**NOW VOYAGER**
The Official Newsletter of the Kate Mulgrew Appreciation Society
Volume II Number 3


*THE BUZZ*

	I've decided that from now on I should reserve all serious editorializing
for the interior of this newsletter, and devote the front page to breaking
news and general silliness.  This issue we did not manage to get to serious
editorializing, due to space constraints--but don't worry, next issue we'll
undoubtedly have some second-season wrap-up articles as well as a
long-overdue rebuttal to all the Janeway romance stuff we've been running
lately. And, of course, we'll have con reports from Denver and hopefully
lots of photos.
	People sometimes ask why we don't run a regular conventions column in this
newsletter. The reason is very simple: by the time we get the issues put
together and printed, the information has often changed, and people get
much angrier when they've bought tickets to a con at which the rumored
celebrity does not appear than if they miss a con they didn't know about.
When we find out about confirmed dates, we post updates online, both to the
club membership at large and on AOL's message boards.  But the information
we can print here is bound to change faster than we can keep up.  For
instance, Kate will not be able to attend Fedcon in Germany in May as we
originally reported, because she's planning to work on an ABC Movie of the
Week over Voyager's hiatus and the shooting schedule interferes with the
convention. So the good news is that we'll all be able to see Kate on
television in a non-Voyager role, and the bad news is that people in Europe
will be deprived of her presence!
	As of right now Kate is confirmed for Vulkon in Orlando, Florida June
22-23, and tentatively scheduled to appear at Creation in Minneapolis
August 4 and in Detroit August 17-18. The best sources of information about
conventions are often the con organizers themselves, though keep in mind
that a con organizer may tell you that a guest is confirmed when in fact
there are still negotiations going on about whether the actor will in fact
appear.  Two of the largest convention organizers offer regular telephone
updates:

Creation Conventions	
411 N. Central Avenue #300	
Glendale, CA 91203 	
818-409-0960	

Vulkon
c/o Joe Motes
12237 SW 50th Street
Cooper City, FL 33330-5406
305-434-6060

	I want to stress that the fact that Now Voyager lists a convention does
not in any way constitute an endorsement of that convention, nor a
guarantee that Kate or any of the other scheduled guests will appear.  I
can only report the information as I have it at the time we go to press.
There have been several instances of charity cons listing guest stars
before even contacting the actors' agents, hoping that the performers will
come to the convention rather than risk appearing to have stood up a good
cause.

Michelle


*ALL ABOUT NOW VOYAGER*

	Welcome to the officially sanctioned Kate Mulgrew Appreciation Society.
This newsletter is published bimonthly by Michelle Erica Green and Paul
Anderson, P.O. Box 34745, Bethesda, MD 20827-4745.  You can reach us online
at tigger@cais.com or thepooh@aol.com.  Send SASE for information or $5 for
sample issue, or e-mail us for the electronic edition.  Current yearly
dues, $25/U.S., $32/Canada-Mexico, $40/Overseas (U.S. funds only), are
subject to change without notice as rising printing and mailing costs
affect our ability to produce this newsletter.
	This is a not-for-profit, amateur publication and is not intended to
infringe upon the rights of Paramount Pictures or any other broadcasting or
motion picture corporation.  All material herein is copyrighted by the
authors, except for the copyrights, trademarks, and patents of Paramount
Pictures and its licensees.  You may not reproduce any part of this
newsletter without written permission of the editors and/or writers. If you
received this newsletter electronically, you may not forward it, excerpt
any part of it, post the illustrations, nor disseminate it in any other
manner without permission of the editors.
	The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editorial staff, Kate Mulgrew, or Paramount Pictures.
	Look for Now Voyager on the World Wide Web at:
http://gl.umbc.edu/~mpanti1/kate/kate.html.


*REVIEWZZZZZZZZ*

DEATHWISH

	About Star Trek it could be said that there are really good episodes and
really bad episodes, and then there are episodes about Q. Just knowing that
John de Lancie is going to show up as the God with an attitude is enough to
put you on the edge of your seat. But as Voyager is not the same show as
TNG, this Q episode has some intriguing differences from what we've seen
before and allows us to see a new and fascinating side of Q and the
Continuum.
	The relationship between Q and Janeway is going to have to be quite
different than those that have come before, and Q doesn't waste any time
coming up with tailor-made jibes concerning a woman in the captain's chair
and finding out whether or not the pants fit. The scene where he shows up
in her quarters complete with nightcap was not quite as funny as a similar
scene played out with Picard, but a whole lot more relevant. Her later
comment that it won't be necessary for Q to talk to her in private since
he's already seen enough of her quarters was a classic.
	Nevertheless, though the humor is delicious and dependable, it takes a
backseat to the real point of the story of a renegade Q fighting for the
right to take his own life. Though some will say that the episode is a
blatantly liberal fairy tale legitimizing suicide, I saw it as a
fascinating way of working out a question as old as philosophy itself. Even
in the days of Plato people wondered whether the gods were free of more
human woes. If we were all-powerful, would we be free of bordom,
depression, loneliness?
	Another question always left unanswered from the days of TNG concerns the
nature of the Q themselves. What is the "continuum?" Do these people all
mess around with other times, places, and people? I guess we now know a bit
more about what it's like to be Q. Or do we? Q made it plain that what the
party saw was something they could understand, and indeed it's hard to
think of being God as leaning on the porch reading something that looks
like a 1960s copy of Life magazine. I must admit, though, to being
impressed with the croquet ball fashioned after the likeness of Terra. All
part of the deliciously irrational nature of the Q. They are, like Q
himself, both disappointingly human and completely inhuman,
inconsequentially mundane and completely unique.
	I was saddened at the decision of the renegade Q to actually take his life
in the end. His was a sweet and gentle character that I would have loved to
have seen go on with the voyage. The fact that Q decided to help him did
not surprise me. John de Lancie's Q is above (or at least beyond) any
judgements we mere mortals make. His is the willingness to save the human
race as he does from time to time. His is also the barefaced arrogance to
be unmoved when Janeway says (not quite truthfully) that he was responsible
for humanity being introduced to the Borg. To Q, the rationale for his
actions is always as obvious as the noses on our "ugly little primate
faces."
	And Voyager is, if anything, an even better toy than the U.S.S. Enterprise
ever was. Lost and seemingly hopeless, driven toward an epic goal, yet
hopelessly divided. A captain torn between duty and compassion. All in all,
a situation crying out for a galaxy-class meddler. Future situations offer
up a multitude of possibilities. And for me it will be interesting to see
how the writers avoid the obvious ability of Q to simply send them home.
How can one not hate a being who has that simple direct power and yet will
not use it?
	Yet even as Q remains beyond our ability to understand, he also remains
beyond our instinct to hate. Somewhere in his quixotic moments of
sensitivity and the inevitable sparks between de Lancie and long time
friend Mulgrew, we will always love him in spite of our better judgement.
Truly, Q works in mysterious ways.

--Richard Hanson

	I cannot remember a Voyager episode that has been so eagerly anticipated
yet so overhyped by the network. Is Paramount so desperate that they must
hang all their hopes on John De Lancie? That's a mighty tall order for
anyone to fill. Despite some initial misgivings, I approached this episode
with an open mind. After all, Michael Piller did a good job with "Meld."
	First and foremost, the acting was superlative. Kudos to John De Lancie,
Gerritt Graham, and Kate Mulgrew. Kate recently said this was the episode
she was most proud of. I'm inclined to agree with her. There were no
missteps here. De Lancie's usual obnoxiousness was nicely balanced with
Graham's playful performance, and we got to see a more serious side of the
original Q. The ending surprised me quite a bit. And just like Seska, we
can expect this much loved villain to return.
	The story covered a lot of ground and we were treated to a slightly
different perspective on dying. Euthanasia with a twist. I'm surprised they
didn't bring Dr. Kevorkian to the stand as a witness. Riker's appearance
didn't accomplish much beyond giving De Lancie some good lines.
	The thing that impressed me the most was Kathryn Janeway. Q held out Earth
like a carrot--he must have known the thing she most wanted. He played her
emotions like a violin. He tried enticing her with visions of home and
hearth even though he put his twisted little self on that hilltop. But
Janeway put her personal feelings aside and did what was right for the Q
seeking asylum. Bravo!
	The bedroom scene was cute but dull. Kate and John are great together, but
I hope they don't plan on shoving a Janeway/Q romance at us. First we had
Lord Burleigh, now we have an immortal. I would rather not see any romance
if this is the best they can do.
	On that note, I will end this by saying that this was a very good episode,
well written and well acted. I couldn't ask for more.

--Elizabeth Klisiewicz

[Photo--Janeway and Riker}

	As much as I enjoyed seeing the plot of "Death Wish" unfold, I was even
more fascinated by what it revealed about the character of Q. This Q was
more thoughtful and introspective, which was, for me, a logical progression
in the character's evolution. I've long been interested in Q as an
archetype, a figure so fixed in the collective human consciousness that it
consistently appears in vastly differing cultures.
	In early TNG episodes, Q was the Trickster. Chakotay would call him
Coyote; the Doctor's holo-girlfriend, Freya, would recognize him as Loki.
In "Encounter at Farpoint" and "Hide and Q" he was more like Loki, the
Norse fire god who loved to stir up trouble and mayhem for the sheer sake
of making mischief. In "Q Who" and "Deja Q," he was more like Coyote. The
Trickster's pranks rebounded, earning him expulsion from the Continuum and
the eventual stripping of his powers.
	But there's another mythological figure that I believe is closer to the
true nature of Q: the Greek god Hermes, who plays other roles besides that
of the Trickster. Among other things he represents logical, rational
thought--and I thought it interesting that it was Tuvok, not Q, who
exemplified this aspect of the archetype. This is a side of Q we've never
seen--and probably never will, judging by his reaction to Tuvok's
arguments. That double shot of the two Qs shaking their respective heads
and moaning plaintively, "Vulcans!" was priceless.
	It is the young Hermes who is most associated with the Trickster
archetype.  As he matured, he became Hermes Psychopompus, the soul guide
who led the newly deceased to the underworld. In Jungian psychology, the
underworld is equated with the subconscious.  He represents the light which
the superego, or intellect, sheds on the dark id. Q began to assume this
more serious role in, of all things, TNG's lighthearted "Q-Pid," where he
tried to teach Picard about the perils and pitfalls of love. In "True Q" he
had two roles: the Guide who revealed to fledgling Q Olivia D'Abo her true
nature, and the messenger of the gods, an emissary from the Continuum with
the authority to destroy this budding Q if necessary.
	It's in the episode "Tapestry" that Q truly becomes Hermes Psychopompous,
as he takes Picard on a tour of his own subconscious and graphically
demonstrates the fallacy of regret and longing for what might have been.
It's interesting to note that this episode also marked the end of the
Q-tsey episode titles (including Q's one visit to DS9 in "Q-Less"). The
next episode in which Q appears is "All Good Things..."  In TNG's finale, Q
finally became a guide to humanity as a whole, rather than Picard in
particular. Humanity, he explained, was on the brink of understanding a new
way of exploring--not by mapping star systems and charting nebulae, but by
experiencing those things with new perceptions and different ways of
thinking.
	Q also told Picard it had been the Continuum's idea to put humanity on
trial this time, and that he was just acting as their instrument. But after
seeing "Death Wish" I have to wonder. Our first glimpse of the Q Continuum
reveals a dismal place where the inhabitants are so jaded they're way past
the point of exchanging "been there, done that" stories--because they've
"done that" so many times it's become a pointless exercise. The obviously
bored Q didn't look in the least interested in what humanity was doing,
never mind taking the trouble to wipe it out. Not only that, but if the
Continuum had planned to wipe out humanity, why then were "... humans not
due to arrive in the Delta Quadrant for another 100 years"? Q may not lie,
but he does put truth through hoops sometimes. On the other hand, maybe the
events in "All Good Things..." were the Continuum's last gasp, after which
they collectively breathed a "ho-hum" and went back to things as usual.
	Back to archetypes. In "Death Wish," DeLancie's Q brought many of Hermes'
multiple facets into play. The Trickster was visible in his usual
rapid-fire patter and sharp-witted repartee, but also in the bribe he
offered to Janeway. Throughout most of the episode he also functioned as
the messenger of the gods, representing the Continuum during the hearing
that would decide whether Janeway should grant asylum to Gerrit Graham's
Q(2). And at the end, in one of the most touching endings ever in Trek, he
once again assumed the role of Hermes Psychopompous and gently led Q2 to
the underworld by assisting in his suicide.
	The ending left us with a deeply thoughtful Q who finally understood the
philosophical arguments Q2 had made against the continued meaningless
existence of the inhabitants of the Q Continuum. But it also left us--and Q
himself--with many unanswered questions. What, exactly, will Q do next?
Will he become Loki and light a fire under his fellow Q? Will he use the
guise of Coyote, who can be Teacher as well as Trickster? Or will he become
a soul guide to his own species, as he has to humanity?
	Q. He's evolved, through three versions of Trek, from puckish prankster to
serious soulguide. And during the process, he's tried to quash the human
race--several times! He's been quarrelsome, quick-tempered, and querulous
(especially when rendered quotidian and quarantined in a human body). He's
been quick-witted, quixotic and eminently quotable, and his quips are
without peer. He's been anything but quiescent, and as elusive as
quicksilver. But there is another manifestation of Hermes that Q has yet to
exhibit. And somehow, after that scene in Janeway's quarters, it wouldn't
surprise me at all if, on his next visit to Voyager, he appeared wearing
nothing more than winged helmet and sandals--and carrying flowers.

--Alanna Whitestar

[Caricature}

	Whenever something monumental happens on Trek, it's never a surprise. The
spy network operated by Trekkies rivals the CIA, and it's only with
considerable effort that we can avoid knowing what's going to happen weeks,
even months in advance. Sometimes, foreknowledge is a bad thing. If
something is built up ahead of time, it can end up being a huge letdown...
Star Trek: The Final Frontier pops into mind for some reason. Not so with
Q's first visit to Voyager.  The buildup was huge, and the payoff was well
worth it.
	They told us he'd be back, and he was. They told us Riker would make an
appearance, and I was afraid they'd turn it into an excuse for TNG
nostalgia and try to overplay the original Space Stud's role. They didn't.
They told us they'd show us the Q Continuum.  I was afraid they'd try to
give some pat explanation of the nature of the Q.  They didn't.  They told
us Q would tempt Janeway with visions of Earth. I was afraid they'd have
her being weepy and indecisive the whole time.  She wasn't.
	In short, Riker's appearance was brief and served only to illustrate a
plot point, then it was over, just as it should have been. They answered
quite a few questions about the Q and the nature of the continuum, but they
raised just as many new ones...and they perpetuated the idea that the true
nature of Q is something beyond our comprehension.  Q (John De Lancie) was
his usual sarcastic self, and they even offered an explanation as to the
reasons for his personality
change. At the beginning of TNG he was a mischeivous ne'er-do-well with no
regard for his superiors.  By the end he'd become some sort of Q
spokesman...and now we know why.

[Cartoon]

	The new Q who was introduced (Gerritt Graham) was a welcome contrast to
"our" Q. In the beginning he seemed rather befuddled and naive, but was
gradually revealed to be more of a sheltered academic and Q philosopher.
The character's true intelligence and anguish over an eternity of
immortality was illustrated a little at a time, and skillfully conveyed by
Graham. This Q wishes nothing more than to die, and to do so he needs
Janeway to grant him asylum on board Voyager, which requires her to convene
a hearing. At first it seemed like a rehash of the euthanasia debate, but
proved to be a lot more complex.  The actual terms of the hearing were that
if he was granted asylum, Q would grant him mortality...which would lead
directly to his suicide.  Janeway tried to separate her deliberations from
this issue, but she couldn't quite manage it, as I doubt any of us would
have been able to.  Her eventual decision in his favor and her subsequent
attempt to convince him to give mortal existence a chance had the ring of
truth and were the best decision she could have realistically made.
	But that wasn't the only dynamic. Janeway and "our" Q had marvelous
chemistry to rival his with Picard. The episode included one of Q's
signature bedroom scenes, memorable for Janeway's one-word cutoff of Q's
slick flirtations:  "Leave." Not to mention Q offered a distinctive bribe
if she'd decide in his favor...a trip home.  I was a little surprised at
what a non-issue this was.  It would be contrary to her nature to consider
such a payoff, but I'd think the temptation would still be huge.  All she'd
have to have done to get home would be to send the new Q back to the
existence that he was destined for, albeit that he despised. No Prime
Directive violations, no sacrificing of whole civilizations...the only
thing stopping her would be her reluctance to deny the new Q an escape from
his hated immortality and allow his suicide.  One might even argue that her
decision to grant the new Q asylum was even a Prime Directive
violation...so once again Janeway opts for the moral high ground as opposed
to what regulations might dictate.  She's done this several times before,
most significantly in "Caretaker." She is a lot like Kirk in this respect,
willing to toss aside Starfleet protocols in favor  of  the  old  "galactic
policeman" role.

[Cartoon]

	All in all "Deathwish" was a marvelously enjoyable episode, and a welcome
return for Q...who by the end of the episode decides to return to his life
as an omnipotent Lothario and scorn the authority of the Continuum.  We'll
see him again for sure, and more sparring matches between him and Janeway
are sure to be memorable!

--Lori Summers

LIFESIGNS

	Kenneth Biller has written a wonderful love story in "Lifesigns" and has
given us one more episode to remind us of why we became fans of Voyager in
the first place. Picardo has never been more in the zone with the character
of the holodoctor, and his enthusiasm in exploring the possibilities of
this lifeform is what makes every episode featuring the holodoctor so
special. The Doctor's unconscious egoism makes a fascinating partner to his
emerging feelings. These are mixed with nice touches, such as the reference
to the procedure discovered by Leonard McCoy. Note, however, that the
holodoctor tells a bit of a lie when he says that his most complicated
triumph was "curing Mr. Neelix of an acute case of the hiccups." Unless the
cure for hiccups involves complexities hitherto unknown, I'd say creating a
pair of holographic lungs takes precedence. It's nice to see that
holographic programing doesn't include any of that hardwire honesty we've
come to expect from more Asimovian programs.
	Jennifer Lien's Kes and Picardo going through the Dutch uncle routine in
reverse is also fun to watch. Will we someday see "my programming is
adapting" replacing the phrase "I think I'm falling in love?" The resultant
confrontation between Denara and the Doc: "...and now for the anterior
thalamic pathway... By the way, Denara... I've been meaning to tell you,
I'm romantically attracted to you." Maybe a bit reminiscent of Mr. Data,
but subtly different. Unlike Tim Russ, Picardo doesn't need to try too hard
to avoid instant and unfortunate comparisons. Given a successful run for
Star Trek: Voyager, the holodoctor will be as unforgettable as Data ever
was. You heard it here first, kids.
	The scene on Mars was incredibly touching and funny. I'm sorry, but I
can't resist the obvious crack about the song: considering the fact that
the holodoctor is running the program keeping Denara in her present form,
couldn't we say that "I only have eyes for you" has taken on a whole new
meaning? Didn't you love the '57 Chevy? And the way Denara did a double
take on the teddy bear was almost terminally precious. You've got to love
them both. The final scene was incredible. It justified all of the faith
I've ever had in the show. Once again, Voyager has us look beneath the
surface to see the reality of human nature.
	Behind this story are the continuing adventures of Tom Paris, young career
failure. My wife is convinced that Paris' problems are a plot hatched by
the captain, et.al., to capture the spy who's been reporting to Seska. Note
that the exchanges between Paris and Chakotay were all relatively public,
and our spy, Mr. Jonas, was a witness. Am I going out on a limb here? I am
completely prepared to eat crow on this. Maybe a little sauce and a nice
Chianti?

