What Is The Trickiest Part Of Both One Part And Two Part Bonding Repairs

"Futurity'southward End, Role II"
Written by Brannon Braga & Joe Menosky
Directed by Cliff Bole
Flavor 3, Episode ix
Production episode 151
Original air engagement: November thirteen, 1996
Stardate: 50312.5

Captain'southward log. Afterwards getting a summary of Part 1, nosotros await in on Paris, Tuvok, and Rain Robinson. They can't get through to Voyager, so Paris is cannibalizing Robinson's VW microbus' stereo organization to endeavor to boost the signal, to little effect. Robinson tin can tell that at that place'south more going on than they're saying, and not just considering they're allegedly spies on a classified mission.

They caput to Griffith Observatory in the hopes of using the equipment there to contact the ship. Robinson besides tells Paris why she became an astronomer (from looking at Saturn'south rings through her brother'south telescope).

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Torres gives Janeway a study on what Starling stole from Voyager'due south computer: about xx% of their database, which he also removed from the send. (Whether the data is missing because Starling is a dick and erased it or because the writers don't understand how downloading works is left as an exercise for the viewer.) She's able to reconstruct some of information technology, but not all of information technology. For one thing, he's got the EMH. The regular transporter's withal downwardly, and the emergency transporter requires going into the atmosphere again, which Neelix cautions against. While legitimate news isn't taking the sighting of their concluding jaunt into the atmosphere seriously, the U.S. armed forces is, and they're ameliorate off staying in loftier orbit.

Tuvok manages to get through with help from Griffith'southward satellite dish. They fill each other in on what they know, with Tuvok and Paris now being informed of Starling'south mendacity.

Starling queries the EMH about the Voyager crew. He'south convinced that Janeway wants to steal Aeon for herself because it's more advanced than her ain tech, and thinks the story that he'south going to destroy the solar system in the 29th century is nonsense. The EMH refuses to cooperate and diagnoses him with paranoia, merely and so Starling shows he tin can brand the doctor feel pain.

Before the torture can continue, Robinson calls Starling, saying someone tried to impale her (professing ignorance that it was Starling), and asking for his aid. He agrees to run across with her at a pizza place.

Torres modifies a shuttlecraft so it tin can remain undetected, and she and Chakotay head down. Starling arrives at the pizza place with the EMH, now equipped with a 29th-century mobile emitter.

Star Trek: Voyager

Screenshot: CBS

Starling offers to have Robinson back to his function, and threatens the EMH's life if she doesn't comply. She panics when she sees that his goon, Dunbar, is driving—he's the one who tried to kill her. Tuvok gives Chakotay the coordinates of Starling'due south motorcar and he beams him up to the shuttle—however, Starling is carrying a doodad that interferes with the transport. Chakotay tin can't rematerialize him, and the interference is messing with the shuttle'due south systems. Kim manages to transfer Starling's design to Voyager, just the damage has been done, and the shuttle crashes.

Meanwhile, the EMH being a hologram ways Dunbar can't knock him out—but he can knock Dunbar around pretty well. He and Robinson escape from Starling's car. Robinson is completely freaking out over Starling's disappearance and the EMH's disability to be harmed.

Starling is unconscious in Voyager'southward sickbay. Janeway contacts Tuvok and tell him that Chakotay and Torres take crashed in Arizona. Tuvok and the EMH head there, while Robinson takes Paris to Chronowerx to try to figure out how to retrieve Aeon.

Starling wakes upward and is disappointed that his doodad didn't work. Janeway said it does work, he just doesn't know how to operate information technology. She asks him to lower the strength field around Aeon, merely he refuses, and says if they endeavour to tamper with it, it'll explode, destroying Los Angeles.

Chakotay and Torres regain consciousness to discover themselves tied up in a shack. They've been captured by a couple of militia goons, who are confused past Torres'due south cranial ridges, merely practice identify Chakotay as an Indian. They assume the shuttle is some kind of government stealth craft, and they babble almost their moronic manifesto. Chakotay's attempt to talk sense to them, including mentioning his by as a Maquis leader, falls on uninterested ears. Then "a blackness human and some baldheaded guy!" show upward and take care of the militia guys, and free Chakotay and Torres. Tuvok repairs the shuttle, and they caput back to L.A.

