Concerning Flight (episode)

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"Concerning Flight"
VOY, Episode 4x11 Production number: 179 First aired: 26 November 1997
←	78th of 168 produced in VOY	→
←	78th of 168 released in VOY	→
	{{{nNthReleasedInSeries_Remastered}}}th of 168 released in VOY Remastered
←	495th of 727 released in all	→

Teleplay By Joe Menosky Story By Jimmy Diggs & Joe Menosky Directed By Jesús Salvador Treviño
51386.4 (2374)
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When pirates steal the ship's main computer and other critical equipment, Captain Janeway tries to track down the missing equipment with the help of the holographic Leonardo da Vinci.

[edit] Summary

[edit] Teaser

On the holodeck, amid angry shouts from the street below, a soaking wet Kathryn Janeway and the Leonardo da Vinci hologram retreat to da Vinci's studio, having failed an attempt to launch da Vinci's glider. Da Vinci, angered that he nearly got the two of them drowned with half of Florence watching, suggests relocating to France. Janeway accuses him of giving up on his most important works and questions him as to why. Da Vinci evades the issue, and Janeway is summoned to the bridge as the ship is shaken by a sudden attack.

[edit] Act One

The physical damage from the attack is negligible, but Harry Kim detects a slight destabilization along the shield perimeter. In engineering, B'Elanna Torres watches as the warp diagnostic assembly vanishes in a transporter beam. Throughout the ship, other objects dematerialize, including The Doctor's mobile emitter. As Voyager prepares to return fire to the attacking ships, the weapons targeting controls fail, and Kim reports that Voyager's main computer processor was among the stolen items, rendering the ship's weapons, navigation and propulsion inoperable.

The crew discovers that the unknown pirates used a high-energy transporter beam. In addition to the computer processor and the mobile emitter, the pirates also stole five tricorders, three phaser rifles, two photon torpedo casings, a plasma injector conduit and month's supply of emergency rations. The Doctor is most upset about the missing emitter, but Janeway declares the computer processor to be the top priority for recovery. She tells Kim to do whatever he can to track the pirate ships.

Kim hopes to enlist Seven of Nine's assistance in extending the ship's sensors using the deep space imaging system in the astrometrics lab. Seven informs him she's already been working on that task for the past two hours. When Kim offers to help, Seven brusquely orders him to decompile databanks 59-17 to isolate an algorithmic feedback that is interfering with the resolution. She tells him to perform the procedure immediately or leave. He suggests she learn to phrase her requests more diplomatically.

With the computer functioning at half power, Voyager spends 10 days tracking its missing equipment to a planet that appears to be a center of trade and commerce. Kim locates Starfleet signatures on the planet's surface, including that of the missing computer processor on the North continent. Janeway and Tuvok beam down to the North continent, while Tom Paris and Neelix journey to the South.

In the city, Tuvok locates a Starfleet signature too small to be the processor moving toward his and Janeway's location. They are stunned when the da Vinci hologram appears, welcoming them to America.

[edit] Act Two

Janeway notes that da Vinci is wearing The Doctor's mobile emitter. He tells "Caterina" that he doesn't know how he got there, but surmises that perhaps Spanish sailors kidnapped him and brought him to the New World on a galleon. He then speaks of his patron, whom he calls "the prince of the city." Janeway realizes that she was running the da Vinci simulation when the computer processor was stolen, and that da Vinci's program must have still been active in the processor's memory. To explain her own presence there, Janeway concocts a cover story that she traveled to "America" on a Portuguese ship. Tuvok responds to da Vinci's query about his "curious ears" by saying he's from Scandinavia.

Da Vinci takes Janeway and Tuvok to his new workshop, provided by his patron. The room is filled with stolen goods, including a phaser. Da Vinci says his patron provides the equipment in return for da Vinci's ideas. He tells Janeway to be careful with the phaser, describing it as a weapon that shoots a bolt of lightning rather than projecting lead pellets. He promises to introduce Janeway and Tuvok to his patron that evening.

