Has to be Year of Hell and Year of Hell Part 2. Read on, if you have the patience.
Some time prior to 2174, the brilliant Krenim military temporal scientist Annorax, of the once-powerful Krenim Imperium, developed and oversaw construction of a weapon ship whose primary weapon created causality paradoxes by causing temporal incursions. Using this ship, he supervised the complete genocide of a race that had removed the Krenim as the dominant power in the Delta Quadrant by causing the race to never come into existence. But the erasure of that race from history caused the near destruction of his own race and his attempts to undo this led to the erasure of the existence of his wife. For the last two hundred years, obsessed with restoring her along with the full glory of the Krenim Imperium, he and the crew of his temporal weapon ship have been creating one causality paradox after another, altering and re-altering history, erasing and restoring race after race.
Day 1
A perfect day on a Class M planet. An advanced civilization lives here, as evidenced by a sprawling, technologically advanced metropolis. Suddenly, in the sky above, a tremendously large weapon appears. It fires a beam of energy at the city. The beam spreads out over the city and beyond. Every trace of civilization vanishes, replaced by virgin land, as if no one had ever been on the planet.
Aboard the ship that fired the beam, a young officer checks computer displays and reports to the ship's commander that the temporal incursion is complete and all organisms on the planet have been eradicated. The commander asks if their target event has been achieved. The man frustratedly reports that it has not been achieved. The commander speculates that more definitive action is necessary and he orders a course laid in for the homeworld of the Zahl. The entire species, he decides, must be erased from time.
Aboard the USS Voyager, the senior staff is gathered together in the newly-completed astrometrics lab to celebrate its completion. Seven of Nine is placed in charge of the lab. She and the co-developer of the lab, Ensign Harry Kim, demonstrate its abilities by showing them a scan of a new course to Earth they have plotted that, by Seven's estimate, will slash five years from the several decades of travel before them. Lieutenant jg B'Elanna Torres observes from the scan that they are entering a region of space with many Class M planets. Seven informs them of the owners of the region: the Zahl, a species the Borg have assigned a low resistance quotient.
Everyone is very pleased, but then The Doctor, begins a long, drawn-out speech he has prepared, much to their chagrin. However, he is interrupted when the bridge hails Captain Kathryn Janeway, informing her of an incoming hail from an approaching ship.
On the bridge, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok scans the vessel and reports that it is no threat as it is small, its weapons are limited, and its warp capacity is low. Janeway orders an on-screen answer to the hail. It is a Krenim vessel. The hailer, a Krenim commandant, appears. He furiously informs Janeway that they are trespassing in Krenim space and orders her to reverse course or face destruction, though his vessel is completely unable to harm Voyager. Janeway responds with a smirk and dismisses his threat with a disparaging comment about the "size" of what is in his "torpedo tubes". The commandant angrily cuts the communication. Janeway orders Voyager's course maintained but also orders yellow alert, just in case.
Day 4
Voyager has entered Zahl space. She is at an all stop, with two large, Zahl ships near her. In the briefing room, a Zahl ambassador, who is very friendly and engaging, assures Janeway that there is nothing to fear from the Krenim, as the Zahl defeated them over a generation ago, despite their formidable weapons based on temporal science. Their ships, he tells her, still wander Zahl territory claiming the space as their own but they are no more than a nuisance. Janeway acknowledges this appraisal with a smile. However, as the ambassador begins inquiring about their epic journey, Kim hails from the bridge and informs Janeway the vessel has returned.
Janeway and the ambassador go onto the bridge. The vessel hails and Janeway orders an on-screen answer. It is the same Krenim commandant. He accuses Janeway of consorting with the Zahl. The ambassador angrily warns him to go away with a disparaging threat to seize his ship and ship him home in a cargo container. Janeway calms them down but then Kim reports a huge spatial distortion heading for them, five light years across and expanding. Tuvok scans it and, to the Zahl ambassador's great shock, reports it to be a space-time distortion originating from a vessel near the Zahl homeworld. Flight Controller Lt. jg Tom Paris tries to take the ship to warp speed in an attempt to get away from it, but the wave destabilizes the warp field, making escape impossible. Krenim warshipThe Krenim vessel transformed
The wave hits all the vessels and everything changes. The Zahl ships vanish. The little Krenim vessel is transformed into a mighty Krenim warship. On Voyager's bridge, the Zahl ambassador vanishes. The bridge goes from pristine condition to red alert condition and appears damaged, as if that had been its state from the start. Lights flicker. Janeway and the other officers go from being relaxed but alert to being tense and disheveled. A crewmember lies dead on the floor.
The ship shudders from the warship's fire. Tuvok reports their shields are at 17 percent. Before the wave, they were at full strength. The Krenim vessel hails. The Kremim commandant appears, but instead of being impotently angry, he is deadly confident. He offers Janeway to forgo of the execution of her crew if she will surrender. When she coldly refuses, he warns her to prepare to be boarded and ends the communication. Janeway orders battle stations, remarking to Chakotay that "this is turning into the week of hell."
