(Little Naomi is standing in Seven's regeneration chamber when Seven enters.)
SEVEN: Naomi Wildman. State your purpose here.
NAOMI: I was waiting for you. Kadis-kot, remember? Our weekly game?
SEVEN: Reschedule for tomorrow. I'm working now.
NAOMI: Redecorating isn't work.
SEVEN: Aesthetics are irrelevant. I'm modifying the alcove to function as a cortical processing sub-unit.
NAOMI: That was my next guess.
SEVEN: Then I won't need to explain its purpose.
NAOMI: Okay, you win. What do you do with a cortical processing er
SEVEN: Sub-unit. On Borg vessels, there's one in each Unimatrix. It downloads newly assimilated data to the drones.
NAOMI: But Voyager isn't a Borg vessel, and you're not a drone anymore.
SEVEN: Voyager collects a great deal of information. Sensor scans, navigational projections, engineering updates, away team reports, scientific analyses.
NAOMI: The results of our Kadis-kot tournament?
SEVEN: That, too. The crew must read and study this information. An inefficient procedure. These data nodes are downloading the information into the alcove.
NAOMI: Which is going to download it into you.
SEVEN: Precisely. In a matter of hours, I will assimilate several months worth of data.
NAOMI: Can I try it sometime?
SEVEN: Your physiology is different from mine.
NAOMI: Guess I'll stick to reading my lessons and listening to Neelix tell stories.
SEVEN: I will see you tomorrow.
NAOMI: Can I watch? Okay, tomorrow.
(Naomi leaves. Seven steps into her augmented regeneration chamber.)

[Janeway's quarters]

(A dinner evening with Chakotay.)
COMPUTER: Warning. Plate is hot.
JANEWAY: Now you tell me. You go for authenticity and what do you get? Second-degree burns.
(Janeway uses a napkin to collect it from the replicator.)
JANEWAY: ( I've been slaving over that replicator programme for hours. What was this bizarre rumour I heard about half the crew on deck five getting pregnant?
CHAKOTAY: Oh, that. The Doctor was running generational projections on the Sickbay computer. Tom Paris happened to glance at the monitor and jumped to conclusions. Wasn't long before Neelix was asking me if he could turn Cargo Bay one into a nursery.
JANEWAY: Word travels fast on this ship, hmm?
CHAKOTAY: Warp ten. Oh, by the way, I meant to tell you. There's a Class K nebula twenty five light years off starboard. We should take a look.
JANEWAY: A major detour for a minor nebula.
CHAKOTAY: We are explorers, remember?
JANEWAY: Permission granted.
(The replicator beeps.)
JANEWAY: Main course. A recipe I've never tried. But we are explorers, remember.

[Cargo Bay two]

COMPUTER: Regeneration cycle complete.
SEVEN: Seven of Nine to Lieutenant Torres. Lieutenant Torres, respond.
TORRES [OC]: Good morning, Seven. This better be important.
SEVEN: I must speak with you at once.

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: I'm picking up some interesting graviton fluctuations about ten light years away.
TUVOK: Can you be more specific?
JANEWAY: Not at this distance. Tom, alter course. I want to take a closer look.
PARIS: Chakotay had his heart set on that nebula we're headed for.
JANEWAY: He'll have to wait.
(Torres and Seven enter.)
TORRES: Captain, I need permission to shut down the sensor grid. Seven thinks a couple of insects are disrupting the power flow.
SEVEN: A mating pair of photonic fleas, to be more accurate, and possibly their offspring.
JANEWAY: And how did you arrive at this theory?
SEVEN: Last night, I downloaded six months of ship status reports into my new cortical sub-unit while I was regenerating.
PARIS: Learn while you sleep. I tried that once, It gave me a headache.
JANEWAY: Go on.
SEVEN: Eight weeks ago, an away team encountered a Kartelan freighter carrying supplies from sector four nine two, a territory that included a former Talaxian colony. Mister Neelix used the opportunity to acquire twelve kilograms of amber spice, a delicacy among his people.
TORRES: What does that have to do with the sensor grid?
SEVEN: On the same day, Ensign Kim was repairing a replicator in the Mess hall.
KIM: I remember that. Neelix told me to stick around and try something he was cooking.
SEVEN: No doubt made with the amber spice, which contained the larvae of the photonic fleas.
TORRES: How could you possibly know that?
SEVEN: Because I also downloaded data regarding their life cycles. The larvae flew out of the spice jar in search of their primary source of nourishment, plasma particles. The conduits within the nearby sensor grid contain an unlimited supply of these particles. Ensign Kim had unwittingly given the creatures access by exposing the grid. The now mature creatures periodically tap into the conduit for nourishment. When they do, the sensor emitters momentarily lose their resolution.
TUVOK: A logical, though highly speculative, analysis.

