“Persistence of Vision” is episode eight of season two of Star Trek: Voyager.
Captain Janeway is heading somewhere when Tom contacts her. He wants her to take a look at his route through Bothan space. The captain is currently heading to engineering. Then Neelix approaches, the computer having told him where to find her. He wants to talk about the Botha; they have to be handled very carefully. Janeway is late to a meeting; it will have to be later.
In engineering, Harry and B’Elanna are working on something to get the Doctor to move more freely through the ship. They have placed holoemitters in key areas. Harry contacts the Doctor to see if he’s ready, then activates the program. The Doctor arrives in engineering. Several inches tall. Harry says they made a small oversight; it will take a couple of hours to fix. The captain’s response is rather testy. Then Tuvok contacts her; he wants half an hour to discuss security protocols before they encounter the Botha.
At Janeway’s response, the Doctor asks for a word. When did she last take shore leave? Two months ago. Does she have any pleasurable recreations? Yes, a holonovel – but not in a few weeks. The Doctor tells her to go and run it now. Starfleet regulations state that the Chief Medical Officer outranks the captain in medical matters. This may be the first time a hologram has ordered a captain around, but he’s ordering her to report to the holodeck. Now.
Captain Janeway does as he says, first getting dressed in her quarters. Lord Burleigh has decided he loves Janeway’s character and the captain is saying that his daughter, Beatrice, is very musical. But also modest, because she won’t play for the captain. This upsets Beatrice for some reason, and she drops a cup she was holding. Before matters can get much further, Chakotay contacts Janeway; they’ve been hailed by a representative of the Botha.
On the bridge, Neelix says they should have talked earlier. He’s been in contact with some old friends. There are rumours that some ships entering Bothan space are not heard from again. The Botha protect their territory fiercely. The captain says they are not hostile; Neelix doesn’t think the Botha are either. They just don’t want anyone crossing their borders. And some believe they have no claim to the space.
The Bothan ship contacts them; the person communicating making sure his face is drowned out by light behind him. He claims they are already in Bothan space. Janeway explains that they are simply passing through, and is told a ship will be sent to rendezvous to see if they meet the criteria. Afterwards, the captain wants to speak to Neelix, and he asks when she last ate. And suggests they talk in the mess hall.
The food includes a tray of cucumber sandwiches, which Janeway saw in the holodeck program. The cup that Neelix gets matches the one from the holoprogram as well; he thinks he found them in storage. Janeway reminds herself that coincidences do happen. Then, in a corridor afterwards, she sees Beatrice.
Janeway asks if B’Elanna and Harry have accessed the holodeck program. No, and the emitters came from storage, not from the holodeck. The captain was sure this would explain it. Harry is going to check the holodeck for malfunction, which he can do from here if the captain activates the program. No malfunctions are found and Janeway heads to check something else.
That being Neelix, who doesn’t remember the cucumber sandwiches and used a different cup. So, the captain heads to see the Doctor for a check-up. He can’t find anything physically wrong. It could be stress, but he’s going to check for bacteria and viruses. It could be an alien intruder too.
Beatrice appears again, whilst Janeway is in sickbay, and the Doctor doesn’t see her. Kes, however, does. She felt something bounce off her, as if by a mirror, and saw Beatrice retreat into the captain. Tuvok has been helping Kes develop her telepathic abilities. The Doctor wants Janeway to return to her quarters. Which she does, but still hears and sees things. Including another holonovel character attacking her with a knife. Only, she’s still in sickbay.
Something is clearly messing with the captain’s mind, making her see things that are not there. And she’s only the first. Only Kes and the Doctor seem to be immune, probably because of Kes’s abilities and the fact that the Doctor is a hologram.