direct, I offered the
directorship to a good friend, Kristoffer Tabori, but he wasn't available
to join us until later in the rehearsal schedule, so I started all the work
and it was very difficult because we had two entire casts to rehearse. And
then we lost four weeks because Voyager's hiatus started earlier, so we
lost four weeks of rehearsal. And it was just a monumental task trying to
get this thing together and a couple of times I didn't think we were going
to, but we did. And I'm glad we did, because I learned a lot and it was a
wonderful experience.

NV: When does your shooting schedule run?

RB: We started May 29 this year and we're finished in mid-March.

NV: Did you have time in between Hamlet and then starting the new season's
shooting?

RB: I had a couple of weeks. Yeah, and I had to go to Europe. I had to be
in Zurich about the 24th or 25th [of May] so I went to London and Paris and
then I made my way up to Zurich and came back to work a couple of weeks
later after we closed.

NV: Looking back on it, what was the best part of it?

RB: Well, I think the sense of accomplishment and also just the privilege
of being in that play and running it for thirty performances. I had never
done that play, except...I had never played Hamlet, except in my class
doing various scenes and soliloquies. So to be able to just do the entire
play all the way through, night after night like that, it was very
exhilarating, even though I was exhausted.

NV: What would you do differently if you decided to do this again?

RB: I would do it with one cast and a few understudies, and I think what I
would do is just try to enhance what we already had, because the play
evolves as you do it. And I think it would have only gotten better and
better the more we did it.

NV: My view of it, having seen it, was that it was strictly acting. You had
minimal setting, no costumes, and it worked really well. Would you want to
do a full stage production of Hamlet?

RB: I purposely did not want to do that because like you said, it
distracts. It doesn't have to, but I thought that if we did Elizabethan
costuming and went that way...I really did want to just attack the play as
a "new" play, as if it had never been done before. I just thought that if
we could keep it moving quickly and tell the story then most of our job
would be done. But it almost achieved what I had in mind originally.

NV: Had you worked at the Actors' Gang Theater before?

RB: No. In fact I was in despair because all the theaters that I had wanted
to use were not available. So when Actors' Gang came up...it was the first
time I had gone in there and seen it, was when I heard that it was
available and I went to go look at it and it was a dream come true cause it
was better than any of the other theaters that I had originally wanted to
do it in. I mean this whole thing was sort of like, blessed and but this
doesn't mean that you don't have hard work and things to overcome that make
it difficult at the time. But like I said, the end result is that you did
it.

NV: And it's an exhilarating feeling, too, doing something live and knowing
that there's no going back, and what you do that night is there.

RB: That's right.

NV: It's a big difference from filming.

RB: Yeah. That's one of the reasons I wanted to do it, because I hadn't
done any theater in three years.

NV: Do you like it better?

RB: Well, yeah, I like the process more.

NV: Are you still involved with the East LA Classic Theater?

RB: I am, but I feel sort of like I got it off the ground and now it's sort
of something that's beyond... yeah. I'm proud to be a founding member and
to have gotten it started and I'm glad that now its an entity that's being
taken care of. It's a self-sustaining entity and I'm happy about of that.
So I don't have my hands in it too much. We have a Board of Directors and
we have so many "boards of directors" that I don't even know who they are
any more. So it is moving.

NV: I have to ask you a personal question. My son is an aspiring actor, so
he thinks that he might like to go on to college and take some classes.
What kind of advice would you give him?

RB: Well, I think he's got the right idea, to go to college, go somewhere
where he could study; and just keep doing it and doing it until something
breaks for him. There's no one way to do it, and the way I did it, is
totally different from the way anybody else...so he's going to have to find
his own way. But the main thing is for him to train and be prepared when
that break comes.

NV: When will you have your next time off?

RB: Probably Thanksgiving and then Christmas and then hiatus.

NV: Getting back to the show for a minute, one of my favorite shows from
last season was "Worst Case Scenario." Was that as much fun to do as it was
to watch?

RB: It was a lot of fun. We got Martha back for a little while, she's great
to work with, and it was a fun script. I liked it.

NV: Are you happy with what you've done so far this season?

RB: I liked the cliffhanger, the Part 2, very much. ["Scorpion"] And then
there was another one that I did, called "Nemesis," that's going to be
coming out pretty soon. I've enjoyed this year so far.

NV: Some of us have had the real feeling that the show is turning a corner.
There have been some rough times, some scripts that maybe didn't quite make
it, some stories that just didn't work, and it's been really toward the end
of last year that things really started to gel. It seems that this new year
is starting that way too. Do you have that same sense of that?
RB: A lot of people have said that. I guess that I do sort of feel a
momentum picking up, but it's hard to put your finger on.

NV: You have to be happy with the ratings.

RB: We're very happy.

NV: You beat out Ellen. 

RB: Yeah, we did very well. Which is possibly a good sign of things to come.

NV: So what do you see ahead for "Voyager"? Any conception of how long this
is going to last or where the show is going?

RB: I'm not privy to what the writer/producers are thinking. All I know is
that we started off great this year and hopefully that momentum will keep
building and I know that we all recently re-negotiated for more years, so
we'll be around for a while unless disaster strikes.

NV: What's your life's motto?

RB: I call my production company The Mustard Seed which is taken from a
parable from the Gospels. Actually, two parables concerning the mustard
seed. One is 'having faith as small as a mustard seed you can accomplish
anything' and second of all, the mustard seed is the smallest seed and yet
it grows up into a huge tree that provides shelter for birds and others. If
I have a life motto, it's contained in those parables.


