Voyager Contact with Starfleet

[Dan Stack]

I'm not a super Voyager fan, so my knowledge in this area is somewhat lacking. I do know over the course of the show they had various ways of communicating with Starfleet - from a simple "hi" in "Message in a Bottle" to short-term live communication by the end of the show.

Could someone out there point out to me the various modes of communication used and in what episode these were accomplished?

[Phantom]

Not sure of the episode names, but the method of "live communication" was by the Midas Array. A VLCA used by Project Pathfinder.

You might check the episode synopsis at startrek.co.

[Owen E Oulton]

There weren't that many...

Obligatory Spoiler alert, BTW.

In season 1's Eye Of The Needle, they sent a message through a micro-wormhole to a Romulan scientist 22 years in the past. He agrees to pass the message along when he catches up to Voyager's present. Thi message does not seem to have made it. A records search indicates that the Romulan scientist is deceased in Voyager's current time.

Message In A Bottle was the first successful attempt, sending the Holodoc through an interstellar communications array owned by the Hirogen. They received a data packet from Starfleet in the next episode, Hunters and attracted the attention of the Hirogen, who owned the array. The Hirogen shut off Voyager's access and began hunting them as prey.

In Pathfinder Lt. Reg Barclay (from TNG) has become obsessed with contacting Voyager. He manages to succeed in contacting the ship using the MIDAS array. Some time later, Starfleet manages to reestablish communications through the MIDAS arrayin the episode Life Line, once again allowing the Holodoc to be transmitted through, this time to Jupiter Station to save the life of Doctor Zimmerman, his creator.

Monthly communications are eventually established through the MIDAS array, allowing regular contact with Starfleet. In Inside Man, however, a group of Ferengi manage to hijack the signal and send through a holographic copy of Barclay to "help" Voyager by tricking the crew into using a newly-discovered interstellar conduit to return to the Alpha Quadrant. Unfortunately, radiation in this conduit will kill the entire crew, leaving the ship to the Ferengi... (BWAH-hahahahah!)

[Sea Tyger]

In Inside Man, however, a group of Ferengi manage to hijack the signal and send through a holographic copy of Barclay to "help" Voyager by tricking the crew into using a newly-discovered interstellar conduit to return to the Alpha Quadrant. Unfortunately, radiation in this conduit will kill the entire crew, leaving the ship to the Ferengi... (BWAH-hahahahah!)

Man, and I was hoping it would work, too...

[Kronok]

Owen,

Please tell me all that information did not come from the top of your head?

You looked it up right (And if so, how and where)?

Oh, and if it did...?

Count me scared.

[Dan Gurden]

Originally posted by Owen E Oulton
There weren't that many...

Obligatory Spoiler alert, BTW.

In season 1's Eye Of The Needle, they sent a message through a micro-wormhole to a Romulan scientist 22 years in the past. He agrees to pass the message along when he catches up to Voyager's present. Thi message does not seem to have made it. A records search indicates that the Romulan scientist is deceased in Voyager's current time.

I read a plot synopsis once that was turned down for DS9 which dealt with this message. Having Nog and Jake find the data and seeing the messages, they champion the cause of the lost starship, slowly convincing everyone aboard DS9 that Voyager was alive and well and that the message proves it...

until the data was found to have been created 22 years before Voyager was lost, and thus proving the messages fake. I just mention that for anyone that might want to incorporate into their trek universe...

Message In A Bottle was the first successful attempt, sending the Holodoc through an interstellar communications array owned by the Hirogen. They received a data packet from Starfleet in the next episode, Hunters and attracted the attention of the Hirogen, who owned the array. The Hirogen shut off Voyager's access and began hunting them as prey.

I am not entirely sure that thje Hirogen shut off access, but that the array was damaged and over-loaded beyond repair during the power struggle between Voyager and the Hirogen.

The messages that Voyager gained in this time resurected in 'Hope and Fear' when Arturis used it to entrap Janeway and Voyager.

In Pathfinder Lt. Reg Barclay (from TNG) has become obsessed with contacting Voyager. He manages to succeed in contacting the ship using the MIDAS array. Some time later, Starfleet manages to reestablish communications through the MIDAS arrayin the episode Life Line, once again allowing the Holodoc to be transmitted through, this time to Jupiter Station to save the life of Doctor Zimmerman, his creator.

