Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001): Season 4, Episode 11 - Concerning Flight - full transcript

While Janeway is visiting her da Vinci holodeck program, Voyager is mugged by transporter. They steal everything from the main computer core, to the emergency rations, even the dirty laundry! They track the property to a trade outpost. When they take a team to recover the gear, Janeway is shocked to find her holodeck character da Vinci (guest star John Rhys-Davies) - wearing The Doctor's mobile emitter living there. He believes it is America, and tells her he has been hired by the Prince as an inventor. With da Vinci's help, she gets the computer back, but the 'Prince' and his men chase them into the hills, where da Vinci's newest invention awaits to help them fly away.

Animali!

Brutti animali!!

Animali!

- No, you are the animal.
- A bird who cannot fly.

- Better than a man who cannot think!
- The pigeon speaks! Cuckoo!

Maestro!

Stupido! Foolish Florentines!

The Bird is a mechanical instrument.
It works according to mathematical laws.

An instrument
that surely I can recreate.

- How did it fail?
- Did you underestimate the wingspan?

Had not the River Arno saved us,
we'd have died.



Jumping off the bridge
was a wise precaution.

Against death, yes.
Against humiliation, no.

"The great bird will take flight
and bring glory to its nest.”

So I have bragged for months.

Instead we almost drowned
with half of Florence watching.

Finito! No more.

Catarina.

- Have you been to France?
- Not recently.

The king of France
is an admirer of mine.

"The divine Leonardo” is all I hear
when I walk through his streets.

What music do I find
in the streets of Florence?

The cooing of pigeons
and the babbling of fools.

Catarina, we are leaving.

You're giving up. Again.



Your beautiful painting
of the Adoration.

The great bronze horse in Milan.
"The Battle of Anghiari”.

Unfinished, all of them.
You never published your notebooks.

You have given up, abandoned
your most important works. Why?

There is a tavern just outside Paris.

A charming bistro where the wine is...
Terremoto!

- Bridge?
- We're under attack.

I'm on my way.

Earthquakes and idiots.

Florence be damned.

Who are they?

Unknown.

Damage?

None.

Slight destabilisation.

Attempting to compensate.

Torres to the bridge.

We lost the warp diagnostic assembly.

It disappeared.

Dematerialisations on decks 4 to 12.

Evasive manoeuvres.

They're matching our changes.

It's some kind of transporter beam.

- Fire at will.
- I have the will but not the means.

- Targeting control is down.
- Why?

The main computer processor is gone.

We've lost weapons and navigation.

Backup systems are on-line.

Keep firing until you hit something.

- The other ships are retreating.
- All decks, full damage reports.

I feel like we've just been mugged.

They used a transporter beam

designed to remove technology.

They removed a lot.

Tricorders, phaser rifles,
torpedo casings,

antimatter injectors, emergency rations.

No great loss there.

You're forgetting my mobile emitter.

Without it, I can't go anywhere.

We do the best we can but our top
priority is the computer processor.

I want a defence against
another transporter attack.

Do everything you can
to track those ships.

Dismissed.

Seven.

I do not have time to fraternise.

I need to locate the attacking ships.

The long-range sensors...

You think they can be extended

by using the imaging system?

Well... yes.

I've been working on that for two hours.

Really? Let's have a look.

Do you doubt my ability?

Look, I came here to work.

I realised you'd started the job,
so I offered to help, that's all.

I offered to help.

Feedback is interfering
with the resolution.

Decompile data banks 59 to 17
and attempt to isolate it.

Now. Or you should leave.

OK.

I'm a pretty easy-going person.
It takes a lot to ruffle my feathers.

But that's not true of everybody.

You've got to learn how
to phrase things more diplomatically.

Or not.

Captain's log, stardate 51386.4.

With ship's systems at half capacity,

it's taken us ten days to track
our stolen technology.

Starfleet signatures
from two continents.

Can you find
the main computer processor?

It's on the northern continent in a city.

But I'll never be able
to localise it from here.

There are 27 kinds of alien ships
in orbit of this planet.

It is an active centre of commerce.

We should be able to place
an away team on either continent.

That's good enough for now.

We're going after the processor.
Tom, Neelix, go to the other continent.

At the very least, get our rations back.
Chakotay, you have the bridge.

It never fails to impress me.

People always have something that
somebody else wants and trade is born.

- Or theft.
- What have you got?