SOME CONVENTION NOTES
by Becky Olsen

	On the first day of the con, Robert delighted the audience by
playing impromptu scenes with Janeway, a.k.a. a microphone stand. The
second day, our own Nancy Molik presented him with Leah Frey's Janeway
"standup." From across the stage, Robert called, "Isn't she beautiful?" to
much applause. Then he added, "She's a lot of fun to work with, 'cause
she's nuts!"
	Slipping slowly into character, moving very close to Janeway and
speaking very romantically, he murmured, "What do I have to do to make you
understand? It's inevitable." The audience hooted as Robert moved behind
the cardboard Janeway and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Think of the
children. We're going to have wonderful children." He paused. "Hopefully we
won't de-evolve and they'll come out slugs." By this time the audience was
howling.
	Someone suggested that he and Kate should perform The Taming of the
Shrew, with Kate, of course, playing "Kate." Robert proceeded to play the
scene to "Janeway": "I did that in college, and she would be a great Kate.
Boy would she be a great Kate. He then adopted a stage voice and began to
play to the cardboard Janeway: "Good morrow, Kate. Well, that is your name
I hear..." The scene continued until Robert reached the line, "I will wed
you, I will bed you, I will marry you Kate," at which point the audience
was beyond control, so he wisely changed the topic!
	Asked whether Chakotay has any other tattoos (which brought riotous
laughter from the audience), Robert pointed to the inner corner of his eye
and sniffed, "A little teardrop, right here." When someone called out that
he ought to show it to Kathryn, Robert said, "It wouldn't work." He then
affected a very bad Janeway voice, and proclaimed, "'Oh, Chakotay, here's a
handkerchief. Please. I'm talking to Leonardo.'" The audience oohed, and
Robert continued, "You're talking to Leonardo Da Vinci? A hologram?" He
paused dramatically. "And I'm here alone in my quarters...with my medicine
bag...God, I hate you."
	By far the funniest moment of the entire convention came twenty
minutes into the first Q&A session. A little girl of about ten or eleven
stood and asked Robert how he felt about being an action figure. As she
handed him her Chakotay figure, she apologized, saying: "I'm sorry it's
bent in a kind of weird position, my mom's been playing with it." There was
no gaining control of the crowd for a full five minutes.
	I'm thoroughly convinced that if he didn't know before, Robert now
knows what a truly twisted bunch of people we all are!


Kathryn  Janeway,  Feminist  Heroine

MY DAUGHTER, CAPTAIN JANEWAY
by D. Rush

	"Red alert. Battlestations!" Her voice is steely and the command
presence is tangible in each word. Captain Janeway has arrived on the
bridge and her officers are falling over themselves to do her bidding.
	No, we're not watching Voyager--we're watching one of the effects
that Voyager has had on my household. My daughter has developed quite a
fascination for Captain Janeway--HEY, it's not MY fault. Not once have I
let her see me drool during the show, I swear! Emma loves to pretend that
she's the Captain, and has gone so far as to introduce herself as Captain
Kathryn Janeway and often demands that I call her by that name. Imagine my
consternation when I have to say, "Captain Janeway, you have got to put on
your underwear right now, we have guests!"
	She has carefully trained her grandparents, her friends, and even
her physical therapist in proper protocol when the captain is in residence.
Immediate compliance. No questions. "Do it!". Period. The Captain is always
right, the Captain never makes mistakes, the Captain can fix anything. Hero
worship in its purest form. I'm not surprised that my daughter loves to
pretend that she's Janeway, but I thought I'd ask her why just to see what
she said.
	"She knows a lot of science and I'm good at science. She's really,
really smart and I'm smart. She gets to give the orders." And, "I like her
hair."
	I was so pleased when I heard her answers--well, except for that
hair thing. Janeway is exactly what I'd hoped for my daughter--a role-model
to help show a strong woman in a powerful position, making good decisions.
A leader who is so smart and so principled that one would never question
her orders. That's how Emma and I see Janeway--our view may not agree with
more discriminating viewers, but Emma and I adore our Captain for the utter
delight we feel that she even exists. And she IS powerful and strong and in
complete control--how many times do our daughters see women like that?
(Mothers do NOT count, of course, everybody knows that!)
	Living with Captain Janeway can be a bit difficult at times,
especially when it comes to explaining stuff from the show. I was in a
major quandary trying to explain the kidzards that came along with her new
mutated Paris action figure. No, she didn't care that Janeway had been
knocked up by Helm Boy, but was royally pissed that they abandoned the
babies. Also, where ARE those seatbelts? Her older brother is a wonderful
source of scientific explanations for the "technology" and background of
Star Trek and watching Voyager is one of the few activities that has
brought my 18 year old son and my daughter closer together. For that reason
alone, the show is a miracle--trust me. It's fascinating to see Matt and
Emma debating the situations on Voyager, I can get positively sappy when
that happens. Of course, then they bring out their communicators and
proceed to drive me nuts with them. (I will NEVER forgive Michelle for not
warning me not to get the talking kind. Arrrgh!)
	Emma is terribly concerned about how often the Captain seems to
fall down. She thinks that Chakotay should hold on to her--it IS his
responsibility as first officer to keep the Captain safe. Ahhh, that's my
girl. My darling daughter is truly obsessed. She requests...no,
demands...that I wake her in the morning by calling, "Captain Janeway, exit
your quarters." Although she occasionally calls me Chakotay, at least she
hasn't refused to bathe with me because it goes against command protocol.
And, although she doesn't understand why, she knows I won't answer to
"Chakotay" when I'm putting her to bed, undressing her, or washing her. I
just can't do it.
	I guess I blame my little dilemma on Kate Mulgrew--she's created a
monster! I should fly Emma out to Kate and tell her that her portrayal of
Janeway comes across as so controlling that it's a bad influence on
innocent little children. Emma is living proof of a power-mad kid. I'll
tell Kate that Em's staying with her until Kate can convince Emma AND
Janeway to act like there might be a person or two who also have good ideas
and accurate opinions. It could straighten BOTH of them out.
	It would probably be quite enlightening for Kate to see Janeway as
portrayed by a 6 year old. If Em could walk well enough, she'd be
swaggering around with her hands on her hips spouting orders CONSTANTLY!
About the 4th time Emma said, "because I'm the captain and I say so!" Kate
might start getting the message. Emma would probably be much sweeter to
Chakotay, too...IF he'd been very, very good.
	Emma is very fond of Kes, too, and misses her terribly as she is
sure Captain Janeway does. Overheard during Sunday school: the teacher
asked, "What is God?" (I thought it a rather strange question for 5-6 year
olds, too.) One little boy (who obviously has parents who tow the party
line) said, "God is everywhere and everything." What was my darling
daughter's answer? With great confidence and conviction, she firmly stated
that "God is probably half alien and half Ocampa." There is no question in
her mind that Kes must be a Goddess!
	All that whining aside, I guess I'd just have to thank Kate
profusely for providing such and inspiring model of perserverance for Emma.
For a kid who is constantly faced with her physical limitations and who
struggles daily just to walk without falling and who may never realize her
dream of jumping rope, Kate's Janeway inspires Emma to keep trying, to
never give up, to force herself to go farther than she thinks she can.
	There are more and more strong, fascinating women in the world than
there ever have been before, but it's pretty hard for small children to
know them. Captain Janeway, on the other hand, flashes onto the
television--larger than life, vibrant and dynamic and DEMANDS our
attention. Simply put, there's no one else like her and I'm thrilled that
she's there.
	And she's even a Hoosier, like us.