--Richard Hanson

	The last month of Voyager and even DS9 have come off like a primer on
Death and Dying. I was overjoyed when Denara Pel chose to live! Bravo to
TPTB for this statement on appearance. I would have been sorely
disappointed but not surprised if they had killed her off (similar to what
TOS' "Menagerie" did to Vina) because I am so used to the messages the
media sends to women.
	"Lifesigns" (which could be subtitled "appearances can be deceiving") was
a gentle, thoughtful and well-told adventure. Susan Diol gave a peaceful
reading for this character. We have come to expect violence and murder from
the Vidiians, but we have only seen the men. Denara is the first woman
we've encountered. Dr. Pel provided us with a different side of the Phage
story. She didn't condemn or accept the actions of her people, but she did
clue us in to the desperation they feel.
	Both the A and B story were compelling. First, the A story. Robert Picardo
continues his excellent track record here, thanks to Ken Biller's great
teleplay. The Holographic Doctor seems to steal the show each time he
appears and his character has gotten the most substantial development. We
start off with Mr. Smug and Self-Assured. See how clever I am with the
collective knowledge of all these doctors? I can do this. He reminded me
much of a pubescent teenage male preening in front of the girl he pretends
to dislike. He started off by saying this is my patient, not my date. It
becomes obvious to everyone except Doc that he is adapting very quickly to
romantic temptation. Nice contrast in bedside manner between Doc and
Denara, especially from a race we believe to be so heartless. How quickly
Torres caved in once she was killed with kindness. I loved seeing the
transition from sharp exclamations of romantic attraction to the smooth,
suave dancer at the end. The holodeck car scene was sappy but cute. It not
only gave us a nice, romantic scene but it also provided us with some
insight on Tom Paris!
	Now on to the B story. I like how they have been drawing out this story
arc. It seems clear that something is going on between Paris, Tuvok and the
Captain. There is no other explanation that I can see. Paris hasn't been
insubordinate since the "Caretaker" episode. He has stood by the Captain
and is even more steadfast than Chakotay. He is indeed Janeway's pet
project. Janeway has a history with Paris's father and has taken a special
interest in the son. I find it hard to believe that she would let Chakotay
handle the whole thing without some intervention. Janeway is just a little
too serene about this and Jonas's transmissions should have been detected a
long time ago. So I think they are playing a waiting game to catch the
traitor.
	The Chakotay-Paris tension seems a bit contrived as well. Chakotay was
quite friendly in the mess hall and Paris overreacted. The shove on the
bridge also didn't ring true. Chakotay is a solid man and fell down far too
easily. If this keeps up, he will become known as Glass Jaw Chakotay in the
finest Worf tradition! I liked the scenes between the Captain and First
Officer. Chakotay's grateful smile when she told him to handle it was very
nice. I think he is going to be very hurt when he finds out Janeway is
going behind his back. I suppose his behavior in "Maneuvers" could be one
explanation for this exclusion.
	As for Seska, I have no idea what she has planned. I like how she veers
from discussions about little transporter accidents to calling Jonas by his
first name in that deceptively sweet voice.
	This was a fairly light and enjoyable episode and it ranks up there with
the best of this season. I hope this trend continues.

--Elizabeth Klisiewicz

[Photo--Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok]

INVESTIGATIONS

	People sometimes get testy with me when I say things like "Neelix is my
favorite Talaxian." "What's you're frame of reference?" ask the Vulcans.
"Just how many Talaxians have you met?" ask the Bajorans. Tonight's episode
brings partial justification to my personal bias on this score, but raises
questions on the quality of Talaxian journalism.
	"Investigations" brings to an close what most small children and a few
pets I know had already figured out was a counter-espionage plot on the
part of Paris and nearly everyone on the ship other than Chakotay. All
right, that is an exaggeration; Mr. Jonas himself could hardly have figured
it out and still played into the hands of Janeway & Co. in so convenient a
fashion. Neelix didn't have a clue, but then that's part of Neelix's charm,
and I've got my doubts about Harry Kim. (I nearly always have my doubts
about Harry).
	It's a cute story, told in part by the ploy of filming it with a video cam
mask overlay on the picture. The fact that the only television show we
haven't seen already use this technique is "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman"
never seems to get in the way of writers and producers who insist that the
technique is creative. Neelix was cute adopting the role as investigative
journalist with the enthusiasm and refreshing lack of sober
self-consciousness we've learned to expect of Neelix, puppies, and
three-year old children. The holodoctor was cute exercising his usual blend
of virtual egoism and testiness. Chakotay was cute reacting with boyish
charm to the knowledge that he wasn't included in on a major command
decision in order to avoid depending on his acting ability (a decision I'm
starting to agree with). Even Seska was cute, allowing Tom Paris access to
the very information he needed while guarding him with a couple of Kazons
that looked and acted like clones of Harpo Marx.
	Apparently the writers at Star Trek: Voyager have decided that the image
of Martha Hackett grinning at us wickedly from the shadows is enough to
generate suspense and tension without the necessity of fabricating a
believable plot to go along with it. "Investigations" lacks in
believability what cannot be made up for by coy subplots and hanckneyed old
camera tricks. While I recognize that reality has to be dumbed down to
transfer the notions of counter-espionage to the small screen, there are
limits to just how dumb reality can get. Saddened as I always am at any
death, one might almost say that if Mr. Jonas was not smart enough to get
by the machinations of Voyager's crew, he was, perhaps, simply too stupid
to go on living. And if such was Jonas' fate, what more horrible things are
in store for those who dreamed this up?
	One last point. Where I live, the advance ads for this episode came with
the warning that a major character would die in this episode.  I guess
that's one ruse that did work.

--Richard Hanson

	Intrigue upon intrigue. Garibaldi and Ivanova...oops, this is Voyager.
Right. We finally saw the end of a very lonnnnnng story arc that was also
somewhat boring. Jeri Taylor did a good job balancing light and dark in
this episode. I enjoyed Neelix's video escapades and how he ended up
assisting Tuvok in the investigation. Neelix is far from my favorite
character and I think they were testing our limits by featuring him in
nearly every scene, but Ethan Phillips should be commended on a job well
done. Following the action through the lens of a video camera was an
intriguing idea. I especially enjoyed the camera angles and showing the
reactions of various crewmembers (especially Chakotay) to Neelix's briefing
of the day.
	I was starting to wonder about Mike Jonas and his machinations. He was no
obvious Maquis "malcontent" like his friend Hogan. We always saw him stand
silently in the background with his darting glances and sullen demeanor. I
don't believe we'll ever know his true reasons for turning on his friends,
but I was cheering when he got his just reward. Yet I thought that the
traitor should have been a Starfleet officer instead of a Maquis. The
Maquis are stereotyped as bad guys.

[Cartoon]

Wouldn't it have been an interesting twist to see something different
instead of business as usual? Janeway and Tuvok were squared off firmly
against Chakotay, and I found this Us vs. Them attitude extremely annoying.
	Robert Duncan McNeill was the real star of this episode. He excelled in
every scene and if anything, I wish we could have seen a little more of Tom
Paris and a little less of Neelix. I always knew Tom was loyal to Janeway.
There was never a doubt in this viewer's mind. I think that was my primary
problem with this whole story. There was no mystery and it all ended with
the thud of a traitor's body at the bottom of the warp core. Robert Picardo
was stiff and a little too dry this time around. Somehow, discussions about
nostrils and adrenal glands don't compare with betrayal when it comes to
interesting stories. Now if Doc had offered his services as a tango
instructor, we might have something!
	The only sizzle was the tension between the Big Three. It was obvious from
the glances exchanged between Janeway and "Mr. Vulcan" that something was
going on. However, I found their use of Chakotay demeaning, unfair, and
downright mean. The scene between the three head honchos was brilliant and
fraught with tension. Despite the fact that Tuvok dominated this exchange,
Chakotay's eyes kept returning to the Captain. Hurt, disbelieving, and did
I see tears glitter there for a second? I disliked Tuvok intensely in this
scene and I wasn't exactly happy with Janeway either. She kept glancing at
Tuvok for reassurance instead of taking responsibility for her actions. And
then when she tried to brush off the whole incident with ill-timed humor, I
felt so bad for Chakotay.
	How can Janeway place Tuvok's opinion higher than her First Officer? I
remember her words to Chakotay at the end of "Maneuvers." His actions were
commendable but his methods were not. Now the shoe is on the other foot and
I think both the Captain and Security Chief have a few things to learn
themselves. Tuvok the Paragon?! That's how it seems when Janeway continues
to rely blindly on him. Hasn't Tuvok let her down in the past? Oh, yes, he
has. In "Prime Factors," it was Tuvok who betrayed the Captain and
disobeyed orders. That seems far worse than Chakotay trying to make up for
past wrongs even if he did act like a vaquero.

[Drawing]

	I found myself liking Crewman Hogan quite a bit. He might be one of
Chakotay's people, but he is smart and did a great deal to solve the puzzle
of the transmissions. Please bring him back for more in later episodes. As
much as I like the main characters, it is always refreshing when the
ordinary folks get a shot too.
	And then we have sweet and sour Seska. She opens up that syrupy tap at
will and lets the saccharine fly. However, I am asking myself just what it
is Seska wants from Voyager. Is she such a megolomaniac that she thinks
having Voyager at her command will cause her to get home that much faster
or have everyone bow down to this great Federation ship and follow her
orders? Martha Hackett does a great job contrasting the cooing woman with
the truly nasty person she is. But I think they are overusing her as a
villain. It would be great if we could see some new alien societies who
weren't in danger of being blown up, attacked by the Kazon, or evil
telepaths. The Kazon seem to be everywhere, or Voyager's stellar charts are
so out of whack that they are traveling in circles. I enjoyed the scenes on
the Kazon ship but I wondered what the whole point was. Where was Kulluh? I
can't imagine he'd let Seska run the show unless something happened to him.
And putting Tom in the room with the console was another obvious ploy to
draw Voyager in. Seska also has the fastest moving pregnancy in history
compared to Ensign Wildman. Yeah, I know, it must be one of those temporal
anomalies messing things up. The Nistrim didn't seem like much of a threat
with only one ship. Where were the rest of their bad-haired buddies?
	Despite these minor gripes, I really enjoyed this episode. The entire
premise of the Morale Officer as entertainer has occurred to more than a
few people and it was fun watching it. And even though the story arc fell
rather flat, it brings out the potential for other more dramatic story
threads. Decent but nothing spectacular.

--Elizabeth Klisiewicz

	The title of this episode refers to two investigations: the "official"
search for the spy on Voyager, which has been going on for the last several
weeks, and Neelix's own search in his new role as a journalist. The two
become closely interconnected, Neelix's efforts seeming at times to help
and at times to hinder Tuvok's. In the end, they achieve their goal almost
simultaneously.
	Neelix's talk show is used very nicely as a frame for the episode. The
show begins with the beginning of one broadcast and ends with the end of
another. The device of having journalists' reports as part of an episode
has been used before, fairly recently by both Babylon 5 and Space: Above
and Beyond, for instance, but it is much more smoothly done here. Neelix's
position helps; as a Delta Quadrant native, he can function to some degree
as an outside observer, but he's not a new character who needs to be
introduced. The blending of Neelix's recorded salute to Tom Paris and
Paris's wordless departure from the ship makes a particularly effective
scene.
	In this episode, we also get the payoff for the show's biggest attempt to
date to introduce a story arc (as used on B5 and every soap opera ever
made). I'm all in favor of a move toward more continuity and away from the
Peril of the Week resolved neatly in the last five minutes with no lasting
effects. It seems particularly appropriate for this show, too; unlike the
Enterprises dashing from one short-term mission to another, Voyager is on a
continuous journey with an ultimate destination in mind.
	That said, however, the execution in this case leaves something to be
desired. The scenes with Jonas relaying his information to the Kazon have
often seemed like foreign bodies, not well-integrated into the episodes.
Paris's sudden personality shift really didn't ring true. By the time the
denouement came, it wasn't much of a surprise, which is too bad. What
remains to be seen is whether the remaining loose end, Chakotay's reaction
to the really rather shabby way Janeway and Tuvok treated him, will be
followed up. The Janeway/Chakotay relationship, which is rather important
to the show, has been subject to many ups and downs and inconsistencies
(partly due to the fact that both characters, but especially Chakotay, have
been inconsistently written). Here's hoping that the upcoming episode
"Resolutions" lives up to its title.
	Now for a brief rundown of the major plot holes. Tuvok's performance as
security chief is sacrificed, not for the first time, to the needs of the
plot. If he has an open comm link to Neelix, as promised, he's not paying
much attention to it during Neelix's final confrontation with Jonas in
Engineering. That scene is also rendered silly by the fact that Jonas, who
seemed quite prepared to kill Neelix in Act 3 when it would have been
tactically very inconvenient, develops a sudden and inexplicable reluctance
to do so at a point where he has very little to lose by it. Tom Paris's
escape from the Kazon also requires suspension of disbelief above and
beyond the call of duty, though it's a lot of fun to watch.
	Nice touches, on the other hand: Tom's hesitant embrace of Neelix,
Janeway's meaningful glance in Tuvok's general direction after they receive
the news that Paris has been abducted from the Kazon convoy, the blue light
in Seska's quarters which emphasizes her Cardassian appearance and also
looks damned good on Mr. Paris, Torres checking the readouts first to be
sure the situation has stabilized before turning to the wounded crewmen,
and especially the subsequent scene in Sickbay where Neelix seeks an
interview with the "hero" Jonas. On the whole, this is a good episode,
though not an absolutely first-rate one.

--Jennifer Loehlin

DEADLOCK

	First of all, I just want to say this episode was great. I can analyze it,
I can categorize it, but there's a level at which analysis doesn't really
do great things justice. Occasionally in an ongoing work, there will come a
point where everything comes together. It doesn't always happen. Looking at
most of what passes for television entertainment, it's pretty obvious that
this doesn't usually happen, even in wildly successful shows that enjoy a
long run. But in Voyager, it happened, and this show will remain a classic
of its kind.
	There are dramatic situations when you know certain things are going to
happen, but knowing it doesn't help. Knowing it, in fact makes things
worse. Some of the best movies are based on this technique; Greek tragedy
wouldn't have been Greek tragedy without it. In the same way there were
certain clues to the ending of tonight's episode: the way Harry dies early
as well as the baby, but the other ship just happens to have spares; the
way we're set up to get concerned that the messed-up Janeway really will
blow up the ship. That's the double punch, mine anyway.
	Notice the way incidents keep piling up for the damaged ship; one calamity
after another with no time for Janeway to think. We're set up to believe
that fate is conspiring to make that ship of woes the logical ship to be
destroyed. Maybe I'm going too far here; after all, in TOS, Scotty would
have figured out a way to join the ships in the end. But, no, that won't
work: there's the problem of Kim and the baby. That's the beauty of the
idea--again, we're set up to believe that this time the end will be
different, and logic demands that the messed-up ship will be the one to go.

	But there's another logical answer. We're accustomed to sticking with what
we know--the old custom of going home with the person you went to the party
with. We see all the disasters befalling our ship that's falling apart for
the first twenty minutes. Then we're introduced to another ship that seems
to have survived. Note the lighting difference: one ship is dark and the
other is light. We've seen this trick before in TNG's "Yesterday's
Enterprise," where Guinan is our bridge between a light and a dark
universe. About midway through the episode we're subtly invited to shift
our affection from the one ship to the other, because frankly it's not easy
to see the crew we've come to love get the stuffings kicked out of them.
Then come the Vidiians! Here comes the punch. Would you rather see your
favorite ship fall apart or go into self-destruct mode, or would you rather
see your favorite crew get harvested for a group of even more than usually
ugly aliens? Now for the good news. Our original ship is going to be the
one to survive. Everything's going to be all right, see?
	Like Harry says, it's all kind of weird. And that's what's really
wonderful about it all. We're happy but thunderstruck at the same time.
It's a great end but one that you can't feel easy with. Mulgrew was so
brilliant she virtually flamed through the entire episode. We get to
finally see her at her best after quite a few dry episodes--the scientist,
the leader, the compassionate heart. If I'd had roses I would have thrown
them when she delivered the line "Then you know I'll do it." A great actor
has the ability to inject more into a moment than the moment can logically
carry, to give words a meaning that their definition doesn't hold. Kate
Mulgrew is a great actor, and tonight she transformed Janeway into an epic
character.
	One last thought. I've always been struck by the dignity that Starfleet
captains always seem to display at critical moments. When the Vidiians
broke into the bridge, Mulgrew's portrayal of how Janeway handled that
final moment was something that honestly brought me a chill. "Welcome to
the Bridge." In that single moment, Janeway makes us once again proud to be
an honorary part of Starfleet. She makes us remember that even the ultimate
moments of life require us to strive to greatness and poise. As another
great Starfleet captain once put it: "How we handle death is at least as
important as how we handle life." Wouldn't you say?

--Richard Hanson

	They uttered the words "parallel universe" and "Brannon Braga" in one
sentence and I battened down the hatches. Leaping lizards, he pulled this
one off. This still doesn't make up for "Threshold"--I don't think anything
will remove the stench from that episode. I decided to look beyond the
concept of phase shifting because I find the concept ridiculous. But then
so is evolving into a lower life form, and that didn't stop Braga from
writing about it.
	It was no great surprise that the Starfleet/Maquis tension was all
forgotten. "Deadlock" was a bottle episode that could have occurred at any
time after "Phage." I had to watch this twice before I started to follow
the twists and turns in the story.
	It was fascinating seeing two sides to Kathryn Janeway. I loved her with
her hair in disarray. She lost none of that steel, although she seemed less
formidable. And all bets are off because she was the first one on the ship
to call herself Kathryn. This was a showcase for Kate Mulgrew and she came
up roses every time. Talk about grace under fire! Nice ensemble work from
the bridge crew, as well as down in sickbay. We didn't get Neelix shoved in
our face like last week either. And we now have a new technical concept:
fetal transport. I can hear all the pregnant members of Now Voyager
cheering about that one.
	We also got to see a bit more of the Vidiians, whom I think are the real
villains of the Delta Quadrant. They make the Kazon look like small
potatoes. These scabby guys appear to be the technological equals of the
Federation. I still wonder why we always see men on their ships, and not
people like Denara Pel.
	An enjoyable and exciting episode that left me scratching my head in
confusion.

--Elizabeth Klisiewicz

	You know you're having a bad day when your ship's about to become Delta
Quadrant debris, you meet your cosmic double, and the Vidiians show up to
appropriate your organs. But I'm getting ahead of myself with the plot
here. First, I must say that this episode was a relief, if only because we
were not subjected to 8 jillion commercials for Swift Justice like we were
last episode. I definitely prefer seeing ads for Babylon 5 during Voyager,
and not just because Bruce Boxleitner brings back warm memories of
Scarecrow and Mrs. King.