Voyager is pummeled by the Krenim warship. The warship's torpedoes easily penetrate the ship's deflector shields. Chakotay cannot understand why, but Tuvok answers that the torpedoes are not photonic, but chronitonic; they are getting through their shields because they are in temporal flux. Janeway gives the order to flee at warp speed, as they are defenseless. With their escape complete, she orders a 24-hour tactical alert and orders Tuvok to find a way to modify the shields against the Krenim torpedoes.
The ship that caused the change in the timeline is Annorax's temporal weapon ship. The Krenim weapon revised the timeline so that the Zahl never existed, hence the Krenim were never defeated, and the entire region was always Krenim-controlled space. The commander, Annorax himself, is in his chambers aboard his ship. He holds a sealed glass pyramid containing a small lock of red hair. He gazes at it with evident grief. The young officer, named Obrist, enters and, with dignified excitement, reports that the erasure of the Zahl from history has restored the Krenim Imperium to 98% of the power it once had; 849 worlds over 5,000 parsecs. However, Annorax asks him whether or not a certain colony, the one at Kyana Prime, was restored.
Obrist tells him that in this timeline, the Imperium's territory does not extend so far as to cause the Kyana Prime colony to exist. He does so in a voice that shows he has been asked this question before and has always had the same answer. Annorax disappointedly responds that they have failed then and orders him to start calculations for another temporal incursion. Behind his back, Obrist hangs his head down and shakes it in an exasperated, frustrated manner. He earnestly pleads that they have never ever achieved this level of success in restoring the Imperium in two hundred years of attempts. If they do another incursion, it could all be lost again, but Annorax sternly orders him to obey. Obrist acknowledges and leaves.
Day 32
Voyager is chased by a Krenim warship. A torpedo slams into her the junction between the saucer section and the stardrive. The bridge looks in worse condition than before as Voyager has been suffering incessant Krenim attacks. Tuvok's attempts to modify the shields against the Krenim chroniton torpedoes have failed. However, Chakotay notices the warship's aft shields are down but Voyager's own weapons are non-functional. Meanwhile, The Doctor hails from the sickbay and informs them that a power overload is occurring there. Kim tries to stop it but his attempts fail.
Janeway gets an idea. She orders Tuvok to arm four of their eleven remaining photon torpedoes and deploy them like mines. He does so and her tactics work. The Krenim warship runs into the free-floating torpedoes and is destroyed. But then Janeway's attention is drawn to the impending destruction of the deck that the sickbay is on, due to the power overload.
The overload spreads quickly throughout the deck. As the computer counts down, The Doctor urgently herds his patients and other crewmembers into a Jefferies tube, where they will be safe. But as he is about to close the hatch, he sees two crewmembers, Emmanuel and Strickler, running desperately toward the hatch. He waits for them until the computer counts the last second before the deck blows. Seeing that they cannot make it to the Jefferies tube in time, he closes the hatch as they are still running down the corridor. Much of the deck explodes outward in a huge line of flame and debris along the top of the saucer section.
The ship is so violently shaken by the explosion that all officers on the bridge are knocked off their feet or out of their seats. Kim reports the destruction of 43 sections on that deck. Tuvok gives a casualty report, which includes the deaths of the two crewmembers that did not make it to the Jefferies tube. Janeway ends the red alert and looks around at the damage on the bridge. Most of the lights are out, console displays flicker and debris is strewn everywhere. She gives Chakotay the bridge and goes to her ready room.
Janeway's ready room is in even worse condition than the bridge. All lights are out and debris covers almost the entire floor and her desk. Her desktop monitor is completely destroyed. Chakotay comes to see her. He advises her that they and the crew should abandon ship as their strategy of trying to modify the shields to defend against the Krenim torpedoes is not working and the ship is being decimated. But Janeway staunchly disagrees stating that if they separate, they will be unable to pool their talents and will be even more vulnerable to the Krenim. They will stay on the ship as long as the ship remains in one piece. Chakotay accepts this as Paris hails them from the bridge and informs them of yet another attack.
Day 47
Torres and Kim are trapped in a dark, debris-strewn turbolift car. Torres has been seriously injured. The two have been there for six hours. They pass the time playing "guess what I am thinking of" games. Torres, despite her pain, stubbornly tries to think of the answer to Kim's latest puzzle, but then Seven of Nine pries the door open and frees them. She informs them that the last attack rendered the entire turbolift system nonfunctional. Torres wants to go to the Jefferies tubes on Deck 11 to try to repair the EPS relays there but Kim insists that she go to The Doctor, who has set up triage facilities in the mess hall. She agrees, and Seven goes to Deck 11 instead. Meanwhile on the bridge, in front of the flickering master systems display, Janeway, Chakotay, and Paris discuss an idea that Paris has come up with: using transverse bulkheads to seal off sections of the ship in the event of a breach, a very real possibility, given the ship's current state and the Krenim attacks. Janeway agrees to Paris' plan. The Doctor hails from the mess hall and calls Paris, a trained medic, to assist him.
