Changes: Time and Again (episode)

Revision as of 13:13, 8 September 2006

While investigating a massive explosion that destroyed all life on a planet, Janeway and Paris are swept back a day in time, where they must prevent the explosion.

Summary

The USS Voyager is continuing on course for the Alpha Quadrant. Tom Paris' bridge shift ends, so he notifies his replacement of Voyager's current course. He proceeds to the Operations console currently manned by Harry Kim. Paris asks him if he's ready to leave, but Kim can't because he wants to begin a transtator assembly diagnostic. Paris begins to persuade him to leave; he planned a double date with the Delaney sisters. Kim continues to object to the date, mentioning he has a girlfriend on Earth. Paris then mentions that he told the sisters that Kim broke the single pilot speed record at Starfleet Academy, which was false. Their conversation is interrupted when the ship rocks. Kathryn Janeway and Neelix stumble out of the ready room. At the same time, Kes, who is in her quarters, wakes up from her sleep feeling disturbed. On the bridge, Tuvok reports that Voyager is on the leading edge of a shockwave. Paris returns to his station and makes some instrument readings. He reports a debris cloud in a red dwarf system that Voyager is approaching. Tuvok reports that the debris cloud consists of 'differentially-charged polaric ions'. Neelix is unfamiliar with life in the system, so no additional information can be ascertained until they arrive at the planet. Voyager's course is modified and they set a course for the red dwarf system.

Voyager reaches the planet when Kes arrives on the bridge. She knows something has gone wrong. All vegetation on the planet has been destroyed and Janeway enquires about lifesigns. Kim and Kes, at the same time, say 'none'. The atmosphere is filled with polaric radiation, which can affect sensor scans. Voyager enters planetary orbit. An analysis of the planet shows that the radiation is within acceptable levels and the atmosphere is breathable. Janeway orders Tuvok, Paris and B'Elanna Torres to transporter room 2 to beam down to the planet

The away team beams down to the unknown planet to find it in ruins. Scans indicate the planet was devastated by the detonation of polaric ions. The planet's residents used polaric energy for power; something went wrong, causing the explosion.

Back on Voyager, Kes is explaining imagery she saw to Neelix. She thought she saw the planet's civilians burn to ashes due to the explosion, but Neelix dismisses the thoughts. Kes believes that the Ocampa used to have telepathic abilities, but again, Neelix doesn't believe her.

Back on the planet, Paris locates an object he believes to be a time-piece that is stopped at 401:22:84. Suddenly, he turns around and finds a bright town-square bustling with activity. None of the other away team members see the activity. When Janeway puts her hand on Paris's shoulder, everything returns back to its chaotic state. Torres takes out her tricorder and does a scan of Paris, noting that his nervous system is showing a temporal flux. The explosion has caused subspace to be ripped into many fractures. With concern, Janeway calls Voyager and requests an immediate beam-up. Before the transport can begin, everything around Janeway and Paris lightens up as they find themselves on the planet before the explosion: they have been thrown back in time.

The area Janeway and Paris are in is a town square with lots of activity. Paris takes out his tricorder while Janeway attempts to establish contact with Voyager. A loud scream is heard coming from a boy in the square, who witnessed Janeway and Paris appearing 'out of thin air'. A law enforcement officer comes over to the boy's aid and the boy tells him about Janeway and Paris. To the officer, it's all superstition and he tells the boy that he has been reading too many Darkstorm tales. He tells the boy to leave and disperses the crowd to prevent any problems. He goes over to Janeway and Paris and apologizes for the incident. The Starfleet uniforms cause the officer to question their clothing, inquiring if they came from another province on the continental transport. Janeway explains that it's formal clothing, causing the officer to mention clothing from Kalto Province. She inquires about clothing shops and the officer points one out.

Proceeding to a shop, Paris notices a time-piece on display with the time 371:20:01. The shopkeeper notices him and proceeds over, which prompts Paris to inquire about the time-piece. The shopkeeper explains about the time-piece, noting that that the three number sets are equal to rotations, intervals, and fractions. He notes that the object costs 14 Keladas, but Paris leaves, saying he will think about it. Returning to Janeway, he estimates that the planet will be destroyed the next day.

"First Officer's log, supplemental. There's been no sign of Captain Janeway or Lieutenant Paris since they were lost in a subspace fracture."