Tau

Back on Voyager, Paris and Neelix return from the South continent with an alien trader, whom they have lured to the ship with the promise of supplying a warp coil. Chakotay questions the alien, who proves to be uncooperative until Chakotay threatens to throw him off the ship. He tells the Voyager officers of a man called Tau, who controls the seventh province of the North continent. Chakotay tells him he can keep the equipment he has, including the Voyager uniform he's wearing, and sends the alien on his way.

On the planet, Tau is trying to make a deal with a potential customer who balks at his prices. Janeway and Tuvok shadow Tau, having found out that he is da Vinci's patron. They also have determined that the computer processor is not in the city and believe that Tau can lead them to it. When da Vinci appears, Janeway instructs Tuvok to keep him occupied with small talk while she poses as a buyer and makes contact with Tau. Janeway tells Tau her client needs a computer to run a colony about 20 parsecs away. Tau shows her to a verbal interface that speaks in the Voyager computer's voice. Then he names his price -- a warship.

[edit] Act Three

In da Vinci's workshop, Janeway and Tuvok search for a storage facility or stronghold where the processor might be, using maps that da Vinci has sketched of the area. Da Vinci interrupts the proceedings, but Tuvok uses a button on the emitter to freeze his program so he and Janeway can speak freely. Tuvok suggests returning to the ship with da Vinci's maps and his tricorder data and feeding the information into the ship's sensors. Janeway tells Tuvok to return to Voyager; she will remain on the planet and continue searching from there, with da Vinci's help. Tuvok cautions her that the da Vinci program may simulate the artist's genius, but also re-creates his notorious unreliability.

On Voyager, The Doctor discovers that Seven of Nine's optical interface is misaligned and chastises her for missing her regular examinations. He then questions her about shipboard happenings, saying he heard there was a "fuss" in the mess hall. Seven says she and Torres had a disagreement, and The Doctor presses her for more details. Seven can't understand his need to hear about such trivialities, but The Doctor says without his emitter he is once again imprisoned in sickbay and not kept informed. Seven elaborates that Torres called her an "automaton" and employed a string of profane Klingon insults. She also says that she was right and Torres was wrong. The Doctor hopes to hear more, but Tuvok summons Seven to astrometrics.

Using the astrometric sensors, Tuvok and Seven pinpoint the location of the computer processor, but the building is surrounded by a dispersion field, making transport impossible. Seven suggests that the captain might be able to get inside and initiate a power surge in the processor to boost its signal so Voyager can get a lock. Tuvok contacts the captain, and she agrees to carry out the plan, with da Vinci's assistance. Unfortunately, Tau overhears her conversation and forces Janeway at gunpoint to hand over her combadge.

[edit] Act Four

As Janeway distracts Tau, da Vinci subdues him from behind. Da Vinci fears execution for attacking his patron and refuses to join Janeway. She tells him he's a prisoner there and convinces him he's needed back in Europe. More important, she needs him now. The pair travel to the storage facility, which da Vinci says he's visited before.

On Voyager, Kim has lost the captain's combadge signal, but is able to maintain a lock on the mobile emitter. Chakotay tells him not to beam da Vinci back to the ship just yet, as the captain may need his help.

On the planet, da Vinci can't recall where the entrance to the storage facility is. Janeway presses him, saying that inside the storage facility is a wondrous invention they can use to send a beacon to her Portuguese ship. All they have to do is find it and they will be rescued. Da Vinci surmises that anyone who built such a fortress likely would fear theft, so they would construct one entrance to the building facing away from the sunlight so as to blind anyone seeking the entry. He and Janeway locate the entrance and go inside.

