The Cloud
Stardate: 48546.2
Original Airdate: February 13, 1995
By Chakoteya
The Story
'Personal Log, Stardate 48546.2. Our journey home is several
weeks old now, and I have begun to notice in my crew and in myself...
a subtle change as the reality of our situation settles in. Here
in the Delta Quadrant, we are virtually the entire family of man.
We are more than a crew. And I must find a way to be more than
a captain to these people. But it's not clear to me exactly how
to
begin. At the Academy, we are taught that a captain is expected
to maintain a certain distance. Until now, I've always been comfortable
with that distance. Maybe this is just the way it works. Maybe
the distance is necessary. Maybe more than ever now, they need
me to be larger than life. I only wish I felt larger than life.
Computer, delete last sentence.'
Captain Janeway is walking along the corridor to Engineering
early in the morning, musing on the situation so far. Her appearance
in Engineering takes Lt. Torres by surprise - she wasn't expecting
an inspection by the Captain. But this isn't an inspection, it's
a stroll around her ship, and she carries on to the Mess Hall.
Tom Paris and Harry Kim are having a meal together when Captain
Janeway walks over to their table and, arms folded, asks after
the food. Harry replies that it is interesting, and Tom hope that
their systems will adapt to his gourmet touch soon. There is an
awkward pause and then she moves on. After she leaves them, Kim
suggests that they should have asked her to join them, but Paris
tells him that if she wants to sit with them, she'll do the asking.
Meanwhile, at the counter, Captain Janeway discovers that the
coffee pot is empty. She goes into the kitchen area to look for
some more and also investigates the various bubbling pots. Neelix
comes in with a bowl of vegetables and complements her on her
appearance. Slightly embarassed that someone might overhear him,
Janeway asks if there is any coffee left on board. No, he tells
her, but he has concocted something better from a seed he found
on an expedition. She turns it down and tells him that she will
use one of her replicator rations instead, but he points out that
she would not be setting a good example for the crew if she did
that. The Captain gives in, but as he starts to pour it out, Chakotay
calls her from the bridge. Seizing the opportunity, she leaves
quickly.
On the bridge, Chakotay tells her they have picked up a nebula
on long range sensors and Tuvok adds that it contains unusually
high levels of omicron particles. They could be collected to provide
an additional antimatter reserve. Settling down in her chair,
Janeway orders them to set course. 'There's coffee in that nebula.'
On the way to the nebula, the Captain asks Chakotay how the crew
are feeling. He tells her that they are going through a natural
period of mourning. Morale has no where to go but up. She wishes
their mission had justified having a counsellor on board and he
tells her that his people talk to animal guides. It is a centuries
old tradition described by Carl Jung as an active imagination
technique. Janeway guesses that his animal guide is a bear, but
apart from admitting it is a female, he refuses to be drawn on
what it is. As they approach the nebula, she accepts his offer
to help her find her own animal guide.
They head into the purple-looking nebula towards the richest
source of particles. As they go in, interstellar dust density
increases around them. Surmising that the impulse engines are
attracting it, they go to thrusters only, but just over seven
thousand kilometres from the omicron deposit they come to a sudden
halt. A natural energy barrier seems to be in their way. They
cannot transport the particles through the barrier so they give
a short burst with the impulse engines to punch their way through.
They make it, but the hole Voyager made in the barrier quickly
closes behind them.
In the Mess Hall, Kes is putting flowers into small vases as
table decorations while Neelix rails at the madness of taking
them into the nebula. If he had known that they would be visiting
every potentially dangerous space anomoly en route he might not
have wanted her to come along. But Kes is facinated by the view
through the window, and admits that she would be just like Captain
Janeway if she were in charge. Then she kisses him and things
start to come through the shields and hit the ship.
Captain Janeway calls red alert. Tuvok cannot identify the objects
but they seem to be natural. Torres reports that the objects are
sticking to the hull, and that they are losing their energy reserves.
Changing the shield polarity makes no difference, they still come
through so Janeway orders Paris to reverse course out through
the barrier again. This time, however, they cannot get through.
Torres recommends overusing the thrusters rather than using impulse
power but they make no impression. Chakotay points out that they
have 38 photon torpedoes on board, but the Captain does not want
to deplete a non-renewable resource yet, and orders phasers instead.
A two second burst also has no effect, so a torpedo is readied
and fired. Following closely on the tail of the missile, they
make it out of the nebula. Standing off at two thousand kilometers,
Janeway cancels red alert and orders samples to be scraped off
the hull for Lt. Torres to analyse. She wants to know what defeated
every defence system on board. Voyager has lost eleven percent
of it's energy reserves now, and the Captain decides that she
is just going to have to give up coffee.
Harry is in his quarters, sleeping peacefully with an eye-mask
on, when he is woken by Tom Paris who wants to show him something.