On Deck 11, Seven opens a Jefferies tube hatch but just as she is about to climb in, she sees an object lodged in the tube's wall. She climbs in, moves close to it and scans it with a tricorder. It is an undetonated Krenim chroniton torpedo. She urgently hails Tuvok and informs him of her discovery. He orders her to hold her position and not try to disarm it.
Tuvok arrives in the Deck 11 Jefferies tube and sees the torpedo and decides that the safest option is to cordon off the tube with a level 10 force field in order to contain the explosion as the warhead is destabilizing and the explosion will likely soon occur. But Seven takes the opportunity to scan it and ascertain its temporal variance, which can then be used to finally modify the deflector shields against the torpedoes. Tuvok, however, drags her away, toward the hatch. She succeeds in finding the variance, 1.47 microseconds, but then the torpedo begins a low whine, the precursor to exploding. Tuvok shields Seven and the explosion catches him in the face.
Day 65
Voyager is in a terrible state. Janeway records in her log that the replicator system was severely damaged in the latest attack, forcing the crew to live on emergency rations. Environmental controls are failing and seven decks are now uninhabitable. The crew, grimy and weary, struggle on.
The bridge is now totally wrecked as Janeway attempts to repair the science station when Chakotay gives her a birthday gift: a silver pocket watch he replicated for her months earlier. But she tells him to recycle it, in their current condition nonessentials are a luxury they cannot afford.
Tuvok, now completely blind from the chroniton torpedo blast in the Deck 11 Jefferies tube, shaves with a straight-edge razor in the remains of his quarters. Seven of Nine comes to lead him on his morning rounds. She has devoted herself to being his eyes. Before they leave his quarters, she informs him of an idea she has developed on how to modify the deflector shields to defend against the Krenim torpedoes, using the temporal variance she measured from the torpedo that blinded Tuvok. He decides that they should go to deflector control to try it.
As they make their way along the darkened, debris-strewn corridors, Chakotay's voice comes through the com system, warning of another incoming attack and ordering all hands to battle stations. Tuvok orders Seven to go to deflector control and bring the modified shields on-line, while he quickly makes his way to the bridge, feeling along the walls.
Upon arrival at the bridge, Tuvok goes to his tactical station. Blind, he cannot see the display but he has the computer initiate a tactile interface, allowing him to operate the controls and read the displays by touch. Janeway orders an onscreen view of the approaching Krenim warship. She orders Paris to try to evade them while she and Chakotay pester Seven to hurry with the shields.
Seven succeeds in bringing them on-line. The warship fires on them. The first torpedo misses due to Paris' piloting skills, but the second hits. This time the hit causes no damage. Seven's modifications work perfectly. Janeway, with a defiant sneer, orders Tuvok to hail the warship. She advises them to stand down, as Voyager is no longer defenseless against them. They do not answer. She orders Paris to maintain course through Krenim space.
The temporal weapon ship approaches another planet, home to a race called the Garenor. Annorax orders the ship taken into orbit and the weapon to be fully powered and fired. It has the same effect as seen on the Zahl colony. Every trace of civilization vanishes, as if it never existed, and the space-time shock wave created radiates out away from the planet.
On Voyager, Kim reports the approach of the wave. Even if Voyager were untouched, she could not outrun it, so she has absolutely no chance now in her current ruined state. The wave hits. But the temporal shields protect her as they did against the Krenim torpedoes.
However, the Krenim warship has no such protection. Janeway and the bridge officers watch, shocked as it is reduced from being a large, mighty warship to a small ship with limited armaments that would pose no threat to an undamaged Voyager. A baffled Kim reports that the ship is Krenim but it is no longer the warship they were just facing. Chakotay scans the region from the command console between his and the captain's seats and reports that the region has suddenly changed. Before the wave, the area was filled with Krenim colonies and warships, now there are no colonies and only a few small ships. History appears to have been changed so that the Kremim Imperium never existed. Janeway orders Kim to route the data on the wave to astrometrics and leaves to go there, commenting that their troubles might just be over.
Aboard the temporal weapon ship, Obrist notes the erasure of the Krenim Imperium with great consternation. He reports to Annorax that the incursion has gone terribly wrong, for some reason. Annorax cannot believe it, insisting that their calculations were perfect. Obrist searches the sensor data and finds the explanation: Voyager's new temporal shields. They caused a discrepancy in the calculations. Annorax orders a course be set to go to Voyager.
Day 70
Astrometrics is as ruined as every other area on the ship, but Seven manages to get its sensors up and running and finds its database intact. Janeway orders her to call up a previous scan of the area. It shows how the region was: under the boot of the Krenim Imperium, full of Krenim colonies. A new scan confirms what Chakotay found, that the Imperium does not exist. History has been changed by the wave. On Janeway's order, Seven tracks its source and finds that it originated near the Garenor homeworld. She further notes with confusion that the sensors show that the Garenor do not exist anymore, they were erased from history by the wave. She theorizes that the Krenim may be responsible for the wave as they do have temporal weapons. But this makes no sense to Janeway, why would they change history to undermine themselves? She speculates that there is a "big piece of the puzzle still missing." She is in the midst of ordering another scan when the ship is suddenly shaken.