VOYAGER AND ANCIENT EPIC
By Amy Spagna

	Epic poetry was one of the largest literary genres of the ancient
world. Growing out of an oral tradition, the poems of Homer and later,
Vergil, came to enjoy a status as the most widely read texts in antiquity.
Everybody who had an education had read them. Although the whole Star Trek
phenomenon is a part of 20th century popular culture, it too has come to
enjoy a similar position. At least in the U.S., even if a person is not a
fan, he or she has at least heard of it and has probably seen it. There
have been numerous comparisons of Trek to ancient cultures; a professor of
mine even maintains that the Klingons are Romans and the Vulcans are
Greeks. Perhaps the most obvious similarity is that of Star Trek to ancient
epic. It is told in a similar fashion, with characters who, in many
instances, cannot grow and can do no wrong. Voyager is no exception to this
rule, as its stories are told in the same grand fashion of its
predecessors, and most of what the crew encounters seems larger-than-life.
Voyager seems to have more in common with Vergil's epic rather than
Homer's, particularly in its premise and in the characterization of its
captain.
	The whole premise of the series revolves around finding the way
home. This is a common theme in the works of Homer and Vergil; the major
themes of both the Odyssey and the Aeneid are about finding the way home
despite difficult, numerous, and dangerous obstacles. Even Apollonius of
Rhodes (Argonautica) deals with this while chronicling the adventures of
Jason. While the crew has gotten less whiny about their predicament -- as
do the crews under Odysseus and Aeneas -- the concept of reaching home does
surface occasionally. The first occurance is in the first-season episode
"Eye of the Needle," in which the crew comes very close to finding the
answer they are looking for. This happens often to the hapless Trojans; in
the course of Aeneas' telling his story, the reader learns that he too has
often found what he thought was safe harbor, only to be told by one of the
gods to move on. "Home" also has come to have the same meaning for the crew
of the Voyager as it does for the Trojans. On the vast majority of the
occasions on which it is mentioned, the Trojans do not have a clear idea of
where their new home is located, or of what they will find there; it is the
notion of eventually finding this place that keeps the Trojans' journey and
hopes alive. Similarly, "home" has become somewhat of an idea rather than
an actuality for Voyager's crew. The idea of it is by no means dead, though
it is not often mentioned outside of the context of a wistful statement by
Captain Janeway or one of her crew.
	Voyager presents the audience with a crew which is somewhat thrown
together. This is also the case in the Aeneid. After Aeneas flees the
burning citadel of Troy, he discovers that many others have also done so.
Collectively they decide to seek out a new home; Aeneas becomes their
leader by virtue of his position as the only surviving member of the Trojan
royal family and by their will. He relates,

...As night waned I joined my company.
And there to my astonishment I found
New refugees in a great crowd: men and women
Gathered for exile young -- pitiful people
Coming from every quarter, minds made up,
With their belongings, for whatever lands
I'd lead them by sea...

-- Aeneid II. 796-800, translated by Robert Fitzgerald

	The Latin here makes use of the subjunctive form of the verb, which
seems to suggest that this journey has the potential to be very long, and
that the people are following Aeneas out of their own free will as much as
they are following him in deference to his status as a hero. The situation
following Janeway's destruction of The Array in "Caretaker" is somewhat
similar. She is also faced with a motley crew, the survivors of her ship
combined with the survivors of Chakotay's. Like Aeneas, she also becomes
the leader of the whole group by virtue of her position. USS Voyager is her
ship, and she is also the highest-ranking officer present. In the cases of
Chakotay, Neelix, Kes, and the remainder of the Maquis, they choose to go
wherever she may lead them; as Chakotay tells B'Elanna Torres, they follow
Janeway because she's the captain.
	Janeway is a lot like Aeneas in other ways as well. Possibly most
important is her possession of the Roman virtue known as pietas. The word
does not translate well from the Latin, and there has been a great deal of
debate over its exact meaning. The Oxford Classical Dictionary defines it
as, "... the typical Roman attitude of dutiful respect toward gods, the
fatherland, and parents and other kinsmen..." (OCD 833). In the case of
Aeneas, this quality tends to manifest itself in his devotion to his duty.
Fate has decreed that he is to be the common ancestor of the Romans, and he
consistently acts to fulfill that destiny. Janeway is also devoted to the
duty she feels she owes her crew. On multiple occasions she makes mention
of it. In "Caretaker", she tells Tuvok that she has to get her crew home;
likewise in "The Q and the Grey," she tells Q that she's not about to
abandon her intrepid crew just to raise his child. Janeway also tries to
impress her sense of duty upon those serving under her. On occasions when
her officers break Starfleet regulations, e.g., "Prime Factors" and "Fair
Trade", she is very quick to lecture them about what their responsibilities
to the Prime Directive and ultimately, to her and to the rest of the crew,
are.
	There are also several issues with which Janeway must cope as a
result of her pietas. Perhaps the most obvious of these is the fact that
she sometimes finds herself coming into conflict with others because of it.
The best example of this is her relationship with Chakotay. She is so
committed to getting her crew home and to her command protocols that to
this point she has not allowed it to become anything more than friendship.
This is brought to the fore during "Resolutions," and has hung in the air
between the two of them since. Pietas drives Janeway to keep searching for
answers so she can return to the ship and fulfill her duty, and that serves
to drive a wedge between her and Chakotay. The destruction of her
scientific equipment serves a function similar to the storm in Book IV of
the Aeneid. Unlike the case with Dido and Aeneas, there was no marriage
involved; however, it did allow her to forget her duty, even if for a
little while. As recently as "Scorpion," Janeway's devotion to duty has
caused problems with Chakotay. She refuses to consider alternatives to
punching her way through, and ends up having a huge argument with him as a
result. It causes no irreparable damage to their relationship, but it does
demonstrate that, at least in a command situation, her sense of duty is her
major motivation.
	Finally, Janeway sometimes sounds like Aeneas. Consider the
following two speeches:

