Message in a Bottle (Voyager episode)
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| Star Trek: VOY episode | |
| "Message in a Bottle" | |
| Episode no. | 82 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 181 |
| Airdate | January 21, 1998 |
| Writer(s) | Rick Williams Lisa Klink |
| Director | Nancy Malone |
| Guest star(s) | Andy Dick as EMH Mark II Judson Scott as Rekar Valerie Wildman as Nevala Tiny Ron as Idrin Tony Sears as Starfleet officer |
| Year | 2374 |
| Stardate | 51462 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Waking Moments" |
| Next | "Hunters" |
"Message in a Bottle" is a popular[1] episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the fourteenth episode of the fourth season.
After successfully extending the range of Voyager`s sensors, Seven of Nine locates a network of alien sensor stations. Patching into this, she is able to locate a Federation vessel on the far reaches of the Alpha Quadrant, the USS Prometheus. 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.
Upon arrival, The Doctor discovers that Romulans have taken over the ship. Being pursued by a Nebula-class vessel, the USS Bonchune, the Romulans initiate the first test of the new multi-vector assault mode, in which Prometheus splits into three separate pieces in order to engage hostile ships.
Seeking assistance, The Doctor activates the ship's own EMH, a Mark II of the program. 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 were 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, in order to flood the entire 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, by the time they take control, Prometheus has reached the designated rendezvous point, and three D'deridex-class warbirds are ready to take delivery. 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 Prometheus. EMH Mark II stumbles upon the command to put the ship into multi-vector assault mode and the ship's computer successfully destroys a Romulan warbird. With that loss, the Romulans retreat, and a Starfleet security detail transports over to the Prometheus.
Meanwhile, the Hirogen, owners of the sensor array, have contacted Voyager, and demand they log off the relay. Seven of Nine zaps the threatening Hirogen officer with a feedback loop, and the Voyager crew await a response from the Alpha Quadrant. 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. They remove Voyager from the list of destroyed ships they placed Voyager on fourteen months ago and send a message back to them: "You're no longer alone." Starfleet will be trying their best to return Voyager home, as well as tell their families that the crew is alive.