Annorax's ship arrives. Aboard, Obrist confirms that Voyager is generating a temporal field. Annorax orders two of her crew collected as samples, along with a small piece of the hull. He also orders preparations for another temporal incursion... against Voyager. He cannot have this anomalous temporal component disrupting his mission calculations. He intends to eliminate it.
On Voyager, Kim reports with surprise that the entire vessel is in temporal flux, like the Krenim torpedoes, the ship actually exists outside of space-time. Chakotay rises and walks toward the viewscreen, looking at the vessel. He stops at the conn console, beside Paris. Suddenly, both men vanish, transported away. Janeway immediately orders efforts to retrieve them. Kim tries but fails.
A hail comes from the weapon ship. Janeway orders it answered on-screen. Annorax appears. He calmly, but sternly, tells Janeway to identify herself and the ship, which she does. He reciprocates and observes that Voyager is not from the Delta Quadrant. Janeway confirms this but when she asks about the change in history, noting the erasure of the existence of the Krenim Imperium, he curtly responds that it is none of her business. When he tells her that she has diverted him from his mission, she realizes that he is responsible for the change in the timeline. He does not deny it. He assures her that it is nothing personal but Voyager must be erased as well, informing her that this will restore the lives of countless millions. With a curt apology, he ends the communication.
he ship fires its temporal weapon on Voyager. So great is its power that the temporal shields are quickly degraded. Kim reports tensely that the beam is pushing Voyager out of the space-time continuum; they are being erased from history. However, Seven scans the weapon ship and reports that its mass prevents it from achieving warp speeds in excess of warp 6. Thus, Voyager, whose top warp speed is in excess of warp 9, can escape. But Tuvok cautions that damage to the ship's structural integrity means that warp speed will cause extreme damage.
But they have no choice. Janeway orders Paris' transverse bulkheads be brought online, orders all hands to get away from the hull's outer sections and, taking the helm, engages warp drive. They escape the temporal beam. But large, jagged pieces of the outer hull are seen peeling off and falling away.
Day 73
Janeway calls a meeting of surviving crewmembers in the remains of the mess hall. She sadly but sternly informs them of the inability of the ship to sustain a crew any longer. She is forced to make the decision Chakotay had suggested weeks before: she orders them to abandon ship. The senior staff, she announces, will stay behind with her and attempt to rescue Chakotay and Paris. She dismisses them.
The escape pod hatches open and the pods, carrying the rest of the crew, emerge from the remains of the hull and sail off into the unknown.
Day 133
Wrecked nearly beyond repair, the USS Voyager hides in a class-9 nebula in the Delta Quadrant near the temporally fluctuating Krenim-controlled space. The ventilation system, while still partially functional, has allowed nebular gas to flood one of the remaining decks. Captain Kathryn Janeway and Ensign Harry Kim, don gas masks and enter the deck. They manage to fix the controls, preventing further damage, but the ventilation system is too damaged to eject the gas. Forced to repair the system, Janeway and Kim use up their respective air supplies. They struggle to keep from inhaling as they finish the job, but the gas enters their lungs and causes extensive damage. The Doctor treats Kim, but Janeway refuses to sit still long enough. The Doctor follows her to the bridge, trying to convince her to undergo treatment.
Janeway marches onto the remains of the bridge. Lieutenant jg B'Elanna Torres stands at the still somewhat functional engineering console, and reports on the status of the warp drive. One of the warp nacelles is still partially operable, but the other is beyond repair. Between violent fits of coughing, Janeway orders Torres to get the recoverable nacelle working again.
The Doctor and the captain argue. He implores her to stop working and rest for 48 hours, allowing her lungs time to heal. She refuses and demands an injection of Trioxin to help her breathing. He objects, as Trioxin is only a stopgap measure. Her lungs, he stresses, have been seriously damaged. He tries to invoke medical rank and force her acquiescence, but as Captain, she issues a stern order to use the Trioxin. Realizing further efforts will be futile, he reluctantly obeys. Despite coughing, she continues working.
Chakotay, his face grimy and covered in the stubble of a rough goatee, is taken from a holding cell aboard the Krenim weapon ship. He is cleaned up, shaved, given clean Krenim clothing, then brought to Annorax in his quarters.
Annorax sits at a table loaded with an impressive feast. He removes his uniform gloves and greets Chakotay. Chakotay asks about his crewmate, Tom Paris. Annorax responds that "no doubt he is making himself difficult". Chakotay asks what he expects, given their captivity for the last two months, in isolation, poked and prodded. Annorax, with dignified irritation, responds that he expects they would act with at least some level of dignity or restraint, of which Paris shows none.
Chakotay demands to know what Annorax wants from them. "At the moment, information." he politely replies. Paris enters and ascertains that Chakotay is unharmed. Annorax invites them to join him, describing the feast as a selection of delicacies found nowhere else in the galaxy.