On Voyager, Kim reports that 30 armed guards are closing in on the captain's position. Inside the storage facility, da Vinci likens the layout to a labyrinth, but Janeway has a compass (her tricorder). The compass leads them to a collection of phasers, a plasma injector, a site-to-site transport device and the missing computer processor. Janeway speaks to the computer, asking if it recognizes her voice. Da Vinci is stunned to hear a woman's voice emanating from within the processor. Janeway instructs the computer to produce a level 4 induction relay override. She tells da Vinci to stand close to the machine as they await transport.

Voyager detects the power surge, but an armed guard begins firing at Janeway and da Vinci, forcing them to retreat from the processor as it is beamed out, leaving them behind. Da Vinci is shot, but the beam passes through him, leaving him confused and fearful. Janeway subdues the armed guard. She picks up the site-to-site transport device, telling da Vinci it is an invention from another land that can move them out of the building a few kilometers away in the blink of an eye. Da Vinci demands an explanation for all that he's seen. Janeway says he once told her it was a poor apprentice who could not surpass her master, and that he must accept there are things she understands about the new land that he doesn't.

Voyager comes under attack by 13 vessels launched from the planet's surface. Chakotay tells Torres to get the processor back online quickly. "We've still got a captain down there."

[edit] Act Five

Janeway and da Vinci are on the run in the planet's wilderness, but da Vinci refuses to go any further until "Caterina" explains what's happening and tells him if they are dead. She asks him what his perspective would be if he were a sparrow, if his mind were too small to perceive the world around him. Da Vinci concedes that the limits of his own mind prevent him from understanding how certain realities exist beyond his level of comprehension. With the guards closing in, da Vinci abruptly changes directions, leading Janeway up the hillside.

Torres gets the processor back online, restoring navigation, propulsion and sensors. The ship must get within 500 kilometers to retrieve the captain. Tuvok points out that the attacking ship will try to block Voyager's descent, and Chakotay tells Paris to get ready for some "fancy flying."

Da Vinci leads Janeway to the summit of the hill, where he has completed constructing his glider, using duranium. Voyager detects the captain and da Vinci at the edge of the precipice, but the ship is still too high for transport. With Tau and a guard firing on them, Janeway and da Vinci launch the glider and fly away, stunning Tau and the guard. Kim is able to transport Janeway, da Vinci and the glider to cargo bay 1.

Later, Janeway visits da Vinci back on the holodeck and finds him packing to go to France, intent on re-creating the wonders he seen. She warns him that he won't be able to find similar materials to the ones he encountered in the New World, but she bids him farewell and walks him to his carriage.

[edit] Log Entries

Captain's log, stardate 51386.4. With ship's systems at nearly half capacity, it's taken us ten days to track our stolen technology.

First officer's log, stardate 51392.7. Though we've yet to hear from the captain and Tuvok, Paris and Neelix have returned from their mission to the southern continent with some disturbing evidence.

Captain's log, stardate 51408.3. We're back on course to the Alpha Quadrant. With the ship's computer and the Doctor's emitter returned to proper places, I've set aside some time to check on the maestro.

[edit] Memorable Quotes

"You are the animal! A bird who cannot fly!"
"Better than a man who cannot think!"
"The pigeon speaks! (imitating pigeons) Coo-Coo! Coo-Coo!"

- The Simulated Florentines and the Leonardo Da Vinci Hologram

"'The great bird will take flight and bring glory to its nest.' So I have bragged for months! Instead we almost drown with half of Florence watching."

- The Leonardo Da Vinci Hologram

"Caterina, have you been to France?"
"Not recently"
"Ah. The King of France is a great admirer of mine. 'The Divine Leonardo' is all I hear when I walk through his streets. And what music do I find in the streets of Florence, eh? The cooing of pigeons and the babbling of fools! Caterina, we are leaving!"

- The Leonardo Da Vinci Hologram and Captain Janeway

"STUPIDO! FOOLISH FLORENTINES!"

- The Leonardo Da Vinci Hologram

"I have the will but not the means... captain."