In the corridor, Harry explains that his academy room-mate, James
MacAllister never slept. A mask was the only way Kim could get
any sleep, and besides, it reminds him of being in the womb. They
arrive at the holodeck, and Tom activates programme Paris Three.
The programme turns out to be a reconstruction of a Marseilles
bar where he spent most of his second semester at the Academy.
The pair are greated by holodeck characters, including the bar's
owner, Sandrine, and a beautiful woman called Ricky who he includes
in all his programmes. There is also a gigolo and a pool hustler,
and various human and alien customers. Although it is late at
night, Tom persuades Harry to join him in a bottle of holographic
St Emillion '39, guaranteed not to give heartburn, and then they
play pool, with Sandrine hanging onto Harry, and Ricky hanging
onto Tom.
By the light of the warp core, Torres is testing the sample from
the hull, then heads off to Sickbay. She summons the EMH and wonders
why he always says 'Please state the nature of the medical emergency.'
Maybe he should change his programme? He is scathing about the
concept of a hologram that programmes itself and goes into his
office to work. B'Elanna tells him that she could probably reprogramme
him and that he has a lousy attitude. The EMH tells her to write
to a man called Zimmerman at the Jupiter Station Holoprogramming
Centre and then asks if she had a reason for calling. She hands
him the container with the matter sample in it and asks for a
second opinion on it. While he is analysing it he comments that
they aren't really going home at all, are they. All they are going
to do is investigate every cubic millimetre of the quadrant. Then
he points to a part of the readout - nucleogenic peptide bonds
- something very interesting.
Chakotay enters the Captains ready room holding something in
his hands, and tells her that the hull has been degaussed. She
orders an 0700 departure on the strength of it then asks about
the bundle he is carrying. It is his medicine bundle, and he thought
it important that she saw it if she wants to find her animal guide.
He goes over to a low table and sits on the floor, unwrapping
a blackbirds wing, a stone from the river and an Akoonah - an
electronic substitute for psychoactive herbs of his ancestors.
Janeway joins him at the table and he talks her through the procedure.
Placing her hand on the Akoonah, she closes her eyes and concentrates
on the stone. 'A-koo-chee-moya. We are far from the sacred places
of our grandfathers. We are far from the bones of our people.
But perhaps there is one powerful being who will embrace this
woman and give her the answers she seeks. Allow your eyes to close.
Breath to fuel the light in yourbelly. And let it expand until
the light is everywhere. Prepare yourself to leave this room and
this ship and return to a place where you were the most content
and peaceful you have ever been. You can see all around you and
hear the sounds of this place.' Kathryn is on a shore, the waves
are breaking and the seabirds calling.' You must not discuss with
me what you see, or you will offend your animal guide. As you
continue to look around, you will become aware of other life that
shares this place with you. It will be the first animal you see.
That is the one you will speak to. Do you see an animal?' On a
sand covered log is a little lizard-type creature. 'Speak to it.You
know what you want to ask.' But the door chime interrupts and
Torres come in. The Captain explains what they were doing and
Chakotay comments that Torres actually tried to kill her animal
guide. Then the Chief Engineer tells them what the EMH and she
have discovered about the residue. It is organic - part of a larger
lifeform.
At a bridge science station, Janeway, Tuvok, Torres and Chakotay
are studying sensor readings, with the EMH giving his input via
the main view screen. The Captain wants to know if they hurt the
creature. Well, they drove the ship through it, fired phasers
at it and then a photon torpedo. In the EMH's opinion the answer
is yes. She mutes the audio and then concentrates on the area
of omicron particles they were after. Tuvok notes that the concentration
is lower now, and that particles have moved outside the barrier.
The conclusion is reached that they have injured a life form.
Now they need to find a way to repair the damage. Paris draws
their attention to a gesturing EMH on the screen, and audio is
resumed. It tells them that the creature can probably regenerate
itself, and that Lt. Torres knows how to help it, as she noted
that it has a nucleogenic structure. Thinking out loud, B'Elanna
concludes that a nucleonic beam should help it heal. Janeway makes
her decision. At 1300 they will re-enter the life form. Kim is
to find new safeguards for the ship and Tuvok to modify the shields
in the meantime.
In the mess hall, Neelix is serving a meal when Chakotay calls
Yellow Alert. He contacts the first officer to protest the disruption
his routine and is told that they are going back into the nebula.
He is not pleased at the news and goes to the Captains Ready Room
to make his opinion known. When she tells him that they really
are going back in to aid the space creature, he tells her that
Kes and he will wait on his own ship in safety for their return.
Captain Janeway refuses to spare personnel to get his ship ready
for launch. If he wants to leave when this is all over, that's
up to him. Then she turns back to her padd and computer consoles.
'Dismissed. That's a Starfleet expression for "get out".'
He leaves, confused by the references to Jonah and a Whale.
