VOYAGER: “Technokleptsis” — TEASER 1

STAR TREK: VOYAGER

“Technokleptsis”

TEASER

FADE IN:

EXT. IN ORBIT OVER UUTARA III (OPTICAL)

VOYAGER is in orbit over UUTARA III, a Class M planet. In the DISTANT BACKGROUND, the VORTEX OF A WORMHOLE can be seen.

JANEWAY (V.O.) Captain’s log — Stardate xxxxx.x. We’ve encountered a rare stable wormhole that exits nearly four thousand light years closer to home. Its custodians, the Uutarans, have granted us passage in exchange for emergency assistance with a natural disaster — a massive seismic event.

INT. VOYAGER CARGO BAY

A large PALLET OF CONTAINERS DEMATERIALIZES as TUVOK operates the TRANSPORTER CONSOLE. KIM assists several SUPERNUMERARIES in loading pallets. JANEWAY supervises the operation.

EXT. UUTARA III — TOWN SQUARE — DAY (OPTICAL)

With the RUINS of the city in the BACKGROUND, the pallet of containers MATERIALIZES in a RUBBLE strewn town square as PARIS and NEELIX stand by with a small group of Uutaran CITY LEADERS. Nearby, a handful of Uutaran RELIEF WORKERS are unloading a couple of previously beamed down pallets of containers.


JANEWAY (V.O. CONT.) In devastating their infrastructure, the quake has caused structural damage to their corrections facility and allowed their most dangerous inmate — Doctor Daapru Taalca, a brilliant Uutaran scientist — to escape to a neighboring planet. Because their security forces have been crippled by the powerful temblor, as part of our agreement, I’ve dispatched our own security detail to retrieve Doctor Taalca, while Voyager replicates and delivers critical provisions to the planet.


Voyager launches a SHUTTLECRAFT, which promptly BANKS AROUND and WARPS AWAY.

INT. SHUTTLECRAFT

In the forward seats of the shuttlecraft, CHAKOTAY mans the helm while SEVEN OF NINE tends ops. Wearing a scowl, ZIMMERMAN occupies a position aft of them.

JANEWAY (V.O. CONT.) Personal comment: Our beloved Chief Medical Officer wasn’t too happy about the assignment, but sensors have indicated that Taalca’s stolen shuttle has crashed and the doctor’s medical expertise may be needed.

CHAKOTAY Seven, report.

SEVEN Sensors confirm the crash debris to be that of Taalca’s supply shuttle. Life signs are consistent with Uutaran physiology.

CHAKOTAY Excellent.

He taps a flight path into the command console.


EXT. SHUTTLECRAFT AT WARP ONE (OPTICAL)

The shuttle DROPS OUT OF WARP as UUTARA IV, a predominately green planet, is REVEALED. The craft promptly DESCENDS.

EXT. UUTARA IV — AERIAL ANGLE (OPTICAL) — MORNING

The shuttlecraft DESCENDS toward a CLEARING in the thick VEGETATION which characterizes much of the planet.

EXT. SURFACE OF UUTARA IV AT SHUTTLECRAFT — MORNING

Amidst a veritable JUNGLE, Zimmerman, Seven and Chakotay alight from the craft packing PHASERS, TRICORDERS, and special SECURITY EQUIPMENT. The doctor also has a MEDICAL BAG. With tricorder in hand, Seven promptly gets a fix on their quarry.

SEVEN Bearing is zero two six. Distance is seven point three kilometers. This way.

She leads the group off through the jungle.

EXT. JUNGLE FURTHER ALONG — MOMENTS LATER

With Seven in the lead, the trio trek through the thick flora.

SEVEN Commander, I’ve been wondering about something....

CHAKOTAY What’s that?

SEVEN This Doctor Taalca murdered one hundred, sixty-seven of his own people for no apparent reason during a seventeen day killing spree.

Thinking the question is obvious, Seven just waits for an answer. Chakotay has heard no question, and waits for it briefly before prompting Seven.

CHAKOTAY So what’s the question?


SEVEN (a little surprised)

Mass murder, except in war, serves no discernable purpose. I am at a loss to understand why a brilliant individual like Taalca, would kill innocent strangers when there is nothing to gain.

CHAKOTAY So you’re wondering if I can tell you why he did it?

SEVEN

Exactly.

CHAKOTAY I can’t. But I can tell you that intelligence has very little to do with it. I’m sure in his own mind, he had some sort of reason for doing what he did. But he’s insane. And insanity is usually incomprehensible to the rest of us.

SEVEN Indeed.

Chakotay smiles grimly to himself.

EXT. JUNGLE FURTHER ALONG — MOMENTS LATER

Still trekking through the vegetation, a puzzled look appears on Seven’s face and she directs her tricorder off to the side.

SEVEN Commander, I’m picking up a faint radiation source...

(beat; taps at tricorder) ...a deuterium pod. Over here.

They push through a thicket of flora to REVEAL an ILIDARIAN SCOUT CRAFT, somewhat larger than a Federation shuttle, overgrown by VINES and wearing a layer of DUST. Its hull is outfitted with an eclectic agglomeration of COMPONENTS whose design technology is distinctly ALIEN to the rest of the craft.

CHAKOTAY It looks like an Ilidarian scout craft.

ZIMMERMAN It looks like a flying junkyard.


Monitoring with her tricorder, Seven glances over the craft, then focuses on some of the alien additions.

SEVEN The craft is Ilidarian but the modifications derive from many different cultures.

CHAKOTAY What would an Ilidarian craft be doing in this sector?

SEVEN Impossible to tell, Commander. However, the alien modifications suggest it is no longer in possession of the Ilidarians.

ZIMMERMAN Could it have been part of Taalca’s plan of escape?

SEVEN That is unlikely, Doctor. I believe it was abandoned because of some system failure, although without further analysis I cannot determine which systems have been affected.

CHAKOTAY (noting its condition)

Well, it’s been here for a while.

SEVEN At least two weeks, judging by the superficial accumulation of particulate matter.

Zimmerman swipes a finger across the dusty surface.

ZIMMERMAN And this layer of dust.

SEVEN I believe I said that, Doctor.

Zimmerman rolls his eyes at Seven for failing to get his little joke. They MOVE OFF.

EXT. JUNGLE NEAR TAALCA’S CRASH LOCATION — A LITTLE LATER

They now move very stealthily and speak in whispers.


SEVEN

(off tricorder) Commander, Doctor Taalca is directly beyond this thicket.

CHAKOTAY Phasers on stun. Seven, you’re with me. Doctor, take the rear.

They draw their weapons, adjust their settings, and MOVE OFF.

EXT. THICKET NEAR TAALCA’S CRASH LOCATION

Chakotay and Seven peer through the last curtain of vegetation into a clearing where DR. DAAPRU TAALCA, a Uutaran, is sitting motionless on a banged up PIECE OF EQUIPMENT warming his hands over a CAMPFIRE. He has a makeshift BANDAGE around one calf. Around him are bits of CRASH DEBRIS and in the BACKGROUND is the hulk of his crashed SUPPLY SHUTTLE. Chakotay eyes Seven, who nods her readiness. He then whispers:

CHAKOTAY Now.

Simultaneously, Chakotay and Seven from the front, and Zimmerman from the rear, step into the clearing with phasers trained on Taalca. The commotion seems not to disturb Taalca in the least.

CHAKOTAY Doctor Taalca...on the authority of the commissioner of the Uutaran corrections facility, we hereby take you into custody.

Taalca doesn’t budge. At the edge of the clearing a MAKESHIFT BEAM WEAPON PROTRUDES from the vegetation and, without warning or hesitation, fires TWO BLASTS. Chakotay and Seven crumple where they stand in twisted heaps. Reacting, Zimmerman turns, but is BLASTED before getting a shot off, and topples stiffly like a felled tree. Now, the bushes RUSTLE and the real Taalca steps out holding the blaster. He checks Zimmerman’s wrist for a pulse. Finding none and thinking our trio dead, he smirks, takes from their limp hands their phasers, and from Seven’s belt, a tricorder.


Finally, he drops the blaster, increases the setting on a phaser and BLASTS the banged up piece of equipment on which his doppel-ganger is still sitting, motionless, staring at the campfire. The piece of equipment — a hologram generator — shatters, and the doppelganger FLICKERS OUT, demonstrating it was only a hologram.