...Friends and companions,
Have we not known hard hours before this?
My men, who have endured still greater dangers,
God will grant us an end to these as well.
You sailed by Scylla's rage, her booming crags,
You saw Cyclops' boulders. Now call back
Your courage, and have done with fear and sorrow.
Someday, perhaps, remembering even this
Will be a pleasure. Through diversities
Of luck, and through so many challenges,
We hold our course for Latium, where the Fates
Hold out a settlement and rest for us.
Troy's kingdom shall rise again. Be patient:
Save yourselves for more auspicious days.

-- Aeneid I. 198-207 (Fitzgerald)

We are alone, in an uncharted region of the galaxy. We've already made some
friends here -- and some enemies. One thing is certain: both crews are
going to have to work together if we are to survive. That's why Commander
Chakotay and I have agreed that this is going to be one crew: a Starfleet
crew. And as the only Starfleet crew assigned to the Delta Quadrant, we'll
continue to follow our directive to seek out new life and to explore space.
Our primary goal is clear. Even at maximum speeds, it would take 75 years
to reach the Federation. I am not willing to settle for that. There's
another entity out there like the Caretaker who has the ability to get us
there much faster. We'll be looking for her. We'll also be looking for
wormholes, spatial rifts, and new technologies to help us. Somewhere along
this journey, we will find a way back.

-- Kathryn Janeway, "Caretaker"

Both express similar sentiments in similar terms: we've been through rough
weather and there is plenty more ahead, but we are going to make it.
	Unlike the vast majority of Homeric heroes, Aeneas does show
glimmers of humanity. He openly anguishes over what he's done in leading
his people to their new home, mourns for the dead, and even gets to fall in
love. Janeway too is human, and the audience has been reminded of it in numerous ways, both through the writing of episodes and the wonderful acting of Kat
e Mulgrew. Janeway worries about her crew; she genuinely feels, and we have
often shared in her anguish. Unlike Aeneas, she continues to receive
reminders of her humanity from characters like Caylem ("Resistance"), the
Nikani ("Sacred Ground"), the Borg of "Unity", and Seven of Nine. She does
not become a slave to her fate as Aeneas does; rather, she works with it
and tries to make the best of each situation that presents itself to her,
not only for herself, but for the people around her.

Works Cited:
	Fitzgerald, Robert, tr. The Aeneid of Virgil. New York: Vintage
Books, 1990.
	Graf, L.A. Star Trek: Voyager: Caretaker. New York: Pocket Books,
1995.
	"Pietas." The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Second Edition. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1970.

GESTURES
by a writer who wishes to remain anonymous

	Recently I spent a weekend in the mountains. I have found that this
can be a very peaceful experience and offers one an opportunity for moments
of much needed reflection in a very busy world. Giving a great deal of
thought to the many losses and gains in my life thus far, I could not help
thinking about my Grandmother's absence and the presence of a lady named
Kate Mulgrew. We all have memories of childhood that we hold in our hearts
and cherish throughout our lives. This is one of mine, and I wish to share
it.
	When I was very small, my Grandmother moved in with my family to an
apartment attatched to the house. At the time I felt this would be a great
intrusion on my irrepressible lifestyle. However, it was not long after she
moved in that I found myself often drawn to her presence. I enjoyed
listening to her many stories of the past though she told them repeatedly.
Each day I would come home from school at lunch time just so I could share
part of my day with her. This was a special time and place for me, and how
my Grandmother became a very important part of my life. In the corner of
her living room sat a carefully polished old clock set to chime precisely
at 12:30 each day. To her that old clock's chime was like a messenger
crying out to remind her that something very special was about to begin. It
was the start of a program called Ryan's Hope and the entrance of an
actress, a lady, named Kate Mulgrew.
	She enjoyed watching many soap operas, but Ryan's Hope was very
special to my Grandmother because in Kate she saw much more than just a
gifted actress. She saw a woman who she often said she felt was "blessed
with with the heart of an angel." I believe this is true because Kate has
never forgotten what a simple act of kindnesss can mean to another person.
She repeatedly shares her endless generosity by offerering her voice to
those whose cries are not always heard: the sick, the lost, and the
children. Now various charities honor Kate because she makes such a worthy
difference in this world simply by caring about the people in it.
	My Grandmother always felt Kate was destined for "great things"
because she believed her to be "strong of spirit" and always and forever a
"class act." That was her highest compliment, and one very well spoken.
Kate has deservedly achieved success as an actress. Through the years she
has also managed to hold onto the same grace, dignity, and class that made
her so worthy of such high praise both then and now.
	As a child, I myself only knew that I was awestruck by Kate's
presence whether on a tiny screen or a darkened stage. I did not have many
good role models, so Kate was a true gift for me. She was someone for that
child to look up to and strive to emulate. I was too young to know the
meaning of celebrity or fame, so her influence came from the heart. My
youthful instincts simply told me this was a very special lady. Exactly
what my Grandmother saw when she looked at Kate is a mystery. It had to be
something very special because just the mention of Kate's name made her
smile. That is the greatest gift one can ever offer.
	More than twenty years have gone by since those days of sharing
Ryan's Hope. My Grandmother passed away some time ago. However, the gifts
she bestowed are a part of who I am just as Kate's influence on that child
is a part of me too. When I speak of Kate now, it is with both the heart of
that child who was touched so deeply years ago, and the adult whose life
she continues to touch. She has repeatedly shown herself to be that "class
act" my Grandmother spoke so proudly of. Kate continues to show us all that
she still has so many wonderful gifts to share with this world. I myself am
still learning from her example. Her touch bridged generations, brought
direction and hope to a small child, and offered joy to an old woman whose
smile was slowly fading with age.
	Perhaps we do not all have a chance to stop what we are doing and
contemplate our lives. If we could, we would take pleasure in the things we
have. We would hold more dearly the people who in some way, have been or
now are, a part of us. I do know my Grandmother's memory lives on in my
heart just as my endless respect and admiration for Kate does too.