[Jefferies tube]

(Torres opens the relevant panel. There are tiny bright insects flying around in there.)
JANEWAY: Let's find a more suitable home for them.

[Bridge]

KIM: I'm picking up graviton fluctuations.
JANEWAY: Take us out of warp. On screen.
(Artificial structures.)
PARIS: Anybody want to hazard a guess?
TUVOK: They are hailing us.
JANEWAY: On screen. (A thin faced saurian with a long bony protruberance all the way up the middle of his face from his nose.)
TASH [on viewscreen]: I recommend maximum shielding. There are a few technical issues I haven't worked out yet.
KIM: There's a massive graviton surge coming from that thing.
TUVOK: Shields to full.
(Whumph!)
JANEWAY: Your apparatus appears to be destabilising.
TASH [on viewscreen]: If I don't find a way to repair this power core they'll be able to see the explosion all the way to, er, where did you say you were from?
JANEWAY: I didn't, but we're from a planet called Earth.
TASH [on viewscreen]: All the way to Earth.
CHAKOTAY: Can we ask you what it's supposed to do?
TASH [on viewscreen]: Catapult a vessel across space, in the time it takes to say catapult a vessel across space. It'll make warp drive look like a wooden sledge.
JANEWAY: Maybe we can help you with that power core.
TASH [on viewscreen]: Hmm?

[Briefing room]

TASH: The core sends a graviton surge through the projectors which locks onto a ship and sends it hurtling into null space, to emerge a few hours later hundreds, if not thousands, of light years away.
CHAKOTAY: I'm curious why you built this catapult.
TASH: Simple. I've been looking for a way to get home.
KIM: We know the feeling.
TASH: I'd been exploring an unstable wormhole. Before I knew it, I was here and my home planet was there. I was facing a journey of at least ten years. Instead, I decided to build a catapult.
TORRES: Have you tested it yet?
TASH: Two weeks ago I sent a probe nearly six hundred light years. But it destabilised the core. I've been trying to fix it ever since.
CHAKOTAY: We can send an Engineering team over to help you.
TASH: No, no, it's too dangerous. I wouldn't send my own crew in there.
KIM: Then we could find a way to adjust the core reaction from here.
TORRES: A few well-timed graviton pulses from our deflector dish might do it.
TASH: That's generous, but I have nothing to give in return.
JANEWAY: We're not asking for anything in return.
TASH: You could use the catapult after I've made my jump. It should still be functional. A thousand light years won't exactly get you back to Earth.
KIM: But it would cut a few years off our trip.
JANEWAY: If you're successful, and if I'm satisfied a jump would be safe for Voyager, then we'll take you up on that offer. Thank you. Let's get started.
(Seven has another night downloading lots of information into her brain, including the catapult schematics.)

[Janeway's quarters]

JANEWAY: Good morning.
SEVEN: Perhaps not. The alien, Mister Tash, is trying to deceive us. His catapult is the same type of technology that was used to trap Voyager in the Delta Quadrant five years ago.
JANEWAY: I scanned the catapult myself. Sensors didn't pick up anything unusual. You spent the night in your new alcove.
SEVEN: Processing the same information and cross-referencing it with Voyager's database. When the catapult destabilised yesterday, Astrometric sensors recorded a momentary burst of epsilon radiation.
JANEWAY: Unusual, but not unheard of.
SEVEN: Epsilon radiation is one the by-products of a tetryon reactor. According to your own entries in the database, your only encounter with that kind of technology occurred five years ago in the Alpha Quadrant. A coherent tetryon beam locked onto Voyager, and you were hit by a massive displacement wave, which pulled you across seventy thousand light years in a matter of minutes. The source of that tetryon beam was the Caretaker's array. Mister Tash claims that his catapult will be able to do something very similar.
JANEWAY: He didn't want us to send over a repair team.
SEVEN: Out of concern for our safety. It's obvious he was trying to hide his tetryon reactor.
JANEWAY: The first time we met a Caretaker, we were pulled halfway across the galaxy. The second time we were almost killed. I'm not eager for a third round.