In Voyager's briefing room, Torres and Kim discuss how Janeway and Paris were thrown back in time by a subspace fracture. The mystery was why Paris returned from the past to the present. This was due to him being only partly in the fracture. Hoping that Janeway activated a subspace beacon from her combadge, Kim and Torres begin to develop an idea on widening the fracture at the beacon's location to return Janeway and Paris to the present. The method to do this is unknown to them.

Meanwhile, Kes is in sickbay with Neelix receiving scans of her brain due to her telepathic experience. However, Kes's anatomy isn't on file in the medical records, making The Doctor upset. He starts making sarcastic remarks regarding medical protocol for new crew members and inquiring if other new crew were on board as well. Kes notifies him that the Maquis crew were also on board, resulting in the Doctor attempting to contact Janeway, until he is told she's missing. He prompts them to notify the highest ranking officer who is 'not missing' to visit him and to shut off his program when they leave. Neelix's concern for Kes brings him to tell the Doctor that he never told them about her condition. The Doctor makes a humorous remark as that she is the healthiest member of her species that he has seen, since she is the only Ocampa that he has ever seen. He takes a guess at Kes's condition and notifies her that it is most likely due to psychological adjustments because of space travel. She is advised to drink lots of fluids (though she didn't understand what that meant at first) and she deactivates the Doctor's program.

In a clothing shop on the planet, two Starfleet uniforms are on display. Janeway and Paris emerge from the shop wearing clothing similar to that of the planet's citizens. To assist Voyager in their search, Janeway activates a subspace beacon from her combadge. Concerned for the planet's citizens, Paris wants to notify the people about upcoming events. They begin a conversation about the Prime Directive, which turns into an argument. The argument ends when they see the Latika watching them. They try to move away, but the boy catches up and accuses them of lying. He mentions he went to the Continental Transport and talked to the transport attendant, who mentioned he saw two older citizens with a child. Paris attempts to scare the boy by mentioning that he and Janeway ate their child and that they were demons. Scared, the boy runs away. With the boy gone, they begin to develop a plan on how to return to the present. Janeway comes up with an idea to use a tricorder to emit a polaric field to scan for fractures. They find a polaric energy conduit in the town square which makes Paris wonder where the energy comes from.

At a power plant, a protest demonstration is in progress. The protestors are shouting complaints as the guards attempt to hold them back. Looking for the power plant, Janeway and Paris come upon the demonstration. The boy is following them unnoticed. The scene becomes violent as the guards enter the crowd and start hitting people with batons. One of the guards sees Janeway and hits her in the head, causing her to fall back. Paris punches the guard down as the protest leader helps Janeway up and leads her out of the area. The rest of the crowd, including Paris, follows.

In Engineering, Kim and Torres demonstrate the object they have developed to open a subspace fracture to Chakotay and Tuvok: a polaric generator. The device is activated and emits a green beam in front of them, causing a ripple effect. It uses the same polaric energy used on the planet to open a fracture. Tuvok recommends using the generator where Janeway and Paris disappeared. At that instant, the fracture emits a large burst of light and the generator disengages. The one problem with the generator is that it burns out at the necessary intensity at 30 seconds, maximum. Another issue with the generator is that it cannot be used in the same location more than once due to subspace damage. Chakotay brings up the concern of becoming trapped in a fracture themselves. Torres has thought ahead and modified some tricorders to detect the fractures. She then displays an armband that deploys an anti-polaric field. Chakotay compliments Torres and Kim and starts to leave, until Kes and Neelix arrive. Kes insists that she needs to join the away team to the planet. She mentions she has already seen the planet and insists again. Chakotay considers her request.

Paris and Janeway are in a house owned by the protest leader. Paris is treating Janeway's head wound. The lead protestor and his colleague come from the upper level to talk to them. He apologizes and introduces himself as Pe'Nar Makull along with his colleague Ny Terla. He inquires as to why they were at the power plant. Janeway continues to use her alibi by saying she was touring the plant, comparing it to the one from Kalto Province. Terla becomes suspicious, mentioning that he has never seen a Kalton with Janeway's hair color. She attempts to shrug it off until Makull wonders if they are part of the government, dispite the wound she received. Paris does not know why anybody would want to infiltrate the protestors, though Makull mentions that polaric protests occur in Kalto also. He starts questioning Janeway and Paris about the day before, inquiring when they were last at a power plant and if they were in it earlier. Terla brings out a hand-held device, a safety monitor for polaric energy. He states that Janeway and Paris were reading 5 times the normal readings of a citizen, making them think they were in a power plant previously. He and another colleague take out pistols and aim them at Janeway and Paris.