Copyright  Violation  Corner

In the words of a certain Em Wycedee, "Paramount owns the characters, the
franchise, and more of my soul than they should."  The immortal poem
"Ulysses," which inspired this story and which is quoted in part below, is
the work of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and should be a must-read for anyone who
loves the concept of explorer-as-hero.  Thanks to Kathleen Speck for
dialogue assistance.

THAT WHICH WE ARE
by Brenda Shaffer-Shiring

How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!

	"Coffee?" Kathryn Janeway asked, moving toward what she'd come to
think of as her "coffeemaker." The device had begun its existence as a
common replicator, but in the decade she had owned it, every flavor of
coffee known to the Federation had been added to its repertoire.
	"Please," Chakotay said from his place on the couch. "Andorian
Mountain blend, Melendran cream." Both coffee and cream were relatively
obscure variations, but he was familiar with the capabilities of her office
replicator.
	"Coming right up." She ordered his beverage, then, after a moment's
thought, requested a traditional Columbian roast (black) for herself.
Carrying both steaming mugs to the sitting area, she offered him his drink
before taking a delicate, sampling sip of her own. Just what she'd
expected, but then it always was. She settled down into her armchair, and
for a few minutes they sat silently together, sharing the beverage and one
another's company in their private, time-honored ritual.
	As she sipped, Janeway raised her eyes over the rim of her mug and
looked at her companion, really looked at him, as she hadn't done in a long
time. He did not seem to note her regard. As so often when he came to her
office, his eyes had moved to her window, and the bay beyond it, following
the movements of passing ships with small restless flickers of his pupils.
The windows of his own little office, and those of the classroom where he
taught, afforded him no such view.
	From a physical standpoint, the passage of time had been kind to
the man she'd selected as her first officer, some twenty years gone. Though
Chakotay's short, once-black hair had long ago turned salt-and-pepper (now
more salt than pepper), and the lines that crinkled the skin about his eyes
and mouth had gotten deeper, few new lines had encroached on the
still-handsome countenance, and the slight additional hollowing beneath his
cheekbones only accentuated the strong, blunt angles of his face. Beneath
the black-and-gray of his uniform, his body still looked fit and powerful:
his shoulders as broad as ever, his waist nearly as narrow, the suggestion
of muscle still informing the shape of his sleeves. That wasn't all the
work of nature, she knew; despite his age (or because of it), he drove
himself through a demanding regimen of regular exercise.
	Kathryn did not need to look in a mirror to know that the passing
years had not been quite as kind to her. She was quite aware that her own
golden-brown hair was shot through with white; that her eyes, no longer so
deep-blue as they had been, were accented by crow's feet; that her face was
perhaps too thin, her cheeks too hollow, to meet some concepts of
attractiveness. Though Chakotay had assured her many times that her beauty
was undiminished, she suspected his assurances had more to do with his
sense of gallantry than with fact. Not that it mattered; Kathryn had never
been obsessed with schoolgirl standards of beauty. While she found it
satisfying to know that her looks were pleasant for a woman of her years,
she was more concerned with her health and level of fitness--and knew that,
thanks to a demanding exercise regimen of her own, she was still strong and
wiry, quite capable of "whipping her weight in wildcats" (as a long-ago
physical training instructor of hers had once said).
	Not that she'd had much need for the ability to whip wildcats, she
reflected. Or, for that matter, anything else. Not in a long time.
	Chakotay looked away from the window, heavy gray eyebrows quirking
upward with amusement, and she knew he had seen her scrutiny of him. With a
self-conscious smile, she turned her gaze back to her coffee--only to
realize that he, in his turn, was regarding her, a tiny smile of his own on
his full-curved lips. After a moment, she said dryly, "A comment, Captain?"
	He took another swallow of his beverage before answering. "Just
appreciating the view, Admiral."
	An eternity ago, at the beginning of their journey on Voyager, she
might have pretended to think he was referring to what he'd seen through
the window. But they were long past such games now. "Flatterer," she
accused, without heat.
	He inclined his head. "Not at all."
	"How long can you stay?"
	"As long as you'll have me. No classes this afternoon." Chakotay
sipped his coffee.
	"Time off for good behavior?"
	"You could say that. And you?"
	"Me too. You're my last appointment."
	"Ah, saving the best for last." He set his mug down on the
transparent surface of her coffee table, and considered her with the
steady, serious gaze she knew so well. "So, Kathryn, what's been bothering
you?"
	She stiffened a little, then mentally cursed, knowing the move
would have been imperceptible to almost anyone but him. "What makes you
think something's been bothering me?" she evaded, cupping her coffee mug in
both hands and holding it high, as if she meant to block his view of her
face.
	"Sell it to someone who's buying, Kathryn," he advised mildly,
hunkering forward in his seat and laying a big hand on her knee. He'd
learned that trick from her, she thought suddenly, certainly, the
not-quite-casual touch that pulled someone's attention irresistibly to the
toucher. He'd been a good pupil; the gesture worked as well for him as it
always had for her. "You've been, I don't know, nervous, tense, for months
now. I thought at first that maybe you'd found out something had happened
to one of our crew"--for everyone who'd served on Voyager, "our crew" would
only and ever have one meaning--"and you didn't want to tell me for some
reason. But nobody I talked to had heard of anything like that. If there'd
been anything wrong with someone in your family, I couldn't imagine why
you'd hide it from me, but I checked anyway. Your sister said there hadn't
been."
	Her eyes widened. She hadn't realized he'd be that thorough in his
researches; wondered what her sister's exact words had been when the
question was raised. "And as far as I can tell, there's not even a hint of
a departmental shakeup in Starfleet Sciences. So your job's not at risk."
He sketched a thin, not-trying-very-hard-to-be-cheery smile, before his
eyes became serious again. "I don't know what's wrong, Kathryn. But I know
something is." He squeezed her knee. "You can lie to anyone else--except
maybe Tuvok--but don't lie to me. What's going on?"
	She sighed, temporizing for just a moment longer. "Has anyone ever
told you you're awfully pushy?"