Dunbar boards Aeon and beams Starling off Voyager by piggybacking the transporter off ane of Chronowerx's satellites. Robinson and Paris are sitting exterior Chronowerx when a truck that is emitting a tachyon signature leaves Chronowerx's garage. Paris and Robinson follow, assuming that they're moving Aeon in the truck. The shuttle rendezvouses with them on a deserted desert road, but it quickly becomes apparent that it'south a ruse, as in that location's cipher in the truck only a small device emitting the tachyon signature.

Back at Chronowerx, Starling launches Aeon and heads into orbit. Weapons systems are however downwards, so Janeway heads to engineering to manually launch a torpedo. The shuttle returns to Voyager and the EMH gets to be on the bridge for the first time in reality.

Janeway reconfigures the torpedo, Tuvok fires information technology, and Aeon is destroyed—as is the rift the ship opened. They seem to have saved the 29th century, since he didn't go through. But then another rift opens, and it'southward Braxton again, with no memory of anything that happened in the previous ii episodes—he'south been sent to retrieve Voyager from 1996 because they're non supposed to be there. Janeway agrees to be towed back to the Delta Quadrant—after requesting that they be brought dorsum to 2373 but on Earth. Braxton says he tin't, equally information technology would violate the Temporal Prime Directive.

Star Trek: Voyager

Screenshot: CBS

Once they're back in the Delta Quadrant in the 24th century, Janeway gathers the senior staff for a toast in the mess hall, with the EMH nearly salivating over the possibilities of existence mobile and Paris telling funny stories most Tuvok trying to talk a cop out of a parking ticket using logic.

Can't nosotros simply reverse the polarity? Apparently, Voyager altered the timeline by destroying Aeon earlier it went through the rift. Since Braxton said he found a piece of Voyager's hull in the explosion when he first arrived in Part 1, it's likely that Chakotay's backup program of ramming Aeon is what happened, and information technology didn't work. The 29th century timeline is reset, but Voyager'south isn't—and the EMH somehow keeps the mobile emitter, besides. SCIENCE!

At that place'south coffee in that nebula! Janeway modifies the torpedo to launch manually. Because she's just that crawly.

Half and half. Torres and Chakotay discuss what options they accept if they're stuck in 1996. While Chakotay waxes rhapsodic about the possibilities of being an archeologist or lecturer, Torres reminds him that her Klingon heritage complicates things immensely in the 20th century.

Mr. Vulcan. Tuvok's program to become Starling to come to them didn't have the possibility of him kidnapping Robinson into his car into account, which shows a spectacular lack of planning on the part of the security principal. Maybe his do-rag was too tight…

Delight state the nature of the medical emergency. Starling gives the EMH a mobile emitter that allows him to function anywhere, and then he's now, equally he himself puts it, footloose and fancy free.

No sex activity, please, nosotros're Starfleet. Robinson and Paris flirt like whoa, not just bonding over B-movies, but besides over their interest in space (though Paris's is more only a natural interest as the pilot of a starship). Robinson asks him out on a date, and you can tell it seriously pains Paris to not only say no but not exist able to tell her why.

Star Trek: Voyager

Screenshot: CBS

Do it.

"Doc, how—?"

"It's a long story, Commander. Suffice information technology to say, I'thousand making a house call."

–Chakotay shocked at the EMH walking around on a planet, and the EMH putting off an respond until a more appropriate time.

Welcome aboard. Back from Part 1 are Ed Begley Jr. equally Starling, Sarah Silverman as Robinson, Susan Patterson as Kaplan, and Allan G. Royal equally Braxton. The character of Braxton will render in "Relativity," played by Bruce McGill, while Kaplan will show upwards next in "Unity."

In add-on, Brent Hinkley and Clayton Murray play the militia morons.