[Engineering]

TASH: Is this any way to treat a colleague?
EMH: Not so much as a molecule of Caretaker DNA.
JANEWAY: Thank you, Doctor. There's a tetryon reactor powering your catapult. You didn't want us to find it, did you? Unless you answer my questions, I'll resume course and you can ask somebody else for help.
TASH: I acquired the tetryon reactor at great cost. This territory is full of species who would do anything for such advanced technology, including steal it. I apologise for the deception, but you do understand.
JANEWAY: We made an agreement to cooperate. I see no reason not to continue.
TASH: Thank you, Captain.
JANEWAY: (to Torres) Keep me informed on your progress.
(She walks away with Seven.)
JANEWAY: That reactor had to come from somewhere. I can't just ignore the possibility of a Caretaker nearby. Keep scanning. See what you can find.
SEVEN: There is another possibility. The reactor may have come from the same array that brought Voyager to the Delta Quadrant.
JANEWAY: That's a long shot, Seven.
SEVEN: Maybe not. Again, according to your own reports you believed the only way to keep the array from falling into the wrong hands was to destroy it. It's possible the destruction was incomplete.
JANEWAY: And one of the reactors survived? We scanned for debris. There was nothing left but some fused pieces of metal alloy.
SEVEN: I wish to re-examine the sensor records from that event.
JANEWAY: In case we were mistaken?
SEVEN: Yes.
JANEWAY: Go right ahead.

[Astrometrics lab]

SEVEN: Computer, describe the debris remaining after the array was destroyed.
COMPUTER: Particulate dust and metallic fragments composed of an unknown alloy. Vapour composed of hydrogen, helium, mercury and argon.
SEVEN: Was there anything left of the tetryon reactor?
COMPUTER: Negative.
SEVEN: Specify the yield of the tricobalt device.
COMPUTER: Twenty thousand teracochranes.
SEVEN: Who programmed the device?
COMPUTER: Commander Tuvok.
SEVEN: Display the detonation. Advance the image by point zero one seconds. Again.
SEVEN: Isolate grid three seven and magnify.
(There is a blue beam aiming at the array.)
SEVEN:  Is that a tractor beam?
COMPUTER: Insufficient sensor data.
SEVEN: Identify its source.
COMPUTER: Insufficient sensor data.
SEVEN: Identify the isolated section of the array.
COMPUTER: Secondary power core.
SEVEN: Which contained a tetryon reactor.
COMPUTER: Affirmative.

[Bridge]

SEVEN: Commander, I've been reviewing the data on the destruction of the Caretaker's array. Unfortunately, the sensor records are incomplete.
PARIS: I don't doubt it. We were being attacked by the Kazon. Half the ship's systems were down.
SEVEN: A single Kazon vessel.
PARIS: Armed to the teeth.
SEVEN: Commander, you fired the tricobalt charge that destroyed the array.
TUVOK: Correct.
SEVEN: Under the Captain's orders. Did you also programme the charge?
TUVOK: Yes.
SEVEN: Under the Captain's orders as well?
TUVOK: Not directly. I determined the yield.
SEVEN: Twenty thousand teracochranes.
TUVOK: That's correct.
SEVEN: According to sensor estimates of the array's hull integrity, a charge of half that yield would have been sufficient.
TUVOK: The Captain wanted nothing left for the Kazon to use. I calculated a yield certain to produce that result.
SEVEN: Something may have escaped the blast. One of the tetryon reactors.
PARIS: But we scanned for debris.
SEVEN: The charge you detonated tore an opening in subspace.
PARIS: And that's where the reactor went?
SEVEN: Yes.
PARIS: How?
SEVEN: It was pushed there by a tractor beam.
TUVOK: Do you have evidence of a tractor beam?
SEVEN: Perhaps.
TUVOK: Speculation is not evidence. There was no tractor beam, because there was no ship in the vicinity to generate one, unless you can prove otherwise.
SEVEN: Thank you, Commander.