In the present, an away team consisting of Chakotay, Kes, Tuvok, Torres and Kim are at the location where Janeway and Paris disappeared. Kes' telepathic senses give her the feeling that she can reach out and touch the citizens of the past. Scanning the area, Tuvok cannot locate any fractures in subspace. Kim, who is a distance away, calls out the team. He has located a signal from a combadge, in present time. They attempt to communicate, but there is no response. They follow the signal in hopes of finding some answers.

In the past, Janeway is being asked questions while Paris is still under guard. Makull asks for her name, which she reluctantly provides. Makull thinks it's an unusual name which she shrugs off by saying it's not unusual in Kalto Province. He then asks what area of Kalto she came from, which she tries to dodge in saying there was no point to the question. He asks if the government knows of their plans, and Janeway truthfully answers that she doesn't know. They are interrupted when Terla enters the room holding on to a struggling Latika.

Present time, the away teams arrives at the building where Janeway and Paris were held. They do not detect any lifesigns.

Janeway tries to prevent Latika from being involved at risk of being revealed. This risk becomes real when the boy shouts out that they are lying about their identity. Paris sarcastically thanks the boy as Makull listens to him. He mentions they lied about taking the Continental Transport, because he talked to the attendant himself. Terla asks Makull what he should do with the boy. He tells him to place him at the stairway with Paris. He does so, threatening Latika to remain quiet.

In the present, the team locate two damaged combadges. The combadges had automatically activated a signal when they were damaged by the explosion. They search the area for any further evidence.

On Makull's desk are a tricorder and a phaser. He questions Janeway on their use, thinking they are spy equipment. She lies by mentioning they are surveying equipment and that she and Paris were interested in buying land. Terla is curious and asks Janeway to see how they work. She hesitantly reaches for the phaser but Makull stops her, cautious that it might be a weapon. On the stairs, Paris starts to talk with the boy, mentioning he was right that he didn't eat children. Latika mentions that he didn't really scare him and he would tell his father at the Media Bureau about Paris and Janeway. Paris interupts Latika by asking if his father was a journalist, which he is, and so is Latika. He writes for his school newspaper, and he mentions he's going to write about their lies. Paris asks the boy's name, which Latika tells him. He then apologizes to Latika, but doesn't mention why (due to the Prime Directive). Makull is now talking to Janeway about the dangers of polaric energy, mentioning it could destroy the whole planet. He mentions that their cause received much support after the accident at Markov. Still believing Janeway and Paris are spies, he mentions that they are going ahead with their plan the next day.

Janeway then comes up with an idea saying aloud, "Wait a minute". In the past, Kes hears Janeway say this. When Kes calls out to her, Janeway can also hear Kes. Makull goes over to Janeway and asks if she has anything else to say. She, ignoring the Prime Directive, spontaneously mentions she is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager.

In the present, Kes mentions to Chakotay that she can feel the presence of Janeway and Paris. Chakotay inquires if there is a subspace fracture present, which there is. He orders that the generator be set up.

In the past, Janeway continues to reveal information about herself, stating that she and Paris were from the future. Latika is amazed that his assumption of them was, indeed, true. She reveals to Makull that there is going to be a polaric explosion that will destroy the planet. Makull doesn't buy it, despite her explanation of how she and Paris were thrown into the past.

The generator is set up in present time at the proper coordinates. It is activated and the fracture is located. Torres reports that she found a subspace beacon and starts to widen the fracture. Chakotay taps his combadge to contact Janeway. It is successful, and his message is heard over Janeway's combadge. Terla instantly removes her combadge, claiming they are eavesdropping devices. She tries to explain her crew are attempting to contact them, but Terla doesn't believe her, either. He confiscates Paris's combadge as well. Makull then orders him to get the particle injector. Terla proceeds over to a safe in the wall and takes out an injector. Makull takes the injector and puts it in a bag, along with the tricorder and thaser. He orders Janeway and Paris to join them, along with Latika. Just as the group leaves the room, the fracture opens in front of Makull's desk. After attempting another message, the generator gives out and the fracture is closed.