TAALCA Thank you, kind people. You’ve saved me a lot of trouble.

With a final smirk he heads off into the thicket, leaving our paralyzed trio for dead.

FADE OUT.

END TEASER

VOYAGER: “Technokleptsis” — ACT I 8

ACT I FADE IN:

EXT. UUTARA IV JUNGLE — MOMENTS LATER

APPEARING suddenly out of the vegetation, Taalca runs TOWARD AND PAST US, still holding the tricorder and at least one phaser.

EXT. TAALCA’S CRASH LOCATION

Chakotay, Zimmerman, and Seven are still out cold. Presently, Seven opens her eyes, which soon reflect great dismay as she discovers she is completely paralyzed below her neck. Seconds later, Chakotay does the same. An instant thereafter, Zimmerman’s eyes pop open as well. His body goes through a “color balance” process in which he appears briefly as a PHOTOGRAPHIC NEGATIVE of himself. Finally, NORMAL COLOR APPEARS near his ARMBAND EMITTER and rapidly SPREADS to the rest of his body. His hologenerator has corrected itself after the shock of Taalca’s weapon. He then sits bolt upright, perfectly restored. Looking about, he spots his compatriots.

ZIMMERMAN Commander, Seven...are you hurt?

In addition to their eyes, they discover they can also move their mouths, and turn their heads.

CHAKOTAY Uh...I’m not sure. I can’t feel — or move — anything below my neck.

Moving to Seven, Zimmerman examines her with his MEDICAL TRICORDER.

ZIMMERMAN Seven?

SEVEN (very annoyed)

The same.


ZIMMERMAN (off tricorder)

It would appear that Doctor Taalca’s weapon has induced hyperneuraldysrhythmia below the fourth cervical vertebra, resulting in akinesia of the extremities.

He picks up and eyes Taalca’s makeshift blaster disdainfully. It is clearly cobbled together from miscellaneous parts.

ZIMMERMAN (CONT.)

You’re fortunate. If he’d had more power, you’d be dead.

CHAKOTAY (sarcastically)

Great.

To make the two crewmen more comfortable, Zimmerman now proceeds to straighten out their bodies and sit them up against a nearby ROCK, talking all the while.

ZIMMERMAN Unfortunately, none of the supplies in my medical bag will counteract the effect. But it will wear off on its own...eventually. Apparently, Doctor Taalca hadn’t expected to encounter a hologram. His blaster only temporarily disrupted my emitter circuits.

Glancing around, Chakotay suddenly becomes alarmed.

CHAKOTAY Doctor, where’s Taalca?! Didn’t you get him?!

ZIMMERMAN (sarcastically)

Did I “get” him? You mean in the nanosecond before he blasted me?

CHAKOTAY

(urgently) We can’t let him get away again — he’s too dangerous! You have to go after him!

ZIMMERMAN

Me?! Why m——? (reconsiders)

Well, I guess there’s no one else. Will you two be all right here?


CHAKOTAY

Yes, yes! Now—— Interrupted by something he sees directly ahead, he GASPS.

CHAKOTAY (CONT.) Oh, no!

Seven and Zimmerman turn to look at what Chakotay sees.

THEIR POV (OPTICAL)

The shuttle RISES above the jungle and DISAPPEARS into the sky.

CHAKOTAY Damn, he’s got the shuttle! By the time Voyager returns, he could be back on Uutara Three killing people by the dozen.

SEVEN What a waste of scientific genius.

(a beat; she has an idea) Commander, perhaps the doctor could pursue Taalca in the Ilidarian craft.

Chakotay sucks air at the proposition.

ZIMMERMAN Seven, I’m a doctor, not a pilot! Besides, it’s a wreck!

CHAKOTAY Well, it’s probably worth running some diagnostics. Maybe there’s something we can do to get it off the ground.

ZIMMERMAN Commander! I don’t know anything about fixing spacecraft, much less flying them!

CHAKOTAY

Don’t worry. We’ve seen Ilidarian craft before. We can talk you through it.

With an expression of distaste, Zimmerman reluctantly relents.


ZIMMERMAN Very well.

CHAKOTAY

Now the next question is...what kind of trouble can this get us into?

SEVEN If the craft’s owners were unable to use it, then our use of it would not be an imposition.

ZIMMERMAN Assuming they don’t come back for it. Technically, we’re considering theft.

SEVEN (countering)

Technically, since we intend to return it, we would only be borrowing the craft.

ZIMMERMAN Borrowing without permission is still stealing, Seven, and is considered “wrong.”

CHAKOTAY (thoughtfully)

Not necessarily. “Wrong” is usually judged relative to the circumstances and cultural norms.

ZIMMERMAN But since we know nothing about the cultural norms of the craft’s owners, perhaps we ought to think twice about “borrowing” it, especially since we have no way of knowing when they’ll be back to claim it.

CHAKOTAY

Well, it’s already been sitting there for two weeks and Voyager will be back in just over fourteen hours. We may be able to get it back before the owners know it’s gone.

ZIMMERMAN Humph. May I remind you, Commander, taking something without permission and putting it back without being noticed isn’t the same as not taking it to begin with.


CHAKOTAY I know, Doctor. I’m not suggesting we put it back without saying anything. But because the stakes of allowing Taalca to escape in a well armed Federation shuttle are so high, the risk of borrowing it without permission may be justified.

SEVEN Since the craft is obviously no longer in possession of the Ilidarians, it’s probably already stolen, and the owners may never return for it.

ZIMMERMAN That’s possible, but you know what they say —— two wrongs don’t make a right.

CHAKOTAY (heaves a sigh)

Alright, we have a decision to make here. The bottom line is the safety of anyone unfortunate enough to cross Taalca’s path, and that includes the owners of the Ilidarian craft. I have to believe they’ll understand that when explained the urgency of the circumstances.

(a beat) Okay, Doctor, I’m authorizing you to take the craft...on my responsibility.

ZIMMERMAN Lucky me. But what about you and Seven? If I go after Taalca, I’ll be leaving you completely defenseless.

CHAKOTAY It’s more important to recapture Taalca. Besides, this planet’s uninhabited...animal life’s not yet developed...and the weather’s mild. We’ll be all right.

ZIMMERMAN

Very well. Zimmerman grabs a regular tricorder and Taalca’s makeshift weapon and takes off into the jungle.


Chakotay heaves a deep SIGH. Seven eyes him tentatively.

EXT. ILIDARIAN CRAFT — SEVERAL MINUTES LATER

We get another LOOK at the dusty, overgrown, heavily modified Ilidarian craft. Presently, a RUSTLING of leaves IS HEARD and Zimmerman steps out of the vegetation, his tricorder in hand pointing at the craft. He eyes the craft disdainfully, SIGHS and shakes his head, then taps his combadge.

ZIMMERMAN All right, Commander, I’m at the Ilidarian craft. How do I get in?

CHAKOTAY (VIA COMBADGE)

Point your tricorder at the sensor array and initiate a security recognition search.

Zimmerman directs his tricorder toward a small SENSOR ARRAY on the side of the craft and inputs some commands. A moment later, the door hinges open. Surprised but pleased at this small success, he enters:

INT. ILIDARIAN CRAFT

By way of orientation, he glances about quickly, then reports.

ZIMMERMAN I’m in. Now what?

CHAKOTAY (VIA COMBADGE) Look for a broad triangular button on the control console and push it.

Zimmerman sits at the CONTROL CONSOLE, which also sports many ALIEN MODIFICATIONS. Finding SEVERAL BROAD TRIANGULAR BUTTONS (actual buttons), he throws up his hands, but starts pushing them, one by one. One of them triggers a SCREECHING ALARM, which startles and annoys him. He hastily stabs at the button again and the ALARM STOPS. Finally hitting the right one, the console LIGHTS UP and begins to HUM quietly.

ZIMMERMAN

Well, what do you know! I’ve got power.

INTERCUT WITH:


EXT. TAALCA’S CRASH LOCATION — MORNING

CHAKOTAY Can you read the displays all right, Doctor?