The construction materials
and the technology

are from numerous sources.

There are high interference levels.

I am unable to... A moment.
I am picking up a Starfleet signature.

- The computer processor?
- No. The magnitude is too low.

The signature is... approaching.

Catarina! Che meraviglia!

Out of my way!

Catarina!

Welcome! Welcome to America!

What do you think of the New World?

- How did you get here?
- A question I have asked myself.

One moment I was going to France,
the next I was here.

Possibly, upon leaving my workshop
I was accosted by Spanish sailors,

rendered unconscious,
delivered to a galleon in Genoa,

and carried like a sack of grain
across the vast Atlantic.

Curious ears.

My travelling companion, Tuvok.

What the old philosophers say is true.

Monstrous and wonderful
are the peoples of undiscovered lands.

But tell me,
how did you come to the Americas?

It's a long story.

A Portuguese ship, some Turkish
pirates, a couple of hurricanes.

- I'll tell you some time.
- Excuse me.

I have been looking for him.

He has an apparatus
that I need for my next invention.

- My patron is demanding.
- Your patron?

The prince of this city.

Buongiorno, signore.

Da Vinci is interpreting this world
through his holodeck program.

- He sees everything in his terms.
- But what is he doing here?

I was running the da Vinci simulation
when we were attacked.

His program must have been active
in the computer

when the processor was beamed here.

Then downloaded
into the mobile emitter. But by whom?

His patron? "The prince"?

Marvellous, no?

- A plasma injector conduit. Starfleet.
- Call it what you will.

With this I can make mercury flow
in three directions.

You must see my new workshop.
The prince has been very supportive.

Let's go.

So Catarina,
what do you think of this place?

My workshop in Florence
was but a cave of ignorance.

Your new patron gave you all this?

He is the perfect prince -
intelligent but not overly so,

in awe of my talent
but not threatened by it,

and above all and most importantly,
his purse is inexhaustible.

- And in return for all this support?
- I give him my ideas.

I have even resurrected my great bird.
Like the phoenix of legend.

They have materials here
that are so strong and so light,

that my prototype
will ascend to the heavens.

Be careful!

They have found a way to harness
the energy of a thunderstorm

and to expel it with great force.

A pistol that shoots not a lead ball
but a bolt of lightning.

- I'd like to meet this patron of yours.
- And so you shall, this very evening.

But I caution you,
he is as ruthless as a Borgia.

First officer's log, stardate 51392.7.

We've yet to hear from the captain,

but Paris and Neelix have returned
with some disturbing evidence.

- Who sold you these?
- I'm not here to be interrogated.

You told me you had a warp coil.

I said you could talk with Chakotay.
I didn't say he'd do business with you.

- This is a waste of my time.
- I agree.

There's the door. Goodbye. Make sure
he doesn't get lost on the way out.

No. Wait. His name is Tau. He controls
the seventh province in the north.

He sells weapons and technology
from passing ships?

He uses a translocator device,
which he also stole.

It's made him a rich man.

There are items I'd like to get back.
Where can I find him?

I deal with a go-between. I've answered
enough of your questions.

Let's talk about that warp coil.
I'm looking...

Keep what you've got. We'll call it even.

- This was a waste of my time.
- Not really.

These colours look good on you.

Torpedoes, plasma grenades,
particle beam rifles.

I can even get a ceremonial spear.

I am not interested.

My point is,
no matter what the weaponry,

if you desire it,
chances are I have it or I can get it.

Your prices are said to be unreasonable.

"Unreasonable" ” is such a strong term.

But if I can't sell to you,
I'll sell to another colony.

A violent sort, your neighbours.

I'd hate to make your life difficult
by offering my weapons to them.

But if you don't give me a choice...

There can be no doubt. Our computer
processor is not in the city.

That makes things more difficult.

Leonardo's new patron
is quite the businessman.

We may have to do business with him.

Catarina. Here are some friends
I want you to meet.

- Try to keep him occupied.
- But Captain...

- Make small talk.
- Vulcans do not make small talk.

Improvise.

- Thank you. That is very considerate.
- Wait!

- Mr da Vinci, how have you been?
- Benissimo. Pardon me.

- I wish to speak with you.
- What about?

About you. You are most intriguing.

Grazie. You, signore Tuvok,
are equally provocative.

- Where exactly are you from?
- Scandinavia.

So what do the... Scandinavians
think of this New World?

