"What is this place?" a confused Paris asked.
"We've only travelled a few hundred kilometres," Janeway replied. "We're inside the array!"
"Then this is some sort of holographic projection!" said Kim.
Then, their conversation was interrupted when an elderly lady emerged from the old house. She was carrying a tray overloaded with glasses of what looked like old-style lemonade.
"Oh! I wasn't expecting you so soon!" she said. "Anyway, the others will be here shortly!"
Then, in the distance, they could hear the sound of voices. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, many, possibly as many as fifty people appeared, all dressed in old-style clothing. They tried to make friends with the Voyager crew as soon as they arrived, but they were skeptical. One young lady seemed to take a distinct interest in Paris.
"Come!" shouted the old lady. "Let's have a party! There's plenty of corn on the cob!"
She then went into the house and soon emerged with another tray, this one loaded down with food. Janeway, however, was having nothing of this. She knew something was wrong here, very wrong.
"Spread out everyone!" she ordered as the sound of an old man playing the banjo filled the air. "Try to find something, anything!"
Paris and Kim, along with the young lady, moved off in one direction. Paris seemed extremely pleased at the attention he was being shown.
"Paris," an annoyed Kim said. "She's only a hologram!"
"That's no reason to be rude!"
Then, a reading on Kim's tricorder grabbed his attention. He looked up, and the reading was coming from what appeared to be a barn.
"What's in there?" Kim asked.
The young lady seemed annoyed. As Paris and Kim approached the barn, she blocked their way.
"You don't wanna go in there!" she said. "It's just a big pile of hay!"
Kim was not satisfied. His tricorder was definitely picking something up.
"I think I've found it! I think I've found the projector."
He then activated his communicator, alerting Janeway of his discovery. However, the young lady was still blocking their way. Paris grabbed her by her arm and pushed her to one side. He then pulled the door open, and they moved inside.
The reading on Kim's tricorder changed. Something was odd. The reading was something he had never seen before.
"What is it?" Paris asked.
"I don't know," Kim replied. "It's some sort of life sign, yet it appears to be all around us!"
Then, the young woman ran in front of them, blocking them from going any further.
"See!" she said. "I told you there was nothing in here!"
But this did not satisfy Kim. He joined Paris, and his tricorder began to get the same readings.
"I'm reading several life signs," he said. "Several humans and a Vulcan."
The pleasant look that had been on her face was gone, replaced by one of total contempt.
"I'm not ready for you yet!"
And with that, she struck Paris, knocking him to the ground and blooding his lip. Seconds later, Janeway and the rest of the crew arrived in the barn, but then, in front of them, the welcoming party suddenly materialized out of nowhere. Each of them were carrying a farm tool, a shovel, a rake, and looked as if they were going to use them as weapons.
"Well I never," said the old lady. "If you don't want any corn on the cob, we're going to have to proceed ahead of schedule!"
Then, the barn began to shimmer, and its image was soon replaced by something that resembled a hospital, but something far more advanced than any of them had ever seen before. Janeway looked around and could see several unconscious forms nearby, seemingly floating on nothing more than thin air. They were all but naked, save some form of cover that had been draped over them. From the files she had been given by Starfleet, she recognized one of them as Chakotay, the Maquis leader. Then she was shocked when she saw Tuvok, her chief of security and her friend nearby, unconscious, motionless, and she was powerless to help him.
Then, there was a flash of light, and suddenly, Janeway found herself drifting in and out of unconsciousness. She was now held aloft in the same manner as the others, as the Maquis crew. She could do nothing as she saw some sort of instrument move down towards her, pierce her stomach, and enter her body. Nearby, Kim looked around, helpless. He looked up, and the same instrument was about to enter his body. He could do nothing but scream. His screams, however, fell on deaf ears.
As Lennier entered the Minbari quarters on Babylon 5, he found them in some sort of disarray. Packing cases could be found everywhere. Looking around, he could find no trace of Ambassador Delenn.
"Ambassador?" he called out. "Are you here?"
There was no reply. Then, a few moments later, Delenn appeared from her bedroom with another packing case in her arms.
"Ah, Lennier, I was waiting for you to arrive."
Lennier was slightly put off by this. Delenn's new human-like appearance was still slightly off-putting to Lennier, but he knew he had to get used to it. Putting all thoughts about Delenn's appearance to one side, he started to ask the question that was uppermost in his mind.
"Are we going somewhere, Ambassador?"
"Not we, Lennier, me."
"Where?"
"I've managed to find out that Ambassador Kosh, along with two unknown passengers, is going to Nimbus III."
"The Planet of Galactic Peace? Why would Kosh be going there?"
"I also have information that tells me that several prominent Starfleet officials are also going there. I don't know what, but something is telling me that I feel compelled to go to Nimbus III, as I'm being drawn by a strange force. Enough of this. Lennier, I want to leave as soon as possible. Ready my ship."
"I will file a flight plan with Operations right away."
"No. No one else must know where I'm going. As far as Operations is concerned, I'm going to Minbar for a short diplomatic mission."
Delenn then placed the small packing case on a table. She then went back to her bedroom and continued packing. Lennier knew what he had to do. He also knew he had to remain quiet.
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