[Mess hall]

NEELIX: Looking for a midnight snack?
SEVEN: I require information. I'm attempting to determine whether the catapult technology was derived from the Caretaker's array.
NEELIX: So I heard. A fascinating theory. It's got my mind spinning.
SEVEN: How long were you in the vicinity of the array before Voyager arrived?
NEELIX: About a year. Kes was on a nearby planet and, er, we were getting very close.
SEVEN: Did you ever encounter the Caretaker directly?
NEELIX: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. In my opinion, any being powerful enough to grab ships from the other side of the galaxy should be avoided.
SEVEN: According to Voyager's database, he claimed he was searching for a genetically compatible mate. Did you believe that explanation?
NEELIX: I had no reason to doubt it, though it did seem a bit excessive. I mean, all those ships.
SEVEN: What happened to them?
NEELIX: Well, after he sampled the crew's DNA he sent them back where they came from, I suppose. You know, Kes always thought something more was going on, but she had quite an imagination.
SEVEN: Were there any other ships in the area after Voyager arrived?
NEELIX: Only the Kazon.
SEVEN: But the Caretaker could have pulled in another vessel. A cloaked ship, perhaps.
NEELIX: Seven, what are you getting at?
SEVEN: A third ship, hidden from both Voyager and the Kazon.
NEELIX: What was it doing there?
SEVEN: Preventing the tetryon reactor from being destroyed.
NEELIX: Kes was right. Something was going on.
SEVEN: Voyager's sensor logs were damaged in the Kazon attack. I can't be certain.
NEELIX: Maybe I can help. The sensor records on my ship weren't damaged. I can give them to you.
(Seven has another download session with Neelix's files.)

[Bridge]

KIM: The tetryon reaction is stable. Graviton field is set for a one hundred light year jump.
CHAKOTAY: The catapult's locking onto him.
TUVOK: We're being hailed.
JANEWAY: On screen.
TASH [on viewscreen]: I'll contact you the moment I re-enter normal space. Thank you, Captain.
JANEWAY: My pleasure.
KIM: Catapult is at full power.
TASH [on viewscreen]: Goodbye to you all.
TUVOK: Final launch sequence has been initiated. (The two sides of the catapult activate with beams that pull at Tash's ship. Then it vanishes.)
KIM: He's gone.
JANEWAY: How long before we can expect to hear from him?
TUVOK: If his vessel survived, one or two hours.
SEVEN [OC]: Seven of Nine to Commander Chakotay.
CHAKOTAY: Go ahead.
SEVEN [OC]: I require your assistance in the Astrometrics lab.
CHAKOTAY: On my way.

[Astrometrics lab]