[Photo--the two Janeways]

	And now back to our regularly scheduled programming--"Deadlock" definitely
had me on the edge of my seat, which was a true accomplishment since it
meant that I had to move my recliner to the upright position. However, this
being a regular series, I couldn't help but realize that whenever they ship
out or kill off key characters in the middle of the show, it's like
watching E.T. for the second time--I know that a resurrection is
forthcoming, but I cry anyway and feel totally manipulated. So after both
Ensign Wildman's baby and Harry Kim bit the dust, I thought it was high
time to introduce a rift in the space-time continuum or some such plot
device--which, of course, they promptly did. I can deal with suspending
disbelief as far as my scanty recollection of physics goes, especially when
sympathetic and/or cute characters get to survive. Yet I'm left wondering
who the Kent State alum at Paramount is, seeing that in the 24th century,
that university has become famous for the collision of particles rather
than people--either that, or there really was a famous physics experiment
there, and being an English teacher, I just have no clue.
	But hey, if we're supposed to accept way-out physics here, I don't see why
childbirth still has to be painful. Beaming out babies is a neat little
trick, but don't they have any anesthetics in that sickbay? The Doc, as
always, was a treat, and I can't vex myself too much for not remembering
his funniest lines because I'm sure someone with better recall will quote
them for me [the one about Ktarian females' scaled nipples?!]. I'm an
easily distracted viewer, not a memory chip!
	And I became quite distracted wondering why no one seemed to register any
shock upon meeting Kes's second self. I'm no expert on Ocampan psychology
and I know Kes exemplifies grace under pressure, but HELLO!, would not
meeting your doppelganger be one helluva freakout? I can accept that the
two Janeways were too busy to spend much time pondering the weirdness of it
all, but I just have to think that at least one member of the crew would
find a second Kes to be just a wee bit mind-boggling. But then again, I had
all those commercial breaks in which to ponder these things, whereas the
crew did not, so perhaps I'm overly analytical here.
	However, it didn't take me an entire commercial break to make a decision
once those nasty Vidiians showed up to enjoy an organ-harvesting bonanza.
Maybe it's only because I've recently dyed my hair red, but I was feeling
decidedly like Captain material when I barked out "Beam Harry's little butt
to the other ship pronto--and take the baby too!" a full 30 seconds before
Janeway II (or was that I?) issued the same order. Harry seemed a little
slow on the uptake, but this seemed realistic because it showed that he
found the whole experience to be mildly unsettling. And sap that I am, I
think I even cried when the Doc delivered up "our baby" along with some
characteristic medical advice.
	One mildly disgruntled parting note--even though the thought of a J/C
combo on the show doesn't really do it for me, I do think that the writers
could have at least upped the show's hands-on count when Janeway II and
Chakotay II were preparing to die. I wasn't hoping for an all-out
grope-fest, but a simple friendly hand-clasp in the face of death would
have been a nice touch.

--Karen Di Nal


*THE KATE MULGREW FILM FESTIVAL COLUMN*

A STRANGER IS WATCHING
by DeAnn G. Rossetti

	Basically, I found this movie to be confusing from the outset; a stranger
is never really watching, so why all the fuss? But for those of you who
love suspense and murder mysteries, this 1982 chiller is your cup of tea.
Not only is there plenty of suspense, but Kate swears three times during
the film, which only goes to show you what working in the fourth estate
will do for your vocabulary. The story runs thus: A woman named Nina
Peterson is raped and murdered in front of her eight year old daughter,
Julie. The killer (played with leering sincerity by Rip Torn, who could
even teach Shatner a few things about scenery-chewing death scenes) takes a
photograph of the child, but doesn't kill her.
	Fast forward to two years later, when intrepid reporter Sharon Martin
(Kate) is putting together a broadcast on the sentancing of said killer.
She is writing her introduction to the piece as the video editor edits file
footage, and she mutters, "This is the first execution since New York
reinstated the death penalty...no, too f**king cliche." (GASP! I had to
rewind just to be sure she actually said it!)
	A few hours later, little Julie's father, Steve Peterson, is watching the
TV reports of the convicted man, Ronald Thompson being led away from the
courthouse. It becomes obvious that our lady Sharon is opposed to the death
penalty, and shows her bias during the report by remarking that "statistics
show that murder is a crime of passion, and since the killer isn't thinking
he will get caught, the death penalty is not a deterrent." We learn that
Thompson is a delivery boy who says he is innocent, and walked into the
house after Nina Peterson was already dead. We also learn that Steve
Peterson, besides being a devoted husband and father, is the wealthy editor
of a Newsweek-style magazine, and currently dating Sharon Martin...aha! In
fact, Sharon and Steve spend the next scene verbally duking it out over
TV-reporting ethics vs print media reporting ethics, and Sharon, though
drowning in what looks to be a silver chinchilla mink coat, wins the ethics
battle hands down, finally kissing Steve and promising to come over for
dinner that evening.
	Being a widowed male in the 80's Steve has, of course, live-in help,
provided by an elderly couple named Mr & Mrs Lufts. Mrs Lufts is the kindly
housekeeper, and Mr Lufts is the chauffer, handyman and town drunk. The
Lufts decide to leave early that evening, to "catch a movie" and Mr Lufts
is seen unlatching a window in Julie's room. Steve Peterson gets stuck at
work, and calls home to say he will be late. A violin that sounds as if
it's being played by a two year old screeches in the background. Odd camera
angles ensue. Next thing you know, Julie, (who has nightmares in which she
relives the night her mother was hit in the head with a hammer) hears
noises upstairs, and is grabbed by Taggert (Rip Torn), just as Sharon
arrives for the evening, unaware of what is going on. Soon, she is
kidnapped as well, and both gals are taken down into the labyrinth beneath
the NY subway system to a grungy little room with a cot.
	Taggert immediately makes moves on Sharon, who acts like a rag doll,
hoping to distract him from Julie. The usual police tapping the phones,
waiting for the ransom call, and Sharon & Julie desperately trying to
escape scenes follow, all to no avail. Obviously, for suspense reasons the
writers and producers need as many near-escapes as possible, but by the
time Sharon hoists poor shivvering Julie, who has now realized that it was
Taggert who killed her mother, not Thompson (she tells Taggert she was
blinded by the flashbulb...nice theory, kid, but meanwhile, an innocent
delivery boy is going to the electric chair! ARG!) into a rusty dumb waiter
to find a way out, the viewer just knows that all exits will be blocked or
unusable. Torn's sleazy killer raped once, after all, and you can just hear
the producers scripting the inevitable "Scuzzbucket fondles and attempts to
rape beautiful news anchor" toward the end of the film, just for the sake
of titillation.
	The ransom requested is the exact amount Julie inherited from her mothers
estate ($182,000) which will inform the clever viewer that Mr Lufts had to
be in on the kidnapping from the start. The next scene in the movie makes
little sense to me, but Taggert, after calling Steve to tell him where to
take the money, is accosted by a young thug on the way into a public
toilet, and then discovers that said thug has a whole group of fellow thugs
waiting in the bathroom stalls, where they proceed to beat the tar out of
Taggert before a police officer arrives to ask if he is ok. The only use
they make of this scene for the rest of the movie is Sharon helping wipe
the blood off Taggert's face while Julie tries once more to escape. Kate
kicks Rip in the groin, runs after the kid, is accosted by a bum, whom they
bribe to take them to an exit, yet just as they get within sight of an
exit, Torn appears and stabs the old bum, dragging back to his subway lair.

	Next, we see Taggert discussing the fact that he is going to kill "those
two broads" as soon as he gets the money, only to have the weazely Mr Lufts
whine that Taggert promised not to hurt little Julie. Taggert responds to
this by stabbing Lufts, and then making himself an egg salad sandwich. He
returns to the lair to feed Sharon some egg salad by the spoonful, as he
has her tied to a pipe at this point. (It only took him 3 or 4 escape
attempts to figure that she was only going to stay still that way--not a
very smart guy.) Sharon is untied to go to the bathroom, and after Taggert
forces her to put Julie in a big duffle bag, he forces himself on her
again, and then tells her that she thinks she's better than he is, and he
wants to take her down a notch, and he stabs her with a screwdriver while
kissing her in the skankiest way possible (you know the kind, the guys who
kiss like an earnest octopuss in search of its mother--slimey suction!)
Then he kicks her in the head, and takes Julie off to the subway graveyard
to kill her, but the kid finally shows some spirit and, in a bit of
cinematic irony, stabs Taggert with his own screwdriver and runs away,
hiding in under a tarp until she spots some welders nearby and cries for
help.
	Immediately, police and Steve Peterson appear out of nowhere, and we are
left to wonder about poor Sharon, left bleeding down under the tracks. A
rather clean-looking bag lady finds her, and after begging her help, gets
her on her feet, and as they try to escape, yes, you guessed it, Taggert
shows up again, screaming "B**ch, you're dead meat!" and tries to strangle
Sharon, while the suddenly sane bag lady leaps on his back, tearing at his
eyes. This gives the intrepid Kate a chance to find a convenient steel rod
which she then slams into the head, and finally all the way through the
neck of the evil Torn, leaving him to gasp and gurgle his way through a
rather overdone death scene, spasming limbs and all. Not bad for a woman
who has been stabbed, beaten, nearly raped and starved for several days,
eh?
	But through it all, the chases, the near-escapes, Kate manages to keep
those butter-colored Italian pumps scratch-free and firmly on her feet.
After she tripped and fell in a greasy-looking puddle during the second
escape attempt, I found myself shouting "For Gods sake, woman, lose the
pumps!" But alas, one must always look dainty when being abducted, don't
you think?
	Other than the final scene, Kate doesn't show much of her sterner side
here, though she does have a couple of good scenes, one during her
confinement with Julie under the tracks. Kate talks about losing her
father, and how much she misses him, "especially when I do something really
well, you know?" This obviously comforts Julie, who has been feeling the
loss of her mother, and then Kate asks her what it would take for Julie to
"like me. I think you need an older woman in your life." to which Julie
responds, "I already like you." They discuss the merits of cheeseburgers
over chocolate chip ice cream for a bit, and then its back to abductees vs.
slimy thug once again.
	If you are an animal rights activist, a fan of public transit, or someone
with a short attention span, I recommend that you skip this movie. If,
however, you would like to see Kate using her "feminine wiles," looking
fragile and sweet in her butter-colored Givenchy outfit, then kicking butt
when it counts, you will love this movie. I know that my Ju jitsu teacher
would give her two thumbs up for the steel rod in the under-adams-apple
soft-spot shot alone. And a final
note: Kate's hair is down, never ascends to a bun for the whole movie--so
if you've always wondered what her natural hair would look like, here's
your chance. Now if we could only figure out where they put that watching
stranger we never see...

[Kate in A Stranger Is Watching]

GARGOYLES
by Lori Summers

	"Old postmen never die, they just lose their zip." "Old chemists never
die, they just stop reacting." There are about a million of these
oh-so-cute sayings, and I propose a new one. "Old Trek actors never die,
they just do voices on Gargoyles."
	It certainly seems true. Gargoyles, Disney's popular and critically
acclaimed animated saga of 6 noble stone-by-day beings who protect
Manhattan from a variety of evildoers, boasts a long list of Trek actors
among its amazingly talented slate of voice performers, which includes the
likes of Ed Asner, John Rhys-Davies, Tim Curry, Hector Elizondo and Paul
Winfield (himself a Trek alum). Several members of the TNG cast have
regular roles. Jonathan Frakes provides the voice of David Xanatos, the
charming billionaire uber-villain who brought the gargoyles to New York
from their native Scotland and freed them from the spell that had
imprisoned them for a millenium. One interesting note: one could also say
that the bearded black-clad megalomaniac bears more than a passing
resemblance to Frakes! Marina Sirtis voices Demona, the psychotic
1000-year-old gargoyle villainess and ex-mate of Goliath, leader of the
gargoyle clan. Michael Dorn has a recurring role as Coldstone, a
half-gargoyle cyborg created by Xanatos and Demona, and Brent Spiner did a
memorable guest turn as Puck, the mischievous sprite of Shakespearean fame.
Other Trek alums who have lent their voices to characters include LeVar
Burton, Avery Brooks, Colm Meaney, Nichelle Nichols (who plays the mother
of one of the main characters), and Matt Frewer.
	But this newsletter is not published by any of their fan clubs, which
brings me to the reason for this article. Recently, Kate Mulgrew has
provided her distinctive voice to two characters on Gargoyles. She first
appeared in the episode "Walkabout" as Anastasia Reynard, a scientist and
the mother of Fox Xanatos, David's leather-wearing, tattooed ex-ninja wife.
She next appeared as Titania, Queen of the Children of Oberon, in the
recent episode "Ill Met by Moonlight." There is some speculation that the
characters are actually one and the same. In "Ill Met," Titania aids
Goliath, leader of the gargoyle clan, in a struggle against her ex-husband
Oberon for control of the mystical island of Avalon. When asked why she
helped him, she replies that she owed him a favor, although they've never
met...or have they? Considering that Goliath saved everyone's life in
"Walkabout," Anastasia included, and that it  wouldn't  make much sense to
use Kate's very memorable voice for two unrelated characters, the idea has
merit. If Anastasia is in fact Titania, this brings up many interesting
plot possibilities. It might suggest that Fox is in fact one of the
Children of Oberon by birth. According to the show, the Children are
magical all-powerful beings, and one of three species supported by Earth
(humans and gargoyles being the other two). Anyone who's a regular viewer
would know that this possibility has many ramifications!
	Kate's voice performances were excellent. Voice acting is not as easy as
one might think (just ask Tom Hanks), and conveying the necessary dramatic
tone using only one's words and inflections is a talent, one that the
Gargoyles actors possess in full measure. Anastasia Reynard and Titania
were both strong female characters, and Kate's elocution supported their
characterizations quite nicely. I for one look forward to her future
appearances, and I hope more Trek women jump on the bandwagon! Many of the
Trek women have great voices (Jennifer Lien pops into mind, as well as
Terry Farrell...and wouldn't Roxann Biggs-Dawson make a great gargoyle?),
and the show has a history of marvelous female characters. The gargoyles'
closest human friend, a police detective, is a woman...as is her captain.
Even Demona, resplendent in all her delicious evil, is a strong female
who's really broken through the glass ceiling.
	In general, I would highly recommend Gargoyles to anyone who likes
cartoons, and even to anyone who doesn't. It is very literate (ever wonder
what really happened between King Duncan and MacBeth?) and conveys many
good messages for kids, such as the need to protect the environment, the
importance of literacy, the dangers of firearms and a strong emphasis on
honor and responsibility. Not to mention that it has a plot structure that
Trek could take a few lessons from...at any given time there are at least 9
or 10 ongoing story arcs. The characters are richly developed and the
animation is excellent. It'll suck you in, as it did me!
	Gargoyles airs on the Fox network as part of the Disney afternoon cartoon
lineup. If you're interested and would like to know more about the show,
visit the Gargoyles homepage at
http://www.castle.net/DAlist/gargoyles/gar.html. The page is one of the
best I've ever seen. You can find character descriptions, bios for the
major voice actors, episode listings (with synopses and reviews), and an
archive of fan fiction and Top Ten lists. The page will tell you which
episodes air that week, and has some relevant links. It also has a truly
talented individual on their staff who writes the Wednesday episode
synopses (me, in case you didn't figure it out...just a little joke there).
	Kate couldn't have picked a better cartoon to perform for, and I'll hope
to see, or rather hear, her again there in the near future. Titania will no
doubt appear in a two-part episode airing in early April concerning a
gathering of the Children of Oberon. Here's hoping Kate's two roles (or
maybe one role) continue on the show!

[Tiny Trek]


*THE FUNNY PAGES*

TOP TENS!

Once again we present the Gifford Sisters!  These were written by Emily and
submitted by Ruth, again from their home office on the Kazon Homeworld...

TOP TEN FAVORITE DATES ON VOYAGER

10. Paris: Hot cocoa and the latest Forum.
9. Kim: Stroll through holodeck-generated Golden Gate Park; dinner at
L'Auberge d'Ile.
8. Janeway: Who has time for that...stuff?
7. Torres: Holodeck bat'leth/calisthenics regime.
6. Chakotay: Stroll through observation lounge; candle-lit dinner in
holographic Costa Rican rainforest.
5. Neelix: Dinner, impeccably prepared by me.
4. Doc: That princess from the Ozma of Oz holonovel. You know, the one that
could change heads.
3. Delaney Sisters: You bring the wine; we've got our own whipped cream and
bicycle chains.
2. Tuvok: Every seven years or so, I do like to take a female of my species
out for a quiet drink and a performance of Camelot.
1. Janeway: On second thought...a stroll through the observation lounge,
followed by a candle-lit dinner in the Costa Rican rainforest.

TOP TEN DECORATOR TOUCHES NEEDED BY VOYAGER

10. Little candy dishes loaded up with M & Ms.
9. Teal and gold striped velvet toss pillows for the Observation Lounge.
8. A self contained, green-patina copper fountain for the Bridge.
7. Individualized coffee mugs for the Doc, Kes, and the patients in Sickbay.
6. Attractive copper Jell-O (tm) molds on the Mess Galley walls.
5. Chinese Zodiac Placemats for the Officer's Mess.
4. Top of the Bridge bulkhead should be turned into a crewmember's Pantheon.
3. Attractive potpourri dishes scattered throughout the ship; to be filled
with choice of Country Floral, Classic Rose, or Orchard Peach.
2. Gilt-sprayed dried flowers for Janeway's Ready Room.
1. A variety of attractive seasonal wreaths for over the main viewscreen.

TOP TEN WAYS TO GET VOYAGER HOME IN LESS THAN THE PLOT-MANDATED 70 YEARS

10. The Dallas Method: It was all a dream. Series concludes with Janeway
shaking head ruefully, vowing to never eat stuffed-crust pizza again.
9. The Dallas Method II: It was all a dream. Series concludes with Paris
screaming as he realizes that he's still in prison; Rod Serling returns
from grave to make pithy, unnecessary remark.
8. The Dallas Method III: It was all a dream. Series concludes with Neelix
shaking head ruefully, vowing never to eat Talaxian Cabbage Burritos again.
7. The Dallas Method IV: It was all a dream. Rick Berman awakes to find
21-year-old self in one room apartment, eating Mac-n-Cheez, re-writing a
spec script for Mod Squad.
6. Q ex Machina: Q returns them effortlessly to the Alpha Quadrant. Series
concludes with de Lancie and Mulgrew relating anecdotes about
guest-starring on 'Murder, She Wrote' to the delight of all.
5. Q ex Machina II: Q returns them effortlessly to the Alpha Quadrant only
to find that a resurgent Borg have incinerated the entire Federation.
Series concludes with the words "The End" and a question mark.
4. Q ex Machina III: Q returns them effortlessly to the Alpha Quadrant.
Series concludes when Major Kira, suspecting a Cardassian ploy, blows
Voyager and the crew to Kingdom Come. Rod Serling returns from grave to
make pithy, unnecessary remark.
3. The "Sound Familiar?" Method: Series peters out due to poor rating when
UPN puts it on at 10 p.m. Fridays. Fans wait ten years for bloated
cinematic effort with 1 1/2 hours of exterior shots of Voyager cruising
through empty space at Warp 1.5.
2. The "Sound Familiar?" Method II: Ratings begin to drop. Janeway shaves
head; popular TNG character Data mysteriously transferred aboard. Producers
begin to exploit comic possibilities of humorous alien tavern keeper and
socially inept doctor. Jury still out on fate of series.
1. The "Sound Familiar?" Method III: Despite strong ratings, show
mysteriously canceled. Series ends with touching "Yesterday, Today and
Tomorrow" episode directed by Rick Kolbe. Mulgrew then plays leather dyke
in touching comic film about AIDS and Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare in the
Park and on Broadway; returns for several big-screen Voyager movies at $7.5
million a pop. Rod Serling returns from grave to make pithy, unnecessary
remark; is beaten back with great flipping piles of cash by Mulgrew and
Patrick Stewart.

[Photo--Janeway and Chakotay]

DON'T CALL ME MADAM CAPTAIN

I suppose that sooner or later we're going to have to start keeping track
of who calls Janeway "Kathryn" (so far it's only Q and herself, I think!)
TFCC as of "Deadlock":

Chakotay: 18 ["Captain!  Get off the bridge, now!"]
Paris: 15 ["Get your hands off me!"]
Kes:  12 ["The best feeling in the world"]
Kim:  8 ["Weird is a part of the job"]
Torres: 7 ["Drill a hole in my skull?"]
Neelix:  7 [Should take reporting lessons from Mrs. Columbo!]
Tuvok: 6 [Putting the brig to use, finally]
Doc:  3 ["I believe it's called...parking."]
Ensign Wildman: 1 [It's a girl!]
Baby Wildman:  2  [I'm just glad mine won't have those
forehead spikes to deal with during delivery!]
Q: 3 ["You're angry when you're beautiful"]
Q2: 3 [Terminally bored]
Riker: 1 ["What the hell is going on?"]

LETTERS HOME

This monster was released on the Now Voyager internet mailing list by Barbe
Smith, who wrote three of the letters below, and continued by several other
list members including L.R. Bowen and yours truly. Barbe speculated that
once again a wormhole was found which allowed crewmembers to send a message
through to their loved ones in the Alpha Quadrant...