Monthly communications are eventually established through the MIDAS array, allowing regular contact with Starfleet. In Inside Man, however, a group of Ferengi manage to hijack the signal and send through a holographic copy of Barclay to "help" Voyager by tricking the crew into using a newly-discovered interstellar conduit to return to the Alpha Quadrant. Unfortunately, radiation in this conduit will kill the entire crew, leaving the ship to the Ferengi... (BWAH-hahahahah!)

What can I say, you want the Midas Array and Project Pathfinder?

http://www.theventure.freeserve.co.uk/midas.htm

http://www.theventure.freeserve.co.u...r_breifing.htm

[Owen E Oulton]

[i]"I read a plot synopsis once that was turned down for DS9 which dealt with this message. Having Nog and Jake find the data..."[/i}

Ooooh. That could have been fun.

[i]"I am not entirely sure that thje Hirogen shut off access, but that the array was damaged and over-loaded beyond repair during the power struggle between Voyager and the Hirogen."[/i}

I thought that the damage was repairable, but that the Hirogen locked out Voyager's access. Ah, well, an excuse to go back and watch the episode again.

"The messages that Voyager gained in this time resurected in 'Hope and Fear' when Arturis used it to entrap Janeway and Voyager."

I'd forgotten that aspect of the episode. He'd overwritten parts of the message and garbled the rest so that the crew would think he was the rescue mission, didn't he?

[Dan Stack]

Thanks. Aside from the Ferengi one, I think I've actually seen all of those.

Did they ever go into how they managed to keep track of Voyager's location to initiate communications?

[Owen E Oulton]

Kronok...

"Owen,

Please tell me all that information did not come from the top of your head?

You looked it up right (And if so, how and where)?

Oh, and if it did...?

Count me scared."

I knew generally what attempts took place and which season they happened in. I also remembered a couple of episode titles.

However, for the bulk of the information I looked up the episodes in the STArchives. Go to the main page of the TrekRPG.net site and click on the Transporter Room navigation bar. This takes you to the links page. One of the first half-dozen links is to the Star Trek Ships Expanded site, which in turn has a link to the STArchives site. Simply select Voyager and navigate the site by season and episode title.

[Capt.Hunter]

The Hirogen array was not shut down on purpose. Voyager's attempts to stabilize it ultimately failed and the destruction of the local station caused a feedback pulse that took out the rest of the network. I also have a definite suspicion that the Hirogen didn't build the net in the first place, but simply took it over from whoever did (note the disparity between the level of tech needed to create the array and what the Hirogen seem capable of...).

[tonyg]

In some of the ediposdes (Project Patherfinder) it appears that Starfleet got Vogager's coodinates from thier first contact with Voyager, and then plotted an estimated course assuming that Voyager was heading back to the Alpha Quadrant as a costant hi-warp speed.

Considering the fact the the ship didn't actually do this (not very many episodes in curzing around the galaxy at warp and never stopping). it is surpring they were able to contact it in some of the latter episodes.

Perhaps Janeway sent back her projected courses, so Starfleet could have a better idea as to Voyager's route.

[Red]

Originally posted by tonyg
In some of the ediposdes (Project Patherfinder) it appears that Starfleet got Vogager's coodinates from thier first contact with Voyager, and then plotted an estimated course assuming that Voyager was heading back to the Alpha Quadrant as a costant hi-warp speed.

Considering the fact the the ship didn't actually do this (not very many episodes in curzing around the galaxy at warp and never stopping). it is surpring they were able to contact it in some of the latter episodes.

Perhaps Janeway sent back her projected courses, so Starfleet could have a better idea as to Voyager's route.

Especially considering that between 'Ship in a bottle' where the the doctor is sent to the Prometheus, and the episode where Barclay contacts Voyager through an artifical micro wormhole, Voyager used the catapult to jump over 200 lyr's futher towards the Alpha quadrant.

Red

[tonyg]

Hmm, maybe I should get Starfleet HQ to pick the numbers for me.