The Starfleet officers accept. Annorax pours each a glass of an extremely rare vintage of Malkothian wine, noting that this bottle is the sole remaining component of the once-powerful Malkoth race. Everything else - their cities, culture - even the very species itself - never existed. In fact, every dish on the table has come from civilizations erased from time. When he informs Paris that he is "devouring the last remnants of the Alsuran Empire.", Paris stops eating immediately. Annorax recounts having collected artifacts from each of the hundreds of worlds he has erased, calling his weapon ship more than a weapon, but a "museum of lost histories."
His attention turns to Paris and Chakotay. Annorax says he's decided to spare Voyager, and instead, plans to try and alter the timeline, restore Voyager, thus achieving both their goals. They might even find themselves closer to the Alpha Quadrant. In order to make the necessary calculations, he needs information about their experiences in the Delta Quadrant, other races they encountered, and how their presence affected any species with whom they came into contact.
Paris does not believe him, bluntly asserting that the only reason Annorax has not destroyed Voyager is that he lost track of the ship and for the past two months, Janeway has successfully eluded him. Annorax threatens to destroy Voyager unless Paris and Chakotay cooperate. Paris derides the offer because no Starfleet serviceman would accept such a proposal - not at the cost of wiping out the entire existences of whole civilizations. He disgustedly rises to leave, expecting Chakotay to follow.
But Paris is shocked when Chakotay remains seated and orders him to wait. Chakotay asks Annorax if he can restore Voyager without harming anyone. Annorax says he can, but only with extreme difficulty. For his plan to succeed, Annorax needs their cooperation. Paris scoffs at the idea, refusing to obey Chakotay's order to return to his seat. Annorax has Obrist enter and take Paris to the guest quarters, encouraging him to think about it. Paris leaves without a word.
Annorax focuses on Chakotay, complimenting him on his ability to truly perceive time, as evidenced by his question about the possibility of restoring Voyager without harming anyone. He offers Chakotay the chance to work with him toward that end. Chakotay accepts and the two seal their agreement with a toast of Malkothian spirits.
Aboard Voyager, in the wreck of the mess hall, Janeway and the senior officers also toast, not with fine liquor, but with the "elixir of endurance"; a concoction that Neelix has created using ration cubes, water and Talaxian spices. It tastes horrible but, as Seven of Nine notes, taste is irrelevant. Janeway takes the opportunity to get situational updates from each of her officers. The Doctor has repaired an obtronic error in his program. Kim also reports that the power grid should be up to 50% functionality in a few days.
But news from Torres frustrates her when she is told that it will take at least three weeks to fix the operational warp nacelle. Janeway curses figuratively as it appears that they will be stuck in this nebula forever when they should be out in open space, finding allies to fight against Annorax. She decides to leave the nebula the next morning. Seven objects that they should wait as long as possible to complete their repairs, but Janeway's mind is made up. Upon leaving the room, Tuvok notes that Seven should not challenge the captain in such a situation, even when her logic is flawed.
Day 161
Aboard the Krenim weapon ship, Chakotay tries his hand at temporal incursion calculations. He has come up with an incursion in which erasing a comet that Voyager changed course to avoid 8 months before will prevent her from ever entering Krenim space. Annorax lets him simulate it.
But when he does, he is shocked when a totally unexpected simulated result occurs: 8000 species are erased with the comet. Annorax, with a chuckle, explains that 4 billion years ago, fragments from the comet crashed into a planet, releasing hydrocarbons that caused the rise of several different plant species. These in turn fed other complex organisms. In time, several space-faring civilizations arose. By erasing the comet, he would cause these civilizations never to develop.
His smile fades. He explains that he too made this mistake. It was when he first oversaw the use of the weapon ship against a race called the Rilnar. The Rilnar had removed the Krenim Imperium as the dominant power of the region. Thus their erasure caused a causality paradox in which the Krenim stayed in power.
But it also caused an alternate timeline in which 50 million Krenim died of a plague within a year. This occurred because the Rilnar had introduced a critical antibody against the disease into Krenim physiology and their erasure took the antibody with it. He tells Chakotay that he has been seeking to correct that mistake by his incursions against species whose erasures his calculations show would undo this first incursion.
He again asks Chakotay for his help. Together, he asserts, they can restore the Krenim Imperium and Voyager and undo the damage he has caused. Chakotay tells him he, Chakotay, still has much to learn of temporal manipulation. Annorax takes him to see the heart of the weapon ship, the temporal core.
Day 180
Voyager has left the nebula but a huge micro-meteoroid shower hits the crippled ship. Thousands of the microscopic rocks pelt her ruined hull, rapidly destroying what little is left. On the bridge, Janeway, amidst the clanging and clattering of the meteoroid shower hitting the hull, asks Torres if engines are available yet, to get them out of the shower's way. Torres answers that they are not and Kim reminds Janeway their navigational deflector is nonfunctional. She orders Tuvok to divert emergency power to it, but is subsequently informed that there is "none available".