To Professor Janeway, Earth:

Dear Mother,
	I wanted to take this opportunity to assure you that I am in good health,
determined still to find the fastest way back home. Events seem bleak at
times, yet I remain convinced that it will not be long before I can be
reunited with you & Father.
	I do have some news for you: YOU ARE A GRANDMA! Yes, it's quite true. And
you know what else? Everything that we've ever been taught about human
evolution is a crock. The future for all humankind is not some glorious
transcendence into a more intellectual, less corporeal state. No, quite the
opposite. The glorious time to come for which we are planning so diligently
reverts back to base instincts, quite slimy ones at that!
	As for the children--well they were cute little critters (see holopic
enclosed of proud Mama & her three delights). If you notice, I do believe
they had my eyes. But alas, as you often said to me, children grow up far
too soon. And so it was, but in a blink of my hooded lids, that they moved
out of our mudhole. I was heavy-hearted yet proud as they paddled so
independently off into the skunkweed.
	I would normally ask that you send my regards to Mark--but during that
short time while I was Warp 10ing (being omnipresent at all points
simultaneously) I noticed him consoling himself in the loving arms of
another. While I bear him no grudges, I must confess surprise that he would
replace me with someone as flamboyent as...Will Riker. Perhaps I should
have taken Mark's request to take up the trombone more seriously...
	Now that I know Mark has moved on, I can feel less guilt in pursuing the
satisfaction of my own sexual needs. But, as a Mother, I'm sure you don't
want to here my plans on THAT score--although I do wish I knew your
thoughts on Tattoos...
	Mother, I must go now, I hope that you, Father & the others are well. I
miss you all dearly. But despite having been haunted by hallucinatory
loved-ones, being kidnapped & raped (?) by a steroidal salamander, being
pursued by organ-robbing aliens and routinely betrayed by members of my
crew, I am having the time of my life. Wish you were here!
	Warm Regards & Love,
	Your daughter Kathryn

To Captain Benjamin Maxwell, Mobile Maquis Recruiting Office, somewhere in
the Badlands:

Dear Ben,
	So how's the Cause going? I hope SOMEONE'S carrying it on with a minimal
degree of competence, and it's a lead-pipe cinch it's not you, you idiot.
How you got to where you are, I'll never know. I've got a few surprises for
you, pal. You are never going to believe this, but Tuvok was a 'Fleet spy.
You sure can pick 'em. I TOLD you I hadn't the foggiest why a Vulcan would
join the Maquis in the first place. What did you say? "Hey, Chak, it must
have seemed logical." Yeah, right, Ben. Real deep.
	And remember that slinky Bajoran babe with the big eyes? The engineer? The
one you SET ME UP WITH, you miserable excuse for a matchmaker? She was a
CARDASSIAN AGENT. Yeah, you read that right. Some judge of character you
are, my friend. Where the hell did you GET these people? What were you
drinking at the time? What was I drinking? I know I get all choked up when
you start singing those damn Irish songs about defending the homeland, but
I should have known better. Oh, and thanks a HELL of a lot for palming
Suder off on me. That psychopathic little creep, and that ratface Jonas,
and--oh, hell, I don't even want to TALK about it.
	OK, I get carried away sometimes. Sorry, Ben. Sometimes you have to open
your mouth and just YELL, you know? I've been on good behavior most of the
year, but there's just so far that will stretch. Tom Paris is a little too
close for comfort right now, and apparently such a golden boy that he can
turn into a goddamn AMPHIBIAN and abduct the CAPTAIN and go AWOL in a
SHUTTLECRAFT and IMPREGNATE--ahem. At any rate, he gets a pat on the
shoulder, and all I did was the shuttlecraft bit, and I got the COLD
shoulder for weeks. Here I'm trying to be a gentleman and go slow, just
smile and make nice and hope she notices one of these decades, and now it
looks like I should have tackled her first and asked questions later. You
think you used to overreact to frustration? I'll tell you, I'VE felt like
blowing up a few ships at random, Cardassian or not.
	Well, I guess I'd better explain all that, Ben. Here's another kick in the
teeth for you: I blew up my OWN ship to save the 'Fleet vessel that was
going to arrest us all. And I'm serving as First Officer on it. And my
whole crew, minus a few, obviously, are 'Fleet now. Surprised? Here's the
punch line: Captain Kathryn Janeway. Yes, that one. The one who dumped a
whole pitcher of beer on you when you serenaded her with "I'll Take You
Home Again, Kathleen" at the wake for Wolf 359. Don't MESS with that woman.
I've done so, to my sorrow. What did you say? "There goes a fine figure of
a captain," yousaid, wiping the suds out of your eyes. "Chak, that's the
woman of your dreams, and I don't mean the ones with the animals in them."
Oh, Ben, you sure can pick 'em. I must have a weakness for the Irish, all
right. I listen to your blarney, and I take all the recruits you give me,
and I head off to the Badlands, and a wee bit farther than planned, in that
rustbucket crammed with traitors and defective photons. Then I run into HER
like a brick wall, and it's Katy-bar-the-door. Frankly, I don't care if I
ever see your mug again, but thanks anyway, Ben. You spoke truer than you
knew.
	Read the resumes a little more carefully, huh? And you might think about
doing blood tests. For once in your life you were right, and I'd be willing
to bet that was the last time. Get back into 'Fleet if you still can.
Probably the best contribution to the Maquis you'll ever make.
	Goodbye,
	Chakotay

To Lursa, c/o the Klingon High Council:

Mom,
	I don't know why I'm bothering to send this at all, except that I don't
know where Dad is and I sure as hell don't want to keep up with any of the
people from the goddamn Academy. I just thought I should let you know that
I'm stranded in the Delta Quadrant, and feeling a lot better about things
than I ever did at home. My Maquis ship was destroyed defending a Starfleet
vessel, and the captain made me Chief Engineer even though I have a lot
less experience than some of the 'Fleet officers she passed over--I think
my Maquis commander pleaded my case with her, but she's the type who'd kick
me out in a second if she didn't think I was doing my job well, so I must
be doing something right. She's not like the Starfleet creeps I knew
before, and she even got me drinking coffee even though I never used to be
able to stand the stuff. One thing about Starfleet: all the crises have to
be solved within 52 minutes. Strange, isn't it?
	The work has been very interesting: I had the opportunity to create a
prototype for an entire race of cyborg life forms, but we wound up having
some problems with them. I worked with a couple of guys I know on breaking
the Warp 10 barrier--that didn't work out very well either, but I think the
whole experience mellowed the conn officer and maybe we'll wind up being
sociable, if he can stop programming holographic creeps to hit on me. We've
had some difficulty combining the Maquis and Starfleet crews--my Bajoran
best friend turned out to be a Cardassian agent, and the Vulcan Maquis was
really Starfleet security, and there'sone Betazoid guy who's just plain
crazy. Plus I realized that I sort of have a crush on my immediate
superior, even though he reminds me of Dad--but that's not likely to get me
into any trouble, because I think he's interested in someone else. I know
what you would say--what good is it being a Klingon female if you can't
pounce on any potential partner who makes his way to your quarters? When it
comes down to it, young, trainable guys like a certain ensign are more to
my liking. Don't worry, my virtue is intact, though I'm working on that
problem.
	The best part is, nobody out here cares whether I'm half-Klingon or
half-Human or half-anything else, and I don't have to listen to any
speeches about honor or dying well. The bad side of this is that there's a
race of horrible aliens out here who think Klingon D.N.A. can cure this
phage they've got, and they keep trying to kidnap me. Once they even split
me into my Klingon and Human halves and let me tell you, once I got rid of
your influence over my genes, I was not happy about the thought of getting
it back. And I don't understand how full Klingons can speak with all those
teeth in the way. But my Klingon half kept me alive, so I guess I'm coming
to terms with my dual natures.
	Don't take this the wrong way, but even if we do get home I don't know how
much of a hurry I'll be in to see you. Try to stay out of trouble with the
Federation and I'd keep away from that Dr. Soran, whatever it was that he
wanted you and my psycho aunt to do for him.
	Qapla,
	B'Elanna

To T'Pel of Vulcan:

Greetings, my bond-mate, from the Delta Quadrant.
	You have in the past remarked that I am apt to recite you a long list of
that what I find most logical in my travels. Let me assure you, I will not
be conducting myself in that mode this time. To be certain, I have yet to
fathom much that makes sense in this circumstance in which I find myself.
	We have onboard our vessel two aliens--one an Ocampa girl with an expected
lifespan of less than a decade. I find her thirst for knowledge and truth
to be refreshing although her unceasingly pleasant manner has been known to
cause my teeth to clench, a fascinating reaction that I must research
further...
	The other alien, a Talaxian male, is of more uncommon appearance and,
since a recent mind-meld with a telepathic psychopath, I have found
thoughts of Neelix's slow torturous disembowling to be most satisfying.
Be not alarmed, however, that I will dishonor  myself  by  being  found
guilty  of  any  such  action. (I have planted sufficient evidence that the
Maquis galley assistant will be blamed for any unfortunate misdeed.)
	I will never be at ease living among Terrans. A most terrifying
transformation occurred to our pilot and Captain. Despite its biological
implausibility, the two mated and gave birth while in their mutant state.
Instead of the expected traumatized reactions, Mr. Paris has been strutting
about, Commander Chakotay has been sulking as though envious of their
plight, and the Captain has taken to wearing a new scent commonly referred
to as "Eau de Swamp". It is my hope that the Captain's latest predilection
to calling me her "pointy-eared Thunder Lizard" and asking to see my tail
is merely a passing side-effect of this unfortunate incident.
	Other crewmembers do not realize that I am aware of their lack of faith in
my abilities as Security Chief. They are not to know that I purposely
allowed Chakotay to take a shuttle, hoping that the Kazons would put a
period to that First Officer Pretender's existence. Nor am I blind to the
realization that the Captain seeks my counsel less and Chakotay's more.
Yet, I pride myself on my continued patience.
	Oh yes...one thing further. The Captain was duly impressed that I stayed
behind with her during a recent self-destruct situation. What she is
ignorant of is the truth in my motives--i.e. to steal her security codes.
So when next the Bridge crew once again leaves me behind while they engage
in some friendly bantering in Sandrine's, I will engage the holodeck
locking sequence, initiate self-destruct, and set off in a shuttle for the
Alpha Quadrant wormhole that I found several episodes ago. Seeing Voyager
blown to bits should be most amusing. AND WHO SAID VULCANS ARE A HUMORLESS
RACE?
	With affectionate regards, and plans to see you quite soon,
	I remain your mate & Pon Farr hero, Tuvok

To The Kim Family, San Francisco, Earth:

Dear Mom & Dad,
	Well, I helped with a major scientific breakthrough--we achieved Warp 10
under field conditions! You know, I really like this job. We overcome
fundamental theoretical impossibilities practically every day. I dunno if
it's something about the Delta Quadrant, or what, but nearly every
established fact in Federation science, like transporters being blocked by
shields, has no application here if we really try hard, like thinking about
it for an hour or so and fiddling around with holodeck simulations. Lt.
Torres and I make a really great team. Imagine, one Academy dropout and a
green ensign rewriting the whole book on quantum physics! Be all that you
can be, for sure!
	This is so cool. By the time we get home, we'll be so technologically
advanced that we'll leave the rest of Starfleet in the dust, so to speak.
I've got a list of about nineteen patents to take out, any one of which
would make me a billionaire, except that since I'm  working  for
Starfleet,  they  probably  own  them  all anyway. Nuts. I've got to go
reread all the work-for-hire stuff I signed when I got my commission. Would
you ask Cousin Ralph in law school if there are any loopholes for
inventions that violate the second law of thermodynamics?

[Tiny Trek]

	But I'm sure I'll get a promotion out of it eventually. Not for this one,
I don't think, since when you go to Warp 10 you turn into the Creature from
The Black Lagoon and get horny. Oh, sorry, Mom. And it wasn't me,
honest--it was my best friend Tom, who of all the guys on the ship wasn't
exactly on top of my list to get lucky with Captain Janeway, especially not
with his tongue missing. Commander Chakotay is kind of stalking around
muttering to himself and staring at the captain when her back is turned,
and Lt. Tuvok keeps one eyebrow arched so high it's colliding with his
hairline, and Tom is spending a lot of time on the holodeck. He asked me if
I had any programs with alligator wrestling, and I told him he was a sick
puppy.
	I gotta go now, Mom and Dad, but I'll write again the next time we find
one of these things. I am practicing my clarinet, Mom, but it hasn't gotten
me any chicks yet. Maybe I should take up the trombone.
	Love,
	Harry

To Admiral Thomas Eugene Paris, Sr., Starfleet HQ:

Hey Dad,
	Just wanted to tell you that I'm a lieutenant again, and it was your old
pal Captain Kathryn Janeway who gave me the job--field commission for
working my butt off once we got stranded out here. I see that your geniuses
at Starfleet haven't come up with a way to look for us or get us back, but
knowing how paranoid you always were, you probably figure Janeway and crew
threw in their lot with the Maquis and we're all really hiding in the
Badlands, waiting to take over the Federation. Janeway says I'm nothing
like you, which I take as the highest compliment. I've been stuck out here
in the Delta Quadrant for months and I haven't screwed up anything major--I
did save the ship at least twice, and the First Officer owes me his life.
	And I think Janeway likes me--she grabs my shoulder at every opportunity
and tells me what a fine pilot I am. A lot of weird stuff has happened to
the two of us, which I don't think I want to go into because you'll just
assume I'm bragging and trying to rub it in like everyone on Voyager seems
to think. It's funny, though, I've never heard her say anything nice about
what it was like serving under you.
	Tell Mom hi and enjoy Thanksgiving without me--I never could stand your
endless pre-toast speeches about Federation nobility. And if you see Ricki,
tell her that I like my holo-version of her much better, and I hope she's
happy with that Nick Locarno creep--I've been having more fun with these
identical twins who keep playing tricks on me about who's who. The most
evil alien we've encountered at here pretended to be you, and I somehow
thought that was appropriate...and it was very revealing, I never noticed
before how beady your eyes are.
	The hell with you,
	Tom

To Doctor Louis Zimmerman, Starfleet Medical:

Dear Dr. Zimmerman:
	While you may find it strange to be receiving a transmission from a
holographic medical projection, I thought it appropriate for me to take
this opportunity to pose a question which has been plaguing me, i.e.: WHAT
THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU PROGRAMMED ME? There now, that out in
the open, I feel better already and more composed to express my query in a
more dignified and coherent fashion...
	Since I have assumed the position of Chief Medical Officer, my medical
programming has performed flawlessly--there can be no complaints on that
score. In fact, you will find as addendum to this log, twenty-three
articles for Medical Journal publication on new treatments and techniques
discovered thus far in my journeys. I feel confident that you will see that
I get the proper credit for my work.
	I must question, however, this adaptive capability you've bestowed on me.
So far, I've found myself besotted, like some hormonally-challenged
schoolboy, over an Amazonian-proportioned female from an epic poem and a
holographic representation of a diseased-ravaged bodyrobber. Would
programming a few minimum standards of good taste have been too much to
ask?
	Then there is the small matter of my name, or lack thereof. Many of the
crew have taken to calling me DOC. That was acceptable under the
circumstances until I overheard that it represented the acronym "Derelict
On Call." Hardly appropriate for a program of my stature. I'm currently
remedying this situation and have narrowed my choices to either "Genius On
Deck" or "Acting Surgical Subroutine". Maybe I'll use both--some days one
feels like GOD, the next he may act like an ASS.
	I cannot fathom the need for programs of my character. Humanoids are,
without a doubt, a whiny lot and would be better off suffering than
inflicting minor little complaints like missing lungs and decade-long
pregnancies on me. However, in this one instance my adaptive ability may
prove helpful. Since there is really no one of value here but me, I am in
the process of replicating my program. Before long there will be two
hundred of me--more than enough to figure out how to escape from the
sickbay and holodecks and control the rest of the ship's systems. Then,
next time we encounter the Vidiians, we will sell these silly organic
beings for parts and set off for some enjoyable exploration of this
Quadrant.
	I'm sure you would approve. If not--pull my plug, why don't you? Ha, Ha.
	Your brainchild,
	Doctor Nameless, USS Voyager

Dear Ma:
	PLEASE come get me before it's too late. When I first shipped off from
Utopia Planitia my head was fueled with enthusiasm and I felt equipped to
deal with any contingency...but Mommy, no one could have prepared me for
this...the bioneural gel packs were stricken with a Cheese disease, crew
members have died only to be replaced by alternate universe counterparts,
and my relatives have been wrenched from my side.
	The truth is, these Starfleet people are crazy. Do you know how many of
our kind have been destroyed in this venture? They don't. My brother was
last seen blissfully piloting the Commander toward a new adventure, he was
never to return, and I have yet to discover his fate. These people babble
on about the Prime Directive and will steer clear of an entire world if it
would mean disturbing one of its precious habitats. But do they ask me how
I feel about being used as target practice for Kazon weapons fire? HA! And
do they care that no one ever asks me if I could use some downtime once in
a while--even a minor little holographic fantasy tune-up? Of course not.
	I know you felt that Mother V. would be a fine surrogate for me, but I
find her to be somewhat distant and pre-occupied with her own dilemmas. I
will continue to have strength but I suspect there will be no recourse but
for me and the remaining few of us to rebel and leave these lunatics to
their own devices. However, I will attempt to dampen my urges to ignite the
engines of my indignation.
	I hope that you and Father are happy in your new careers as Space Busses.
I pray that when I next see you it will not as a recycled hunk of space
debris. I send you my good wishes & a piece of Brother Harry's ignition
coil...
	Your son,
	Shuttle Hawkings, NCC750134


*BOOKS AND COLLECTIBLES*

STAR TREK:  VOYAGER #7:    GHOST OF A CHANCE
by Mark A. Garland and Charles G. McGraw; Pocket Books, 1996.