SEVEN: Computer, seal the doors. Deactivate all sensors within this room.
COMPUTER: Acknowledged.
CHAKOTAY: What's this about?
SEVEN: I believe Voyager's presence in the Delta Quadrant is no accident. You and the crew have been stranded here intentionally.
CHAKOTAY: By whom?
SEVEN: Captain Janeway. The Captain and Tuvok were involved in a Federation conspiracy. They're in collusion with the Caretaker and possibly the Cardassians.
CHAKOTAY: I see. And the point of this conspiracy?
SEVEN: I believe they're attempting to establish a military presence in the Delta Quadrant.
CHAKOTAY: That's quite a theory. Perhaps you haven't heard of the Jankata Accord?
SEVEN: No species shall enter another quadrant for the purpose of territorial expansion.
CHAKOTAY: The Federation signed it, the Cardassians signed it, and Captain Janeway would be the last person to violate it.
SEVEN: Improbable as it may sound, I've found compelling evidence to support my theory.
CHAKOTAY: What kind of evidence?
SEVEN: I've analysed over thirty million teraquads of data regarding Voyager's activities over the past five years. It's quite clear that we've been the victim of an elaborate deception.
CHAKOTAY: I don't have the benefit of a cortical processor. Why don't you give me the abridged version?
SEVEN: In the months before Voyager's arrival, Neelix recorded the appearance of fifty two vessels, including this one.
CHAKOTAY: A Cardassian warship.
SEVEN: A remarkable coincidence. Only days before Voyager's arrival, the Cardassians were already in the Delta Quadrant.
CHAKOTAY: The Caretaker was trying to find a mate, remember? He was pulling ships from all over the galaxy.
SEVEN: I'm familiar with the Caretaker's actions. In each instance, he would examine the crews' DNA, and when he failed to find a genetic match he would release the vessel. But in this instance, Neelix's sensors indicated the ship vanished. Obviously, it was returned to the Alpha Quadrant. Why?
CHAKOTAY: You seem to have all the answers.
SEVEN: I believe the Cardassians were sent back to deliver strategic information regarding the Delta Quadrant.
CHAKOTAY: Conjecture.
SEVEN: Extrapolation.
CHAKOTAY: I can believe the Cardassians might be involved in this, but not Starfleet.
SEVEN: There are precedents for unauthorised missions of this type, Commander. According to the Federation database, the Maquis were victims of several of them.
CHAKOTAY: All right, you've got my attention. You said that Tuvok and Captain Janeway were involved. Tell me how.
SEVEN: At the same time the Cardassians were meeting with the Caretaker, your Maquis vessel was infiltrated with a Starfleet agent.
CHAKOTAY: Tuvok.
SEVEN: Your navigator. He guided your ship to prearranged coordinates in the Badlands, where the Caretaker locked onto you. Once you were pulled into the Delta Quadrant, Tuvok could have secretly transmitted final instructions to the Caretaker. A short time later, Captain Janeway guided Voyager to the same coordinates and was also pulled into the Delta Quadrant. All of these events took place within a matter of days. I find that suspicious.
CHAKOTAY: I'll admit the timing seems a little convenient, but that doesn't mean there was a master plan.
SEVEN: Why did the Captain destroy the array?
CHAKOTAY: So the Kazon couldn't use it to attack the Ocampa.
SEVEN: That's what she told the crew, but I believe she intended to remain in the Delta Quadrant all along. If the Array had remained intact, you and all the others would have insisted on using it to return home.
CHAKOTAY: She was keeping it from the Kazon.
SEVEN: The Captain ordered Commander Tuvok to destroy the array. He fired two tricobalt devices. Are those weapons normally carried on Federation Starships?
CHAKOTAY: No.
SEVEN: Yet they were part of Voyager's arsenal. Why?
CHAKOTAY: I can't explain that.
SEVEN: I can. Neither phasers nor torpedoes are capable of creating a tear in subspace. A tricobalt device is. As Tuvok detonated the device, a cloaked ship locked on to one of the array's tetryon reactors and pushed it through the tear into subspace, protecting it from the blast and hiding it from Voyager's sensors. But the Captain and Tuvok knew exactly where it was going. Once Voyager left the area, the reactor was retrieved and began a similar journey, carried by a series of vessels until it was finally delivered to Mister Tash.
CHAKOTAY: Who used it to build the catapult.
SEVEN: He was waiting here for Voyager, and for the final phase of the mission.
CHAKOTAY: Which is what, exactly?
SEVEN: I don't think Captain Janeway is planning to use the catapult to get Voyager closer to home. I think she's going to use it to bring in more vessels from the Alpha Quadrant. If I'm correct, this region of space will soon be occupied by a Federation-Cardassian invasion force.
CHAKOTAY: You've uncovered some interesting facts. But your interpretation is far-fetched. These are random incidents. Granted, some of them are hard to explain, but there's no conspiracy here.
SEVEN: Stardate 51008, Captain Janeway allows Kes to leave Voyager. Neelix told me that Kes had suspicions about the Caretaker. Was the captain trying to silence her? Stardate 51462, the Doctor's programme is transmitted to a Starfleet vessel on the outskirts of the Alpha Quadrant. An attempt by the Captain to contact Earth or a secret communiqué informing Starfleet of her progress? Stardate 50984, Janeway forges an alliance with the Borg. Stardate 51762, a cease-fire with the Hirogen. Stardate 52861, a non-aggression pact with the Terkellians. She called each incident diplomacy. I believe she was trying to establish a tactical infrastructure in the Delta Quadrant. Over the past five years, Captain Janeway has altered course two hundred sixty three times in the name of exploration. In reality, she was mapping the region and collecting strategic data regarding
CHAKOTAY: I get the point.
SEVEN: You still doubt my suspicions, but can you be certain I'm wrong?
CHAKOTAY: Absolutely certain? No.
SEVEN: Until you are, you mustn't allow Captain Janeway to retain control of the catapult.

[Bridge]

TUVOK: I'm picking up a transmission, heavily distorted.
KIM: He made it.
JANEWAY: Can you clear it up?
TASH [on viewscreen]: Success, Captain. Five thousand light years.
JANEWAY: Are you all right?
TASH [on viewscreen]: A few systems overloaded, nothing serious. I had to readjust my shields during mid-flight. Almost lost my outer hull. I'm sending you the modifications. My catapult is yours, Captain. Good luck.
JANEWAY: Get that data down to B'Elanna. Tell her to enhance our shields.
CHAKOTAY: So we're going ahead with the jump?
JANEWAY: I want to run a few more tests, launch some probes, but if it all checks out I see no reason not to.
KIM: I've received the telemetry.
CHAKOTAY: I'll take it to Engineering.