Janeway makes a decision. She rises from her command chair and announces she is heading for Deflector Control. Tuvok warns her that the area is far too hazardous but she still goes. When she opens the door, she sees that there is a raging fire inside, so hot that she recoils against the opposite wall with a gasp. But she is determined to fix the deflector. Kim reports that the damage from the micro-meteoroid shower is growing rapidly.
Janeway orders Tuvok to prepare to engage the shields. She also tells him to inform The Doctor she will be coming back with severe burns. Tuvok objects, but she sternly repeats her order. Then, steeling herself, she charges into the inferno.
On the bridge, Kim reports that deflector shields have come online. Tuvok immediately raises them. The sound of the micro-meteoroids hitting the hull stops immediately. Tuvok hails Janeway, but she does not respond. Torres and Kim look blankly ahead in horror.
Among the flames, Janeway lies unconscious on the floor. Half her face and one arm are seen to be severely burned.
Minutes later, Janeway, still unconscious, rests on a makeshift bed in what remains of the mess hall. The Doctor sighs deeply and reluctantly wakes her with a shot from a hypospray. Her eyes open and she asks him her condition. He informs her that she has suffered third-degree burns over 60% of her body. He was able to heal most of them but, not having a dermal regenerator, he could not heal the damage totally and her face and arms are scarred.
She rises, prepared to return to the bridge, but the Doctor stops her. This time, unlike the last, he is not about to let her have her way. With complete seriousness, he insists that she stay in the mess hall two days for observation. He invokes a Starfleet regulation which forces any officer, even a commanding officer, to obey the medical orders of a Chief Medical Officer or face court martial. He has diagnosed the deadly risks she has been taking as signs of Traumatic Stress Syndrome. If she does not follow his instructions, he will relieve her of command.
She asks him how he intends to have this enforced as there is no security staff except Tuvok, the brigs are both destroyed and the transverse force fields no longer work, thus she cannot be confined. He quietly warns her of the consequences for disobeying his medical order. She responds that if they do get back home, a court martial will be a small price to pay, given what she has endured and leaves the mess hall.
Day 207
Janeway and Neelix, covered in sweat and grime, walk through Voyager's bombed-out corridors, assessing damage. Turning a corner, they find themselves in front of Chakotay's former quarters, now in ruins. Janeway whips out her tricorder and follows its signal inside the room, where she uncovers a still-intact pocket watch. Stunned, she murmurs, "You disobeyed orders." Neelix asks, "Captain?" and she replies, "Chakotay gave this to me five months ago - a birthday gift. I ordered him to..." but her voice trails off as she relives the memory. Struggling with her emotions, Janeway resolutely fastens the watch to her belt and her composure returns. She and Neelix continue on.
On the weapon ship, Paris plays a Krenim board game with Obrist. To Obrist's amused astonishment, Paris wins convincingly, though he has never played the game before. Obrist reminisces that Paris' end-game sequence is the same one Obrist's brother favored. His face then falls. When Paris asks him what is wrong, he recalls sadly that he used to celebrate his brother's birthday, along with those of his parents and closest friend, until a hundred years ago when he realized that he was celebrating birthdays for people who were dead or, because of the temporal incursions, never even existed. Paris looks at him sympathetically and says, "I'm sorry."
Chakotay in his guest quarters, pores over a large PADD filled with temporal incursion calculations. Paris enters excitedly and reports he has vital information about the ship's defensive systems, information provided by Obrist, who, like many of the crew, has become discouraged and disillusioned with their seemingly endless mission. The ship, he tells Chakotay, depends on its temporal core for defense because it keeps the vessel out of the space-time continuum, making it immune to all conventional weapons. Due to its temporally fluctuating nature, its designers and builders paid little attention to conventional defenses and construction. As a result, its deflector shields are extremely weak. Paris wants to incite mutiny among the already disheartened crew and disable the temporal core, leaving the ship vulnerable to attack.
But Chakotay sternly forbids Paris from setting his ideas into motion. Instead, he says they will focus on Annorax' offer. Outraged, Paris becomes insubordinate, telling Chakotay that Annorax is flattering him with talk of his having an "instinct for time." Chakotay orders him to make no move against Annorax, insisting he is not a villain, but Paris will not agree. Chakotay challenges him to a fight to determine the leader between them if Paris will not maintain their command structure and obey his order. Just then, an alarm sounds.
They go to the bridge. Chakotay is shocked to find Annorax and crew proceeding with an incursion operation against the Ram Izad. Annorax explains that it occurred to him that their erasure would aid his mission. His calculations indicated a 52% restoration of the Krenim timeline. Horrified, Chakotay begs Annorax to stop, that he can achieve his goals in other ways. Paris, in a low, angry voice, mocks Chakotay's decision to work with Annorax.
Absorbed in the impending incursion, Annorax ignores Chakotay's desperate pleas and commands, "Prepare for total erasure", and seconds later, "Fire". Stunned, Paris and Chakotay watch as the weapon's temporal laser drills onto the Ram Izad homeworld. A temporal shock wave spreads out over the planet, then beyond, eradicating the species from existence. Obrist reports the results as the sensors track the wave. Annorax orders him to continue, then retires to his quarters. Paris, fuming, tells Chakotay under his breath that he will deal with "this maniac" if Chakotay will not.