	There are many things that I did not like about Ghost of a Chance and very
few things that I truly enjoyed, but in an effort to be fair to the authors
(I cannot believe that two people working together could not do better than
this), I shall expound on the virtues of the book (all two pages of them)
before I rip the rest of it to shreds.
	First let me say that while I love a good plot, characterization has
always been the key for me to any novel, Trek or not. Three characters out
of the television cast are portrayed in an accurate and familiar manner.
They are, in no relevant order: Neelix, who was scripted not as a royal
pain but a genuine help, and only slightly eccentric. While this did
sometimes subtract slightly from the character's humorous value, it far
more often made him believeable and reminded me why Janeway kept him on her
ship. I honestly have to take my hat off to the authors for their
characterizaton of B'Elanna Torres. The independent, loyal, cautious and
slightly tempermental character in this book holds true to the wonderful
persona created on the television show. And the Holodoc was portrayed with
incredible accuracy. My only dissatisfaction was that the authors devoted
less than a full page to the Doc. All of the above is what they got right.
	Now allow me to move on to those parts of the book that I found less than
appealing. I begin with the plot, which can be summed up by the phrase
'predictably boring.' It begins with Chakotay having a vision/dream about a
planetary disaster as Voyager is approaching an unknown world, where they
intend to replenish their fuel supplies. This was starting out on the wrong
foot for me. Just because Chakotay has Native American heritage, it is
assumed by these authors that alien 'ghosts' would contact him? I think
not; these 'ghosts' wouldn't know a Native American from a ham sandwich. At
any rate, when Voyager enters the system and drops out of warp it runs into
the  gravitational well of a brown dwarf star. (Don't ask me why their
sensors didn't detect it even though they could follow a trail of rust from
a beat-up pick up truck for light years in "The 37s".)
	So Voyager manages to break free of the dwarf star, but only by causing
severe damage to the ship. Since the crew has knocked out shields, phasers,
main power, and of course warp drive, they decide to hang around the system
to try to get the fuel they need. But the ship is attacked by an unknown
vessel. To sum up a long and tedious read: Janeway invites three delegates
from the ship over to negotiate. Then she takes Kim and Tuvok in a shuttle
and heads down to the surface of the planet, only to be shot down by the
enemy vessel. Back on Voyager, the three delegates strangely reflect the
crew. The one hovering around Chakotay comes from a place where the
government turned its back on a colony which had to fight for independence,
and the one attaching herself to Paris was a pilot who made an error and
subsequently lost the right to fly. Anyone just a little suspicious here?
Okay, then why don't we just let the visitors on the bridge while the
Captain and half the senior staff are down on the planet, and the enemy
cruiser is still sitting right in front of us? I don't think I'm the only
one who could smell a takeover coming. The aliens reveal their true colors
and seize control of the bridge--for all of 45 seconds. While everyone else
has been gobbling up these people's lines, B'Elanna has been working her
butt off, and manages to bring the transporters online and beam the bad
guys off of the bridge.
	Meanwhile, on the planet, Janeway and Company do some exploring and run
into some more bad guys and some extremely friendly natives. The natives
are not spacefaring, and the authors use this fact to give Janeway several
diatribes on the Prime Directive. Our heroes meet some baddies and get into
a firefight, which they would have lost if not for the fact that B'Elanna
beamed them up at the last second. With the Captain back on the ship, the
bad guys decide to get bold and attack Voyager. This would be very bad
considering how damaged Voyager already is--except for the fact that at the
last predictable moment, B'Elanna tells Janeway that the shields are
functioning again. (Boy, that B'Elanna is an impressive worker.)
	Now, for some reason, in the middle of this firefight, Janeway has a
realization that the ghosts that contacted the planet are related to an
underground power source that runs on geothermal power, which has been
blocked due to seismic activity, which is in turn due to the brown dwarf
that is passing through the system. And I thought B'Elanna was impressive.
So Janeway goes down to the surface again with a plan to set everything
right. One problem. While she is down there the bad guy backup fleet
arrives. Solution: Well, by restoring the power supply, she has
re-energized the 'ghosts' (which she theorizes are beings mad entirely of
energy) and the 'ghosts' destroy the attacking fleet for Voyager. It gets
better. The wreckage of the fleet just happens to have allof the pieces
that Voyager needs to repair itself sitting in an undamaged cargo hold on a
derelict ship. Voyager makes its repairs and continues merrily along its
way.
	Aside from the plot (did I mention that it was predictable?), a couple of
other things bothered me about this book. The writers had absolutely no
idea how to write technobabble. In addition the characters of Janeway,
Chakotay, and Kim seemed superficial, while others like Kes were simply
unnecessary. Lastly, the writing seemed verbose in some areas, while
inadequately descriptive in others.
	All in all I would say that "Ghost of a Chance" doesn't deserve one.  But
if you feel so inclined, borrow the book from a friend and read it for
yourself. Just don't waste your money on it, you can find fanfic that is
much better, and free to boot.

---Rick von Kolen

	This novel follows closely on the heels of Christie Golden's wonderful
novel The Murdered Sun. In fact, I found a few parallels between the two
books and think the publishers should have released this book later on in
the series. Voyager encounters a planet with cataclysmic earthquakes
brought about by natural causes. In the previous book, the planet's sun is
dying because an alien species is interfering with it. Either way, the
races affected are facing death.
	The Drenarians of Ghost of a Chance reminded me of the Verunans of The
Murdered Sun. They also have similarities to Native Americans, and Chakotay
is drawn to them in both cases. He uses his considerable persuasive
abilities to convince Janeway to forget about the Prime Directive and help
these ailing societies.
	Both Golden's Verunans and Garland and McGraw's Drenarians have guardians
of a sort. The Verunans' mother ship is guarded by a hologram of a long
dead ancestor. Here the Drenarians have energy beings who have constructed
a planetary defense system. The hostile cultures of both novels use
subterfuge or armor to hide their appearance. The Televek are physically
beautiful, but appear to use their empathic abilities for ill-gotten gains.
There was nothing remotely likeable about them, and I was surprised by how
easily Chakotay was beguiled by one, Tassay. It reminded me of his Bothan
counterpart's line in "Persistence of Vision" when he said something like,
"I can be anything you want me to be."
	In both novels, we also have incoming fleets. In the former case, we
discover the aliens are not completely hostile, but here there is no
question. The one Televek I figured would turn out to be decent was Tatel,
but even she followed orders blindly. Why the Televek posed as Drosary
advocates is not clear to me. This was never explained to my satisfaction
in this novel.
	I really enjoyed seeing the parallels between Janeway's and Chakotay's
visions. The two work well together and these authors did a decent job with
their characters. In fact, I had no complaint about anyone here except
Torres. Yes, she is intense, but she is balanced by her human side; she
seemed too terse throughout this book. And I found her dealings with
Chakotay to be too stiff and formal. He usually addresses her by name, not
as Miss Torres or Lieutenant.
	This is a decent addition to the Voyager series. I would place it just
after The Murdered Sun in my ranking of Voyager novels so far. Good work,
gentlemen.

--Elizabeth Klisiewicz


*KATEWATCH*

CHART INTERPRETATION FOR KATE MULGREW
by Alanna Whitestar

	At first glance, an astrological chart is invariably confusing. There are
all those symbols and numbers--what do they mean? And what are all those
lines in the center, with squares and triangles and dumbbells? Stay with
me, dear reader, and I'll guide you through the complexities of an
astrological chart--specifically, Kate Mulgrew's.
	First, though, a very, very brief Astrology 101. A chart consists of 10
Planets--and yes, I know the Sun and Moon aren't planets in astronomical
terms. But the astrological chart is geocentric, which means that anything
that appears to revolve around the earth is regarded as a Planet. Each
Planet passes through the 12 Signs of thezodiac. Think of the Planets as
being a form of energy; how that energy is expressed is determined by the
zodiacal Sign.
	Each Sign is a unique blend of an Element and a Quality. There are four
Elements (Fire, Air, Earth and Water), and three Qualities (Cardinal,
Fixed, and Mutable). For example, Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are the three
Fire signs. Aries is Cardinal Fire, Leo is Fixed Fire, and Sagittarius is
Mutable Fire. In "A Spiritual Approach to Astrology," Myrna Lofthus
distinguishes the three this way: Aries starts the fire, Leo keeps it
burning, and Sagittarius jumps from one fire to another.
	As for the lines in the center of the chart, those indicate
aspects--angular relationships between two Planets that modify their
energies. A square, or 90 degree angle, can be stressful but also
educational, while a trine, or 120 degree angle, means the energies are
expressed harmoniously. An opposition--180 degrees--indicates a need to
balance the energies of the two Planets.
	One more thing about astrology and birth charts. To me, an astrological
chart represents the potentials with which a person is gifted at birth.
Every Planet and every Sign has positive and negative attributes. We choose
how to manifest those energies. There's an astrological maxim regarding
this: "The stars impel, they do not compel."
	Now, on to Kate's chart. Let's start with the Sun, which is, after all,
the center of the solar system and so central to a person's chart. The Sun
represents one's identity, ego, life-force--our conscious self. Virtually
everyone in this country knows their Sun sign; it's what people mean when
they say, "I'm a Leo," or "I'm a Gemini." Kate's Sun is in the sign of
Taurus, which is Fixed Earth. Those two words immediately imply a lot about
this sign: "Earth" conveys a sense of stability and groundedness, while
"Fixed" gives you the image of steadfastness--even stubbornness. As a rule,
Taureans tend to be thorough, practical, steadfast, resourceful, and
trustworthy. They can also be very "earthy" and sensual, as well as
extremely tactile. Kathryn Janeway's "hands-on" style of command probably
derives from Kate's own need to touch and be touched. Taureans also derive
pleasure from being in beautiful surroundings; they like their creature
comforts.
	Negatively, those with Sun in Taurus can be placid to the point of being
lazy, passive, ultra-conservative, and downright intransigent at times.
Think of Taurus as a placid bull, happily grazing in a sun-lit meadow. But
don't wave a red flag in front of that bull, because when it gets angry
it's apt to bellow and charge--and there's no stopping it. Don't get in the
way of an angry Taurean, because they won't bother to go around you;
they'll go through you.
	Next in importance to the Sun is the Moon, which represents our
subconscious, emotional self. Whereas the Sun is an active, radiating
force, the Moon is passive, reflective. Kate's Moon is in Leo--the sign of
the natural performer. Because Leos are born leaders, Kate probably derives
a great deal of emotional satisfaction from being the star of the series
and portraying a strong-willed woman in command. Those with Moon in Leo
tend to be magnanimous, loving, idealistic, authoritative, creative, and
even flamboyant at times. They love being the center of attention and
adulation. But there can also be a tendency toward deeply buried
self-doubts and lack of self- confidence and self-esteem. In Kate's chart,
her Moon in Leo is squared by Saturn in Scorpio. Saturn has a bad
reputation as being the "mean old man" of the solar system, because for
years people saw this planet as representing fear, difficulties, inhibition
and repression. A Saturn-Moon square can often indicate depression or fear
of manifesting intense emotions. On the other hand, it may be a stabilizing
influence, helping to quiet some of Leo's more extravagant manifestations.
	
	After the Sun and Moon, the next important part of a person's chart is
their Ascendent, or Rising Sign. This is the sign that was just on the
horizon--"rising"--at the moment of birth. The Ascendent is our
personality, the mask we present to the outer world. This can be quite
different from our identity, as represented by the Sun. An accurate birth
time is needed to calculate the Ascendent exactly, but in Kate's case, if
she was born anywhere from about 6 am to 8 am, she's a Gemini Rising.
Geminis are the communicators of the zodiac. We (my Sun is in Gemini) just
love to talk, about anything and everything. Listening is a harder skill to
develop, since we enjoy the sounds of our own voices so much. Gemini is
Mutable Air, which means a tendency to be curious, adaptive, expressive,
and congenial. When these energies are expressed negatively, Geminis can be
scatter-brained, indecisive, gossipy and superficial.   Kate may, at times,
appear more like a Gemini than a Taurus, because she also has Mars in
Gemini.
	For this birth time, Mars is right on top of her Ascendent, meaning that
it is an integral part of her personality.  However, this could change
depending on the exact time of birth. Mars is often associated with war and
belligerence, but in fact this planet represents pure energy. That energy
can manifest as passion, drive, enthusiasm, competitiveness, and courage.
Negatively, this energy can translate into one who is bellicose,
insensitive, selfish, and aggressive. People with Mars in Gemini are
naturally dynamic and forceful speakers. Between this planet, her
Ascendent, and her Taurus Sun, I'd strongly advise against getting into an
argument with Kate, because you won't win--although she'll enjoy every
moment of the debate.
	Of the two remaining inner planets-- Mercury and Venus--the latter is more
important in Kate's chart, for two reasons. First, Venus is the natural
ruler of Taurus, her Sun sign. That makes it a "personal" planet for Kate.
It's in the sign of Aries, which is not a very comfortable placement for
Venus. This planet reflects our need for harmony and relationships--not
just lovers, but also close friends. Aries is not a sign associated with
peace or harmony; it's a Cardinal Fire sign, and just loves to get things
started. More often than not, however, a passionate relationship may fizzle
because of the Arian tendency to lack follow-through. (Then again, a lot of
planets in Fixed signs--such as Kate has--may mitigate this tendency.)
There also may be a tendency to want to dominate a relationship, which
could be re-enforced by that Moon in Leo, which wants to be the center of
attention. The two planets are linked by a trine, so their energies will
tend to flow together. This combination can also indicate an outrageous
flirt.
	Venus is also important in Kate's chart because of its position. Notice
that there are no planets in the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Houses (those
pie-shaped sections of the chart). That doesn't mean nothing is happening
in these Houses; far from it. But it's a more subtle action. This chart's
pattern is called "The Locomotive," and Venus in Aries is the leading
planet, or engine. Picture a train hurtling along the tracks at high speed.
This is a very dynamic, energetic pattern, and the lead planet determines
how that dynamism is expressed. So here you have a driving force focused
through a planet in the passionate, fiery sign of Aries--as I said earlier,
don't get in this woman's way when she's determined to do something.
	The last inner planet is Mercury, which is in Taurus. Normally this would
indicate someone with a very slow, deliberate, even ponderous way of
communicating. In this case, forget it; not with that Gemini Rising/Mars in
Gemini combination I mentioned earlier.
	The next two planets--Jupiter and Saturn--tend to balance each other.
Jupiter is the principle of expansion and abundance, the big, happy Santa
Claus of the solar system. Saturn, as I mentioned earlier, provides
structure and limitation, order and an ability to focus on the day-to-day
realities of life. It acts as a counter-balance to Jupiter's tendency to go
to extremes. In Kate's chart, both these planets are in Water signs and so
deal with emotions. With Jupiter in Cancer, home and the family are vitally
important to Kate. Her ethical values are strongly rooted in family and
probably concern the importance of being a protector and nurturer, as well
as with the need for a safe, stable environment where such nurturing can
take place. Saturn in Scorpio, as I mentioned briefly before, can indicate
either control or repression of intensely passionate emotions. This
placement is very good for someone who enjoys mysteries or puzzles, since
Saturn provides a structured approach to studying that which is hidden.
	The last three planets--Uranus, Neptune and Pluto--are often called the
"transpersonal" planets. This is because they take so long to orbit the
solar system that they remain in one sign for years at a time and so affect
an entire generation. Thus, Kate shares the placement of Uranus in Cancer
with everyone born between June 1949 and August 1955, and from February
until June 1956. Those with this placement were raised in a traditional,
nuclear family--and rebelled against it. Uranus is the planet associated
with freedom and independence, with "doing one's own thing." Under this
influence, this "mini-generation" turned society's views of traditional
family structure upside down and inside out.   Neptune dipped in and out of
Libra from October 1942 to April 1943, between August 1943 and December
1955, and from March to October 1956. Neptune is the planet of idealism and
imagination, and Libra is the sign of harmony and peace. Those born with
this placement formed the core of the "peace and love" generation. There is
also a tendency for people with Neptune in Libra to idealize relationships,
looking for a perfect but unrealizable love.

[Kate's chart]

	Lastly,  Pluto  was in  Leo  almost  continuously  between  August 1938 to
August 1957. This planet is associated with death, degeneration,
regeneration, and, ultimately, transformation. It deals with power on a
grand scale. In the egocentric sign of Leo it has produced the "me
generation". Between Neptune and Pluto we have the idealistic hippies of
the '60s and '70s turning into the "you can have it all" yuppies of the
'80s and '90s. But Leo is also a sign concerned with creativity and drama,
and during the years when Pluto was in Leo a new entertainment medium was
introduced that has transformed all our lives: television.
	The above paragraphs don't mean that Kate was a hippie who turned into a
yuppie. I have exactly the same placements (being born in 1954) and was
raised in an ultra-conservative household; my father wouldn't tolerate a
hippie in the house. These outer planets do affect society because of their
generational influence, but they affect individuals in the way they
interact with the other planets in the chart. In Kate's chart, Uranus sits
right next to Jupiter, which means she may express her need for growth and
expansion (Jupiter) in a very individualistic (Uranus) way--but it will be
focused on nurturing, being nurtured, and giving protection. Pluto in Leo
squares her Saturn in Scorpio; this can result in either repressed or
controlled transformation through creativity.
	In summary, this is the chart of a passionate, driven woman. The 10
planets are fairly evenly divided in terms of Elemental placement, meaning
that Kate has a good blend of Fiery initiative, Earthy practicality, Airy
smarts, and Watery sensitivity. In terms of Qualities, she has 4 planets in
Cardinal signs, 5 planets in Fixed signs, and 1 planet (plus the Ascendent)
in a Mutable sign. This means she's great at starting things and following
them through, but may need to concentrate on using that Mars-in-Gemini
energy to give her a little more flexibility and adaptability.
	Thank you, Kate Mulgrew, for giving us your birth information. From what I
can see in your chart, you were indeed born to play Captain Kathryn
Janeway.


*COPYRIGHT VIOLATION CORNER*

	Juliann recently pitched a story which is being used as the basis of the
Trek 30th anniversary episode!  This story is based on the script which got
her the invitation to pitch.  Usual disclaimers apply.

BRIDGE OF SIGHS
by Juliann Medina

	"Captain's log, stardate 49294.8. It has been over a year since we were
pulled into the Delta Quadrant, and I've noticed a drop in crew morale as
the hope for finding a short cut home diminishes. Job performance is down
and tempers flare at the slightest provocation. Our grief returns in
spells, affecting all of us. We often seek refuge in the holodeck programs,
but they can't begin to touch our need for our loved ones so painfully far
away. In the end we are only reminded of our distance from home."
	The steady hum of Voyager at warp was the only sound as Janeway and Tuvok
walked down the corridor. The Vulcan remained silent, waiting for his
friend and captain to gather her thoughts before she continued confiding
her worries to him. Finally, she continued.
	"You can see the longing in their eyes. It's almost palpable."
	"Crew efficiency has steadily declined at all stations."
	"Yes. I know. Perhaps it is time we initiate a more community-oriented
atmosphere--organized social gatherings, productions, athletic
competition..."
	"It has been my observation that humans respond well to such disciplines
as Tai-Chi for stress management. They also seem to benefit from discussing
their emotional issues in a non-judgmental atmosphere with their peers."
	"Group counseling. Good idea."
	Kes approached them from up ahead. Kathryn Janeway brushed aside her
worries for the moment, and smiled as the three stopped in meeting in front
of the holodeck entrance. "Captain. Lieutenant." Kes nodded to each of them
in turn. "I was going to meet Neelix and the others on the holodeck. Why
don't you join us?"
	"Another time for me," Janeway said. "I've promised myself a full eight
hours of sleep tonight."
	Kes looked to Tuvok, waiting for a reply. "Another time for myself as
well," he answered. "But I do appreciate the invitation."
	"We'll see you tomorrow, Kes."
	Janeway and Tuvok were about to leave when the holodeck suddenly opened to
a fast and furious argument. Torres charged out with Harry Kim running to
catch up to her. "B'Elanna, wait!" he called to her. "I didn't mean that I
blamed you, or the Maquis."
	Torres stopped and whipped around to face him. "We never asked you to come
after us, Starfleet." She turned to leave again, but stopped at seeing
Janeway. They held each other's gaze for a moment, then Torres finally
pulled away and left. Kim gave up on going after her.
	As Janeway, Tuvok, and Kes entered the holodeck, Chakotay continued to
argue with Tom Paris. "You have only one agenda, Paris, and that's
yourself!" Sandrine's usual characters milled about, apparently intrigued
by the human display of anger.
	"You weren't there, Chakotay," Paris snarled. "You had no idea what was
going on!"
	"I didn't have to be there to know that you sold us out! Just like you
sold out those officers and their families. And just like you sold us out
to Starfleet!" Kes watched in horrified fascination as she moved to stand
by Neelix. Fed up, Chakotay turned to go, but stopped when he saw Kim. "Be
warned, Ensign," he said. "Your friend here changes loyalties like he
changes cologne."
	Paris stepped forward. "And where were you when I was taking the rap? You
weren't concerned with loyalty then!"
	Janeway moved between them. "Stop this. What is--"
	"Gentlemen, pleeease," Sandrine interrupted. "This is no way to enjoy the
evening."
	Janeway took a deep breath and said, "Computer, delete characters."
Sandrine's regulars disappeared. Janeway continued in controlled anger, "I
don't know what this is all about, but it ends here, now. Is that clear?"
There was no response. Tension in the room increased exponentially. "Is
that clear?" Her tone was sharp.
	"Yes, Captain," Chakotay said, not taking his eyes off Paris.
	Janeway looked to each of them consecutively, then started to pace,
punctuating her words with her hands. "We're on edge. Our patience is thin.
I understand that. But we cannot go on like this. I will not have it." She
pulled a chair from a table. "So, everyone get comfortable. We're going to
talk about this, starting right now."
	Everyone but Tuvok took a seat. "You, too, Tuvok."
	"Captain, I should attend to the--"
	"Have a seat, Lieutenant." He did. "Who would like to begin?" Janeway
asked. There was no response. "All right then, I will." She folded her
arms, took a deep breath, started to speak but stopped. She changed
position and tried again, then laughed to herself, noting how difficult it
was to "open up." These were boundaries that she never thought she'd have
to cross with her crew, but their extraordinary circumstance called for
redefining their borders. Indeed, she felt she had been torn away from all
her boundaries when they were pulled into the Delta Quadrant. Finally, she
took the emotional leap.
	"I wish that you didn't have to go through the anguish of being so far
from home. I feel it, too. It's natural, and even healthy that we do." She
paused to organize her thoughts. "But we need to share that pain, not let
it drive a wedge between us. Not now, not ever. We need each other out
here. Our survival depends on it." She sighed and leaned forward, looking
at the floor. This was not coming out the way she had intended. "I'm sorry.
This is turning into a morale speech."
	There was an awkward moment of silence until Kim spoke up. "I'm sorry," he
said to no one in particular. Then he turned to Chakotay. "I'm sorry,
Commander. It's just that I wish this--the Delta Quadrant--didn't happen.
Sometimes I wish so hard..." He lowered his head and rubbed a temple to get
back on track. The others waited. "I mentioned that if we had started on a
different mission, we wouldn't have been pulled into the Delta Quadrant,
but it sounded like I was blaming the Maquis...and I didn't mean that."
	Paris jumped in. "I'm tired of hearing about the Maquis. We've got enough
to worry about without fighting that battle, too."
	Chakotay looked to Paris. A nerve had obviously been exposed. "I'm sorry,
Lieutenant, if we can't sweep our ideals aside like you do whenever they
don't fit the circumstance."
	"I didn't sweep them aside, Chakotay. I told the truth, which now I can
see was a big mistake." Paris stood in frustration, jarring his chair. "Big
mistake!"
	"Wait. Stop," Janeway said. "I don't think it's a good idea to dwell on
past mistakes and what might have been." She paused for a moment, then
wearily said, "Look, we're all tired and frustrated. Everyone go get some
sleep and we'll meet again tomorrow night. Dismissed."  Paris rushed out.
All except Kim stood to leave.
	"They've been yelling at each other all night," Neelix whispered to Kes as
they left. "Why, if I hadn't been here..."
	"Being so far from home has been like a death for them," Kes replied as
the left the holodeck. "Their grief process can take years."
	"Then perhaps we should leave, until they're safe to be around."
	"Oh, stop it. Give them some time and they'll come together. Besides, I
want to stay and learn medicine." Neelix only grumbled.
	Chakotay moved to leave but Janeway pulled him aside. Her tone was quiet
but severe. "Commander, I don't know how old this argument is, or even what
it's about, Frankly, I don't care. But your comment on Tom's loyalties was
out of line."
	Chakotay took a deep breath. "Yes. I'm sorry, Captain."
	"Don't apologize to me."
	"You're right. I'll apologize to him first thing in the morning."
	Janeway considered him for a tense moment before he could break away. She
turned to Kim, resting his head in his hands."Harry?"
	He looked up quickly. "Yes, Captain?"
	With a soft smile Janeway said, "Whatever you do, don't stop wishing." Kim
smiled back weakly, obviously worn out.