ZIMMERMAN

Of course. My medical database contains enough of the Ilidarian language to get me by. Now what?

CHAKOTAY

There should be a diagnostics panel to one side. Activate it.

Zimmerman finds the DIAGNOSTICS PANEL on one side, and pushes a BUTTON below it. It displays a READOUT.

ZIMMERMAN Systems status is coming up now.

(tapping at panel buttons) Engines...navigation...deflector shields...all operational. Unbelievable. Oh, here we go, life support is...

(taps at panel button) ...non-operational.

CHAKOTAY Well that’s why they abandoned it.

ZIMMERMAN Evidently. But it is a luxury I suppose I can live without.

SEVEN

What about weapons?

ZIMMERMAN (taps at panel button)

Phasers are out. But there’s a Hirogen plasma burst generator cobbled into this mess.

SEVEN This weapon has limited range, but should effectively disable the shuttle’s engines.

CHAKOTAY It’ll have to do. What about engine power?


ZIMMERMAN (taps at panel button)

Power is available for...warp one.

CHAKOTAY Same as the shuttle. Well that may be enough if he’s not running at full speed.

ZIMMERMAN So what do I do? It’s not like I have any experience at this.

CHAKOTAY

Ilidarian control logic is not too different from Federation control logic. Once you see the pattern, it’ll all come clear. Start by engaging the engine circuits. The navigation computer will prompt you for inputs. Hit “execute” when you’re ready to go.

Zimmerman looks around on the console for the engine circuits, and finally presses a button. The engines WHIRR to life, and he lights up. Now, following the prompts, he presses more buttons.

CHAKOTAY How’s it coming, Doctor?

ZIMMERMAN I’ve got the engines started and I’m ready to lift off. But I don’t know what course to input into the helm.

CHAKOTAY

Use your tricorder to get a fix on the shuttle. Then just input that course into the navigation computer.

Zimmerman taps his tricorder and takes a reading, then taps at the Ilidarian control console. Suddenly, the craft starts to VIBRATE and LIFT, greatly alarming the good doctor. He hangs on for dear life.

EXT. TAALCA’S CRASH LOCATION — CHAKOTAY AND SEVEN’S POV (OPTICAL)

The Ilidarian craft RISES unsteadily above the jungle, WOBBLES an instant, then DISAPPEARS into the sky. As she watches the craft disappear, Seven heaves a deep SIGH.


CHAKOTAY What is it, Seven?

SEVEN (with difficulty)

The doctor was right. No one should have to “borrow” a craft without asking. I should have been prepared for Taalca’s trickery.

CHAKOTAY We were all fooled, Seven. You don’t have to be so hard on yourself.

Seven is not mollified and heaves an exasperated SIGH.

EXT. EMPTY SPACE (OPTICAL)

The shuttlecraft ENTERS FRAME, SPEEDING through space AWAY FROM US, and VANISHES to a point. Several instants later, IN THE SAME SHOT, the Ilidarian craft ENTERS FRAME in pursuit of the shuttle and also VANISHES to a point.


The ship’s interior is EERILY LIT, and FROST has spread on some surfaces, indicating life support is not functioning. Zimmerman looks a bit overwhelmed and nervous.

CHAKOTAY (VIA COMBADGE) Status, Doctor?

ZIMMERMAN So far so good. I don’t think Doctor Taalca has noticed me. His speed is only warp point eight. I’m at warp one and should be within weapons range in...

(checks console) ...five point two minutes.

CHAKOTAY Excellent.


The shuttle ENTERS FRAME, speeding through space as before, but this time, the Ilidarian craft ENTERS FRAME just before the shuttle vanishes to a point, showing that Zimmerman is gaining on Taalca.


EXT. UUTARA IV AT TAALCA’S CRASH LOCATION

Zimmerman’s combadge transmission is getting WEAK and starts BREAKING UP as he moves out of range.

ZIMMERMAN (VIA COMBADGE) I’m just now passing the rendezvous point. No sign of Voyager, unfortunately. He’s heading right .or Uuta.us Three, but at ..is speed I shou.. be w.thin weapons .ange in...

(beat) ...two .oint thr.. minu..s.


Chakotay’s response is also BREAKING UP.

CHAKOTAY (VIA COMBADGE) You’re brea.ing up, Doc.or. Y..’re nearly ou. of combadge .ange. You .eed to route the .ignal through ..e .raft’s .om panel to .oost it. Match i. to .our .om.adge .requen.y, an. hit “..l...”

ZIMMERMAN (panicking)

Hit what?! Hit what?!

CHAKOTAY (VIA COMBADGE) “.....y.”

ZIMMERMAN Please say again, Commander, I didn’t get it!!

CHAKOTAY (VIA COMBADGE) “.el...” .epea.: “Relay.”

ZIMMERMAN Oh! “Relay!”

He finds the com panel, enters a new frequency, and gives it one final tap.

ZIMMERMAN (CONT.) Commander?! How’s that?


CHAKOTAY (VIA COM) Very good, Doctor.


The shuttle ZOOMS INTO FRAME as before, FOLLOWED again by the Ilidarian craft, which is CLOSER STILL to its quarry.

INT. SHUTTLECRAFT

Taalca appears rather relaxed, and satisfied with himself until he gets a warning CHIRP from his instruments. Frowning, he checks a READOUT, then taps a couple of times at his command console and peers at his viewscreen. On the screen is the AFT VIEW of space in which CAN BE SEEN a BARELY DISCERNABLE SPOT.

TAALCA (under his breath)

What?!

He taps again at the console. The IMAGE MAGNIFIES, showing the Ilidarian craft headed right up his tailpipe.

TAALCA (CONT.) Who the hell is that?!

He enters more commands into the console. On a MONITOR is displayed: “CONFIGURATION: ILIDARIAN SCOUT CLASS. REGISTRY: UNKNOWN.” Unsatisfied with the paltry amount of information available, Taalca frowns, thinks briefly of his next move, then taps again at his console. A READOUT shows his speed INCREASING from warp 0.8 to warp 1.0, the top of its scale, which is also marked “MAXIMUM.”

EXT. SPACE — SHUTTLECRAFT (OPTICAL)

There is a DISCERNABLE INCREASE IN THE SPEED of the shuttle.



Watching his instrument readouts, Zimmerman notices the speed increase of the shuttlecraft.

ZIMMERMAN Uh, Commander...I think I’ve been discovered. He’s increased his speed to warp one. I’m still out of weapons range, and at the same speed, I’ll never get there.

EXT. TAALCA’S CRASH LOCATION

Chakotay eyes Seven gravely, then heaves a deep SIGH.

CHAKOTAY Damn!

FADE OUT.

END ACT I

VOYAGER: “Technokleptsis” — ACT II 20

ACT II FADE IN:

EXT. SPACE — SHUTTLECRAFT AND ILIDARIAN CRAFT (OPTICAL)

At WARP ONE, the Ilidarian craft pursues the Federation shuttle at SOME DISTANCE.


Zimmerman is pacing nervously about.

ZIMMERMAN Well, Commander, Seven. As far as I can tell, I’m out of options. Any ideas?

CHAKOTAY (VIA COM) Well, at least he can’t extend his lead any. It’ll give us time to think.

SEVEN

Doctor, perhaps you can reroute power to the warp drive from some other system. You’ll need to find a power distribution schematic and look for the power coupling to the warp engines.

ZIMMERMAN

Power distribution schematic! I’ve never seen one of those before in my life! How do you expect me to make sense of that mechanical gobbledygook?!

CHAKOTAY

Please have a look, Doctor. We have confidence in you.

ZIMMERMAN

(reluctantly) Oh, all right, let’s see what I can come up with.

He studies the command console for a moment, then taps at it. The POWER DISTRIBUTION SCHEMATIC COMES UP on the monitor.

ZIMMERMAN (CONT.) I’ve got it!

He studies the schematic for a moment.


ZIMMERMAN (CONT.) Hey, this isn’t so bad. I can actually understand it! Well, why not? It’s not nearly as complex as human DNA.

(off schematic) Apparently, power allotted to the shields can be coupled with warp power, at least in theory. But I don’t see any way of making the connection through the control console.

SEVEN Do you think you could make the link by physically modifying the connections?