Chakotay enters Annorax's quarters and heatedly insists he did not need to fire on that planet. Annorax, indifferent to suffering other than his own, points out that he's altering history on a massive scale, that the destinies of countless star systems are in his hands; one species is insignificant. Unswayed, Chakotay argues, "You're trying to rationalize genocide. One species is significant. A single life is significant." Annorax's face falls into the same guilty expression it had when he first told Chakotay why he was doing this. It was so easy the first time, he recalls. In the blink of an eye, he'd changed history itself. But on his next incursion, when he changed history a second time, he lost "more than you can imagine."
"The colony on Kyana Prime", says Chakotay, who explains he's been studying Annorax's previous incursions and no matter how close he came to restoring the glory of the Imperium, one component was always missing... the colony on Kyana Prime. Annorax admits this is true and tells Chakotay why he is obsessed with its restoration – his beloved wife was on Kyana Prime. Her erasure took her away, along with his future, his children and grandchildren. He picks up the pyramid containing the lock of hair and tells Chakotay that it is his wife's hair. He asserts that time itself is against him, keeping him from her in angry retaliation for his arrogant manipulation of it.
Obrist enters and reports to Annorax that he was correct and a 52% restoration of the Imperium was achieved. As usual, Annorax asks him about Kyana Prime. Obrist fails to completely contain his exasperated anger and he states again, that it has not and questions Annorax's continued manipulation of the timeline. Annorax notes his feelings on changing the timelines and dismisses him. He then tells Chakotay that Chakotay's calculations are promising, but need more work. While he is working on them, he will continue his mission. Chakotay begins to angrily rebuke him, telling him he does not have the right to do what he is doing, but Annorax responds that he indeed has the right to fight for what is his and only time itself can judge him, not Chakotay.
In Chakotay's guest quarters, Paris fumes as he asserts that Annorax is insane, after Chakotay has informed him of what he said about time having it in for him. Chakotay finally agrees with Paris that Annorax must be stopped, not worked with. Paris informs him that he believes that Obrist will help them get a message to Voyager, informing Janeway of the ship's location. Obrist will also help him sabotage the temporal core, taking it offline so that the ship will be vulnerable against conventional attacks. Chakotay gives him the go-ahead to proceed with his planned mutiny.
Day 226
Captain's log, stardate 51682.2. I've forged a coalition with the Nihydron and the Mawasi. Together, we're preparing to attack the weapon ship." Voyager is seen in formation with four other ships from the coalition.
Janeway addresses her officers on the bridge which is now all but destroyed. Almost all of the lights are out, the displays are dark and cracked, consoles are covered in dust and the room is black and marred with twisted debris. The only functioning area is the command section.
She informs them that she has received an authenticated message from Paris, giving her the location of the weapon ship, as well as the location of its temporal core. Paris has promised to try and take its temporal core offline, leaving the ship vulnerable to conventional weapons. Voyager and her allied ships will then disable the weapon ship and retrieve Paris and Chakotay.
She then issues instructions to the officers. Kim and Torres will go to the lead Nihydron ship while Tuvok, Seven, Neelix and the Doctor will go to the lead Mawasi ship. All ships are to be outfitted with temporal shielding. She will remain aboard and pilot Voyager. Torres questions Janeway's decision, claiming Voyager has barely enough to reach the battle, let alone fight one, but Janeway believes that the six photon torpedoes and temporal shields that the ship has left will be enough to hold her own. Furthermore, she believes that the captain must go down with the ship.
The crew disembarks, except for Tuvok. Janeway tells him that Voyager needs her, but Tuvok argues how illogical her decision is and is puzzled by the human predilection to bond with inanimate objects, as Janeway has done with Voyager. She tells him that the ship has been their home and she feels as close to it as any member of the crew. She elaborates that the ship has carried them, even nurtured them, and now needs one of them. Tuvok respects Janeway's decision and gives her the traditional Vulcan salute, intoning "Live long and prosper," to his captain and dear friend. Janeway reciprocates and embraces Tuvok in a hug, which the Vulcan returns, deeply affecting Janeway as she realizes what he has done. Alone on the bridge, Janeway checks the watch that Chakotay gave her and with a quick glance at the empty first officer's chair and around the silent bridge, the captain assumes her station.
Day 257
Voyager and the other ships reach the Krenim weapon ship. Aboard the ship, Chakotay and Paris put their plan into action. They have succeeded in getting Obrist to support their mutiny. On the bridge, Obrist informs Annorax of the approach of the attacking vessels. At first he is unconcerned, since the ship is immune to conventional weapons. Chakotay makes him pause by telling him that Captain Janeway would not be attacking unless she knew she could do damage somehow.