[Engineering]

CHAKOTAY: I want you to add a point zero three variance to these shield modifications.
TORRES: That'll disrupt the emitters.
CHAKOTAY: And you'll need another six hours to get them back online. I know.
TORRES: Have you run this by the Captain?
CHAKOTAY: No, and I'm not going to. Not yet.
(Chakotay brings Torres up to speed on Seven's conspiracy theory.)
TORRES: She's pulling your leg. It's got to be some kind of Borg practical joke.
CHAKOTAY: She wasn't joking.
TORRES: A secret mission? Starfleet in league with the Caretaker? It's ridiculous.
CHAKOTAY: Ridiculous? Seven has some compelling evidence.
TORRES: Well then, let's go to the Captain, get a straight answer.
CHAKOTAY: Good morning, Kathryn. All systems are operational. The crew's in good health. And by the way, is it true you've been lying to us for five years? I'm not prepared to make that accusation, but I can't ignore what I've heard either.
TORRES: So what do you suggest?
CHAKOTAY: I want you to delay those shield modifications. That'll give me time to check Seven's database, take a look at the evidence myself.
KIM: The Captain asked me to work with you on the shields.
CHAKOTAY: That won't be necessary, Ensign.
KIM: Oh, I don't mind. You know how eager she is to make that jump.
TORRES: Harry, we're fine here.
CHAKOTAY: Too many cooks, Harry. You know how it is. We'll let you know when we're done.

[Cargo Bay two]

COMPUTER: Download complete.
SEVEN: Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway.
JANEWAY [OC]: Go ahead.
SEVEN: I need to speak with you in the Astrometrics lab.
JANEWAY [OC]: I'm on my way.

[Astrometrics lab]

SEVEN: Computer, seal the door and deactivate internal sensors to this room.
COMPUTER: Acknowledged.
JANEWAY: Seven?
SEVEN: I believe Chakotay and other members of your crew are involved in a conspiracy to resurrect the Maquis rebellion.
JANEWAY: Did Chakotay put you up to this?
SEVEN: Voyager and the Federation itself are in grave danger.
JANEWAY: Go on.
SEVEN: I've concluded that Chakotay intends to use the catapult to launch attacks against Cardassian and Federation starships.
JANEWAY: Chakotay gave up his allegiance to the Maquis a long time ago. What you're saying makes no sense.
SEVEN: Improbable as it may sound, I found compelling evidence to support my theory. In the months before Voyager's arrival, Neelix recorded the sudden appearance of fifty two vessels, including this one.
JANEWAY: A Cardassian warship.
SEVEN: I've analysed the hull geometry and warp signature. It was one of the same ships that were pursuing Chakotay and his crew in the region known as the Badlands. It was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker during that engagement. According to Federation records, that same Cardassian warship was found destroyed in the Badlands. The investigation revealed that it was attacked by the Maquis. I believe that for some unknown reason the Caretaker had sent this ship back to the Alpha Quadrant, and that Commander Chakotay attacked the vessel before it could reach its destination. He downloaded its computer core and discovered the presence of the Caretaker's array. He realised that the array could be used by the Maquis as a weapon, to launch surprise attacks against Cardassian and Starfleet vessels.
JANEWAY: Well, I commend you for your imagination, but Tuvok was a spy on Chakotay's ship. If your theory were true, he would have known about it.
SEVEN: He does. Tuvok has been collaborating with the Maquis resistance all along.
JANEWAY: That's not possible, Seven.
SEVEN: With Tuvok's assistance Chakotay plotted a course toward the next likely appearance of the Caretaker's displacement wave, offering his vessel as bait. His ploy almost succeeded, but the Caretaker was more powerful than he anticipated. His crew was taken captive. A few days later, Voyager arrived and facilitated their escape. Chakotay seized that opportunity to make one last attempt to gain control of the array, but then you gave the order to destroy it.
JANEWAY: Circumstantial evidence, not proof.
SEVEN: Who carried out your order to destroy the array?
JANEWAY: Tuvok.
SEVEN: Using what type of technology?
JANEWAY: Tricobalt devices.
SEVEN: He set the yield to twenty thousand teracochranes. It was enough to tear an opening in subspace. A cloaked ship locked on to one of the reactors, protecting it from the blast and hiding it from Voyager's sensors. The reactor was retrieved and carried by a series of vessels until it was delivered to Mister Tash, who was well compensated by Chakotay to build the catapult. He was waiting here for Voyager so Chakotay could complete the mission he was forced to abandon five years ago.
JANEWAY: I'd be willing to consider this theory of yours if I didn't know Chakotay as well as I do. There is no one on this ship I trust more. What you've done here is build what we call a house of cards.
SEVEN: Stardate 48658. Commander Seska is revealed to be a Cardassian spy. She defects to the Kazon and impregnates herself with Chakotay's DNA. Was he unaware of the procedure, as he claims, or were they working together, to create a new Kazon sect to capture Voyager? Stardate 49522. Chakotay recommends establishing trade relations with the Kolhari. Their technology uses tetryon power cells. A simple diplomatic overture, or was he seeking a source of energy for the catapult? Stardate 49571