ZIMMERMAN

(studying schematic) Let’s see.... Yes! I believe I can.

He gets up, steps to a cabin wall, and opens an ACCESS PANEL. This exposes some MISMATCHED-APPEARING POWER COUPLINGS for several of the craft’s systems. Zimmerman is quite pleased with himself for finding them from the schematic.

ZIMMERMAN (CONT.) Ha! Right there. If I had known engineering was this simple, I might have taken it up as a hobby.

SEVEN Good. Now, see if you can find something to couple them together with.

He looks over the maze of CABLES, muttering to himself.

ZIMMERMAN Let’s see. Life support is out anyway...I can probably take a cable from that circuit.... Here we go.

He removes a cable from a life support power circuit.

SEVEN I must warn you, Doctor: Augmenting power to the engines in this manner may exceed the design limits of the main power coupling and make it vulnerable to overload and burnout.


ZIMMERMAN (sarcastically)

Now you tell me! You really know how to build a fella’s confidence.

(he steadies himself) Commander, I’m making the cross-connection now!

Jamming the cable across the terminals — to which it FUSES in a SHOWER OF SPARKS — Zimmerman is abruptly THROWN against the aft bulkhead by the sudden ACCELERATION of the craft.

EXT. SPACE — ILIDARIAN CRAFT (OPTICAL)

The craft now zooms through space at ENHANCED SPEED.


Zimmerman pries himself from the aft bulkhead and crosses to the helm where he eyes the readouts.

ZIMMERMAN It worked! My speed is now warp one point four. I should have Taalca in weapons range in a little over minute.

EXT. SPACE — SHUTTLE (OPTICAL)

The shuttle cruises through space at warp one, as before.

INT. SHUTTLE

Watching the IMAGE of the Ilidarian craft on his monitor, Taalca seems, at first, rather pleased with himself. But as he notices the Ilidarian craft getting closer, his smile turns to a frown.

TAALCA (under his breath)

What the hell?!

He shoots a glance over at a TACTICAL SPEED READOUT of the Ilidarian craft. The readout SHOWS THE SPEED ADVANTAGE of the Ilidarian craft.


TAALCA (CONT.) (stunned, under his breath)

That craft’s not capable of that speed!

Furrowing his brow in both puzzlement and thought, he thinks briefly, then quickly enters a course change into his computer. In response to the change, the shuttle veers off, forcing Taalca to brace himself against the centrifugal forces.


On the viewscreen, the shuttlecraft IS SEEN VEERING OFF and Zimmerman is feeling confident.

ZIMMERMAN (tapping at console)

Ha! He’s made a course change, Commander. But I’ve got it covered.

(under his breath) Think you can out maneuver me, huh?

Zimmerman enters a new course and braces against the centrifugal forces. Concentrating on his viewscreen and instruments, he does not immediately detect the TENUOUS VEIL OF SMOKE which wafts INTO FRAME around him. Finally noticing, he turns toward the exposed power couplings. The smoke is coming from the overloaded couplings in EVER- THICKENING BILLOWS. He turns back to his command console, his confidence dashed.

ZIMMERMAN (CONT.) Oh, dear! Commander? I’m on fire! I’m overloading the power circuits and I’m still thirty-five seconds out of weapons range!

CHAKOTAY (VIA COM) Hang in there, Doctor. It should hold up long enough.

ZIMMERMAN

I hope you’re right.

EXT. SPACE — SHUTTLECRAFT AND ILIDARIAN CRAFT (OPTICAL)

The Ilidarian craft shoots through space in hot pursuit of the shuttle, whose TRAJECTORY IS NOW CURVED.


INT. SHUTTLE

On the viewscreen, WE SEE the Ilidarian craft still on our tail and STEADILY GAINING on us. Taalca peers intently at it with knitted brow, then enters another course change into the computer. Again, he braces against the centrifugal forces as the shuttle veers off, this time in the opposite direction.


On the viewscreen, the shuttle IS SEEN VEERING OFF again. The smoke from the burning power couplings is now THICK and the craft is beginning to VIBRATE as Zimmerman inputs a matching course change and braces for the attendant inertial forces.

ZIMMERMAN Doctor Taalca has changed course again. I’m still right behind him, but the power overload is getting worse.

(off command console) Fifteen seconds to weapons range.

(taps at console) Activating targeting computer. Ten seconds to range...nine...eight....

The power coupling starts showering SPARKS. The ship is VIBRATING like crazy.

ZIMMERMAN (CONT.) Seven...six...five...four....

Suddenly, a loud BANG IS HEARD as the power couplings give out in a SHOWER OF SPARKS and the ENGINES SHUT DOWN. Understanding that he must act quickly, he punches a control key.

ZIMMERMAN (CONT.) Firing now!

On his viewscreen WE SEE a hot, GLOWING BALL OF PLASMA zooming toward the now RECEDING SHUTTLE.


EXT. SPACE — SHUTTLECRAFT AND PLASMA BURST (OPTICAL)

Although it’s headed right for the shuttle, the plasma ball begins to EXPAND, THINNING OUT, obviously losing its potency, and dissipating as it nears the receding shuttle.

INT. SHUTTLECRAFT

Taalca is watching his own viewscreen. On it WE SEE the last gauzy remnants of the plasma ball DISSIPATE COMPLETELY just meters away. WE ALSO SEE the Ilidarian craft — which dropped to sublight the instant the engines blew — RECEDING as WE PULL AWAY from it. Taalca LAUGHS out loud and starts inputting a course change.


On the viewscreen, WE SEE the shuttle CHANGE COURSE AND HEAD OFF obliquely. Watching the receding shuttle, the doctor appears completely defeated.

CHAKOTAY (VIA COM) Report, Doctor.

ZIMMERMAN

The plasma burst fell short, Commander. My engines are dead...and Taalca’s headed back to Uutara Three.

INTERCUT WITH:

EXT. TAALCA’S CRASH LOCATION — MORNING

CHAKOTAY Damn! There’s no telling what manner of mayhem he’s got planned. If we were on Voyager we could’ve called up the command code of the shuttle and stopped him right from the start.

SEVEN

What’s a “command code?”


CHAKOTAY It’s a code which transfers vessel command to a remote location. The technical name for it is “Remote Command Transfer Protocol.”

SEVEN

Oh! I recall seeing that during my studies of shuttlecraft operation.

(beat; thinks briefly) I remember the code, Commander.

CHAKOTAY

You do?! Why didn’t you speak up earlier?

SEVEN

As a civilian member of the crew, my experience with Federation vessels has been limited to study, not practical application. I don’t always know when to use the knowledge I’ve acquired. I’m sorry.

CHAKOTAY

Don’t worry about it. (to Zimmerman)

Doctor, Seven is going to feed you the shuttle’s command code. It’ll transfer command of the shuttle to you. Link your tricorder through the craft’s com and transmit the code to the shuttle exactly as she gives it to you.

ZIMMERMAN

(brightening) Certainly!

Zimmerman grabs his tricorder and keys in the linking command, then poises for Seven’s code.

SEVEN Seven, three, five, nine, alpha cipher, gamma cipher, four, five, four, omega cipher, zero, zero, theta cipher, zero.

Zimmerman simultaneously keys the code into his tricorder, ending with tap at an “execute” button. Presently, he cocks his head with delight.


ZIMMERMAN It worked! I’m looking at the shuttle’s command display.

CHAKOTAY Excellent, Doctor. Now just shut her down.

Zimmerman taps a few more times at his tricorder.

INT. SHUTTLE

Watching his viewscreen as the Ilidarian craft FALLS BEHIND, Taalca is still quite pleased with himself when suddenly, his ENGINES SHUT DOWN with a resounding THUD.

EXT. SPACE — SHUTTLE (OPTICAL)

The shuttle DROPS OUT OF WARP.

INT. SHUTTLE

More than ever before, Taalca is confounded by this event.

TAALCA What?!!!

He starts looking at his instruments and tapping at his command console in an effort to understand what is going on. The usual chirps confirming control pad contact are now just wimpy SQUEAKS. Furthermore, all the DISPLAYS ARE FROZEN.

TAALCA (CONT.) (under his breath)

What the hell is going on?!

He just sits there, dumbfounded at his helplessness.


