|
After going without mail from home
for over a month, the U.S.S. Voyager crew is looking forward to
seeing the next datastream which is jammed in the ship's
transceiver. Harry Kim and Seven of Nine determine that instead
of letters, the datastream contains a hologram of Reginald
Barclay, the Starfleet officer from the Pathfinder project on
Earth who has taken a personal interest in getting Voyager home.
Holo-Barclay tells Captain Janeway of the project's plan:
Voyager will be passing through a sector of space occupied by a
red giant star and at the same time, Federation scientists will
target the magnetic field of another red giant in the Alpha
Quadrant with a verteron beam to create a geodesic fold. As a
result, space will be punctured at two points, creating a
gateway between the quadrants. Janeway says the plan won't work
because Voyager's shields are useless against geodesic
radiation, but Holo-Barclay responds that he brought shield
upgrades and medical technology to protect the crew.
The Doctor agrees to transfer
his mobile emitter to Holo-Barclay so that the visitor can move
freely about the ship while he makes preparations. In the
briefing room, Holo-Barclay shows the crew where the geodesic
fold will occur and passes out assignments to everyone.
In the Pathfinder research lab, the real Reginald Barclay
investigates why the datastream transmission did not reach its
target. Commander Pete Harkins, his supervisor, believes the
hologram was lost because it was too complex and therefore it
degraded, but Barclay insists something interfered. He comes to
find that a spacecraft passed within 20 meters of the Midas
Array just hours before Starfleet sent the first hologram, and
conjectures that ship was either Borg or Romulan. Harkins
refuses to listen, and orders Barclay to take a vacation.
 Meanwhile in the Delta Quadrant, the Doctor tells Holo-Barclay
that the medical inoculations are not strong enough to protect
the crew from the geodesic fold's radiation, but Holo-Barclay
assures the Doctor that in combination with the shield
modifications, they will be enough. When the Doctor invites him
to a game of golf, the hologram is evasive. Later, Torres and
Kim prepare to transmit a "thank you note" back to the Alpha
Quadrant, and Holo-Barclay asks to include his own "progress
report." The datastream is transmitted to the Midas Array, but
an alien device attached to the array diverts the transmission
to a Ferengi ship near a red giant star. Three Ferengi on board
huddle around a monitor to receive Holo-Barclay's report which
includes information on Seven of Nine and her Borg nanoprobes.
They intend to acquire those nanoprobes and sell them for a huge
profit.
On Earth, Barclay catches up with his therapist and former
crewmate Deanna Troi on vacation at the beach, and tells her
about his distress. Troi recalls that Barclay was doing fine not
long ago when he was dating a teacher named Leosa. Barclay
reveals that Leosa expressed great interest in Pathfinder's
plan, but then left him the same day that his hologram was lost.
After prodding from Troi, Barclay admits that he suspects Leosa
had something to do with the missing transmission.
On Voyager, Holo-Barclay proves to be the "life of the party" as
he does impressions of the captain and Tuvok, to the delight of
crewmembers. The Doctor calls Holo-Barclay to the holodeck and
reminds him that they had an appointment to play golf. Holo-Barclay
is strangely contemptuous toward his fellow hologram.
The real Barclay informs his superiors that Leosa is suspected
of breaching Pathfinder security, and she is brought in for
questioning by Admiral Paris. Leosa admits that she is not a
teacher, but rather a dabo girl who works on a Ferengi casino
ship. But she denies sharing her knowledge of the Pathfinder
project with anyone. Troi knows she's lying, and coerces the
truth from her, including the identity of the Ferengi ship
involved in the theft. Scans find that ship near the red giant
star, and Admiral Paris sends a starship to intercept it.
Meanwhile, Leosa reveals to the broken-hearted Barclay that the
Ferengi are after Seven of Nine's Borg nanoprobes, and that she
would get a cut of the profit.
 After his strange encounter with Holo-Barclay, Voyager's Doctor
urges Janeway to run a diagnostic of the hologram since the crew
is putting their lives in his hands. Janeway agrees, and the
diagnostic shows Holo-Barclay is working perfectly.
While Admiral Paris and Commander Harkins are waiting for the
U.S.S. Carolina to arrive at the red giant, Barclay tells Troi
that he figured out what the Ferengi have done: They stole the
first Barclay hologram that was sent a month ago, reprogrammed
it to steal Seven's nanoprobes, and then smuggled it to Voyager
in the next transmission. Meanwhile the Ferengi initiate a pulse
in the red giant star to open a geodesic fold. This is seen back
at Pathfinder, and the officers realize the Ferengi plan is to
bring Voyager through the fold, which will kill the entire crew.
On Voyager, Seven of Nine also realizes the crew will not
survive the trip, so Holo-Barclay phases his holographic hand
into Seven's cranial implant, causing her to fall unconscious.
Since the Carolina won't arrive in time to stop the Ferengi,
Barclay comes up with another plan.
The Ferengi ship receives a message from what they think is
Holo-Barclay, who says that Captain Janeway found out about
their plan, has developed a way to protect the ship as it comes
through the fold, and will hunt down and kill the parties
responsible. The three Ferengi believe him, and start closing
the fold. They don't realize the message came from the real
Barclay from a holodeck re-creation of Voyager at the Pathfinder
lab.
Meanwhile, Holo-Barclay beams himself and Seven to an escape pod
and heads toward the geodesic fold. Kim manages to beam them
back aboard while the pod goes through the fold and rams into
the Ferengi ship. The Ferengi are disappointed they didn't get
their profit, and the Voyager crew are disappointed that yet
another shortcut home failed. Meanwhile, Barclay is programming
a new hologram with security precautions when Troi arrives to
invite him to dinner, where she plans to set him up with a
friend who's a real teacher.
 |
