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Janeway: Captain's log, stardate 51978.2. It's been 5 months since we received the encoded message from the Alpha Quadrant. We know that the transmission was from Starfleet Command, but we still can't decrypt it. B'Elanna thinks it's a lost cause, that too much of the datastring has been destroyed, but I haven't given up. I keep hoping inspiration will strike... somehow. |
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Chakotay: Good morning.
Janeway: What time is it? Chakotay: 0500 |
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Janeway: Oh, then good morning.
Chakotay: I just heard from Tom and Neelix, they are about to leave the trading colony. Janeway: Any luck? Chakotay: According to Tom, the shuttle is so loaded down with supplies it won't make half impulse. Neelix is asking permission to bring one of the locals on board. He's been very helpful, and Neelix wants to repay him by giving him passage to the next system. |
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Janeway: Permission granted. Chakotay: You may wanna grab some sleep, we've got a big day ahead. Janeway: I will in a while. Chakotay: Still hunting for buried treasure?
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Janeway: We found the treasure, I just can't pick the luck. I've tried over 50 decryption algorythms and every time I piece together a datablock, ten more come and rebel. What Starfleet send us? A map? The location of a wormhole? If I could decode this today Chakotay, we could be home tomorrow. And again, it could be the Admiral Chapman's recipe for the perfect pancake. I've been (...) our hopes on this message but I'm starting to wonder. |
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Chakotay: One way or another, we've got to find out. I'll talk to B'Elanna.
You can (...) Seven Of Nine.
Janeway: She should have a few Borg algorythms up her sleeve. If she's in the mood. Chakotay: Problems? |
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Janeway: I don't know if she's restless or if it's just me, but we're
(...) heads more than usual lately. She seems to challenge everything I
say.
Chakotay: She's (...) from you over the last year. Maybe the pupil thinks she's outgrown the mentor. Janeway: Maybe. Well, this mentor would like another cup of coffee. Will you join me? Chakotay: I'd love to. |
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Paris: This goes to Engineering... sickbay... storage.
Chakotay: I hope that's not going to the messhole. Paris: I don't remember what this is. Neelix! |
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Neelix: Captain, this man is a genious. I was trying to negotiate with
the xenon-based life form when the universal translator went offline. Arturis
here stepped in and acted as a perfect go-between and he'd never heard
either of our languages.
Arturis: Well, it was simple. And no offense intended. |
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Paris: Neelix!
Neelix: On my way. If you two would excuse me. Janeway: Well, welcome to Voyager. We may be a liguisticly simple folk but we'd be happy to give you a ride. Let's see if we can find you some quarters. |
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Arturis: Neelix was right. Voyager is a welcoming place.
Janeway: Well, we do our best. |
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Janeway: I can't say I've ever met a living universal translator.
Arturis: My people have a way with languages. I myself know over 4.000. Janeway: And to think I still struggle with basic Klingon. You couldn't hear what Neelix said more than a few phrases. |
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Arturis: That's all I needed. It was enough to grasp the grammar and
syntax.
Janeway: Impressive. Arturis: Well, not really. It's a natural ability. Some species are born with great physical (...), others like yours with a generosity spirit. My people can see patterns where others see only confusion. Is something wrong? |
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Janeway: No. Tell me, how are you at computational languages, algorythms,
trinary syntax?
Arturis: It's all the same to me. Janeway: I was wondering if you may do us another favor. |
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Arturis: You weren't exaggerating captain, this datastring is badly
damaged. I'd like to see the entire transmission again. Are you... borg?
Seven: Yes. Arturis: You are much more attractive than the average drone. Seven: I am no longer part of the collective. |
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Arturis: I see, I think I see the problem. May I?
Janeway: Please. |
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Janeway: Have you encountered these people before?
Seven: Species 116. Arturis: Is that what you call us? Seven: Yes. The Borg has never been able to assimilate them. Not yet. |
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Janeway: Seven...
Arturis: Oh, it's all right, captain. The Borg collective is like a force of nature. You don't feel anger towards a storm in the horizon, you just avoid it. Ah, here it is. It's a simple matter of extracting the alconometric elements and try isolating the recursion matrix. |
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Janeway: (...) nothing like that.
Arturis: There's a great deal of information here, captain. I think it might be useful to use the other monitors. |
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Janeway: You've done it.
Arturis: Almost. I reconstructed over 68 kiloquads of information but a lot still (...) Janeway: What about that datablock, 14 beta? Arturis: That part of the message is too degraded to recover. |
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Seven: Captain, I found a spatial grid.
Janeway: They marked a set of coordinates. It's less than 10 light-years from here. Seven: Maybe Starfleet wants us to proceed to that location. Janeway: Maybe. There's only one way to find out. |
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