In a cabin still clouded by the smoke of the power coupling failure, the doctor beams with satisfaction.


ZIMMERMAN Commander, Seven, I’m delighted to report that I’ve assumed control of the shuttlecraft and shut down all systems but life support. Doctor Taalca is dead in the water...so to speak.

CHAKOTAY (VIA COM) Good going, Doctor. All we can do now is wait for Voyager.

LONG DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. UUTARA IV — SUNSET

The planet’s SUN IS SETTING.

EXT. TAALCA’S CRASH LOCATION — SUNSET

As many hours have passed, Chakotay and Seven are in bad shape — tired, hungry, dehydrated, parched, sunburned. The last rays of the sun — which has been shining directly in their eyes all day — fade at long last to SHADOW, allowing them to finally open their squinty eyes.

CHAKOTAY (sighs)

I’m sure glad to see the last of that sun. I thought I was going to go blind.

SEVEN How long do you think we’ve been here, Commander?

CHAKOTAY Let’s see, this planet has a twenty-eight or twenty-nine hour day...I’d say we’ve been here ten or twelve hours.

SEVEN

We need water, and food.

CHAKOTAY (nods confirmationally)

Well, Voyager will be at the rendezvous point in a little while. When we don’t show up, they’ll know to look for us down here.


SEVEN At least some sensation is returning to my extremities.

CHAKOTAY Me too, and the one I’m sitting on is sore as hell.

Seven nods her concurrence. Presently, WE HEAR the sound of a TRANSPORTER ACB. The two crewmen look up to discover TWO FIGURES MATERIALIZING a few feet away. Their anticipation turns to disappointment when the ACB turns out to be Vidiian and the two figures turn out to be an alien race known as Phibians. In their hands they carry DISRUPTER WEAPONS of Hirogen design. With TRICORDERS of Banean design, they immediately begin to monitor the condition of the two Voyager crewmen, communicating telepathically in the process. Noting the aliens have not bothered to say anything, Chakotay eyes Seven, then decides to take the lead.

CHAKOTAY I’m Commander Chakotay, first officer of the Federation Starship Voyager. This is my tactical officer, Seven of Nine.

He waits for his visitors to reciprocate, and when they don’t, he again eyes Seven, who acknowledges the commander’s frustration with a raised eyebrow.

CHAKOTAY (CONT.) Uh...would you mind identifying yourselves?

The Phibians eye Chakotay curtly and go about their business of manually entering data into their tricorders. Chakotay heaves a frustrated SIGH and turns again to Seven.

CHAKOTAY (CONT.) I feel like I’m talking to myself. Am I not making sense or something?

SEVEN I’ve understood everything you’ve said, Commander.

Chakotay nods and GRUNTS, then decides to try again.


CHAKOTAY We’re on a mission to apprehend an escaped corrections inmate. He ambushed us with a beam-weapon that left us paralyzed, then escaped in our own shuttle. A third member of our party has gone after him in an abandoned Ilidarian craft. Our ship will be returning for us soon.

He waits for an answer and when he still doesn’t get one, begins to get a little annoyed.

CHAKOTAY (CONT.) Excuse me! Have you understood anything I’ve said?!

Throughout this, the Phibians have appeared not to be paying attention. But now they turn with anger in their eyes.

PHIBIAN 1 We understand your language. We are telepathic and understand your every thought. We know who you are and why you are here. Now you must understand that it was our craft your officer stole.

CHAKOTAY (eyes Seven; then cautiously)

I think “stole” is just a little strong. The man we were after represented a serious threat — to you as well as everyone else. Our officer only borrowed the craft. It’ll be returned as soon as humanly possible.

PHIBIAN 2 We understand your human thinking. Now you must understand ours. Your officer has committed a serious crime for which he must pay.

CHAKOTAY What exactly do you mean by that?

PHIBIAN 2 Technokleptsis is punishable by death.

CHAKOTAY (stunned)

You’ve gotta be kidding!


Turning away, the Phibians again appear inattentive.

CHAKOTAY (CONT.) (frustrated, forcefully)

Our reasons for using that craft were completely justifiable!

(turning to Seven) Help me out here, Seven.

Temporarily at a loss for a better argument, Seven fumbles a bit then just winds up echoing Chakotay.

SEVEN Our reasons for using that craft were completely justifiable!

Recognizing the ineffectuality of the “help,” Seven eyes Chakotay with a “well-that-was-dumb” look, but tries again.

SEVEN (CONT.) Besides, why should we believe the craft was yours? The technology was Ilidarian and you are not.

PHIBIAN 1 (coldly)

We are Phibians and our technology is none of your concern. Your only concern is delivering your officer for execution.

CHAKOTAY Just like that?! No trial?! You can’t execute a man without a trial!

PHIBIAN 2 The criminal is in possession of the stolen craft. No trial is necessary.

CHAKOTAY But without some sort of inquiry you can’t determine the mitigating circumstances!

PHIBIAN 2 We know the circumstances. We know from your thoughts that you gave the order to steal the craft. But he is responsible for his own actions. He alone will face the penalty.

CHAKOTAY This is entirely unreasonable!


PHIBIAN 1

You will learn what unreasonable is.

The Phibians eye one another and stand erect near Chakotay and Seven. Presently, their transporter ACB IS HEARD and the four of them DEMATERIALIZE.

FADE OUT.

END ACT II

VOYAGER: “Technokleptsis” — ACT III 33

ACT III FADE IN:

EXT. SPACE — VOYAGER (OPTICAL)

Voyager is WARPING through space.

JANEWAY (V.O.) Captain’s log — supplemental. Having jump-started the relief effort on Uutara Three, we are now en route to Uutara Four to rendezvous with the security detail we launched sixteen hours ago. Unfortunately, repeated efforts to contact the shuttle have been unsuccessful.

INT. VOYAGER BRIDGE

Janeway, Tuvok, Paris, and Kim are in their usual positions. Neelix is also on hand. While concern for their “lost” security detail is evident on their faces, it has clearly not yet reached crisis proportions.

TUVOK Still no response from the shuttle, Captain.

JANEWAY Run a sensor sweep of the rendezvous point, Commander.

Tuvok makes the necessary control entries as Janeway regards the viewscreen with pensive concern.

TUVOK Captain, sensors show nothing in the vicinity of the rendezvous point, but I am picking up two metallic structures drifting in the extra-planetary region. The mass of one is consistent with that of a Starfleet shuttle.

JANEWAY On screen.

Tuvok’s panel CHIRPS and on screen APPEARS the shuttlecraft, dark, askew, and adrift. In the distant BACKGROUND CAN BE SEEN the UNRECOGNIZABLY TINY Ilidarian craft.


A HUSH falls over the crew as they fear the worst.

PARIS It looks dead.

TUVOK All systems are out except life support.

JANEWAY Life signs?

TUVOK (checking)

Only one registering.

Knowing there should be at least two lives, Janeway frowns with concern.

JANEWAY Let’s see the other structure.

The Ilidarian craft BECOMES RECOGNIZABLE on screen.

NEELIX (alarmed)

Captain, that’s an Ilidarian scout craft!

JANEWAY Ilidarian?! What’s an Ilidarian craft doing in this sector?

TUVOK Apparently just drifting. Sensors show no power generation...no life support...no life signs.

Janeway furrows her brow at the mystery.

JANEWAY Raise shields and go to yellow alert.

(to helm) Tom, alter course for the shuttle and bring us alongside.

PARIS Aye, Captain.

Paris enters the course.

TUVOK Captain, we’re receiving a hail.


JANEWAY From the shuttle?

TUVOK No...the Ilidarian craft.

JANEWAY

(surprised) On screen.

Zimmerman’s IMAGE comes on the viewscreen.

JANEWAY (CONT.) (stunned)

Doctor! What are you doing aboard an Ilidarian vessel? And where are Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine?

ZIMMERMAN (ON VIEWSCREEN) It’s a long story, Captain. I’ve been adrift for nearly fourteen hours with no power — this transmission’s being powered by my tricorder. I left Chakotay and Seven back on Uutara Four.

JANEWAY

And Doctor Taalca?

ZIMMERMAN (ON VIEWSCREEN) You’ll find him aboard the shuttlecraft.