	"You. Hundreds of times." His gaze was unblinking. "Give."
	 "All right." She symbolized her surrender by setting the mug down
and meeting his gaze. "But I warn you, it's not going to make a lot of
sense."
	"Kathryn, I spend every day dealing with cadets whose idea of
tactics is charging head-on into a fleet of Romulan battle cruisers and
firing for all they're worth." He chuckled, a bit ruefully. "Compared to
that, you're a fountain of logic."
	"Thanks," she said wryly. "I think." That pulled a little more of a
smile from him. "Chakotay--"
	But it was the unspeakable, unthinkable question, the one no
commanding officer should raise, and she discovered that she couldn't quite
ask it after all--not while she was looking right at him, and sitting so
close to him, and certainly not while he was touching her. So she pushed
herself out of her chair and paced a few steps away from him, her arms
folding of their own volition across her abdomen, protecting and steadying
her as she turned back to him. "Chakotay," she began again, feeling her
stomach tighten with unaccustomed nerves. "Chakotay...do you ever wonder if
it was worth it?"
	He looked at her for a moment, frowning thoughtfully as if
considering her possible meanings, and she wondered if she would have to
explain herself further after all, even to this man who knew her so well.
Then the frown cleared, and she knew he understood even before his soft
words confirmed it. "You mean, bringing Voyager home, don't you?"
	"Yes." She kept her own voice low, because she hoped he would not
hear the faint tremor in it, and because the admission sounded too much
like treason, like blasphemy.
	But he did not look shocked, or even disapproving. "Yes," he said
simply. "Sometimes I wonder."
	The words hit her with a peculiar pang, and yet, she realized, she
should not have been surprised to hear them, not from him. After all,
Chakotay had gained little from the ship's return to the Alpha Quadrant.
	"Don't get me wrong," he said, slowly, as if he were searching for
words. "I think we did the right thing. I think we did the necessary thing.
I think we had to bring them home if we could--had to come home if we
could." (But of course he had not been able to go home, he or most of
Voyager's former Maquis, forced by the annexation or destruction of their
worlds to make their homes where best they could.) "But sometimes it
feels...." He trailed off.
	"As if we paid too much," she finished, her throat aching, and he
nodded mutely. They were silent for a time, as scenes and faces flooded her
mind, many long-gone, all as clear as yesterday: images of battles,
explosions, bleeding and dying officers. Images of faces ravaged by
disease, or hunger, or, more often, simply by despair. Images of terrible,
doomed gallantry and defeat too bitter to endure, too cruel to accept. "All
the fighting, all the struggle--" Durst, Bandera, Hogan, Suder, Kaplan,
MacEwan, Baceski, and on, and on.... "All the death."
	Something crumpled in his face at that last, but he only nodded again.
	"And for what?" She stalked a few steps further away, the walls
suddenly seeming too close, the room too small. "So that we could find some
glorious future? Get to some shining Shangri-La?" She wheeled to face him,
hands on her hips, snapping the words off as if she were accusing him of
something. "Do you know what Tom Paris is doing these days, Chakotay? I'll
tell you what he's doing." Outrage rose up in her throat; in the end all
Tom's efforts, all his ability, all her own recommendations, had not been
enough to see him past his old scandals. (His family connections might have
helped, but to his credit he'd refused to seek acceptance on those terms.)
"He's a flight instructor."
	"I know," Chakotay said softly. "It's a terrible waste of talent."
	"B'Elanna." She was pacing now, as the words, the fury, fountained
out of her like water from a geyser, driven by heat and pressure. "I still
don't know what the hell her debriefing team said to her--but nobody's seen
her since. It's as if she dropped off the face of the galaxy." If she had
ever been able to get her hands on the officers responsible for that....but
she hadn't. "And Seven--Annika--oh, we know where she is. On some
godforgotten world in the back of beyond, where with any luck they won't
find out what she used to be and treat her like a freak, the way they did
when she was on Earth." Even in the headquarters of supposedly-enlightened
Starfleet, Seven of Nine's dignity had not kept her from being poked and
probed as if she were a laboratory animal. "Is this what we worked so hard
for, Chakotay? Is this the future we wanted to give them?"
	But she gave him no time to answer. "And you." Sitting there so
quietly, watching her, he was perhaps the very symbol of her frustration.
"A man of your ability teaching pap to idiot cadets." Oh, Starfleet had
grudgingly promoted Chakotay to captain, but he must know as well as she
that they would never give him command, or even let him out of his stifling
little pigeonhole, his former outlawry barring him forever from any posting
to which his skill and experience might otherwise entitle him. She still
heard the whispers, whenever his back was turned: whispers that named him
renegade, criminal, traitor, suggested that he was allowed to remain in
Starfleet only by favor.
	"And me." A bitter taste. "The 'hero-captain of Voyager.'"
Sarcastically, Kathryn tossed off the phrase she'd heard too many times in
the early days of their return. "Kissing ass for highranking desk jockeys
whose idea of a difficult assignment is figuring out the seating chart for
a diplomatic reception." Her mouth twisted, as if she were trying to spit
out the bile, and she looked away, out her window. Beyond that transparent
pane, the ships and shuttles attached to Headquarters flew back and forth
on their endless petty errands, as small and insignificant as insects--but
still flying, dammit, those terrible gnats still flying even though her
beautiful Voyager had been mothballed, turned into a godawful orbital
museum for children and curiosity-seekers. "Oh, brave new world...." The
words stuck in her throat.
	"Kathryn." Chakotay's voice was low, insistent. "Kathryn, look at
me." She turned, and saw him regarding her intently, his dark eyes very
serious. "I won't tell you it's not that bad--even though I think, for a
lot of our crew, it isn't." The words reminded her that, when they'd first
returned to Earth, there had been some happiness, some satisfying reunions:
Tuvok with his family, Sam Wildman with her husband, Harry Kim with his
parents (if not with his former sweetheart, who had apparently given up on
him almost as soon as Voyager had been lost). But that seemed like a long
time ago. Sometimes she wondered cynically if even some of those reunions
had soured in the decade since their return.
	"But most of what you're talking about has been true for years."