It is fascinating.

- You are obviously enjoying it.
- Beyond words. Yes.

Italy is already a fading memory.

This city is full of mechanical marvels,

the countryside alive
with creatures strange and wonderful.

I'm curious.
How have you spent your time here?

I work on my inventions. And my art.

And I accompany the prince
when he goes to visit his fortresses.

Well, this fascinating conversation...
has left me as dry as Vulcan.

- Vulcan?
- An island off Sicily. Have you been?

- No.
- Pity.

We'll talk later.

- Good evening.
- And to you.

- Enjoying yourself?
- Not yet.

No? How can I change that?

By having what I want
and selling it cheap.

The former is quite likely, but
I don't sell inexpensive merchandise.

I have a client who runs a colony
20 parsecs from here.

His computer is outmoded
so I'm looking for a replacement.

A computer that could coordinate
the systems of an entire colony.

That's no small order.
But I might have something for you.

Hello, computer,
and how are you today?

All systems are functioning
within normal parameters.

Verbal interface. Impressive.

Computer,
tell us your technical specifications.

Simultaneous access
to 47 million data channels.

Transluminal processing at 575 trillion
calculations per nano-second.

Interested?

Operational temperature margins
from 10 to 1,790 degrees.

I could sell it to you, but I couldn't let
it go for anything less than... a warship.

Or we could find something else
in your price range.

We should be looking
for a storage facility,

any place Tau
might keep stolen technology.

There are several possibilities,
all within a ten kilometre radius.

Your Mr da Vinci
is an astute observer of nature.

These maps couldn't be
improved upon by a computer.

He was a Renaissance man, Tuvok.

Interpreted, deconstructed,
fantasised about all through history.

Vasari though he was an angel.
Freud thought he had mother problems.

James T Kirk claimed he met him,
though there's no evidence.

- Buongiorno, amici.
- Good morning, maestro.

- Did you sleep well?
- Too well, I'm afraid.

My apologies. The morning is half gone.

Nevertheless, the images that come
upon awakening can be inspiring.

Indeed.

Catarina, where did I leave
my silver-tipped pen? It was...

We should return to Voyager.

With my readings and his maps,

we can triangulate
the exact location of our processor.

We'll work on two fronts.
You go back to the ship.

I'll work with Leonardo. He has access
to Tau and knows the territory.

Inadvisable. Charming
as your childhood hero may be,

the program is not for use
outside the holodeck.

This is Leonardo da Vinci.

Simulation or not, he's one
of Earth's greatest creative minds.

The program reproduces
the entire range of da Vinci's behaviour.

His genius
and his notorious unreliability.

We have an opportunity here.

And I want to take advantage of it.

Tuvok to Voyager. One to beam up.

...table.

- Where did he go?
- The ship.

The ship? You mean
the Portuguese are still in the harbour?

Not exactly. But they're nearby.

Ah.

Mad sea dogs, the Portuguese.

- So, what's new?
- New??

- What's been happening?
- Nothing of consequence.

- The captain and Tuvok are still away.
- What's the mood?

If you're referring to crew morale,
they seem focused on their mission.

Huh. I heard there was
a fuss in the mess hall.

- A trivial misunderstanding.
- Oh?

You seem in excellent health.
Most of your implants are stable.

But your optical interface
is misaligned again.

I told you to come in
for maintenance once a week.

Now, what happened in the mess hall?

Torres and I were working on some
data. There was a disagreement.

- I understand things got heated.
- Torres became emotional.

She was hostile
rather than countering my argument.

- What did she say?
- It is irrelevant.

- I was correct, she was not.
- Details! I want specifics!

I see no reason to discuss trivialities.

I need to know what is going on
beyond these walls, trivial or not.

Torres referred to me as an automaton.

She employed a series
of profane Klingon insults.

- Shall I translate them?
- By all means. I...

Seven, report to the astrometrics lab.

- You may go.
- I'll be right there.

Come back whenever you like.
I'll be right here...

all by myself.

I am entering the maps and data
into the imaging system.

I will search
for our missing processor.

Da Vinci has accurately rendered
the detail,

but his coordinate axes are
pre-Cartesian and must be converted.

Understood.

It is puzzling that even a Vulcan
would refer to a hologram by name.

It seems somehow... illogical.

Localising grid. Altitude 20 kilometres.

One of these must contain
the processor.

Increase sensor resolution to maximum
and scan the area.