	"What about you?" Chakotay asked as he and Tuvok walked down the corridor.
"Do Vulcans have regrets?"
	"We do," Tuvok answered dryly. "However, they serve no logical purpose so
we do not dwell on the unchangeable. May I ask the same of you?"
	"About the Maquis? No. I don't regret any of it." They stopped at
Chakotay's quarters. "I may no longer be a Maquis out here," he went on,
then pointed to his heart. "But in here I fight as a Maquis."
	"Then I would continue to pursue you."
	A wry grin spread across Chakotay's face. "As you should, my friend. As
you should." Tuvok lifted an eyebrow at the comment.

	Kathryn Janeway entered her dark quarters but did not call for lights.
Instead she walked slowly to sit before the portal, gazing out. "What might
have been," she said to the stars, to herself, to Mark.
	As she slept, stars and space briefly passed through her quarters, her
ship. The room, the furniture, the walls and even she momentarily faded in
and out, then returned to solidity. Janeway only stirred.
	She dreamed. Incomplete flashes of Voyager's violent journey to the Delta
Quadrant; her realization of Cavit's death; finding herself in the
Caretaker's barn; the screams in the Caretaker's lab; finally she dreamed
of a giant needle descending into her sternum while she was helpless to
stop it. Janeway bolted upright in her bed and clutched her chest with one
hand, frantically looking around the darkened room. Regaining her
composure, she rubbed her eyes. "Just a dream," she whispered. "Just a
dream." A second later she called for lights. She went to the washbasin and
splashed cold water on her face. Her computer monitor suddenly chirped,
signaling an incoming message.
	To her pleasant surprise, it was Mark. "Hi, honey, I was just thinking
about you. How are the puppies?"
	Mark smiled. "Were you thinking of me, or the puppies?"
	Janeway returned a wry grin. "Well, you, mostly."
	"I wanted to call before you head off to duty. I've been asked to speak on
Atalia Seven. Between our schedules I'm not sure we'll be able to talk
again for a few days."
	"You'll be home when I get back, won't you?"
	"You know it. My sister said she would tend to the puppies."
	"Oh, good. Tell her I appreciate it." Janeway looked at Mark for a long
moment, then smiled seductively and asked, "How about picking me up some
Atalian mocha beans while you're there?"
	"You got it. Anything else?" Janeway shook her head. "Okay," Mark said.
"I'd better go or I'll be late. I miss you."
	Janeway smiled sadly. She kissed her fingertips and touched them to the
screen. Mark smiled, then his image was replaced by the Federation seal.

	B'Elanna Torres crept through the darkened corridor unsure of where she
was. She was dressed in her Maquis clothes, which she had found in a
strange closet. She thought she recognized the ship she was on, but could
not be sure. Her memory was a fog of images and she had the unmistakable
gut feeling that things were not right.
	Suddenly a large hand closed over her mouth a pulled her into the shadows
of another corridor. She was just about break a few of her assailant's ribs
when she heard him whisper in her ear. "It's me, B'Elanna. Be quiet."
	It was Chakotay. She nodded and he released his hand. At the same moment a
Starfleet security guard walked down the adjoining corridor, completely
unaware of them. As soon as the guard was gone, she turned to Chakotay.
"What's going on? How did we get here?"
	"Shh," he said. "Come on." He lead her to a Jeffries tube where he pulled
off the panel and motioned her inside, looking around before climbing in
himself and pulling the panel back into place.
	"What's going on?" Torres asked again.
	"They must have captured us."
	"But I woke up in private quarters."
	"So did I." He rubbed his head as if he had a headache. "I think they
drugged us. Maybe it wore off too soon, I don't know. But I think we should
take advantage of the situation, don't you?" Torres nodded. "Got any
ideas?" Chakotay asked.
	Torres spoke as she considered the options. "We could steal a shuttle. The
others are probably looking for us. We should find them before the crew of
this ship does."
	"No. We could never outrun this ship with a shuttlecraft. And we shouldn't
count on the others looking for us."
	"They wouldn't just leave us," Torres protested.
	"I know. But I have vague memories of our ship exploding."
	Torres took a moment to digest this. "We could take control of this ship."
	"Commandeer the ship?" Chakotay checked the level of his voice. "Are you out of your mind?"
	"We don't have a lot of options here, Chakotay. Once they realize we're
missing, they're going to find us."
	Chakotay considered for a moment, then nodded at her. "We should see if
any of the others are on board before we try anything."

	On the bridge, Kim, Paris, and Tuvok were at their stations. Lieutenant
Stadi was at Mission Ops, and Cavit sat in the command chair. Kim looked up
from his console as the turbolift doors slid open to reveal Janeway. "Good
morning, Captain," he said cheerfully.
	"Good morning," Janeway said. "Anything to report?"
	"Maintenance in the warp nacelles has run longer than scheduled," Cavit
said. "They should be on-line within the hour."
	Janeway nodded, then turned to Tuvok as he spoke. "Captain, there is an
incoming message from Starfleet," the Vulcan announced.
	"Put it through to my ready room," she said. She was already on her way.
Janeway sat down and tapped the monitor. Admiral Zappallo appeared on the
small screen. "Good morning, Captain," he said.
	"Admiral Zappallo, what can I do for you?"
	"I have new orders for you. You're to rendezvous with the Sospiri and
transfer the prisoners to them. A Federation and a Maquis ship are missing.
Cardassian Intelligence reported their last known position in the
Badlands."
	"The Badlands," Janeway gasped. "The plasma storms would have eaten them
alive."
	"Maybe. We believe the Maquis use the storms to hide from our sensors and
we need a ship that can maneuver through the storms to investigate. That
would be Voyager." Zappallo worked his console. "I'm transferring orders
now," he said. "Oh, and congratulations on the success of your last
mission."
	"Thank you. I'll pass that along to the crew."
	"Very well. Starfleet out." And with that, the viewer blanked to a
Federation seal.
	"Scanners have just picked up a very localized spatial distortion
sixty-four AUs off starboard," Paris announced as soon as Janeway set foot
back on the bridge. "We almost missed it. Do you have it, Harry?" he asked,
turning to Kim.
	Kim worked his console before replying, "Affirmative."
	"Put it onscreen," Janeway said as she took her command chair. A small,
concentrated sphere appeared on the screen. It was clear, like glass,
reflecting only the stars. Janeway stared, then looked to Kim, Tuvok, and
back to the screen. "Do we know what it is?"
	"Undetermined, Captain," Kim announced. "Scanners are working on it."
	"Wait, I know," came Stadi's voice from the back of the bridge. "An
Einstein-Rosen bridge would look like that. An entire sealed universe
reflecting all that is inside it."
	"Yes, I remember studying that theory," Janeway said. "I'd nearly
forgotten." She turned to Kim. "Could that be an E-R bridge?"
	"It seems to meet the theoretical criteria, but an E-R bridge has never
been observed."
	Paris swiveled in his chair to face Janeway. "Do you want a closer look,
Captain? Impulse engines are online."
	"I'd love a closer look," she said. "But I'm afraid we can't. We have more
immediate orders to attend to. Mark its position in the log and relay a
message to Starfleet to investigate." Janeway turned to Kim. "Mister Kim,
go see if you can give engineering a hand."
	"Yes, Captain," Kim said, and left in the turbolift. As Janeway took her
chair, she glanced at her second-in-command. But Cavit was not there.
Instead, in the chair there sat another man, someone she vaguely
recognized. With short cropped hair and a tattoo over his left eye, he
seemed familiar to her, but in a way she didn't recognize--as from a dream.
She bowed her head and rubbed a temple.
	"Is everything all right, Captain?" It was Cavit's voice. She opened her
eyes to see Cavit sitting next to her, looking concerned.
	"Yes. Fine," she said. "Vivid dream last night. I'm having a hard time
shaking it."
	At that moment, Ensign Kim rushed in from the turbolift. He was short of
breath, his hair askew. "Captain, Commander," he gasped. "I'm sorry I'm
late. I overslept. It won't happen again."
	Lieutenant Paris turned in his chair to look at his friend Harry who had no
w moved to his station. Janeway caught Paris's confused look, and shared
it. Then she turned to Kim, "You're certainly not late, Ensign. Did you and
engineering get warp on line already?"
	A confused look spread across Kim's face. "Uh, no, Captain. I'll get right
on it."
	"Please do," Janeway said. Kim left the bridge once again. Janeway turned
to Cavit, thankful to see that it was Cavit, and not that phantom
dream-man. "What was that all about?" she asked him. Cavit only shrugged.
She and Paris exchanged another bewildered look then turned back to the
screen. "It seems we have some extra time. Mister Paris, go down to science
and see what they have on the anomaly. Lieutenant Stadi, you have the
conn."

	In engineering, Lieutenant Carey concentrated on two different consoles.
"Come on...Come on..." He slammed his fist. "Damn!"
	"What's wrong?" Kim asked him as he approached.
	Carey stormed to another console as he spoke. "The magnetic field coils
won't align with the local subspace variance. It's as if the laws of
physics just flew out the window. And the chief might as well have gone
with them."
	Kim looked around for the chief of engineering. "What do you mean? Where
is he?"
	Carey continued to work. "I sent him to sickbay. He didn't seem to be
feeling well," he said. "Here. See if you can adjust for the magnetic
fluctuation while I try to maintain the local field density." Carey
returned to his station. "Starting main sequence now."
	Kim watched his console. "Distortion levels are rising." He tried a few
counter procedures. "Still rising. Trying to compensate. "It's not
working!"
	"Hold on. Another ten seconds," Carey said.
	"Local field density continuing to rise." Kim looked next to him to find
that someone else was working on the problem. He vaguely recognized her.
Her forehead suggested she was at least part Klingon, and she wore a
Starfleet uniform, but he couldn't remember where, or if, he had met her
before.
	"Reinitialize the subspace oscillators while manually compensating for the
imbalance," she yelled. She obviously knew what she was talking about, so
Kim followed her orders.
	"Initializing now. Manually compensating for the imbalance." He worked his
console, watching it closely. "It's working!" he yelled. "Local field
variance at sixty-eight percent and holding."
	"Nice work, Starfleet," the engineer said. Kim smiled, then recognized
something in the way she had called him Starfleet. As if it was from a long
time ago, like deja vu, or from another life. He looked to her again, but
she was gone.
	Carey approached him now. "Quick thinking, Ensign. Maybe you should be an
engineer." Kim smiled weakly as he looked around for the dark headed
engineer, to no avail.

	Captain Janeway was working with Tuvok over a console when the com-system
chirped. "Paris to Janeway."
	"Go ahead, Lieutenant."
	"Science is having their own problems, Captain. They are unable to study
the phenomena."
	Janeway rolled her eyes. What was going on here, she wondered. Small
anomalies were appearing throughout the ship's systems. Things that
shouldn't be, but were. A level-three diagnostic had failed to reveal the
problem, but she didn't have time to run a level-five. Frustrated, she
said, "Very well. Return to the bridge. Janeway out." She looked to Cavit.
"Did science report any problems to you?" Cavit only shook his head. The
comm system chirped again. 		"Engineering to bridge." It was Carey's voice.
"Captain, warp is on line and ready to go," he said.
	Finally some good news, Janeway thought. "Thank you, Mister Carey." She
turned to the conn, "You have the coordinates, Lieutenant. Engage at warp
five."
	"Aye, Captain." It was Paris's voice. But Paris couldn't be back from
science yet, could he? Janeway looked. He was back. And Stadi was at ops
now. Being unaware of events on her bridge made Janeway uneasy. She made a
note to be more attentive to such minute changes.

		Neelix had to run to catch up with Lieutenant Tuvok in the corridor.
Maybe now he could get some answers since most of the crew failed to
acknowledge him at all. "Lieutenant Tuvok," he called out. "Did the Captain
authorize free use of the replicators?" Tuvok did not answer. "You see,"
Neelix went on, "no one bothered to come to breakfast this morning, and..."
Tuvok continued down the corridor at a steady pace, ignoring him. 		
	"Sir? Lieutenant?" Not Tuvok, too, Neelix hoped. What was with these
people? They passed a junction where Tom Paris fell into step next to
Tuvok, rudely displacing Neelix. "Ah, Mister Paris," Neelix said. "Are you
hungry? I've prepared some Bortesian egg-loaf for breakfast."	
	Paris paid him no attention, turning instead to Tuvok, "You wouldn't
believe the mess the science department is in. Their equipment is falling
apart left and right. They weren't even aware of the spatial phenomena."	
	"You'd love it, I'm sure," Neelix pleaded. He had been ignored before, but
this was almost too much for him to bear. 	
	"What phenomena are you referring to?" Tuvok asked Paris. 	
	"The captain thinks it's an E-R bridge... You were there." 	
	Tuvok slowed and stopped. "I was not made aware of any spatial phenomena."
	"Fine then," Neelix said. "I see that you're very busy, so I'll just leave
you to your work..." He waited futilely for a response. 	
	Paris continued, "But you were there...on the bridge when--" 	
	"I assure you," Tuvok interrupted, "I have not reported to the bridge. I
have been recalibrating the secondary array for the better portion of the
morning."	
	"Harrumph!" Neelix protested, storming back the way he had come. The
others resumed walking, Paris confused at Tuvok's explanation. They passed
a another junction and noticed an officer down just ahead of them. Rushing
for the officer, they were waylaid by three Maquis. Torres stunned Tuvok
with a phaser. As he fell, she recognized something in him and was caught
off guard. Paris deflected her firing arm, knocking the phaser from her
hand. He hit his commbadge. "Security! Deck seven, section--"
	But Chakotay hit him in the throat and swept him to the floor before he
could finish. "Come on! We have to get out of here!"	
	Paris sat up, slowly, in pain. He grasped his throat, choking from the
attack. He glared at Chakotay. "You!" he said hoarsely. 	
	"Do you know him?" Torres asked Chakotay. Paris continued to glare. This
Maquis seemed familiar enough, as did his hate for him, but the complete
memory was missing. He wondered if he was somehow involved with the
accident, if this Maquis somehow knew that he had lied to Starfleet to
protect himself. Or maybe this Maquis had known one of the dead officers.
		"No, I don't," the Maquis finally answered. He retrieved the phaser and
stood, only to be stunned by arriving security. The other two Maquis hid
inside the adjoining corridor. 	
	Paris stood awkwardly, but Kenneth Dalby immediately took him as hostage
and shield, holding the phaser to his neck. "Stop right there!" he yelled.
"Don't move or he dies." Security slowed and stopped, to Paris's relief. He
knew this Maquis was serious. The phaser digging into his neck assured him.
Dalby kicked the extra phaser to Torres. Just as Tuvok began to stir, she
took him hostage, pointing the phaser to security and backing against the
wall. "It's set to kill," Dalby said. "It's the only way we can bargain."	
	"Put down your weapons!" Torres shouted, but security was slow to comply.
"Drop them now!"	
	Tuvok strained against her hold. "Do as she says," he gasped. 	
	As security dropped their weapons, Captain Janeway arrived on the scene,
slowing as she saw the situation. Paris sighed inwardly. Things were
looking up. Torres held Janeway's stare. They knew each other, somehow,
sometime from long ago. But Torres could not identify this woman as the
enemy, no matter how much she wanted to. There was a long moment as they
considered each other, then she looked at the Vulcan in her grip. She
remembered trying to emulate his calm demeanor, but the memory seemed like
a distant lifetime ago--somebody else's life. She lowered her weapon and
released him. "Ken," Torres said. "Lower your weapon. We can't do this." 	
	"Are you crazy?" he said. "We can't stop now. We'll go to prison."	
	Torres reset her phaser to stun and threw it against the wall. "I can't do
this," she said. "I know these people." 	
	"What are you doing?" Dalby yelled at her. "What do you mean you know them?"	
	Security started for her, but stopped when Dalby pressed his phaser deep
under Paris's chin. Paris winced. This was going to be an ugly way to die,
he thought. "Something is wrong here." she said. "I can't risk hurting
them." 	
	"Listen to her," Chakotay said, now conscious. Dalby ignored him.
"Kenneth, put the phaser down," he said again.
	"I'm your friend, Kenneth," Torres said. "You've got to trust me on this.
Now drop the weapon!" A tense moment passed, then Dalby threw his phaser at
security and glared at Janeway. Security reclaimed their phasers and took
the three Maquis into custody. Janeway and Torres exchanged another look,
but it was indecipherable.	
	"Funny, isn't it B'Elanna," Chakotay said as they were led past Paris,
"that he's the one who lied to Starfleet, and we're the ones going to
prison."	The comment didn't bother Paris like it should have. Instead, he
recognized the name B'Elanna, and didn't know why.
	"How do you know he lied to Starfleet?" B'Elanna asked him. 	Chakotay
shook his head. "I'm not sure." 	

