Katye, Raven, Echo, and I walked into the Mess Hall towards the end of the breakfast hour, but there were still some familiar faces finishing their meals. Neelix served us each a plate of eggs and fruit, and we took a table near Tuvok, Harry, and Tom. We seemed to be the last people to come in, so Neelix came over and sat at the table across from Tuvok with a mischievous smile on his face.
"I have a new one for you, Mister Vulcan," Neelix said to which Tuvok sighed. "As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives. Each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats, and each cat had seven kits. Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, how many were going to St. Ives?"
Tuvok immediately recognized the riddle as a classic logic problem and began working on the solution. But before he could finish, Nelix interrupted him with his answer.
"The answer is one," Nelix said confidently. "Only I was going to St. Ives."
Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "That is incorrect," he said calmly. "The riddle clearly states that you met a man with seven wives, each of whom had seven sacks, each of which had seven cats, each of which had seven kits. Therefore, the total number of individuals going to St. Ives is much higher than one."
I chuckled as did a few others around us. The pair began to 'debate' the answer, since Vulcans did not argue, and it kept going for nearly ten minutes before Tom butted in to settle it. After that, all of us headed to our duty shifts with light smiles on our faces. Things were quiet throughout the morning since I was working in the Aeroponics Bay, but near the end of my shift, Janeway called me to Sick Bay.
"...Their nervous systems suffered trauma from some type of neuroelectric weapon. It must have been extremely painful," the Doctor explained as I walked into the room.
"It certainly was," B'Elanna replied.
"Do you know why they attacked you?" Janeway asked from the foot of the bed where B'Elanna was laying.
"No idea. They seemed to be trying to communicate with us, but we couldn't understand them. Then, they just lifted their weapons and fired," B'Elanna explained with annoyance.
"The injuries are treatable. It shouldn't take long," the Doctor said.
"Tuvok, send a message on all subspace frequencies. I want to find out why my people were attacked," Janeway ordered.
"Aye, Captain," Tuvok replied.
"I'll ask Neelix if he knows anything about these people. Rebecca, I'd like for you to come with me. Doctor, keep me posted," Janeway said.
Thankfully, Katye was here so I looked at her and sent telepathically, {Watch the Doctor. I'm not sure if this is it, but we're do for the episode when his program starts degrading and this is likely something.}
{Will do.} Katye replied.
Instead of going to Deck Two where the Mess Hall and Neelix were, Janeway led me down to the Shuttle Bay where I helped her gather some data from the shuttle that Tom and B'Elanna had used. We downloaded the different logs from the shuttle's computer and things seemed simple until Janeway sat down in a chair and looked back at me.
"Do you know anything about this?" Janeway asked.
"Not really," I lied, since I had recognized the episode once I had looked at the data from the shuttle.
"Can't blame me for hoping," she replied with a small smile. "See what your ship's sensors can tell you about the tachyon field, then meet me in the Briefing Room at seventeen hundred hours with your report."
"Will do, Captain," I agreed.
"Thanks," Janeway said with a nod, before heading out of the shuttle.
She left the Shuttle Bay while I walked onboard the Fae Dragon. Once I reached the Science station, I started scanning the borders of the tachyon field. It was a strange shape, jutting out in places, and covered a large amount of space, but there were thin sections which would only take a few days to cross at high warp which is what they had done in the show.
"Katye to Rebecca," my comm badge chimed.
"I'm alone, go ahead," I replied, tapping my badge.
"The Doctor seems forgetful which certainly isn't right," she explained.
"It's the episode," I sighed. "I have a meeting with Janeway and the Senior Officers in ten minutes, but I'll bring Janeway after it. Call Danara in to help you out in Sick Bay and maybe you can get L'Naan to look at his program."
"Alright," she agreed.
I did a few more scans of the tachyon field, then took my data pad, and made my way to the Briefing Room. Neelix and I were the first to arrive, but the Bridge Staff, except for Tom, entered the room a minute later. We took our seats, and Tuvok started off the meeting.
"I've made numerous hails on wide-band subspace. The only response has been a single repeating message," Tuvok said, before he tapped a button on the table.
The computer played a sample of the message which sounded like garbled clicking sounds.