There was no reproach in expression or words; only gentle inquiry. "Why
does it bother you so much now?"
	"I don't know." She shook her head, restlessly. "I don't know,
Chakotay. Maybe it's been building for years, and I just didn't want to
admit it. We paid so much to come back, all of us. How could I say we
didn't get enough for the price? How could I say it wasn't worth it?"
	 He simply waited.
	"But I tell you, any more, every time I see a starship taking off,
I--" Something in her throat wouldn't let her finish the sentence.
	He came to his feet then, in a movement that, if not as swift as it
might once have been, still had its old grace. Then he was at her side, his
long fingers closing warmly over her shoulder. "Kathryn," he asked softly,
"what do you want?"
	"Chakotay?" she said uncertainly.
	From a foot away, his scrutiny was sympathetic, concerned, and
inescapable. "What do you want? What would make it worth it to you,
Kathryn?"
	"I don't--" He shook his head, and she realized that wasn't true.
She did know. Meeting his gaze, she told him quietly, "If we could do
something worth doing again. I can't believe we came this far so that Tom
could be stuck on a planet, you could be stuck in a classroom, and I could
be stuck in this office. Dammit, this isn't where we belong, and it isn't
what we should be doing. We're better than this." Her
voice--almost--cracked. "All of us."
	"What, then?" His eyes never left hers.
	"We need to get out." The words tumbled from her, as if propelled
by the quickening beat of her heart, and they were more real and true than
anything she'd said in a long time. "I need to get out. Out of this office,
out of this job, off of this planet. Now, Chakotay," she said urgently.
"Before we're too old. Before it stops mattering any more. We have to get
out."
	Something lit up in his eyes, some responsive spark. "You mean, get
Starfleet to give you another ship?"
	"Maybe." She was thinking rapidly. "Or maybe not. I don't think
Starfleet would give us what we really want. Remember how I asked for a
field posting a few years after we came back? They told me they didn't want
to risk losing Janeway-the-legend." The snort escaped automatically; that
was all the more good fame had done her! "I could ask again, but I'm really
afraid that, even if I could talk them into sending me out, I'd just end up
patrolling some nice, safe route in known space." And, most likely, without
those others who, like her, deserved and needed better. "We need to see if
there's another way."
	"Yes." He was obviously considering the question.
	"If we could get a ship of our own--Chakotay!" The revelation
exploded through her like a burst of pure energy. Such a simple solution,
yet she, daughter as well as officer of Starfleet, had never entertained
the possibility before, never even let the thought arise. "That's it. A
ship of our own."
	He looked at her, startled, a little dazed. "How?"
	"How does anyone do it?" She felt a smile pulling at her lips. So
very simple. "We'll buy one."
	"What?" he asked, in plain disbelief.
	"We'll buy one!" She did smile then, partly at his stunned
expression, partly just with pleasure. Oh, she could do this. She would do
this. She was Kathryn Janeway, scientist, explorer, captain of Voyager, and
if Starfleet chose to deny those aspects of her soul, so much the worse for
Starfleet; she would not be chained to trivial duties like some medieval
chattel. "I've been in the service 40 years now, long enough to build up a
pretty respectable pension. I can take it now, in a lump sum. And I've
never spent most of the credits I got for the ten years on Voyager. And I
had savings before that, and a little bit of an inheritance from my father.
Do you think all that might add up to the price of a small ship?"
	His eyes searched her face intently, and he said at last, "You're
serious."
	"Of course I'm serious."
	He smiled slowly, taking the thought in. "Interesting. And what
will we do with this ship when we have it?"
	"Go out there," she said, anticipating it with an eagerness she
hadn't known in a long time. "Explore." That had used to be what she loved
about Starfleet, but somehow she had lost it, in all these years locked
into the petty bureaucratic side of things. Or maybe Starfleet had lost it;
she didn't know. She would have it back, with or without them. "Maybe see
some of the things between here and Delta that we missed because we took a
shortcut home. Oh, Chakotay"--and she gripped his hand, excitement
surging--"we'd be alive again. Doing things that matter. Answering to
ourselves."
	He gripped back. "It sounds wonderful to me, Kathryn." His smile
widened. "Actually, I have a few credits set aside myself. Maybe we can get
a bigger ship."
	"And bring Tom aboard as our pilot, and Harry as operations chief--"
	Chakotay raised a hand. "Harry may not want to leave the border
patrol," he pointed out.
	"That's true," she conceded, her enthusiasm not dimming. "And I
guess that's not a dull life. But we can still ask him. We can ask Tuvok,
too, but I don't know if he'll come. He might not want to leave his family."
	"I don't know," Chakotay disagreed mildly. "The last time we saw
him, he seemed a little bored with being on the Vulcan Council. He might
welcome a break. And besides, I don't think there are too many places he
wouldn't follow you." She smiled a little at the latter assertion, knowing
it was true. Whether or not it was logical for him to be so, her old friend
was one of the most loyal beings in the universe. "We definitely have to
ask Seven to come on as an engineer. I think she'd jump at the chance."
	"I'd jump at the chance to have her," Janeway said quietly,
thinking not only of the woman's skills, but also of her strength and
tenacity. Her time among the Borg might have made Seven difficult to
understand at times, but her courage in integrating that experience into a
new, more human life had been--still was-inspirational. "And, Chakotay--"
	"Yes?"
	"There has to be somebody, somewhere, who knows where B'Elanna is.
For something like this, Chakotay, maybe she'll come back to us."
	"I hope so," he said softly. His smile took on a wistful quality;
tacit admission of how deeply he missed his old Maquis colleague and
onetime best friend. "I'd like that."
	She squeezed his shoulder, understanding, sharing his feeling. "So
would I, Chakotay." A sudden thought amused her. "They'll think we're
crazy, you know," she said, eyes sparkling.
	He blinked. "Who?"
	"Everyone. Starfleet. Mature, respectable officers like ourselves
leaving our mature, respectable jobs to go flitting around the quadrant
like a couple of young bucks."
	His lips quirked. "They probably will. Does it matter?"
	"Not a bit." She grinned again. "Want to work on our letters of
resignation this afternoon?"
	He sketched a bow. "At your command, Admiral."
	The grin grew wider. "`Admiral' will do in a crunch," she said,
feeling exultation flooding her. "But I prefer `Captain.'"

...Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

--Alfred, Lord Tennyson
"Ulysses"


TOP 10 WAYS TO SEDUCE CAPTAIN JANEWAY
by Anneke Apperloo

10) Put some wires in your hair & ask her out on a date.
9) Make sure there's no Harry Kim around to interrupt.
8) Adopt two little brats she can take care of.
7) Tell her you've fallen in love with her & get her in your grasp before
she can respond.
6) Hire an alien that can make her believe you're Mark.
5) Abduct her.
4) Crash together on a silent planet, where you can peacefully transform
into salamanders.
3) Build her a bathtub outside & set a monkey free in the forest.
2) Give her a backrub & tell her you love her in ancient legend form.

But the ONE and only way to seduce our captain is:

1) Convince her you'll tell everybody else nothing ever happened on that
planet...


VOYAGER FAN CLUBS

NOW VOYAGER
Official Kate Mulgrew Fan Club
P.O. Box 34745
Bethesda, MD 20827-4745
tigger@cais.com

THE COMMANDER
Official Robert Beltran Fan Club
330 Greenwich Street
Reading, PA 19601-2821
oleary1@uscom.com

B3 PRIME
Official Roxann Dawson Fan Club
1630 Ft. Campbell Blvd., Suite 143
Clarksville, TN 37042
blilsism@aol.com

RANDOM FLIGHT
Official Robert Duncan McNeill Fan Club
850 Mellowood Avenue
Orlando, FL 32825-8085
ricknpam@iag.net

EPIC
Official Ethan Phillips Fan Club
P.O. Box 4818
Waterbury, CT 06704
randeg@aol.com

CARPE
Official Robert Picardo Fan Club
Box 373, 1277 Linda Mar Shopping Center
Pacifica, CA 94044
traceldel1@aol.com

VULCAN INSIDERS
Official Tim Russ Fan Club
P.O. Box 8248
Long Beach, CA 90808
vinsiders@aol.com
SESKA'S SCANDAL SHEET
Official Martha Hackett Fan Club
3699 Barnard Drive #517
Oceanside, CA 92056
southpawdj@aol.com

DEEP SPACE NINE FAN CLUBS

EMISSARY
Official Avery Brooks Fan Club
P.O. Box 621719
Oviedo, FL 32762-1719
emisary1@aol.com

ORACLE
Official Rene Auberjonois Fan Club
2604B El Camino Real #377
Carlsbad, CA 92008

OASIS
Official Armin Shimerman Fan Club
26 Dogwood Street
Jersey City, NJ 07305
kathybayne@aol.com

THE DOCTOR'S EXCHANGE
Official Alexander Siddig Fan Club
P. O. Box 1363
Minnetonka, MN 55345-0363
verba001@maroon.tc.umn.edu

NANITES
Official Nana Visitor Fan Club
8824 Cross Country Place
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
nananut@aol.com

D'ABO!
Michele Hemming
The Official Chase Masterson Fan Club
PO Box 611
Waterbury, CT 06720
kaimichele@aol.com

OTHER FAN CLUBS

THE PATRICK STEWART NETWORK
Official Patrick Stewart Fan Club
P.O. Box 4990
Riverside, CA 92514

JONATHAN FRAKES APPRECIATION SOC.
P.O. Box 632
Enfield, CT 06083-0632

GRMC
Official Gene Roddenberry Memorial Club
P.O. Box 3177
Greensburg, PA 15601

WALTER KOENIG FAN CLUB
c/o Miss C.A. Heslop
Fens Crescent
Hartlepool, TS25 2QL UK

JULIE CAITLIN BROWN FAN CLUB
P O Box 191
Kerman, CA 93630
dkountz@aol.com

STAR TREK WELCOMMITTEE
P.O. Box 12
Saranac, MI 48881

TO CONTACT TREK TALENT

PARAMOUNT PICTURES
TNG/DS9/VOY Actor, Producer
Star Trek: TNG/DS9/VOY
5555 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038

LINCOLN ENTERPRISES
Classic Trek Actor, Producer
14710 Arminto Street
Van Nuys, CA 91402


All  About  Now  Voyager

	Greetings from the Kate Mulgrew Appreciation Society. KMAS Inc., a
Maryland non-profit corporation, is Kate Mulgrew's official fan club. You
can reach us at P.O. Box 34745, Bethesda, MD 20827-4745, or online at
tigger@cais.cais.com. Current yearly dues are $25 U.S., $32/Canada-Mexico,
$40/Overseas (U.S. bank funds only). Send Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope
for information, or $5 for a sample issue of Now Voyager, or e-mail for the
electronic edition of this bimonthly newsletter. If you would like a copy
of our submission guidelines or our bylaws, send a S.A.S.E. Now Voyager is
on the World Wide Web at http://members.aol.com/nowvoy/. For print back
issue requests, send a S.A.S.E. to Anne Davenport, 6211 E. Azalea Ave. B,
Panama City Beach, FL 32408.
	This is a not-for-profit, amateur publication and is not intended
to infringe upon the copyrights of any media corporation. All material is
copyrighted by the authors except for the trademarks and patents of Viacom,
Inc. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced  or forwarded without
permission, in print or electronically. The opinions expressed herein are
not necessarily those of the editors, KMAS Inc., Kate Mulgrew, or Paramount
Pictures.


Kmas  Inc.  Board  Of  Directors

Michelle Erica Green, president.
Joan Testin, vice president.
Lauren Baum, treasurer.
Anne Davenport, membership secretary.
Mary Taylor, business secretary.
Paul Anderson, assistant secretary.
Jeanne Donnelly, charity coordinator.
Peter Castillo, advisor.

Now  Voyager  Staff

Cheryl Zenor, web page designer.
Donna Christenberry, assistant editor.
Anna Shuford, membership director.
Beth Schuman & Nancy Molik, convention coordinators.

Member, National Association of Fan Clubs
____________________________________________________

    Source: geocities.com/televisioncity/station/1965/archive

               ( geocities.com/televisioncity/station/1965)                   ( geocities.com/televisioncity/station)                   ( geocities.com/televisioncity)