JANEWAY Really?! Your story should be quite interesting!

(to com) B’Elanna, prepare a tractor beam for the offboard shuttlecraft.

TORRES (VIA COM) Aye, Captain!

ZIMMERMAN (ON VIEWSCREEN) Be careful, Captain. Doctor Taalca is armed and dangerous, and in a foul mood. I recommend extreme caution.

JANEWAY Thanks for the warning, Doctor.

(grins slyly) I can’t wait to hear your story.


EXT. SPACE — VOYAGER IN WARP (OPTICAL)

DROPPING OUT OF WARP, Voyager slows as the other two craft ARE REVEALED. Presently, a TRACTOR BEAM engages the shuttle and begins to pull it in.

INT. OBSERVATION LOUNGE

Janeway, Zimmerman, Neelix, TORRES, and Paris are assembled about the TABLE. Zimmerman is just finishing his story.

ZIMMERMAN Obviously, without power, I was unable to return to the planet. I lost touch with Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine about two hours ago. But as far as I know, they’re still where I left them.

PARIS Unless the paralysis has worn off spontaneously, they won’t have been able to find water and could be in serious condition.

Janeway nods with genuine understanding of the situation.

ZIMMERMAN And the Ilidarian craft will need repair before we return it.

TORRES I’ve already had a look at it. We can replicate the parts, no problem...should have it up and running in a couple of hours.

JANEWAY Good. Why don’t you go ahead and get started, while——

She is interrupted by a communications CHIRP.

TUVOK (VIA COM) I’m sorry to interrupt, Captain. Sensors show a Numiri battlecruiser on approach. Her shields are up and she looks hostile.

Eyeing one another with puzzled expressions, they all jump up and head out to:


INT. BRIDGE

Emerging from the observation lounge, B’Elanna crosses to the turbolift and EXITS as the others take their usual positions on the bridge. Tuvok is at tactical.

TUVOK We’re being hailed, Captain.

JANEWAY On screen.

On the viewscreen APPEARS the face of MAREX, the Phibian captain, plus several of his CREW, standing behind him.

MAREX (ON VIEWSCREEN) You are in possession of a stolen craft. We demand its return and the extradition of the Starfleet criminal who stole it.

Knowing the story of the doctor’s misadventure and the strangely outfitted Ilidarian craft he had it in — but never having seen its owners — Janeway eyes the doctor before responding.

JANEWAY Who are you?

MAREX (ON VIEWSCREEN) I am Marex, captain of the Phibian ship, Solvas.

JANEWAY Phibian? Your ship is Numiri and the craft you claim was stolen is Ilidarian.

MAREX (ON VIEWSCREEN) The cultural origin of our craft is not your concern. We are here to reclaim our craft and take custody of the thief.

JANEWAY My officer appropriated the craft in a security emergency, and under the circumstance, I feel his use of it justified. Assuming the craft is yours, we will of course return it to you. But I see no reason to also hand over my officer.


MAREX (ON VIEWSCREEN) Your officer committed a serious offense and must pay the penalty for his crime.

JANEWAY (turning to Neelix)

Do you know these people, Neelix?

NEELIX Only by reputation, Captain. But they’re reputed never to mince words. You might try bargaining with him.

Janeway takes a breath as she begins to try negotiation.

JANEWAY I understand the life support system in the craft was non-functional when my officer found it. It would seem to me that performing the repairs that you would have had to make would be fair compensation for the use of the craft. Do you not agree?

INTERCUT WITH:

INT. PHIBIAN (NUMIRI) BRIDGE

MAREX No, I do not. We also require the extradition of the criminal.

JANEWAY But you’ll be returned your craft in better condition than you left it. What more could you need of my officer?

MAREX He is to be executed.

JANEWAY (stunned, under her breath)

What?!

MAREX The penalty for technokleptsis is death.


JANEWAY But surely the taking of a man’s life under the circumstance is unfair in the extreme.

MAREX In our society, a deterrent to this crime must be maintained.

JANEWAY How can you place the value of a craft above the value of a man?

MAREX Lives are plentiful and easy to come by. Machines are scarce and therefore precious.

JANEWAY In our society, it’s just the opposite. Lives are much more important than things.

MAREX The law is the law and must be obeyed.

Janeway is confounded by Marex’s intransigence.

JANEWAY (with conviction)

Well it’s not our law and I will not hand over my officer to you for any purpose, particularly execution.

MAREX (sneering)

Perhaps this will change your mind.

On the screen, Marex steps aside, as do his crew, to REVEAL Chakotay and Seven, alive but restrained in large, VERTICAL PLEXIGLAS CYLINDERS.

MAREX (CONT.) We are prepared to make a trade.

Stunned by the sight of her crewmen held captive, Janeway draws a deep breath as she considers her next move. The doctor slips beside her to speak quietly in her ear.

ZIMMERMAN Captain, although I normally find it very distasteful to point this out, you might inform Marex that I too am essentially a machine of sorts.


Finding the proposal promising, Janeway nods favorably.

JANEWAY It might interest you to know that the officer who borrowed your craft is a hologram, a piece of technology himself.

MAREX Then by your own standards, you are getting the better deal...two lives for a machine.

JANEWAY

By our standards, he is an equal and valued member of my crew. But since he is himself a machine, I would think him precious to you.

MAREX A hologram cannot manufacture goods or ferry us in space.

(tiring of the polemic) If you have not delivered the hologram criminal in two of your hours, your human officers will die in his place.

JANEWAY Such an act would bring harsh reprisals from this vessel.

MAREX I think not. Our firepower is equal to yours. And even if it meant battle, the loss of lives would mean very little to us.

JANEWAY But surely you must know...I can’t knowingly sacrifice the life of one of my officers.

MAREX Then you will sacrifice the lives of two of your officers.

The viewscreen immediately defaults to the starfield. Needless to say, Janeway is very concerned as we:

FADE OUT.

END ACT III

VOYAGER: “Technokleptsis” — ACT IV 41

ACT IV FADE IN:

EXT. SPACE — VOYAGER AND SOLVAS (OPTICAL)

Hovering in space, the Solvas is FACED OFF against Voyager.

INT. ILIDARIAN CRAFT INSIDE SHUTTLE BAY

Kim and a couple of ENGINEERS are installing PARTS in the craft. Presently, B’Elanna enters the craft with a freshly replicated COMPONENT and hands it to an engineer.

INT. OBSERVATION LOUNGE

Janeway, Tuvok, Zimmerman, Paris and Neelix are sitting around the table.

JANEWAY We don’t have much time to get to know our enemy, so I hope you’ll all listen up. Neelix?

NEELIX

As I said, I haven’t had any direct contact with the Phibians. However, they’re notorious in the Delta Quadrant for their practices of acquiring technology. They derive mainly from ancient Kazon and Bothan ancestry.

TUVOK Bothan?! So they’re telepathic?

NEELIX

They’re said to be.

PARIS So they can read our thoughts right now?

NEELIX

Presumably. Suddenly aware that their thoughts may be monitored, everyone in the room FALLS SILENT and tries not to think. For a full 10 seconds they eye each other helplessly. Finally, Janeway speaks quietly.


JANEWAY What a perfectly insidious weapon. Your enemy defeats itself, just for fear of thinking and speaking. Well, that’s all we have to work with. And I refuse to be immobilized by our own fear. So until we see differently, we’ll assume that the Phibians’ reputation is overrated. Continue, Neelix.

NEELIX

Through many generations, offshoots of the two cultures migrated from system to system and finally merged in the Phibian system. As a result, they developed both an aggressive nature and telepathic abilities. Their values were driven by chronic over-population and a planetary scarcity of technological resources. So they’ve never valued life very highly and resorted to trading what amounts to indentured labor for technological goods from neighboring cultures.

PARIS

Slave traders! Well that explains their reverence for machines over life.

ZIMMERMAN And the mobile scrap heaps they call spacecraft.

Having heard enough background, Janeway is ready to talk solutions.

JANEWAY Obviously, this issue is one of cultural differences. Therefore, the question is, what can we do to resolve these differences to the satisfaction of each?

PARIS You can’t “resolve” cultural differences. You can only accept them and find a way around them.


JANEWAY If by that you mean find some patch of common ground upon which both sides can live, I agree.