"What's that?" Chakotay asked.
"I'd guess that it's a language so unlike ours that the universal translator can't interpret it," Janeway said. "Harry, remodulate the translator. See if we can decipher those sounds. Neelix, what can you tell us?"
"If these people are who I think they are, I can tell you that this is very bad news. I've never actually encountered them... But from what I've heard, I'm glad I didn't. Most ships that enter their space are never heard from again. Some have returned with everyone on board dead. They're a complete mystery. No one knows their name, how many of them there are, or what their culture is like. Just that they really don't want people violating their territory," Neelix explained with concern in his voice.
"If that tachyon field is any indication of their borders, it's a huge area of space... hundreds of sectors. If we were to go around it, it would take months," Harry commented.
"I'd say over fifteen months, even if we could sustain maximum warp, which we can't," Chakotay added.
"I'm not going to tell this crew that we're adding another fifteen months to this journey," Janeway said with annoyance. "We'll have to find another option."
"If we are not going around their space, then the only available option is to go through it," Tuvok stated.
"Precisely," Janeway retorted.
"Tom and B'Elanna hit a sensor net as they crossed the border. We have to figure that we'll run into it when we try to cross, but there are ways around sensor nets," Harry suggested.
"They can't possibly have enough ships to patrol a border of this size. We can probably find an unguarded section," Chakotay said.
"And I know just the place," I added, standing up, and heading over to the display screen. "This is the narrowest region within five light-years, and it would only take a couple of days at high warp."
"Would it affect your decision if I pointed out that encroaching on the territory of an alien species is prohibited by Starfleet regulations?" Tuvok asked.
"No, it wouldn't," Janeway replied.
"Captain... you have managed to surprise me," Tuvok responded.
"We're a long way from Starfleet, Lieutenant. I'm not about to waste fifteen months because we've run into a bunch of bullies. I want a plan for crossing that border as quickly, and as quietly as possible. We'll reconvene in an hour. Dismissed."
"Captain, can I have a few minutes of your time?" I asked as everyone stood up.
"Of course," she agreed.
I waited until the others left before I said, "While I don't know anything about the aliens, I do know something about another matter that has yet to be brought to you. Before the meeting, Katye told me that the Doctor is being forgetful which is a sign of a larger problem. I believe that his program is starting to degrade. I asked her to call L'Naan since I knew that she was off duty currently and start looking at his program."
"Good thinking. Do you have a solution in mind?"
"Possibly, but it will take some creativity," I replied.
"Alright, let's go see if your hunch is correct," Janeway said, before leading the way out onto the Bridge.
We crossed the room and took the turbo lift down to Sick Bay. Danara and Kes were treating Tom on the main bio-bed while Katye and L'Naan were standing at the main console with the Doctor.
"The EMH database seems to be experiencing a cascading overload of some kind. The Doc's memory circuits are deteriorating," L'Naan explained as we walked up.
"We knew that the Doctor wasn't designed to be up and running as much as he has been, but B'Elanna programmed safety buffers, so his circuits wouldn't degrade," Janeway replied.
"She did, and installed them, but they're breaking down."
"My self-diagnostic routines have always indicated that in the event of cascade failure, I should simply be reinitialized," the Doctor said.
"That would stop the cascade and allow us to reset your database and personality subroutines, but... it would restore the original program, wiping out the last two years of his memory."
"There may be another method," I chimed in. "There is a diagnostic program for the EMH in the ship's database, Jupiter Station Diagnostic Program Alpha 1-1. The holographic program has the same adaptive, heuristic matrix as the Doctor's. I believe that there is a way to graft its matrix onto the Doctor's, and, since I knew this problem would pop up eventually, I've investigated it, but I only have a couple of months' worth of practice with holographic programs, so I need someone with more experience to iron out the details."
"But if it doesn't work, you won't have an EMH or the diagnostic tool," the Doctor argued. "I can't put my wishes above the health of the crew."
"If a crew member came down with a debilitating illness, you'd do everything in your power to make them well again. I think we owe you nothing less. L'Naan, assist Rebecca with her plan," Janeway said, before she walked out of the room.