- Lt. Cdr. Tuvok to Capt. Janeway

"You're giving up."
"Hmm?"
"Again. Your beautiful painting of the Adoration... The Great Bronze Horse in Milan... The Battle of Anghiari... unfinished, all of them. You were going to publish your notebooks; you never did. You have given up. Abandoned your most important works. Why?"

- Captain Janeway and The Leonardo Da Vinci Hologram

"Europe is despicable! Here I am free to do as I wish! Free from judgment! Free to fail! And without... without a sense of shame... without the taunts of the ignorant!"

- The Leonardo Da Vinci Hologram, speaking about what "he" thinks is the New World to Captain Janeway

"No matter how vast the differences may be between cultures, people always have something that somebody else wants and trade is born."

- Captain Kathryn Janeway

"Your compass is speaking to you!"

- The Leonardo da Vinci Hologram

"Machines that fly through the air! Lightning flung from one's hands! Mechanical women who live in boxes! These things I have seen!"

- The Leonardo da Vinci Hologram, after having seen his glider fly, phasers fire and Voyager's computer speak.

"They are in mid air... on what appears to be a crude gliding apparatus."

- Tuvok

"Earthquakes and idiots... Florence be damned!"

- Leonardo da Vinci

"I feel like we've just been mugged."

- Tom Paris, after the ship's equipment was stolen

"Where did he go?"
"He went back to the ship."
"The Ship? You mean the Portuguese are still here?"
"Ah...well...they are near here."

- Captain Janeway and the Leonardo da Vinci Hologram conversing about Tuvok's sudden disappearance. (note-not an exact quote)

[edit] Background Information

This episode marks the final appearance of Leonardo da Vinci (John Rhys-Davies) on the series.
This episode tells us that Voyager's main computer core is capable of "simultaneous access to 47 million data channels, transluminal processing at 575 trillion calculations per nanosecond, operational temperature margins from 10 Kelvin to 1,790 Kelvin." This works out to 575 zettaflops, or about 9 quadrillion times the processing power of the 300 MHz Pentium II, the fastest desktop processor at the time of airing.
It is revealed in this episode that Kirk might have broken his promise to Flint, an immortal Human male who was born in 3834 BC that he met in 2269 on Holberg 917G, that he would never reveal his secret as Janeway mentions Kirk's claim that he had met Leonardo da Vinci. Kirk may not have mentioned that Flint was da Vinci, or where he had met an immortal claiming to be da Vinci. Another likely possibility is that Flint subsequently revealed himself to humanity when he learned that he was mortal, and that Kirk thereupon published a full account of his meeting with Flint. Alternately, Kirk may have made his records public after Flint's death (Flint was no longer immortal after leaving Earth). (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")
To produce the level 4 induction relay override, Janeway uses the command code Janeway pi-one-one-zero.
The Starfleet-issue "plasma injector conduit" that Leonardo da Vinci obtains from a seller appears to be the same device that was used to dispense the felicium in TNG: "Symbiosis".
Tuvok appears to be wearing the same costume that Mirror Tuvok wore in DS9: "Through the Looking Glass".
Among the items from this episode which were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, was a crossbow-like hand-held weapon. [1]

[edit] Video and DVD releases

UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 4.6, catalog number VHR 4627, 15 June 1998
As part of the VOY Season 4 DVD collection

[edit] Links and references

[edit] Uncredited co-stars

[edit] References

Adoration of the Magi; America; Aristotle; Arno; Atlantic Ocean; Avignon; The Battle of Anghiari; bird;bistro; Borgia; bronze; compression phaser rifle; computer core; elm; Europe; Florence; Florentine; France; Freud, Sigmund; galleon; Genoa; glider; horse; Italian language; Italy; King of France; Kirk, James T.; mathematics; Milan; mobile emitter; Mont Ventoux; New World; Paris; patron; Petrarch; pigeon; Phoenix; Portuguese; Renaissance; Scandinavia; Sicily; small talk; Spanish; Theseus; Turks; Vasari, Giorgio; Vulcan (island); wine

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Star Trek: Voyager
Season 4

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