They return to the nebula-creature and go to red alert. Tuvok
has modified the shields and Kim has found out that releasing
positive ions through the nacelle should prevent matter sticking
to them this time. Just as they prepare to fire the nucleonic
beam flashes of energy hit the ship, shaking it badly. The inertial
dampers go offline and people are thrown about. After cutting
the thrusters and resetting the dampers, they find they are even
further inside the creature than they went the first time. Now
they have no propulsion, it has quietened down. Chakotay believes
they don't need engines to get out again. He thinks that the energy
currents that they ignored when they thought it was a nebula are
actually the creature's circulation system, and all they have
to do is let one carry them to the wound.
As they gently move into a current and begin drifting along,
Neelix and Kes arrive on the bridge with refreshments, Neelix
proclaiming himself the ship's morale officer. Going round with
a plate of snacks to the officers, he suggests singing a few songs,
but the Captain doesn't like that idea at all. Fortunately, the
current has just brought them to the wound. Tom gently drifts
them out of the current and Torres begins to fire her beam. Progress
is slow, however. Then the EMH, who no one had thought to turn
off since the earlier meeting, gives his suggestion - use Voyager
itself as a suture, an energy conduit across the wound. A diversion
would be needed to stop the creature's defences attacking them
while they get into position, so a class four microprobe is launched
into it while they fire thrusters and go to the wound. The creatures
defences zapp the probe as Voyager gets into position. Shaking
somewhat, two beams are sent out and the wound shrinks rapidly.
When the edges are only ten kilometres away they leave the wound
quickly and the creature finishes healing itself.
'Captain's Log, supplemental. We set out to augment our energy
reserves and wound up depleting them by over 20%. As a result,
we've set a new course for a planet 14 light years away that Neelix
says might have compatible energy sources to offer us. It is out
of our way, but circumstances offer few alternatives. So much
for raising spirits.'
Janeway travels in the turbolift with Harry, telling him she's
planning to meet with her animal guide, and recommends that Harry
asks Chakotay about it. Instead, he invites her to go with him
to the holodeck. As soon as she enters Sandrine's the gigolo begins
to chat her up until Tom intervenes, and apologises, but she laughs
it off. The pool hustler, Gaunt Gary, tells Torres his approach
to women - treat a lady like a tramp and a tramp like a lady.
Never fails. Well almost never, as B'Elanna calls over to Tom
that the character is a pig, and so is his programmer.
At the pool table, Kathryn Janeway is showing an interest in
the game being played. Is it pool or billiards? and asks Chakotay
for his 'stick'. Then she breaks, potting a solid and then following
up with the eight ball in the side pocket without even looking.
Analysis
From the personal log at the start, where she calls her multi-species
crew 'the family of man', through the only reason to go to that
nebula - to get enough energy to feed her caffeine habit - to
the final scene of Janeway the pool hustler, this episode is all
about the Captain's motivations and attitudes. We see her wrestling
with the StarFleet notion of a Captain being aloof and distant
from their crew, and modifying that in favour of some sort of
social life to keep herself sane on the seventy five year journey
home. Of course, what ever activity she takes part in, she must
be the best! The StarFleet attitude of investigation and putting
oneself at risk to help an injured stranger is a major part of
the plot. This is in complete contrast to the Original Series
story 'The Immunity Syndrome' where a similar life form was encountered
albeit under somewhat different circumstances.
Other characters get more depth too. Tom the holo-programmer
shares his creation with the crew - the first Holodeck scene so
far is a community resource designed to either aid or create homesickness,
depending on your feelings. We learn a litle about Chakotay's
belief system, and begin to understand how he can be so calm,
cool and unruffled by their situation. He has his own personal
counsellor on call whenever he wants to talk about anything. Neelix
turns out to have a somewhat different attitude to mysterious
spacial anomolies than everyone else. He doesn't want to know
anything about them if it might be risky, which is a reasonable
survival strategy for a space-scavenger living off his wits. Maybe
losing his lungs on an away mission has made him somewhat wary
of new situations too?
In the end, the morale of the crew might be up a small notch
with the addition of Sandrine's to their leisure activities, but
Voyager is still in dire energy straits. This is a ship with on-going
problems, and quite right too.
Ignoring the science (as usual) this was a fair and interesting
episode with fun scenes for most of the main cast.
Grade: 7/10 (C)
Cast:
Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway
Robert Beltran as Chakotay
Roxanne Biggs-Dawson as B'Elanna Torres
Jennifer Lien as Kes
Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris
Ethan Phillips as Neelix
Robert Picardo as The Doctor
Tim Russ as Tuvok
Garrett Wang as Harry Kim
Guest Cast:
Larry Hankin as Gaunt Gary
Angela Dohrmann as Ricky
Judy Geeson as Sandrine
Luigi Amodeo as The Gigolo
Creative Staff:
Director: David Livingston
Story By: Brannon Braga
Teleplay By: Tom Szollosi and Michael
Piller