PARIS I was thinking more along the lines of cunning.

JANEWAY That, of course, is an option. But I’d prefer to use diplomatic means.

NEELIX That may be difficult, Captain. The Phibians are a very determined race. And since they’re holding Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine, they can feel confident insisting on their way.

PARIS Well as it stands, we can’t live with what they’re asking for and they certainly haven’t been willing to listen to reason.

ZIMMERMAN “Reason,” Mister Paris, is a matter of perspective.

JANEWAY

That’s right! The problem isn’t that they’re unwilling to listen to reason, but that “reason” to them means their way of looking at it. And to be honest, I can’t fault them for that. After all, “reason” to us means our way of looking at it.

TUVOK No doubt they think we are being unreasonable.

PARIS But executing a man for borrowing a spacecraft, particularly when you’re getting it back in better condition than you left it, just isn’t right.


JANEWAY It is tempting to believe that our way is more right than theirs. But their culture must be considered fundamentally equal, with equally valid — if different — values. While it may seem extreme, their form of “justice” follows perfectly from their cultural imperatives.

NEELIX That’s not to say we should hand over the doctor for execution.

JANEWAY Of course not. We have also to be true to our own values.

PARIS So we’re back to looking for common ground. Where do we find common ground in the absence of reason?

NEELIX Perhaps a novel solution that neither side would normally think of.

ZIMMERMAN (reproachfully)

If we wouldn’t normally think of it, how would we be able to think of it now?

This triggers an idea in Janeway.

JANEWAY No, no. Neelix is right. We have to start thinking “outside the box.”

ZIMMERMAN How am I supposed to “think outside the box?” All I have to work with is what’s stored in the computer.

JANEWAY

Then use the computer to search for similar situations and review the solutions. Because of your special relationship with the computer, you can do this more efficiently than any of us.


ZIMMERMAN Well, that is an intriguing idea. You do realize I’ll have to go off line for that.

JANEWAY Yes, of course. Why don’t you go get started.

ZIMMERMAN Very well.

He rises to leave.

PARIS What if the doctor can’t come up with a solution in time?

ZIMMERMAN (turning)

That is a very real possibility, Captain. And there’s no guarantee that there even is a solution to this problem.

JANEWAY (reluctantly)

Very well. I hate to resort to the alternatives, but I suppose we have no choice but to consider them.

Zimmerman EXITS.

TUVOK In the absence of reason, the commonly recognized means of motivation include inducement, intimidation, force, artifice, and sacrifice.

JANEWAY Well sacrifice is clearly out. We can’t order the doctor to give up his life.

NEELIX Intimidation has already failed. All the leverage seems to be in the Phibians’ favor.

TUVOK Inducement requires a receptive frame of mind, and so far they are completely unreceptive.


JANEWAY

That leaves force and artifice.

PARIS Perhaps a combination of the two.

JANEWAY What did you have in mind, Lieutenant?

PARIS We use only enough force to break down their defenses...low yield phaser fire to deplete their shields, but not cause damage. When the shields are down, we beam out Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine. Without their leverage, the Phibians will be happy to get their craft back and be on their way.

Janeway considers it a moment, then taps her combadge.

JANEWAY How are your repairs going, B’Elanna?

TORRES (VIA COM) It’s very straight forward, Captain. We’ll be done fifteen or twenty minutes before the Phibian deadline.

JANEWAY Very good.

(to present group) Alright, then. Unless there’s anything else, we’ll implement Tom’s plan as soon as the Ilidarian craft is repaired.

(waits for comments) Dismissed. And...thank you.

They all get up to leave.


Voyager is FACED OFF against the Solvas.


INT. BRIDGE

Janeway, Tuvok, Paris, and Kim are all in their usual positions and Neelix stands by. Presently, B’ELANNA’S VOICE comes over the com.

TORRES (VIA COM) Torres to Captain.

JANEWAY

Yes, B’Elanna.

TORRES (VIA COM) We’re finished with the repairs to the Ilidarian craft. She’s ready to go.

JANEWAY Thank you, Lieutenant! Please stand by.

(to Kim) Mister Kim, have you located Commander Chakotay and Seven?

KIM Yes, Captain. But they’re no longer on the bridge, they’ve been moved to what looks like a brig.

JANEWAY Will that present any problem beaming them out of there?

KIM Not after you knock out their shields.

JANEWAY Very well. Initiate transport the instant you read a window.

KIM Aye, Captain.

JANEWAY (to Tuvok)

Hail the Phibians, Mister Tuvok.

Tuvok complies.

TUVOK They are responding.


JANEWAY

On screen.

Marex APPEARS on the viewscreen.

MAREX (ON VIEWSCREEN) You have sixteen minutes more before your officers die, Captain. Have you decided to hand over the criminal?

JANEWAY On the contrary, Captain. I have decided to offer you one last chance to accept the repaired scout craft in exchange for my officers. And as a gesture of good faith, I am releasing the craft to you now.

(to com) B’Elanna?


The shuttle bay doors OPEN and the Ilidarian craft EMERGES.

INT. VOYAGER BRIDGE

On our viewscreen, WE SEE Marex look up from a monitor on his bridge.

MAREX (ON VIEWSCREEN) (snidely)

I understand your gesture, Captain, but the answer is still “no.”

JANEWAY Very well.

(to Tuvok) Fire phasers.

Tuvok starts to comply, then stops, astonished.

TUVOK Captain, the Phibian shields have dropped by themselves.

JANEWAY (snapping to action)

Hold your fire! Mister Kim, energize!


Kim begins to comply, then gets a look of puzzled surprise.

KIM Captain, I can’t! There’s still a shield blocking transport.

Janeway furrows her brow.

JANEWAY Tuvok?

TUVOK He’s right, Captain. They’ve energized a containment field around their brig.

JANEWAY Can we penetrate it?!

KIM No, Ma’am. It’s just like a shield. The Annular Confinement Beam just bounces off.

TUVOK Any attempt to knock it out by phaser fire would breach the hull and kill Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine.

MAREX (ON VIEWSCREEN) Your artifice has failed, Captain. You should have paid more heed to your Talaxian refugee. The human mind is extremely penetrable and we know what you are thinking even before you. Now you have fourteen minutes left in which to deliver your holographic officer. And please, no more foolish tricks.

The screen defaults to stars. The look on Janeway’s face is utter dismay.

FADE OUT.

END ACT IV

VOYAGER: “Technokleptsis” — ACT V 50

ACT V FADE IN:


Voyager remains faced off against the Solvas.

INT. PHIBIAN BRIG

Chakotay and Seven look like death warmed over, but they are alive, secured to bunks which clearly afford little, if any, comfort.

CHAKOTAY The Phibians must be driving a hard bargain. I’d expected to be out of here by now. What do you think?

SEVEN I think we shall die painfully.

CHAKOTAY I’m still holding out for being rescued.

SEVEN Surely Captain Janeway will not give in to the Phibians.

CHAKOTAY No, but she’s not going to let us die either...if she can help it.

INT. VOYAGER SICKBAY

Sickbay is empty. Presently, Janeway ENTERS, deep worry lines etched on her face.

JANEWAY Doctor?

A second later, Zimmerman MATERIALIZES behind Janeway.

ZIMMERMAN

Captain?

She starts at the sound of his voice and turns.

JANEWAY Oh, there you are.


DOCTOR

(seeing her worried gaze) Are you all right, Captain?

JANEWAY

Yes, yes. I...just thought I’d come in to see if you’d made any progress. No one else seems to have an answer.

ZIMMERMAN I’m sorry, Captain. I’ve been working diligently, but so far I haven’t come up with anything either.

JANEWAY Well, a few minutes remain before the deadline. If you come up with a plan before then, I’m authorizing you to implement it on your own if need be.

ZIMMERMAN I understand.

JANEWAY (softly)

Thank you, Doctor.

She turns and EXITS. He waits till she’s out, then, with purpose in his step, also EXITS.

INT. CARGO BAY

A LARGE OBJECT MATERIALIZES on the cargo TRANSPORTER PAD. REPLICATING STUFF, a lone CREWPERSON is standing at the transporter/replicator control console when Zimmerman walks in.