There. Our processor
is inside this structure.

It's surrounded by a dispersion field.
Transport will be impossible.

If the captain can reach the processor,
she may be able to assist us.

If she initiated a power surge,
we might be able to lock onto the signal.

- That is what I was referring to.
- I will inform the captain.

It's not too far across open country.

Leonardo has been there
and can help me get inside.

Stand by for my signal.

Be prepared to beam the processor
back to Voyager.

Aye, Captain. Tuvok out.

So it's "Captain"?

I see you and my hologram
are old friends.

We've developed a defence
against your transporter.

I suggest you return
what you took from us and let me go.

Or what?
You're in no position to bargain.

Only your crew will bargain, and it will
cost them a lot to get their captain back.

I wonder what you're worth to them.

- He'll be fine. Let's move.
- I'm not going.

- You said you'd help.
- I've gone too far.

I had no alternative, but I must be here
when he comes round.

If I am lucky,
he will not have me executed.

- Your time here is over.
- I will not leave this New World!

- It's a prison. You're under his control.
- When are we not in prison?

When are our lives free from
the influence of those with more power?

If this New World is a cage,
then it is a cage of gold.

Of marvels. Of opportunities.

If this prince is violent,
violence can be tempered.

You can't stay here forever.
Europe is your home.

Europe is despicable!

Here I am free to do what I wish.
Free from judgment. Free to fail.

Without a sense of shame.
Without the taunts of the ignorant.

Whether you want to admit it or not,
they do need you back home.

In Florence, Milan, Avignon, they need
your genius, they need your heart.

And right now I need you, too.
So come on.

I will not go
for Florence or Milan or Avignon.

But for you, Catarina...

For you I will go.

I've lost the captain's signature.

Scan for the holo-emitter.

It's 4.7 kilometres outside the city.

- Is the captain with Leonardo?
- Her combadge may have broken.

- She may have been found.
- Shall I beam da Vinci back?

If the captain is recovering
the processor, she may need him.

Keep a lock on the mobile emitter
and stand by.

- Where's the entrance?
- I can't recall.

I've been to half a dozen of these
fortresses. Each is different.

Observe the construction. Like the veins
and arteries of an animal.

This is the way to build.

I need to get into this building now.

That is not the way an apprentice
should address her master.

Maestro, your prince is going to come
after us. The only escape is inside.

We will be trapped inside.

No. There is
a wondrous invention inside.

It's called a computer processor.

We can use it to send a beacon
to... to the Portuguese ship.

- They'll come and rescue us.
- Computer?

- How does it work?
- It's complicated.

But it can send messages
over great distances.

If we find it, we will be rescued.
But how do we get inside?

Shadow and sunlight.

Shadow and sunlight.

The prince, like any other thief,
will fear theft above all else.

This stronghold will have but one entry,
on the side facing away from the sun.

So the bright light would be
in the eyes of attackers.

Esatto.

I'm no longer reading the mobile emitter.

- They've gone inside the structure.
- They're being pursued.

30 armed guards are converging there.

All available power to the transporters.

Even Theseus could not
negotiate this labyrinth.

- Not without a compass.
- Your compass is speaking to you.

This way.

A trove of invention.

Our prince has done well for himself.

Phasers, warp plasma injectors,
a site-to-site transporter.

- Your computer?
- Yes.

- Do you recognise my voice?
- Affirmative.

- That's a start.
- Che bella!

- There's a mechanical woman inside.
- In a way.

- Initiate an induction relay overload.
- That is not recommended.

Command override. Janeway pi-110.

Authorisation confirmed.
Initiating overload.

That's it. Now we wait
for the Portuguese.

There's a power surge
in the subspace frequency range.

Lock onto the processor. Increase
power to the confinement beam.

Maybe we can
pull the captain out with it.

- Step close. We're going for a ride.
- I don't understand.

Trust me.

The building must be surrounded.
There's only one way out.

- Maestro, come here.
- What just happened to me?

I was shot, yet I live.
Such things are not possible.

This is an invention from another land.
It's a site-to-site transporter.

In the blink of an eye, it can move us
a few kilometres away from this building.

- How?
- Come on.

I must have an explanation.

Leonardo.

You always said it's a poor apprentice
who can't surpass her master.

There are things in this world
that I understand and you don't.

I don't know...

- The processor is on board.
- The captain?

- Still on the planet.
- Commander.