On the way to the power plant, Janeway and Paris discuss the situation at hand. Paris ask why Janeway told Makull their real story after backing up the Prime Directive earlier. She notes that the Prime Directive was broken the second they were thrown back in time in that they changed the activists' schedule to that day. If they had not been thrown back in time, any number of events could have occurred, including the arrest of the activists. She feels it's up to Paris and her to deal with the crisis.

Returning to Voyager, the senior staff tries to come up with another plan to retrieve Janeway and Paris. The chances of their retrieval start to diminish as Kim reports that 70% of the fractures have closed. Torres wants to begin searching the flashpoint of the explosion, but Tuvok is skeptical of the idea. She tries to explain that Janeway and Paris may have tried to stop the explosion, but Tuvok brings up the Prime Directive. Despite the objection, Chakotay expresses that he would've went to the power plant, in which Tuvok tries to point out that Janeway would not think the same way as he did. Again, Chakotay ignores Tuvok's objections and orders the staff to beam down to the flashpoint.

Makull and the group arrive with Janeway and Paris at the plant entrance. He begins to instruct Janeway as to what is supposed to happen. She is to pretend she is a government official who is helping to negotiate a settlement over a dispute. She expresses her objections to his idea. He tells her that Terla has a gun trained on Latika. Terla takes his pistol and hides it by crossing his arms. The group approach the gate and a guard comes out to meet them. Makull introduces Janeway as a governmental official, at which she steps forward.

"I am a hostage, these men are here to break into the plant."

The guard takes a few steps back, comprehending what she just said. He reaches for his weapon, but Makull shoots him before he can. Latika, remembering the threat about his death, attempts to run away. Terla takes out his gun and aims, but Paris runs in and takes the bullet for the boy. Janeway and Latika go to Paris to check on his condition while Terla takes out a second guard. Makull activates the plant gate and tells Janeway, "Their lives are on your conscience!" While looking over Paris, Latika is surprised that Paris saved him. Paris, however, doesn't want to slow Janeway's progress. She tells Latika to look after him and heads for the plant, taking one of the fallen guards' weapons.

In the power plant, Makull and the others arrive at a cylindrical corridor where they intend to do their work. Janeway is able to catch up with them and hides behind the corridor's segments to stay hidden from the men. In the future, the away team beams down to the exact same location in the power plant, noting that the polaric levels are at a very high level, the flashpoint of the explosion. Tuvok notes numerous subspace fractures in the area, which prompts the team to set up the equipment. Back in the past, Janeway creeps to the section where the men are working without being detected. She sees their bag, with a phaser, tricorder and the particle injector, on the ground, unattended. Terla needs the injector, so Makull turns around to reach for the bag. Janeway comes out of cover and points the gun at Makull, requesting that he hand her the bag.

While setting up the equipment in the future, Tuvok notes the coordinates of a nearby fracture. They initiate the generator but detect no subspace beacon. Before he can surmise that Janeway and Paris were not in the area, Kes detects Janeway's presence, noting she died in the corridor.

In the past, Janeway still has Makull at gunpoint, trying to convince him to stop what he is doing or everybody would die. She assumes Makull is trying to sabotage the plant, but he notes he wouldn't do anything like that. He tries to get her to lower the gun by noting that something could go wrong if she fires the weapon near a polaric conduit. She ignores his warning and demands that he give her the bag. Makull tightens his grip on it while his men stand tall. She says, "All right then, we'll wait."

The away team continues with their plans, trying to figure out how to open the fracture prior to the explosion. All Torres can decide is to make an educated guess. Tuvok then notes that Kes may not be correct, but has no alternative ideas and agrees to the activation of the generator. Chakotay agrees and it is activated.

The men and Janeway continue to wait, so she asks for the time. Terla takes out a timepiece and mentions that it's 401 rotations plus 21 (401:21:02). She says to wait until it's 23. Makull asks about the importance of that time, but then sarcastically remarks that it's the time of the explosion. Before he can fully finish his comment, a bright light appears behind Janeway which increases in size, the widening of a subspace fracture. Terla has no idea what's going on, but Janeway realizes that her crew is trying to cut through subspace. As the fracture gets larger, Makull notes that it's getting closer to the polaric conduit on the wall. It all comes together to Janeway: their own rescue attempt was the cause of the explosion. Using her phaser, she forces the rift to close on itself, stopping the explosion. When she does this, time resets itself, and everyone finds themselves back on Voyager, moments before the shockwave would have hit the ship. No one remembers anything about the incident, except Kes, who is strangely relieved that a nearby planet is teeming with life.