CREWPERSON (spotting Zimmerman coming)

Doctor?

ZIMMERMAN You are relieved, Ensign.

CREWPERSON (quite puzzled)

Sir?

ZIMMERMAN You heard me. Scram!


With a cock of her head, the puzzled crewperson considers it for an instant.

CREWPERSON Yes, sir.

When the door has completely closed behind the crewperson, Zimmerman sets about entering commands into the control panel.


Voyager maintains the STANDOFF with the Solvas, into which the Ilidarian craft is being pulled by TRACTOR BEAM.

INT. CAPTAIN’S READY ROOM

As Janeway sits in anxious thought, the com CHIRPS.

TUVOK (VIA COM) Captain, we’re being hailed by the Phibians.

JANEWAY That can’t be right! We’ve still got two minutes!

She gets up and goes into:

INT. BRIDGE

Tuvok, Paris, and Kim are still at their stations as Janeway ENTERS. Neelix is also present.

JANEWAY On screen.

Marex’s face appears on the viewscreen.

MAREX (ON VIEWSCREEN) I’m pleased you’ve finally come to your senses, Captain. Here are your officers.

JANEWAY (under her breath)

What?!

Presently, Chakotay and Seven MATERIALIZE on the bridge out of a Vidiian transporter ACB. Their knees give way as Paris and Kim rush to offer support.


JANEWAY (CONT.)

(worried, to com) Doctor? Captain to doctor....

On the viewscreen, Marex now steps aside to REVEAL Zimmerman, behind him, secured as Chakotay and Seven were, in a huge vertical glass cylinder. Janeway is shocked by the sight.

JANEWAY (horrified, under her breath)

Oh, no.

MAREX (ON VIEWSCREEN) We’ve scanned your ship’s computer to be sure you haven’t retained a backup copy of his program. You were wise not to try to trick us.

JANEWAY Tuvok?!

TUVOK

(working his console) He’s right, Captain. The doctor has been erased from the computer.

MAREX (ON VIEWSCREEN) I understand, as a hologram, he’ll feel no pain.

Marex looks off and nods. Immediately the cylinder GLOWS with a BLINDING LIGHT, and Zimmerman VAPORIZES. Janeway is frozen in horror.

MAREX (CONT.) Let this be a lesson to any Starfleet officer who considers stealing Phibian technology again.

The screen abruptly defaults to SPACE and we see the Numiri battlecruiser TURN ABOUT and WARP AWAY. Utterly stunned, Janeway drops into her chair.

JANEWAY (despairingly)

Doctor....


Equally stunned, the rest of the bridge personnel stare at the viewscreen in shocked silence. Finally, Janeway slowly reaches over and activates the com, shipwide. Her voice is raspy with emotion.

JANEWAY This is Captain Janeway. It is my sad duty to inform you all of the loss of a crewmate. Our ship’s doctor...has been executed by the Phibians, as punishment for an act they regard as a crime.

(she pauses as she tears up) Mister Neelix will inform you when he has arranged a memorial service.

She regards Neelix, who averts his eyes solemnly and nods.

JANEWAY (CONT.) That is all.

(to Paris) Mister Paris, take us back to Uutara Three so we can drop off Doctor Taalca and get the hell out of this sector.

PARIS

Aye, Captain.


Voyager slowly COMES ABOUT and WARPS OFF in the opposite direction.

INT. SICKBAY

A wake, of sorts, is in progress. All of the bridge crew and many other known Voyager PERSONNEL are in attendance. All wear gloomy expressions and speak in HUSHED TONES. The doctor’s absence is palpable. Occasionally, a PADD CAN BE SEEN perched on an exam table, out of its designated storage place. Presently, Chakotay crosses to a very reserved Janeway, standing by herself, gazing out a porthole at the WORMHOLE, as they orbit Uutara III. He quietly approaches from behind, putting a hand warmly on her shoulder. At first she doesn’t respond.

CHAKOTAY Kathryn....

She turns at last, but with anger instead of sadness.


JANEWAY How could I have been so stupid! I told him to do whatever he could to solve the problem, without even clearing it with me first. I hadn’t meant that to include turning himself over to Marex! What was I thinking?

CHAKOTAY

You were giving him the same rights as any human member of this crew. The right to determine his own future, to serve his captain and crew with his life, to act with the courage of a Starfleet officer. He knew you would never order him to his death. But you respected his right to make that choice for himself.

Janeway stares off numbly as she takes this in.

JANEWAY I know you’re right. But was it worth the sacrifice...just to get us a few years closer to home?

CHAKOTAY

I don’t know. He takes her hand and they share a moment of sad acceptance of the doctor’s decision. Presently, Paris spots the out-of-place PADD and picks it up.

PARIS (under his breath)

Hmm...what’s this doing out? He starts to put it away, when suddenly he reads what’s on the display and stops.

PARIS Captain?

JANEWAY

Yes, Tom.

PARIS Look what I just found.

He hands her the PADD.


JANEWAY (reading)

“Look behind the curtain.”

CHAKOTAY That’s an odd notation. What do you suppose it means?

JANEWAY

I don’t know, but maybe we oughta look for a curtain.

They look around sickbay, with stern but curious faces. Chakotay soon notices a handtowel-sized black cloth hanging on a wall. He motions to Janeway and Paris and they quickly cross to it. He yanks it off the wall in one smooth tug to REVEAL a recess within which is a SMALL BLACK CONTAINER encased in a GLOWING CONTAINMENT FIELD.

CHAKOTAY (to com)

Computer, deactivate force field in sickbay.

The force field VANISHES. With a look of consternation, Janeway grabs the container, opens it, and removes to her surprise, the doctor’s ARMBAND EMITTER. Now they exchange a glance of wide-eyed disbelief, and Janeway activates a switch on the armband. The doctor immediately MATERIALIZES, bent over awkwardly because his arm is inside the band that Janeway is holding. Janeway releases the armband and the doctor straightens up.

JANEWAY, PARIS & CHAKOTAY Doctor!

Everyone else in the room turns and EXCLAIMS in delight at seeing the doctor.

ZIMMERMAN It took you long enough to catch on!

Janeway explodes into smiles and impulsively hugs the doctor as the others in the room crowd around. He is appropriately embarrassed.

JANEWAY (fumbling)

What...? I....

ZIMMERMAN Are you asking for an explanation, Captain?


JANEWAY Yes! We were sure you had permanently erased yourself from the computer!

ZIMMERMAN

That was the idea. Apparently, my plan was more ingenious than even I realized.

CHAKOTAY

Details! Details!

ZIMMERMAN (pleased with himself)

It was quite simple, really. I replicated my mobile emitter, copied myself onto the duplicate, and beamed it aboard the Phibians’ ship.

JANEWAY I didn’t think it was possible to replicate your emitter.

ZIMMERMAN

Well, of course, the emitter is far too complex to replicate reliably, and most of the memory core of the duplicate was corrupted. But I only needed enough to store my image and basic ambulation program — none of my medical knowledge...or my radiant personality. If they’d interrogated me, the stoic silence would have seemed natural. I put my original emitter in the containment field to shield it from the Phibian’s sensor scan.

JANEWAY

Smart! But how’d you manage to override the security lockouts to erase yourself from the main computer?

ZIMMERMAN

You gave me the authority to do that when you authorized me to implement the plan on my own. The computer knew that. I’d already devised the plan and it was then just a matter of putting it into action.


JANEWAY (takes a deep sigh)

Well, you certainly gave us a fine scare, doctor.

ZIMMERMAN I know...I’m sorry about that. But it was necessary. While they couldn’t read my thoughts, I couldn’t tell you of the plan because I knew they would read your thoughts.

JANEWAY

Of course! Good thinking. And I’m overjoyed to have you back!

ZIMMERMAN Naturally. I suppose now I have to endure being the center of attention at this little soirée.

JANEWAY

(grins wryly) Naturally!

She takes him by the arm and escorts him into the crowd.


Voyager WARPS out of orbit and DISAPPEARS into the maw of the wormhole.

FADE OUT.

END EPISODE

Teleplay - Star Trek Voyager - 'Technokleptsis' ©

Documents

Transcript of Teleplay - Star Trek Voyager - 'Technokleptsis' ©