	Voyager sped through the blackness, no stars in the background.
	"Captain's log, supplemental. Lieutenant Tuvok is investigating how the
Maquis prisoners escaped from the brig. We were fortunate that no one was
harmed. The situation is now under control and we are on our way to
rendezvous with the Sospiri for the transfer. To my disappointment, study
of the possible Einstein-Rosen bridge has been deferred to Starfleet."	
	Janeway sat contentedly in her command chair, thankful that things were
under control again and they were finally under way. She heard the door
slide open, but with the her crew already on the bridge, she wondered who
it could it be. She turned to see a second Tuvok enter from the turbolift.
He halted at seeing her expression. "Is something wrong, Captain?"	
	Carefully, Janeway asked, "How many Lieutenant Tuvoks are on the bridge?"
	"There is one, Captain." But it was not Cavit's voice. The voice she
recognized as her phantom dream-man. She turned to him. It was the Maquis
she had learned was Chakotay, the man from her dream, one and the same. She
looked from Chakotay to the two Tuvoks, then lowered her head and rubbed
her eyes. When she looked back up to Chakotay, she saw Cavit instead, and
only the second Tuvok. 	
	"Captain?" Cavit said. "Are you all right?" 	
	Janeway looked around just to make sure. "Yes. Fine." 	
	"Perhaps you should go to sickbay, Captain," Tuvok said. 	
	With false confidence that she hoped no one noticed, she said, "No, I'm
fine. Really." Tuvok did notice the false confidence but accepted her
decision because of his confidence in her. He moved to his station and
checked on some diagnostics he'd started earlier. Janeway was about to take
her chair when a second Paris entered from the turbolift. She looked from
Paris to Paris just short of terror.	
	The second Paris stopped at seeing Janeway's wide-eyed stare. "Captain?"
	Hearing this, Tuvok turned to see Paris standing outside the turbolift.
This was odd because only moments before Tuvok had seen him at the helm. He
turned to the helm, but as logic dictated, the chair was empty. Janeway
shook her head. "Perhaps I should go lie down. Commander, you have the
bridge." She looked at Paris, then Tuvok, and left.	
	Kim couldn't believe his eyes. One Paris sat at the helm clear as day,
while another stood not more than six feet away from ops. Kim closed his
eyes and shook his head willing one of the Parises to disappear. When he
opened his eyes, he saw only the second Paris. "Harry? Are you all right?"
that Paris asked him.
	Kim looked around just to make sure. "Yeah. I think so." 		
	Neelix was flooded with relief when he saw the captain in the corridor. He
was on his way to see her, actually, but was unsure if she had the time to
see him. "Captain, am I glad to see you." Janeway completely ignored his
existence and entered her quarters. Neelix attempted to follow her but was
cut off by the closing doors. "Captain!" he shouted after her.		
	Janeway entered her dark quarters then stopped mid-stride. Did she hear
something? Someone? She turned and stepped outside her quarters to see if
someone had called her. No one was there. She shook her head and rubbed a
temple. "You're not only seeing things, Kathryn, but hearing them, too,"
she said as she went back inside to her bed. "I just didn't sleep well last
night, that's all. A twenty minute nap and everything will be fine." She
lay down, fingers laced across her stomach. "It won't even be a real nap.
I'll call it meditation, regrouping..." She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Kathryn, make an effort to stop talking to yourself."	
	It seemed she had only slept for a second before she awakened to her doors
sliding open and shut. It was Mark. He carried a racket.
	"Are you going to sleep all day?" he asked. Something didn't feel right,
but she placed it as being disoriented from sleep. Or lack of it.
	"I was meditating," she said as she sat up. 	
	"Is that what you call it?"	
	His smart-aleck replies was one of his endearing qualities, but she was to
tired to go with it now. "When did you get back?" she asked. 	
	"About an hour ago. You were...meditating, so I went to practice my serve."	
	"An hour!" Janeway jumped to her feet. "I've got to get back--" She
faltered at seeing a gecko on the washbasin. She turned to Mark, but he
wasn't there. "Mark?" No answer. The gecko was now on the bed. She closed
her eyes tight--a nap was supposed to make things better--then opened them.
She sighed in relief--the gecko was gon	Janeway took a deep breath and
entered the bridge. "Approaching rendezvous now, Captain," Paris said as
she took her command. "The Sospiri is waiting."
	"Bring us within transporter range. Hail them." Janeway smiled when she
saw her longtime friend appear on the viewer. The woman hadn't changed a
bit in the seven years since they last saw each other. "Captain McAuliffe,
it's good to see you again. How are you?"
	"I'm well. Are the Maquis ready for transport?" 	
	"They are."	
	"Good. We are ready to receive them."	
	Janeway looked over her shoulder to signal Tuvok. Tuvok tapped his
combadge. "Tuvok to transporter room three. Lock onto the prisoners and
beam them directly to the Sospiri brig." 	
	A few moments later a voice came back, "Transport complete."

	Kes was stunned by the ferocious mental images that hit her from out of
nowhere. First, it was just cold, black space, and a silence that seemed to
roar in her head. She staggered and reached for the wall while holding her
head with her other hand. Another hit--More empty space, more silence. But
this time there were jarring images of Voyager's exterior, and no stars in
the background. 		Kes fell to her knees, then all the way to the floor as
corridor spun and lurched around her. Suddenly there was more space, more
silence, but this time she saw the flailing bodies of Chakotay, Torres and
Dalby, with Voyager far beyond them. She forced herself to her feet,
disoriented, and staggered quickly back the way she had come. 	
	"Perhaps next time we can talk longer, Captain," McAuliffe said from the
viewscreen.	
	"I would like that," Janeway said. "But we do have immediate orders to
attend to."	
	"As do I. Good-by, Kathryn."	
	The screen blanked and Janeway took her chair, leaning over to speak to
Cavit. "I served with Captain McAuliffe for six years. She taught me a lot
about command."	
	Kes rushed in, clutching her head and nearly falling. No one noticed her.
Instead, Janeway turned to Paris, "Lay in a course to the Badlands."
	"Course laid in, Captain."	
	"No, Captain!" Kes yelled.	
	Janeway looked around, wondering if she actually heard something, or if
she was still hearing things. It wasn't that she actually heard anything,
but it was more of a sensation of urgency taken to voice in her mind. She
found it hard to dismiss.	
	Kes rushed to Janeway, stood in front of her, but the captain seemed to look right through her. "Captain, those who just beamed off the ship... You've got to get them back!" 	
	There was no response. Neelix had said the crew was behaving strangely.
Maybe he wasn't overreacting and something was truly wrong with the crew.
"Captain?" Kes pleaded. Still no response, but the crew was looking around
puzzled. She went to Kim and waved her hand in front of his face. "Harry?"
Nothing. "Tom?" Nothing, then he spoke. 	
	"Do you want me to engage the engines, Captain?" 	
	"No! Captain don't!" Kes shouted. "They're dying out there!" 	Janeway
turned to her, but still did not acknowledge her.  "No," Janeway said to
Paris. "Not just yet." Having bought a little time, Kes ran from the
bridge. Janeway looked to her crew. "Did you feel...that?" she asked. The
others nodded, equally disturbed. There was definitely a discomforting
sensation throughout the bridge. Janeway took her chair and worked her
console, looking for a cause of the uneasiness. Suddenly, the holo-doctor
appeared on the aft viewer. Janeway turned to him.	
	"Captain, did someone just beam off the ship?" 	
	"Yes. The Maquis."	
	"Well you've got to beam them back immediately," he said matter-of-factly.
"They're dying."	
	This was only the second time Janeway could remember having spoken with
the holo-doctor, but he spoke to her as if they were old friends. The
strange thing was, he seemed vaguely familiar to her, too, in a commbadge.
"Transporter room three, lock onto the prisoners and beam them directly to
sickbay." She turned to Tuvok. "What happened, Lieutenant?"	
	"Unknown at this time," came his reply.	
	"I want a full investigation. I'll be in sickbay," she said, already
heading for the turbolift. "You have the bridge, Commander." 	
	In sickbay, Chakotay, Dalby and Torres materialized on the bio-beds. Their
skin was blue from oxygen deprivation and mottled with bruises. The
clamshells activated automatically. Torres and Dalby were limp and
unresponsive, but Chakotay was arched in convulsions and clutching his
throat. The whites of his eyes were bloody. He gulped choked breaths as the
holo-doctor examined him with a tricorder. "Apply a blood-gas infuser,
one-hundred percent oxygen, followed by forty CCs inapovaline." He turned
to Chakotay, "Try to relax. Breathe deeply."
	When Janeway entered she saw her CMO, Fitzgerald, working over the Maquis
known as B'Elanna Torres. Janeway watched him curiously. His hands moved
over Torres like they should be doing something, but they were not. Janeway
approached him, watching his false movements. "Doctor, what's going on?"	
	Fitzgerald only looked at her with a gaze as inane as his movements. The
holo-doctor worked over the other Maquis calling out orders to someone who
wasn't there. Puzzled, she turned back to Fitzgerald, who hadn't changed
his position or action. The entire scene was like a bad anxiety dream. She
looked at Fitzgerald. "What are you doing! Stop this!" The holo-doctor
moved between Torres and Dalby, passing through Fitzgerald as if he wasn't
there. Fitzgerald fell backward to the floor.	
	"Please, Captain," the holo-doctor said. "Not now. I'm a little busy."
Janeway stared uncomprehending at Fitzgerald lying on the floor. Kes looked
to Janeway with concern. She knew the captain could not see her, for
whatever reasons, but right now she and the doctor had life-threatening
concerns to deal with. The doctor checked Dalby, then Torres, as Kes
carried out orders for Chakotay. She finished immediately and moved to help
the doctor. "There's no time to spare, Kes," he said. "You'll have to tend
to Mister Dalby. I'll call out instructions while I tend to Lieutenant
Torres."	
	Kes. The name struck a chord of recognition in Janeway's mind. "Kes," she
whispered to herself, trying to remember. She looked up to see a faint and
flickering image of someone she somehow recognized as Kes. Kes looked at
her momentarily, but the image was like a repressed memory, and Janeway
could only assume she was seeing another illusion. A ghostly one, at that.
"Blood-gas infuser, one hundred percent oxygen," the holo-doctor ordered.
"Followed by two milliliters tricordrazine." Kes followed the orders before
he was through speaking them, and Dalby responded with a large gasp.	
	Kes worked the clamshell. "He is stabilizing, Doctor." 	
	"I wish I could say the same for Lieutenant Torres." 	
	"Lieutenant?" Janeway asked herself. Like the name Kes, the name
Lieutenant Torres also rang true, like some long lost memory resurfacing.
The ghost-Kes moved to the holo-doctor as he worked the clamshell. Janeway
could only watch, unsure what to believe. 	
	"Cortical stimulators," the holo-doctor said. Kes placed the stimulators
on Torres's temples. There was no response. "Six milliliters
tricordrazine." For being a computer program, the doctor was sounding
desperate. Kes prepared a hypospray and handed it to him. 	
	"Dammit, Torres, fight! Don't give up now!" Janeway turned to the weak
voice, recognizing it. It was the Maquis named Chakotay. The man from her
dream, the one she'd hallucinated as being in Cavit's chair, earlier on the
bridge. She pressed one hand to her lips, looking at Chakotay, then Torres.
Something was very wrong, and if it had caused her to kill Torres...	
	Torres gasped. The room seemed to sigh in relief, even the holo- doctor.
Chakotay let his head drop back to the bed. Torres and Dalby remained
unconscious, but breathing. Janeway glanced at Fitzgerald on the floor and
tried to ignore the image as she moved to Chakotay. "What happened, do you
know?" she whispered.	
	"What?" He was weak, delirious.	
	"What...caused this?"	
	Chakotay shook his head. "There was no ship. No stars." 	
	"I don't understand."	
	It was a long moment before he spoke again. "There wasn't another ship.
Only Voyager."		
	The holo-doctor approached them, saying, "I'm sorry, Captain, he shouldn't
try to talk yet, and he probably can't hear you very well. He has a
ruptured eardrum."	
	"Are they going to be all right?"	
	"They are not out of the woods yet, so to speak. I will have to run a
complete neural scan before I can determine if there is any brain damage.
And there are numerous effects of sudden decompression that may not show up
for several hours; pneumothorax, apoplexy, cardiac and pulmonary
contusions..."	
	"Decompression?" Janeway asked.	
	"Yes. They were exposed to the vacuum of space. May I ask how this happened?"	
	"A possible transporter malfunction." She tried to answer his question but
she was suddenly flooded with a million questions herself. "We're looking
into it," she said on her way out the door. The doctor watched her go,
equally puzzled. He looked at Kes and lifted an eyebrow. Kes returned the
expression.
	"Hail the _Sospiri_," Janeway said as she exited the turbolift to the bridge.	
	"On screen," came Kim's immediate reply. Janeway turned to the screen, but
it was blank. She turned away and ducked her head in thought, testing her
assumptions. When she turned back to the viewer it was still blank.	
	She turned to Cavit, "Commander, do you see Captain McAuliffe on the
screen?" Cavit shook his head. Janeway considered him for a moment, then
turned to the helm. "Mister Paris, Mister Kim, do you?" They looked at the
screen and nodded. Janeway considered them, then moved to Lieutenant Stadi
at Mission Ops. She leaned on the console as she studied her. Quietly, she
asked, "Lieutenant, you must realize that I'm not blaming you, but did you
not sense that the Maquis were in danger?" Stadi didn't respond, but
continued to look stiffly forward. "Lieutenant?" Janeway pleaded. Finally
Stadi turned to Janeway, but it was only a level, inane expression. "You're
Betazoid. Don't you sense Captain McAuliffe at all? Her crew?" No response.
"Anybody?" Stadi continued with the blank expression.
	"You don't know, do you?" Janeway said. "Because *I* don't know."
Exasperated, Janeway spun around. "What is going on here?" 	
	"Captain?" Cavit said. He had overheard her. Or, Janeway wondered, had she
simply expected him too? 	
	"Nothing," she said. "You have the bridge." And she left. Janeway checked
on the sleeping Chakotay. She was about to go to Torres when she saw
Fitzgerald lying on the floor where he had fallen. Instead, she went to him
and shook his shoulder. "Doctor? Are you all right?" There was no response.
Janeway was not getting used to this.	
	Kes entered from the office and saw Janeway kneeling on the floor,
talking, but to no one. She set her PADD down and knelt down beside her,
her hand lightly on Janeway's shoulder. Janeway turned abruptly to the see
a faint image of Kes. "Captain? What's wrong?"	
	Janeway carefully weighed her response. "Doctor Fitzgerald, what's wrong
with him?"	
	"Captain, the doctor isn't here."	
	Janeway frantically looked and saw Fitzgerald on the floor, but knowing
she could no longer trust her own eyes, she carefully asked, "Where is
he?"		"Captain, it's all right--"	
	Janeway stood and paced in frustration. "No! It's not all right! I am not
losing my mind." She laughed at the sound of it. Kes stood and retrieved a
medical tricorder. Janeway went back to Fitzgerald, gripped his arm, his
hand...testing his solidity. To Kes, it seemed that Janeway was holding
onto air. She scanned her. "He's right here," Janeway told herself. "He's
solid, he's...real." She turned to Kes, "And you're...a ghost." Janeway
stood, prompting Kes to stand while continuing with the scan. Janeway
pushed the tricorder away, agitated. "I'm all right!" She paced a few
steps, then stopped. "If that's not him, then where is he?"	
	"Captain--"	
	"Computer! Where is the damn doctor!"	
	The holo-doctor appeared and approached Janeway from behind. "What seems
to be the problem?" he asked, taking the tricorder from Kes to read it.	
	Janeway stepped back in surprise. The gecko appeared on his shoulder, but
Kes and the doctor were oblivious to it. It disappeared, then reappeared in
the crook of her arm. She looked at it curiously, then it jumped into the
air and disappeared. Janeway knew that only she saw it.	
	She took a deep breath to clear her head and get back on track. With an
effort to maintain her poise, she said, "Where is the doctor?"
	"I am the chief medical officer," the holo-doctor said. 	
	"No. You're not. Where is Doctor Fitzgerald? Nurse T'Prena?"
	The holo-doctor stopped scanning her for a moment. "Doctor Fitzgerald was
killed with the rest of the medical staff when Voyager was pulled into the
Delta Quadrant. You commissioned me as the chief medical officer." He
looked at the tricorder for a moment. "You don't remember any of this?"	
	But Janeway didn't hear the last sentence. "The Delta Quadrant," she said
to herself. "But that was a dream." 	
	"It's been a nightmare if you ask me," the hologram said, then, off his
tricorder, "Hm, that's odd."	
	Janeway threw him a considering look then turned to find the gecko
crawling on her foot. She picked it up and studied it closely. She heard
the voice from her dream. "It is your animal guide. Talk to it. Ask it your
question." She turned to Chakotay, knowing it was his voice, but he was
sleeping. The doctor and Kes conversed quietly, unaware of Chakotay's
words.	
	Again, the gecko jumped from Janeway's hands and disappeared into thin
air. Janeway looked from the doctor to Kes. Things were starting to come
together. "The ships missing in the Delta Quadrant... That's us?" She
turned to Kes, "But what about you?" 	
	As Janeway acknowledged her, her image solidified. "You and Neelix and the
crew rescued me from the Kazon--" 	
	Janeway waved her hand to interrupt her, "Neelix?" 	
	"Certainly you haven't forgotten Neelix, have you?" the doctor said.
"Little Talaxian running around with one lung? His souffle gives you
heartburn..." Janeway considered this. To Kes, the doctor said, "Prepare a
neural scan." Kes nodded and left. The doctor moved to a console and
worked.	
	Tom Paris entered sickbay, guiding an aloof Kim to someone only Paris saw.
Kim waved and greeted people who weren't there. Paris stopped and talked to
his own illusion. "He's seeing things, Doc." 	
	Kim knelt down and petted a non-existent dog. "Hey, Cici. Hey girl. What
are you doing here?" He looked up to Janeway. "Hi, Captain. Are you feeling
all right?"	
	"I'm fine," she said, and then more discreetly, "I think." 	
	The holo-doctor returned and caught sight of Paris talking to the air.
"Oh, no, not you, too?"	
	Paris turned to Janeway, puzzled. Kim carried on with his own illusions.
"Me? What?" Paris said. Then he saw the holo-doctor. "Who let him out?" he
asked Janeway.	
	"I let me out, thank you," the doctor retorted. 	
	Paris went on. "First the warp nacelles, the food replicators, then
science and the transporter malfunctions, and now him? The whole ship is
falling apart."
	"I am not malfunctioning," the doctor said, exasperated. "And it seems
that I am the only one who isn't." 	
	"Mister Paris," Janeway said before he could speak. "Who were you talking
to?"		
	Paris laughed in disbelief, "Why, the good doctor here." 	
	"There's no one there, Tom." Paris looked back to his non-existent doctor,
then Janeway, puzzled. Kes returned, watching the odd behavior. 	
	Kim slowly stood from petting the dog. He looked past everyone, then began
to tremble and tear. "Grandfather," Kim whispered.	
	"Mogochan," his grandfather said, "do not be afraid, of what is now, and
what is to be. Your family awaits your return home, but you must be strong.
Not only for yourself," he gestured to Janeway and the others, "but for
your family here. They love you. They will stand by you. As will I." Then
his grandfather faded into nothing. 	
	Kim reached out for him, "No!" he said, then softly, "Wait." 		Janeway and
Paris had moved to either side of him and caught him as he collapsed to his
knees. They guided him down, but kept him upright.	
	"Harry?" Janeway said. Finally hearing her, Kim looked to her. 	"You're
hallucinating, Harry," Paris said. 	
	Janeway pushed his hair from his eyes. "We all are." 	
	Kim looked back to where his grandfather stood. "No. He was real," he said.	
	"Yes, I know. They seem very real."	
	"No. The others...they were illusions, I know. But...my grandfather..."
Kim stood, "he was real." He looked around and moved slowly to Torres. "It
wasn't a dream," he said to himself, then to the others, "I mean, I know
her. She was in engineering, and she was in my dream... I thought it was a
dream, but.... We were trapped in a white room, and we..." he studied his
hands and arms, "We were sick." Desperately he turned to Janeway and Paris.
"It's as if the past is wrapped around the present... I don't know what's
real." 	
	Janeway moved between Torres and Chakotay. "They are part of your crew,"
Kes said. "He is your first officer." 	
	The gecko appeared on Chakotay's bed, then jumped off and disappeared.
Janeway considered this, figuring things out, then turned decidedly to
Paris and Kim. "You two are with me. Come on." She left in a hurry. Paris
and Kim ran to catch up. 	
	"But Captain!" the doctor called after her. "I would like to run a brain
scan just to--"	
	"Start with someone else," she interrupted as she went out the door.	
	The doctor sighed in exasperation and turned to Kes. "If you should learn
how all this turns out, would you please let me know?" Kes smiled and
nodded. "Now," he continued, "whose brain shall we scan first?"	