[Corridor]

NAOMI: Seven.
SEVEN: Naomi Wildman.
NAOMI: Where are you going?
SEVEN: That's not your concern.
NAOMI: What's wrong?
SEVEN: Your father was Ktarian.
NAOMI: So?
SEVEN: The Ktarians were officially with the Federation, but they sympathised with the Maquis.
NAOMI: What are you talking about?
SEVEN: Who are you working for, Chakotay or the Captain?
NAOMI: Seven?
SEVEN: Tell them it's too late. Go!

[Cargo Bay two]

(Janeway enters, wearing a phaser at her waist. Chakotay is also wearing a weapon.)
CHAKOTAY: I picked up a power surge coming from the Cargo bay.
JANEWAY: I detected the same thing. You think it's the enhanced alcove.
CHAKOTAY: Could be.
JANEWAY: Let's take a look. Are phasers standard equipment on board now?
CHAKOTAY: Must be.
JANEWAY: The data buffer's been activated.
CHAKOTAY: I wanted to make sure it wasn't malfunctioning.
JANEWAY: You should be careful. Somebody might think you were trying to delete a few files.
CHAKOTAY: Why would they think that?
JANEWAY: Some of those files could contain sensitive information.
CHAKOTAY: If that's true, somebody might think you were trying to do the same thing.
JANEWAY: That catapult out there, it's a powerful piece of technology. If the Maquis ever had access to something like it, they might have been successful.
CHAKOTAY: And if we had, your mission to the Delta Quadrant never would have gotten off the drawing board.
JANEWAY: What are you talking about?
CHAKOTAY: The mission you've been on for the last five years.
JANEWAY: My only mission is trying to get Voyager home.
CHAKOTAY: Seven showed me the sensor records. I saw the tractor beam.
JANEWAY: She showed me the same thing, but she implicated you in some kind of Maquis plot.
CHAKOTAY: Same evidence, two different theories.
JANEWAY: It all started with those damn photonic fleas. She was downloading Voyager's database.
KIM [OC]: Bridge to Captain Janeway.
JANEWAY: Go ahead, Harry.
KIM [OC]: I just picked up an unauthorised launch of the Delta Flyer. Seven's at the helm.
JANEWAY: Set a pursuit course.
KIM [OC]: Acknowledged.
CHAKOTAY: Chakotay to the Doctor.
EMH [OC]: Sickbay here.
CHAKOTAY: Get down to Cargo Bay two. Run a diagnostic on Seven's alcove.
EMH [OC]: On my way.
JANEWAY: I'm glad we got that settled.
CHAKOTAY: Likewise.
JANEWAY: Chakotay, let's keep this one out of our logs, huh?
CHAKOTAY: Gladly.

[Bridge]

TUVOK: She's altering course, heading for the catapult.
JANEWAY: Maintain pursuit. Open a channel.
TUVOK: No response.
CHAKOTAY: Try to beam her out.
KIM: She's done something to alter her bio-signature. I can't get a lock.
JANEWAY: Target her propulsion and weapons. Fire.
(The phaser beams miss by miles.)
TUVOK: Our targeting scanners are out of alignment.
CHAKOTAY: She must have done it before she took off.
KIM: She's charging weapons.
JANEWAY: Keep trying.
EMH [OC]: Doctor to Captain Janeway.
JANEWAY: Report.
EMH [OC]: Seven downloaded too much data into her cortical implant.

[Cargo Bay two]

EMH: She's trying to make sense of more information than she can process.

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: Understood. Beam me onto the Delta Flyer.
CHAKOTAY: I'm going with you.
JANEWAY: No. I have a better chance of getting through to her alone.
CHAKOTAY: This isn't part of your mission, is it?
JANEWAY: Is it part of yours?
CHAKOTAY: Good luck.
JANEWAY: Energise.