Links and References

Main Cast

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway
Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay
Roxann Biggs-Dawson as Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres
Jennifer Lien as Kes
Robert Duncan McNeill as Lieutenant Tom Paris
Ethan Phillips as Neelix
Robert Picardo as The Doctor
Tim Russ as Lieutenant Tuvok
Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

Guest Stars

Co-Stars

References

Chaltok IV, confection bar, Delaney sisters, Drakina forest dweller, Kelada, Kalto Province, polaric ion energy, Polaric Test Ban Treaty, red dwarf, Stellar Cartography department, subspace, subspace beacon, subspace fracture, Temporal fracture, transtator

Previous episode:
Parallax

Star Trek: Voyager
Season 1

Next episode:
Phage

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ''Voyager'' reaches the [[planet]] when Kes arrives on the bridge. She knows something has gone wrong. All vegetation on the planet has been destroyed and Janeway enquires about [[lifesigns]]. Kim and Kes, at the same time, say 'none'. The atmosphere is filled with [[polaric radiation]], which can affect [[sensor]] scans. ''Voyager'' enters planetary [[orbit]]. An analysis of the planet shows that the radiation is within acceptable levels and the atmosphere is breathable. Janeway orders Tuvok, Paris and [[B'Elanna Torres]] to [[transporter room]] 2 to beam down to the planet
-The [[away team]] beams down to the unknown planet to find it in ruins. Scans indicate the planet was devastated by the detonation of polaric ions. The planet's residents utilized polaric energy for power; something went wrong, causing the explosion.
+The [[away team]] beams down to the unknown planet to find it in ruins. Scans indicate the planet was devastated by the detonation of polaric ions. The planet's residents used polaric energy for power; something went wrong, causing the explosion.
-Back on ''Voyager'', Kes is explaining imagery she saw to Neelix. She thought she saw the planet's civilians burn to ashes due to the explosion, but Neelix dismissed the thoughts. Kes believes that the Ocampa used to have [[telepathic]] abilities, but again, Neelix doesn't believe her.
+Back on ''Voyager'', Kes is explaining imagery she saw to Neelix. She thought she saw the planet's civilians burn to ashes due to the explosion, but Neelix dismisses the thoughts. Kes believes that the Ocampa used to have [[telepathic]] abilities, but again, Neelix doesn't believe her.
 Back on the planet, Paris locates an object he believes to be a [[time-piece]] that is stopped at 401:22:84. Suddenly, he turns around and finds a bright town-square bustling with activity. None of the other away team members see the activity. When Janeway puts her hand on Paris's shoulder, everything returns back to its chaotic state. Torres takes out her [[tricorder]] and does a scan of Paris, noting that his nervous system is showing a [[temporal flux]]. The explosion has caused [[subspace]] to be ripped into many [[Subspace fracture|fractures]]. With concern, Janeway calls ''Voyager'' and requests an immediate beam-up. Before the transport can begin, everything around Janeway and Paris lightens up as they find themselves on the planet before the explosion: they have been thrown back in time.
@@ Line 87: / Line 87: @@
 The men and Janeway continue to wait, so she asks for the time. Terla takes out a timepiece and mentions that it's 401 rotations plus 21 (401:21:02). She says to wait until it's 23. Makull asks about the importance of that time, but then sarcastically remarks that it's the time of the explosion. Before he can fully finish his comment, a bright light appears behind Janeway which increases in size, the widening of a subspace fracture. Terla has no idea what's going on, but Janeway realizes that her crew is trying to cut through subspace. As the fracture gets larger, Makull notes that it's getting closer to the polaric conduit on the wall. It all comes together to Janeway: their own rescue attempt was the cause of the explosion. Using her phaser, she forces the rift to close on itself, stopping the explosion. When she does this, time resets itself, and everyone finds themselves back on ''Voyager'', moments before the shockwave would have hit the ship. No one remembers anything about the incident, except Kes, who is strangely relieved that a nearby planet is teeming with life.
 ==Links and References==