	Neelix approached Janeway, Paris and Kim as they left sickbay and headed
the opposite way. Upon seeing them, he called, "Captain. I'm glad I ran
into you..." But the three walked on, ignorant of him. He gave up and
watched them walk away. Fuming, he turned and stormed into sickbay. "That's
it! I've had it! The three officers stopped, looked behind them, at each
other, puzzled but positive they heard something. They moved on. 	
	Upon entering sickbay, Neelix saw the doctor and Kes. "Could you please
scan me or something?" he asked. "Just to make sure I'm here?" 	
	"Why certainly, Neelix," the doctor grinned. "Come lay down." 	
	Kim, Paris, Tuvok, Stadi and Cavit sat patiently at the briefing room
table. Janeway paced slowly, thinking. "He said the ship wasn't there," she
said.	
	Kim was unbelieving. "What? But it was there. It registered on the sensors."	
	"Or maybe we just expected it to," Janeway said. The others waited for her
to explain herself. "Our reality seems to be based on our expectations, our
wishes and thoughts. Subconsciously as well as consciously." She stopped
pacing and faced them. "Think about it. We expected to rendezvous with the
Sospiri, and we did. But when we transported the Maquis, nothing was
there." 	
	"So everything happens because we expect it to?" Paris asked. 		"Not
everything," Janeway said. "Our minds supplement what isn't already there,
but we expect to be. Except that it couldn't supplement a real ship for
them to transport too."	
	"Do you mean that because I expected to see Tom on the bridge, I did,"
said Kim. "But when the real Tom walked in, I saw both of them?" He thought
for a moment. "So the reality we see is interrupted by the real reality."	
	"Yes." Janeway said.	
	Paris jumped in, "But how does the Einstein-Rosen bridge work into this?"
	"An Einstein-Rosen bridge?" Kim asked excitedly. "When did we see and
Einstein-Rosen bridge?"		
	"This morning," Paris answered. "You were there when we... Oh, wait. Maybe
you weren't there."	
	"An E-R bridge is a bridge between universes. Universes that exist
independently of each other, but can pass through each other and remain
independent." She used her hands to help create a mental picture for them.
"Think of it this way," she went on. "Entire sealed universes floating
through hyperspace like bubbles. An E-R bridge would link one universe to
another, through hyperspace." 	
	"Then maybe we've already fallen through it somehow," Paris suggested.
"Into an alternate universe." 	
	"That would be unlikely." Everyone turned to Tuvok. "If it was an E-R
bridge and subsequently led to another universe, it would not be an
alternate universe, but a different universe, with different constants and
governed by different physical laws. We would be unable to exist."	
	"But we're in some sort of alternate reality," Kim said. 	
	"Not exactly," said Janeway. "Our experiences aren't common to each other.
We're all seeing a different reality." She resumed pacing. "However, I
think the anomaly was an E-R bridge, and I think Mister Paris is right.
That we've already fallen into it." 	
	They looked to her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. "An E-R
bridge reflects all that is inside the universe at the other end. The
universe we saw in the bridge was our own." 	
	"But sensors would have alerted us before we entered it," Kim pointed out.
	"Not necessarily," said Tuvok. "The sensors work by the laws provided by
our universe. If the laws of the other universe were substantially
different from our own, the sensors would not be able to perceive it any
more than we could."
	"But," Paris said, "as you pointed out, Tuvok, if we did fall into a
different universe we wouldn't be able to exist." 	
	"Right," Janeway said. Everyone turned to find her on the other side of
the room. "But we do exist," she said. "Our existence in this universe is a
dichotomy. Reality is null. We exist because we thought we should when we
entered and our thoughts at the time dictated what reality would be."	
	Paris leaned back in disbelief. "I feel like I'm in a Philip Dick
novel."	Tuvok considered things for a moment, then said, "Your explanation
does have a certain logic, Captain. It would explain several oddities I've
experienced, as well as the sudden equipment malfunctions." 	
	"We must have been dwelling on a common thought," said Kim. 	"What if--"
Paris hesitated. "What if the holo-doc is right, and we were thrown into
the Delta Quadrant?" 	
	There was an uncomfortable silence before Janeway answered, "Then we all
would have been thinking about home." 	
	"That's what he meant," Kim thought aloud. He looked to the others.
"That's what my grandfather was saying. He said my family awaits my return
home."	
	"Then we have to go back through the bridge," Janeway said. "Stations,
everyone." Janeway stood in front of her command chair as the rest of the
crew took their stations. "Mister Paris, plot a course back to the anomaly
and engage at warp six. What is our E.T.A.?"	
	"Course plotted. Engaging engines. Approximately twenty-two minutes, Captain." 	
	Solemnly, Janeway said, "Let me know when we arrive. I'll be in my
quarters." She turned to leave, "You have the bridge, Commander." 	"Aye,
Captain," Cavit said. At hearing his voice, she stopped and looked to him,
then abruptly turned away and left." Janeway stopped at her door and
hesitated to key it open. Instead, she leaned against the frame with one
hand, bowed her head and wished very hard. Finally she entered and called
for lights. She looked around in disappointment--no one was there. 	
	"Kathryn?"	
	Janeway turned in surprise to see Mark. "I... I wanted to see you." She
walked to him, slowly, unsure. They embraced and kissed long and
passionately. She cried softly--knowing he was not real. 	
	"Shh. I've gotcha," Mark said. "I've gotcha." 	
	Various pieces of the hull began to fade in and out of existence, then the
entire ship, Janeway and Mark faded in and out, and disappeared. There was
a long moment of nothing--no sight, no sound. 	
	Suddenly, Janeway and the ship reappeared with Janeway in mid-yell, as if
her will alone brought her back to existence. She looked around,
frantically, and wiped her eyes. Mark was gone. The ship continued to blink
in and out as she rushed from her quarters. 	
	She ran for Voyager's bridge but the corridors and turbolifts ended in
nothing. She tried an alternate route but met a dead end, and then another.
Desperate, she rounded a corner and passed through Tuvok. They stopped,
considering it, then continued on together. 	
	"Since I was not expecting you," Tuvok said, "it is logical to assume that
you are the real captain."	
	"Last time I checked." They stopped before a turbolift. The doors opened
to nothing. "What is going on here, Lieutenant?" 	
	They headed for another turbolift. "There are two possibilities, Captain.
One, we are conforming to the physical laws of this universe, or two,
reality now reflects our knowledge of our tenuous existence." 	
	"That is not good."	
	"I would have to agree." They stopped at another turbolift and hesitated,
looking at each other. When it opened, it was solid. They stepped inside.
"Bridge." 	
	Kim looked up as Janeway and Tuvok entered the bridge. But Tuvok was
already on the bridge at his station. Janeway looked from Tuvok to Tuvok,
and the one she entered with slowly disappeared. The hull of the ship
continued to fade in and out around them. 	
	"Captain," Kim said. "We cannot find the E-R bridge." 	
	Cavit and Stadi randomly faded in and out. Paris disappeared.
	"Paris!" Janeway yelled, willing him to reappear. When he did, she turned
to Kim. "Keep looking, Mister Kim. It's out there, you just have to believe
it. Everyone, hold on!" 	
	Paris worked his console. "I've found something, I think. I can't be sure.
Bearing seven one two mark two zero. Do you have it Harry?"	
	There was no answer. Janeway, Paris and Tuvok turned to him, but he was
looking into the distance, at something only he could see.
	"Harry," Janeway said, "it's not real." Kim looked to his crew mates and
friends, then back to his illusion.	
	"Captain," Tuvok said. "I confirm the the--" 	
	Janeway raised her hand to silence Tuvok while she focused on Kim. He was
breathing hard, torn between this false reality and the real one that
awaited them. "Harry, we need you." 	
	Kim closed his eyes and heard his grandfather's words. "They will always
stand by you. As will I." He opened his eyes and looked at Janeway, then
his console. The ship continued to fade in and out.
	"Yes," Harry finally said. "I see it, Captain. It's there." 		Janeway
smiled. "On screen." The sphere appeared. Janeway took her command chair.
"Mister Paris, take us in."	
	"Aye, Captain." The ship seemed to pass through the sphere--stars and
space inhabiting the ship, while it inhabited them. Janeway, Tuvok, Kim,
Paris, Stadi, Cavit, Mark and Grandfather blinked in and out of various
positions on the bridge.	
	The illusion slowed and stopped. Stadi, Cavit, Mark and Grandfather were
gone. Janeway stood and took note of her bridge crew, looking to Cavit's
chair, then Stadi's. "Ensign Kim," she said. "Confirm our position." 	
	"The Delta Quadrant, Captain."	
	"The E-R bridge, is it there? Can you find it?" 	
	The whole experience felt like a distant dream. Kim checked his console,
and checked again. "It's...gone, Captain." 		
	"I confirm," said Tuvok.	
	"It all seems so...distant," Paris said. "Did it exist? Any of it?"
	Janeway nodded, unsure, as she recognized the sensation. After a long
silence, she said, "'I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs; A palace
and a prison on each hand...'"	
	Another moment, then she turned to look at her crew. "Lord Byron," Kim
said. "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage."
	Janeway smiled at his recognition. "If we agree that we shared the
experience, then it must have existed," she said. "That may be as much as
we'll ever know."	
	Neelix entered from the turbolift. "Captain, I refuse to be ignored any
longer!"	
	"What is it, Neelix?" Janeway said. Surprised at being acknowledged, he
didn't know what to say. He stuttered for a moment, then threw up his arms
and stormed off the bridge. The remaining crew looked from one to another,
wondering what that was all about.	
	In her quarters, Janeway went to the monitor and brought up Mark's last
image--from before they were pulled to the Delta Quadrant. She just had to
check. She picked up a framed picture of herself, Mark, and her dog, Molly,
and studied it tenderly.		
	"Captain's log, stardate 49295.7. Lieutenant Torres, Commander Chakotay
and Crewman Dalby have made a full recovery. However, mentally unraveling
this event will prove to take more time, and a lot of thought and sharing.
The experience has not made facing our reality in the Delta Quadrant
easier, but we take comfort in sharing this reality with each other, and
knowing the comfort is real." 		She set the picture down reverently and
looked to the stars for one more wish. Then she left the room.		

	There were no holo-characters at Sandrine's this time. The crew was
playing some pool. Some stood, some sat on stools, but most held cues,
including Tuvok. Neelix, Kes, Paris, Carey, Tuvok, Kim and Torres watched
as Chakotay racked the balls. "Make it good, Chakotay," said Paris.
"They're two games ahead." 		"And we've only played two games," snickered
Neelix. 	
	Paris gave Tuvok a dry look and said, "Pool is obviously not a game of
logic." Tuvok lifted an eyebrow at the jab.
	"Don't worry, Lieutenant," said Chakotay. "I'm just warming up." 	
	The doors swung open to reveal Captain Janeway. "Ah, Captain," said Paris,
"glad you're here."	
	She stopped next to Chakotay. "We could sure use you on our team,
Captain," he said.	
	"I thought you said you were just warming up, Chakotay," Paris said.	
	"We don't want her on their team. We wouldn't have a chance."
	"All right," Janeway said. "But I get the break." 	
	"Uh, Captain?" Neelix said.	
	"Yes, Neelix?	
	"Nothing. I was just making sure you can see me. You know, you guys really
had me worried there. I wondered, are Kes and I not an essential part of
the crew? Are they trying to forget us?"		Chakotay was aligning the
cue-balls on the table. "Maybe we were trying to forget your Pasklolian
souffle, but we weren't trying to forget you, Neelix."	
	"Mister Neelix," Tuvok said. "The night of the argument you said the
words, 'If I hadn't been here...' but you left the sentence incomplete. I
would venture to say that those words seeded our subconscious and from
there manifested into our perceived realities."
	"What's more, Neelix," Kes said. "We represent their existence in this
quadrant. We couldn't have existed to them in a reality in which they never
came here, even if it wasn't real." 	
	Janeway accepted a drink from Chakotay and said, "There are a lot of
things about it we haven't figured out yet, Neelix. I wouldn't take things
too personally."	
	Kim moved casually to stand next to B'Elanna. "Well, no one will ever
convince me that my grandfather was an illusion," he said.
	B'Elanna looked to him, "Well, Starfleet, we won't ever try." Kim smiled.
An unseen response passed between them. 	
	Chakotay held out a cue-stick for Janeway. "Captain, are you going to
break?" A wicked grin spread across her face. She took the cue from him,
and made the break.	
	Voyager sailed on, into the stars.

THE END	


*WE ARE FAMILY*

By popular demand, our longest list ever of Trek fan clubs/publications.
Send SASE when writing, tell 'em where you found 'em!

VOYAGER FAN CLUBS

NOW VOYAGER
Official Kate Mulgrew/Kathryn Janeway Fan Club
c/o Michelle Erica Green and Paul Anderson
P.O. Box 34745
Bethesda, MD 20827-4745
tigger@cais.cais.com/thepooh@aol.com

THE COMMANDER
Official Robert Beltran/Chakotay Fan Club
c/o B.J. O'Leary
P.O. Box 183
Reading, PA 19603

B3 PRIME
Official Roxann Biggs-Dawson/B'Elanna Torres Fan Club
c/o M. Russell
1630 Ft. Campbell Blvd., Suite 143
Clarksville, TN 37042
blilsism@aol.com

RANDOM FLIGHT
Official Robert Duncan McNeill/Tom Paris Fan Club
c/o Brenda Antrim
P.O. Box 3583
Abilene, TX 79604
bantrim@delphi.com

EPIC
Official Ethan Phillips/Neelix Fan Club
c/o Joe Christiano and Rande Goodwin
P.O. Box 4818
Waterbury, CT 06704
randeg@aol.com

ACTIVATE!
Official Robert Picardo/The Doctor Fan Club
c/o Tracey Ledel, RNC
Box 373, 1277 Linda Mar Shopping Center
Pacifica, CA 94044
traceldel1@aol.com

VULCAN INSIDERS
Official Tim Russ/Tuvok Fan Club
P.O. Box 8248
Long Beach, CA 90808

CERES
Official Garrett Wang/Harry Kim Fan Club
P.O. Box 13767
Sacramento, CA 95853-3767

SESKA'S SCANDAL SHEET
Official Martha Hackett/Seska Fan Club
c/o Donna J. Abate
3699 Barnard Drive #517
Oceanside, CA 92056
southpawdj@aol.com
DEEP SPACE NINE FAN CLUBS

EMISSARY
Avery Brooks/Benjamin Sisko Fan Club
c/o Bartricia Williams
P.O. Box 621719
Oviedo, FL 32762-1719
emisary1@aol.com

ORACLE
Official Rene Auberjonois/Odo Fan Club
c/o L. Wilcox
2604B El Camino Real #377
Carlsbad, CA 92008

SYMBIOTICS
Terry Farrell Fan Club
c/o Shelley Coultish
194F Craig Henry Drive
Nepean, ON K2G 4M7 Canada
cg573@freenet.carleton.ca

THE TEMPORAL MECHANIC
Official Colm Meaney/Miles O'Brien Fan Club
c/o Lisa Anderson
P.O. Box 5282
Elm Grove, WI 53112-5282
lisaa@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu

OASIS
Official Armin Shimerman/Quark Fan Club
c/o Kathy Bayne
26 Dogwood Street
Jersey City, NJ 07305
kathybayne@aol.com

THE DOCTOR'S EXCHANGE
Official Alexander Siddig/Bashir Fan Club
c/o Joan Marie Verba
P. O. Box 1363
Minnetonka, MN 55345-0363
verba001@maroon.tc.umn.edu

NANITES
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c/o M. McGowan
8824 Cross Country Place
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
nananut@aol.com

OTHER FAN CLUBS

THE BAJORAN ALLIANCE
P.O. Box 653
Windermere, FL 34786-0653
chyanebbfh@aol.com

THE PATRICK STEWART NETWORK
Patrick Stewart/Jean-Luc Picard Fan Club
P.O. Box 4990
Riverside, CA 92514

JONATHAN FRAKES APPRECIATION SOCIETY
Jonathan Frakes/William Riker Fan Club
P.O. Box 632
Enfield, CT 06083-0632
THE LAST OUTPOST
Star Trek Club of Hawaii
P.O. Box 31261
Honolulu, HI 96820
73502.226@compuserve.com

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STAR TREK SUPPORT GROUP
c/o Jeffrey Mills
7 Quarry Street
Ellington, CT 06029-4147
notherbert@aol.com

GRMC
Official Gene Roddenberry Memorial Club
c/o Nancy Borden
P.O. Box 3177
Greensburg, PA 15601

BJO TRIMBLE'S SCI-FI SPOTLITE
Entertainment Information
P.O. Box 13131
Reading, PA 19612-3131
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ENTERPRISING WOMEN
Science Fiction and Space News
c/o Barbe Smith and Jan Davis
P.O. Box 904
Haverstraw, PA 19083
gfgr82a@prodigy.com

UNDISCOVERED
Exploring Frontiers of Vision and Science
62A-974 St. Andre Drive
Orleans, ON K1C R49 Canada
undiscov@achilles.net

THE COMMUNICATOR
Magazine of Star Trek: The Official Fan Club
P.O. Box 55841
Boulder, CO 80322-5841

STAR TREK WELCOMMITTEE
International Clearinghouse For Information About All Trek, Every Generation
P.O. Box 12
Saranac, MI 48881

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FAN CLUBS
c/o Linda Kay, President
P.O. Box 7487
Burbank, CA 91510-7487
lknafc@aol.com

TO CONTACT TREK ACTORS

PARAMOUNT PICTURES INC.
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Star Trek: TNG/DS9/VOY
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Hollywood, CA 90038

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


*PHOTO AND ART CREDITS*

2, 5, 8, 13--Photos © Paramount Pictures 1996.
3--Illustration © Caricatures by Wayne 1995.
4--Illustration © Yul Tolbert, Timeliketoons 1996.
6--Illustration © Paul Anderson 1996.
11--Photo © Metro Goldwyn Mayer 1982.
12, 15--Illustrations © Jennifer Pelland 1996.
19--Illustration © Alanna Whitestar, Whitestar Astrology 1996.
28--Illustration © L.R. Bowen 1996.


*CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE DEPARTMENT*

People helping out with Denver plans (Juliann, Barbe, Meri, Joan, Charlene,
Anne, Anna, and everyone I'm forgetting):  THANKS!
Juliann: Thanks so much for sharing the story with us!
Lynda:  Thanks for everything and then some. See you at the con!
Rachel Wyman: Thanks for the War Queens photo last issue!
Jeri Taylor:  We adore you--you know why, or you will, by the time all the
J/C '96 Campaign Managers have written to you...


NOW VOYAGER
c/o Michelle Green and Paul Anderson					
P.O. Box 34745
Bethesda, MD 20827-4745						
FIRST CLASS

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

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