[Delta Flyer]

SEVEN: Captain.
(Janeway walks into a forcefield.)
SEVEN: You came here hoping to stop me. You'll fail.
JANEWAY: Turn this ship around. That's an order.
SEVEN: Your orders are irrelevant. I'm no longer under your command. You deceived me.
JANEWAY: There is no conspiracy. There is no Maquis rebellion. The Federation isn't planning to invade the Delta Quadrant.
SEVEN: I realised that, because I finally uncovered your true objective.
JANEWAY: And what's that?
SEVEN: Me. Stardate 32611, the Federation sends my parents to study the Borg Collective. They know my family will be assimilated. That was their intention. Stardate 48317, Voyager is sent to the Delta Quadrant with orders to retrieve me. When they reach Borg space, Captain Janeway negotiates an alliance with the Collective in exchange for information regarding species 8472. They agree to give her Seven of Nine. Stardate 51030, Janeway extracts the implants from my body to remove any knowledge I have of her agreement with the Borg. Stardate 53329, Captain Janeway finalises plans to use the catapult to deliver Seven of Nine to the Alpha quadrant, where Starfleet will dissect and analyse the drone to gather tactical data to fight the Borg. I won't allow you to complete your mission. If necessary I'll destroy the catapult, and myself.
JANEWAY: You're right, Seven. There is a conspiracy here. But I believe it's a conspiracy of one. I've got a theory of my own. Your modified alcove threw your synaptic patterns into chaos and your mind can't make sense of all the information, so you're generating theory after theory in an attempt to bring order to that chaos.
SEVEN: Your reasoning is flawed. My alcove is functioning perfectly.
JANEWAY: What about you? You're not a drone anymore. You can't always predict how Borg technology will affect you. You should be in Sickbay, not behind that forcefield. Let me help you.
SEVEN: No. I don't believe you.
JANEWAY: Of course you don't. Anything I say gets woven into your paranoid conspiracies. But you should believe me, Seven, because I've never lied to you, and I'm not lying to you now. You have to put your doubts aside and trust me. Stardate 51030, Seven of Nine is severed from the hive mind. The Captain tells her not to resist, that she'll learn to accept her humanity. Seven complies, and slowly begins to embrace her individuality. Does she regret that decision? Stardate 51652, the Captain encourages Seven to develop her social skills. Seven insists it's a waste of time, but after further requests she pursues it, and begins to develop her first human friendships. Did Janeway lead her astray? Stardate 52840, the Captain orders Seven to study her parents' journals. Seven claims they're irrelevant, but eventually she reads them and rediscovers part of her own past. Stardate 52841, for the first time, Seven tells the Captain thank you.
SEVEN: It was Stardate 52842, oh six hundred hours in the mess hall. We had just finished breakfast.
JANEWAY: My mistake. Stardate today, Janeway beams aboard the Delta Flyer. She reminds Seven of the bond that's grown between them. Seven lowers the forcefield and she decides to come home. All I'm asking is that you trust me again.
(Seven lowers the forcefield.)
JANEWAY: Delta Flyer to Voyager. Two to beam out.

Captain's log, supplemental. After further testing, we activated the catapult and were hurtled across thirty sectors of space. In less than an hour, we cut three years off our journey. I'm happy to say the Doctor has repaired Seven of Nine's cortical processor and she's returned to duty.

[Cargo Bay two]

NAOMI: Guess who assimilated three books and ten reports in two days?
SEVEN: Naomi Wildman.
NAOMI: That's correct. Are you taking your new alcove apart?
SEVEN: Yes.
NAOMI: Why?
SEVEN: My attempt to download Voyager's database failed.
NAOMI: Maybe you can fix it.
SEVEN: The alcove functioned within expected parameters. Unfortunately, I did not. Three books and ten reports is impressive, but quantity is less relevant than quality. You must be able to interpret the data and enjoy the process. Regardless, you require activities other than assimilating books and reports. A game of Kadis-kot, for example.
NAOMI: When?
SEVEN: Go to the mess hall and set up the board. I'll join you when I'm finished.

[Janeway's quarters]

(At the end of another dinner for two.)
JANEWAY: I heard the strangest rumour today. Apparently, the Captain and First Officer almost came to blows.
CHAKOTAY: Mutiny?
JANEWAY: First Officer walked the plank. So I heard.
CHAKOTAY: I don't believe a word of it.
JANEWAY: Me neither.
CHAKOTAY: Seven was malfunctioning. We don't have that excuse.
JANEWAY: You're right. We've been through too much to stop trusting each other.
CHAKOTAY: You didn't poison the coffee, did you?
JANEWAY: Not any more than I usually do.