Piddling matters: Braxton volition as well be seen again in the New Frontier comic book Double Time by Peter David & Mike Collins and in the Terminal Generation comic book miniseries by Andrew Steven Harris & Gordon Purcell.

The EMH references the fact that his memories of the by ii-and-a-half years were wiped in "The Swarm," and he hasn't had all the memories restored. This is the first indication that his memories are being restored, and then the tragedy of the end of that episode is at present officially pointless.

The mobile emitter volition remain for the remainder of the serial (and beyond in the necktie-in fiction), officially freeing the EMH from being limited to sickbay and the holodeck (and the occasional simulation).

Co-ordinate to writers Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky, this was originally conceived as a four-parter, and so a iii-parter, before finally reducing information technology to two parts. Equally a outcome, the militia bits were reduced to a vignette. In addition, they had wanted to take Robinson possibly come to the time to come with them, à la Gillian Taylor in The Voyage Home, merely Rick Berman vetoed the notion because he's a big stinky.

Robinson, the militia dudes, and Starling's chief goon all announced in Volume two of Greg Cox's The Eugenics Wars: The Rising and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh.

The ponytail that Janeway wears in this two-parter to blend in with 1996 L.A. will get her new regular hairstyle this season, with the bun a thing of the past (er, and so to speak).

Star Trek: Voyager

Screenshot: CBS

Set a form for home. "Tuvok, has anyone ever told you you're a existent freakasaurus?" The more ambitious three- or 4-parter that Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky wanted to do is axiomatic in this second installment, and it suffers from a lack of storytelling space. In that location's a bit as well much going on here, and non all of information technology is every bit compelling.

For starters, the entire militia subplot falls totally apartment. Braga and Menosky should have cutting information technology completely once they were limited to ii parts, as it doesn't go enough screen time to breathe, and just feels horribly tacked-on and lame. The ii guys giving their manifesto in v seconds and Chakotay'due south half-assed attempt to bond with them over his own feel as a Maquis is just bad-mannered.

On top of that, Starling's a completely nonsensical villain. Not enough that he sends someone to impale Robinson in Function i, now he kidnaps Robinson and later flies the stolen timeship through a big window, all in public in wide daylight. Does he call up no ane volition notice this? He'due south supposedly doing it to get more tech to make coin off of in the waning days of the 20th century, just he's doing information technology in a way that will just depict the incorrect kind of attention to himself. It also oversimplifies the story, making him so unredeemable that it makes it easy for our heroes to go after him. Just what if he'd been a genuine philanthropist who really was in it to improve humanity'southward lot in life with technology? That would've fabricated for a much more interesting story.

The catastrophe doesn't even try to make sense—somehow Braxton's timeline is changed, just nobody else's is? Even though Chronowerx simply happened considering Braxton showed up in the Delta Quadrant in the first place? Has Chronowerx been eliminated from the timeline too? Why is the mobile emitter however there?

With all that, the episode is still fun, specially the EMH'southward dry wit both in his barrack with Starling and while enjoying his newfound mobility (not to mention his invincibility to things similar punches and bullets). Tuvok and Paris remain a fine double act, and Rain Robinson is the first female character on this prove whose interactions with Paris don't either piss me off or skeeve me out (or both). And even the one-dimensionality of Starling is leavened by Ed Begley Jr.'s charisma.

Warp factor rating: 6

Keith R.A. DeCandido'southward next Star Trek project was appear final week: he's one of the contributors to the Star Trek Adventures Klingon Empire Core Rulebook, at present available for preorder (print) and download (PDF) from Modiphius. Keith has done a couple of group interviews about the new rulebook, including one as role of the "Twenty-four hour period of Honour" outcome (alongside young man scribes Derek Tyler Attico and Kelli Fitzpatrick, Jim Johnson, Chris Birch, Nathan Dowdell, and Sam Webb from Modiphius, and special guest, award-winning Trek illustrator Rick Sternbach), and another with Michael Dismuke on the "Continuing Mission" web series (aslope Attico, Fitzpatrick, Johnson, and Aaron Pollyea).