Message in a Bottle (Star Trek: Voyager)

"Message in a Bottle"
Star Trek: Voyager episode
The battle to retake USS Prometheus
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 14
Directed by	Nancy Malone
Teleplay by	Lisa Klink
Story by	Rick Williams
Featured music	Paul Baillargeon
Production code	181
Original air date	January 21, 1998 (1998-01-21)
Guest stars
Andy Dick - EMH Mark II Judson Scott - Rekar Valerie Wildman - Nevala Tiny Ron - Idrin Tony Sears - Starfleet Officer
Episode chronology
← Previous "Waking Moments" Next → "Hunters"
List of Star Trek: Voyager episodes

"Message in a Bottle" is the 82nd episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 14th episode of the fourth season, and premiered January 21, 1998. This popular episode has an average rating of 4.6/5 on the official Star Trek website (as of May 11, 2007).

Plot

After successfully extending the range of Voyager's sensors, Seven of Nine locates an unattended network of alien sensor stations. Patching into this, she is able to locate a Federation vessel on the far reaches of the Alpha Quadrant. Voyager's crew attempts to send a message along the relay, but it is reflected back to them after degrading en route. Theorizing that a holographic signal would be stronger, and not degrade so quickly, they send the Doctor as a datastream.

The Doctor finds himself in the sickbay of the USS Prometheus, an experimental warship developed in secret by the Federation. He learns from a dying crewman that the Romulans had learned of the prototype's existence and captured it. Being pursued by the USS Bonchune, the Romulans initiate the first test of the new multi-vector assault mode, in which the Prometheus splits into three separate pieces to engage hostile ships.

Seeking assistance, the Doctor activates the ship's own EMH, a Mark II of the program (Andy Dick). The second EMH cites protocol for an EMH to deactivate when its vessel was taken over, but Voyager's doctor notes that as both ships are at stake, they do not have that luxury.

Using the pretense of an infection on board, the Doctor goes to the bridge in an effort to open the atmospheric filters to flood the ship with anesthetizing gas and knock the Romulans unconscious. The ruse fails, but when he is captured and interrogated, the Doctor keeps the Romulans stalled long enough for the EMH Mark II to fool the ship's computer into opening the filters, permitting the distribution of the gas. Unfortunately, just moments after they take control, the Prometheus is intercepted by three Romulan D'deridex-class warbirds.

Unfamiliar with the helm and weapons systems, the two EMH programs unsuccessfully attempt to fool the Romulans into leaving, before three more Starfleet vessels arrive to retake their ship. In the ensuing battle, all six other vessels target the Prometheus. The EMH Mark II stumbles upon the command to put the ship into multi-vector assault mode. The strength of the Prometheus is quickly demonstrated when it easily overpowers and destroys one of the Romulan warbirds. With that loss, the Romulans retreat, and a Starfleet security detail transports over to the Prometheus.

Meanwhile, Voyager's crew has learned that the sensor array was not abandoned, but is claimed to the Hirogen, who announce themselves and demand that Voyager disconnect at once. Janeway tries to negotiate, but the Hirogen officer is recalcritrant. Seven of Nine buys time to await the Doctor's return by stunning the officer with a feedback loop. After the battle with the Romulans, the Doctor gets through and materializes in sickbay. He has good news: he has updated Starfleet on Voyager's situation. This is the first time Starfleet has heard from the vessel since it disappeared four years ago. Voyager has been removed from Starfleet's list of destroyed ships, and a message sent back: "You're no longer alone." Starfleet will be trying their best to help return Voyager home and will tell the crew's families that they're alive.

Notes

• The Dominion War is briefly mentioned when the EMH Mark II mentions to the Doctor that "the Romulans haven't gotten involved in their fight with the Dominion." Three months later, in DS9's "In the Pale Moonlight," the Romulans would become involved and oppose the Dominion.

• The Crew of Voyager makes contact with home for the first time since they were lost in the Delta Quadrant in the series premier.

• This episode also marks the halfway point in the series.

• The EMH Mark II delivers the classic Star Trek line "I'm a doctor, not a...," finishing his variant with "commando" (Paris later inverts the line as "I'm a pilot, not a doctor!")

External links

• Message in a Bottle at the Internet Movie Database
• "Message in a Bottle" at TV.com
• Message in a Bottle at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Message in a Bottle at StarTrek.com