"The Jupiter Station program will be of some help, so we'll transfer you to the holo-deck in a few minutes, Doc," I said.
"Alright," the Doctor replied.
{Have fun with L'Naan.} Katye's teasing remark entered my mind as I led L'Naan out of Sick Bay.
I could only smirk and shake my head. I should have known when I told Katye to ask for L'Naan's help that I would end up working on this problem with her. It was my plan, and she was just as talented as her counterpart when it came to holographic programs. At least the Zimmerman holographic character was just as annoying as he was on the show.
"Computer, transfer the program for the Emergency Medical Hologram to Holodeck Two," I said as L'Naan walked into the holodeck after activating the program.
"I seem to remember this place," the Doctor remarked after he materialized by us.
"You should, this is Jupiter Station, where you were created, and where your database was written," L'Naan said, switching between the different consoles as she looked for the right one.
"It seems... so long ago," he said.
"I'll bring up the Doctor's subroutines," I said.
"Don't touch that!" a man behind us snapped.
There was a classic moment of TV mini-drama as L'Naan and the Doctor looked at the holographic re-creation of Doctor Zimmerman and between each other; no doubt, the lead in a commercial break. I was not thrown off by it since I had used the program before.
"You again?!? Come to ask me for more ridiculous 'tricks' for your holographic programs?" he complained.
"Not today. We have a problem with our EMH," I replied.
"You've used this program before?" L'Naan asked with surprise.
"As I said, I've looked into the problem."
"What's wrong with it?" Zimmerman asked, only looking at me.
"He's experiencing a cascade failure. His memory circuits are degrading," I explained. "I was trying to bring the subroutines on line..."
"If you don't mind, I can do it faster," he said, pushing me out of his way.
"I can see where you get your charming personality," I said to the Doctor.
"Not to mention my hairline," the Doctor retorted.
"Here we are," Zimmerman said, tapping away at the console. "A schematic of the EMH and its component subroutines."
"Can you determine the source of the problem?" the Doctor asked, but Zimmerman ignored him.
"This isn't good. The EMH has a level-four memory fragmentation. How long has the program been active?"
Annoyed by the Zimmerman hologram ignoring his existence, the Doctor grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him to look at him as he said, "I have been active for... for..."
"Almost two years," L'Naan supplied since the Doctor could not remember.
"Two years?!" Zimmerman exclaimed. "Well, there's your problem. This program was developed as a short-term supplement to your medical staff... fifteen hundred hours tops."
"We know. The ship's original doctor was killed, and we can't get a replacement from Starfleet. Our Chief Engineer added data compression buffers, but they're breaking down," I replied.
"Of course, they're breaking down! The only thing you can do with a level-four memory fragmentation is a system-wide reinitialization... wait, this is what you've been working on. You want to combine my matrix with his?"
"Can it work?" I asked.
He rubbed his chin while he thought about it, and remarked, "It actually might if we get started on writing the program now."
"Then let's get started," I replied.
The Zimmerman program directed L'Naan and I through the process of building a program to overlay the diagnostic tool's matrix over the Doctor's. It took roughly an hour, and during that time, the Doctor only got worse. When it was ready, we transferred both the Doctor and Zimmerman to Sick Bay for the final touches then activated the program.
While it worked, I reported to the Bridge before we attempted to sneak past the tachyon net. Harry managed to find the right frequency to reflect the tachyon beams, so that they did not register the Voyager slipping across the border. Once we did, Tuvok was able to detect the swarm of ships and put them up on the screen. There were thousands of small ships, and I could not help but twitch, thinking about having to fight them. If the Voyager did get caught like they had in the episode, it would not be easy for me to assist them in fighting them off because of the draining and reflecting technology that they had.
The Doctor's program reactivated twelve hours after the overlay program started, and he had most of his memories intact. We crossed the Swarm's territory without running across a single ship, so we were never found. Everything played out quite well and without too much difficult, so I could not help but wonder if that was really all there was to this... that is, until Katye, Raven, Echo, and I were gathered around our dinner table the night after we crossed to the other side of the Swarm's tachyon net.
"A good, hearty meal. You'll need it with what game I have in store for you four," Sancu said with a devilish smile as he appeared at the end of the table.