13 vessels are approaching Voyager.

Take us into a higher orbit.
Bridge to Torres.

- I want that processor back on-line.
- Acknowledged.

I cannot believe it. I will not believe it.

My mind cannot accept
the evidence of my eyes.

- Is this sorcery? Are we in purgatory?
- Neither. This place is full of marvel.

Marvels, yes, but this is magic.
Enchantment, not science.

- I refuse to believe in enchantment.
- I'll explain later.

No! I must understand.

Catarina... To see objects
disappear into thin air.

To see lightning pass through my body.

Are we spirits? Catarina, am I dead?

Let me ask you something.

If you were something other than human,
if you were a different kind of animal,

if you were a sparrow,
what would your world be like?

I should make my home in a tree,
in the branch of an elm.

I should hunt insects for food,
straw for my nest,

and I should sing for a companion.

You would know nothing of Florence,
the cutting of marble or mathematics?

Of course not.
My mind would be too small.

As a sparrow your mind would be too
small? Even with the best of teachers?

If Aristotle were to lecture until
he fell off my branch from exhaustion...

...the limits of my mind
would prevent understanding.

And as a man, can you accept
that there may be certain realities

beyond the limits
of your comprehension?

If I could not accept that...
then I would be a fool.

- Spread out!
- Come on.

Catarina, this way. Up the hill.
I know just the escape.

Torres to bridge. We're in business.

We've got full navigation, full propulsion
and full transporters.

- Good work.
- The captain has left the structure.

If we can go lower
I should be able to lock on.

Set the confinement beam wide
and prepare to transport them back.

- How close do we have to be?
- 500 kilometres.

The ships will block our descent.

- Ready for some fancy flying?
- You bet.

Memento, Catarina.

Escape is very near.

I'm starting to wonder.
Where are you, Chakotay?

Help me to the summit.

We're at 1,000 kilometres.

950... 900.

- The ships are powering weapons.
- Go to Red Alert.

- Shields are holding.
- 850 kilometres.

Evasive manoeuvres.

When Petrarch climbed Mt Verdoun,
and saw all Europe below him,

he knew he was witnessing the birth
of a new age.

He was witnessing the Renaissance,
the rebirth of our world.

So at this summit here,
you and I will be reborn.

Reborn with wings.

- This could be a problem.
- Hurry. There's not much time.

They're on the edge of a precipice.
We're still too high for transport.

- You've made some improvements.
- I took your advice.

- I increased the wingspan.
- And the angle of the tack?

That too. Unfortunately,
the River Arno is quite absent.

If we fail, only the stones
will break our fall.

The wing is stationary. That's good.
This should be light enough.

Catarina, this time it will work.

Let's find out.

Weapons fire on the surface.

- We're running out of time.
- 700 kilometres.

Hold on, Kathryn.

- Together, up.
- Andiamo.

- Catarina! We're flying!
- Like the birds!

I have a fix on the captain.
They are... in mid-air.

They're on a crude gliding apparatus.

- 500 kilometres.
- I'm locking on.

Energise.

Got them. I beamed
the whole contraption into cargo bay 1.

Get us out of here, Mr Paris.

Captain's log, stardate 51408.3.

We're back on course.

With the computer
and the emitter returned,

I've set aside some time
to check on the maestro.

- Where are you going?
- France.

These Florentines
do not deserve my genius.

I have told the king of France
of my adventures,

and invited him to soar with me
off the towers of his castle.

- Are you sure that's wise?
- Why not?

We tested the design.

But the materials. You'll never find
those metals in France.

No? Then others will suffice.

Machines that fly through the air.
Lightning flung from one's hands.

Mechanical women who live in boxes.

These things I have seen.
And these things I must recreate.

And who knows, possibly improve upon.

I think that little flight of ours
went to your head.

And my heart.

My oldest memory
is of a great bird perched on my bed,

its feathers open towards me
as if summoning me.

You yourself have accused me of giving
up, of failing to complete my projects.

- I was trying to encourage...
- No, you were right.

All my life I have wanted to fly.

Perhaps my failure to do so
has caused my heart to remain in flight,

leaping from one thing to another,
never satisfied.

Never complete.

And now that you've actually flown?

Now who knows
what I cannot accomplish?

I'd like to find out.

Give my regards to the king of France.

Catarina.

- Will you walk with me to my carriage?
- It would be my pleasure.

English (en)