Further, Chakotay reminds him of 'Voyager's temporal shields and tells him Janeway has probably given the technology to the other ships. Also, he continues, she may have also passed it onto the homeworlds in the region and warned them about him and his ship. This is totally unacceptable to him, of course as he cannot have potential targets protected from his weapon. True, the weapon has proven able to degrade Voyager's temporal shields, but what if those who receive the technology are able to improve it so that that no longer happens? He orders Obrist to bring the weapon online and prepare for multiple incursions against the attacking ships.
Obrist does so however, he also secretly transmits information to Paris in his guest quarters about the temporal core. Paris begins attempting to shut it down. Aboard Voyager, Janeway orders the attack commenced. Two Nihydron ships go in and perform a strafing attack.
But, try as he might, Paris fails to take the temporal core offline. The Nihydron weapons do not harm the weapon ship. On Annorax's order, the temporal incursion beam is fired on them. Its power almost immediately overwhelms their temporal shields and they vanish, erased from history. Janeway orders the fleet to engage in evasive maneuvers. She verbally wills Paris to succeed.
Paris fails, but Obrist, on seeing that Paris is having no luck, takes over for him. Annorax orders him to target the other ships. He does not, instead, exchanging a look with Chakotay. Annorax repeats his order. Obrist works the controls, but instead of the beam attacking another ship, the weapon ship shudders and alarms go off. Annorax, shocked, sees that he has been betrayed; Obrist has taken the temporal core offline. Obrist apologizes to him sadly, but firmly and states that this must end now. He works the console again and beams Chakotay and Paris to a Mawasi ship. Annorax angrily rises from his command chair, rushes to the console and pushes him away. He notes with alarm that they are phasing back into the space-time continuum. They are now vulnerable to the attacking ships' weapons.
He orders reconfiguration to conventional weapons. Another officer obeys. He orders firing at will and bursts of energy begin flashing from cannons on the ship's hull like Gatling guns.
As limited as the ship's conventional weapons are, however, they are still powerful enough to disable most of the attacking ships, one of which loses helm control and collides into Voyager's primary hull. A huge chunk of the saucer section is destroyed with the majority of the rest of the section burning in space. Janeway, who was at the conn console, is thrown violently out of the seat by the collision. Sparks fly and smoke rises in the room. Janeway crawls to her command seat. What she sees ahead of her on sitting down visibly stuns her, the entire forward bulkhead is gone. Nothing now separates Janeway from open space but an emergency force field, which fritzes in and out with the power remaining. She sees the weapon ship straight ahead. Aboard it, Annorax orders fire concentrated on Voyager.
Janeway hails the other ships and instructs them to take their temporal shields offline and does the same to Voyager. Tuvok objects that they will no longer be protected from the weapon ship's temporal incursion beam, but removing their protection is just what she wants. She tells Tuvok and the other ship commanders her plan to ram Voyager into the ship where the temporal core is located. This, she hopes, will destroy the ship and reverse all the damage it has ever caused.
As she stares forward at the weapon ship, teeth gritted, she sets course. Just before the collision, she grits her teeth and says "Time's up." Voyager plows into the weapon ship in a huge explosion of flame and debris, utterly destroying itself. The weapon ship shakes violently. Sparks fly on the bridge, Annorax and the bridge officers are knocked off their feet. Annorax notes with horror the destabilization of the temporal core and the imminent temporal incursion that will occur within the ship.
He rises and hurries to his quarters just in time to see the pyramid containing the lock of his wife's hair fall and shatter. He watches this with horror but his expression changes to one of wonder as the hair vanishes. He looks at the spot where it was, as it suddenly dawns on him the simple step he should have taken to accomplish his goal.
The weapon ship explodes and then is engulfed by a temporal shock wave, erasing itself from history.
Day 1
"Captain's log, stardate 51252.3. The past couple of weeks have been uneventful but we've made excellent progress on the new astrometrics lab." Voyager, undamaged, continues on her journey home. On the bridge are Captain Janeway, Chakotay and the duty officers, clean and relaxed, along with Seven of Nine.
A Krenim warship approaches and hails. Janeway orders an onscreen answer. It is the Krenim Commandant. His demeanor, though curt, is not hostile and his ship does not attack Voyager. He informs Janeway that they have entered Krenim space and instructs her to identify herself and her ship. When she does so, he informs her that the region is in dispute, suggesting she avoid it.
Janeway thanks him. He wishes them a good journey and cuts the communication. He and his race remain completely unknown to Voyager's crew. Janeway and Chakotay decide to have a commissioning ceremony for the Astrometrics lab, complete with fine liquor: a bottle of Saint-Émilion, 2370. Janeway jokes to Chakotay that she heard this was "a good year".
On Kyana Prime, Annorax sits at a desk in his home, working on a large PADD. His wife comes to him and asks him to join her for breakfast and he tells her he will do so in a little while but he still has "a few more calculations". She lovingly chides him that he always says that and reaches her hand out to him, sweet-talking him into putting the PADD down and spending the day with her. He rises and takes her hand with a smile and they leave together.
The work he was doing on the PADD is seen... it is temporal incursion calculations.
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