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Tuvok suddenly begins having strange, disorienting attacks which cause a disturbing childhood memory to resurface. As the trauma begins to degrade his neural system he knows he must take action or he will die. To access and conquer the debilitating memory fragment, he asks Captain Janeway to act as his guide and enter into a mind-meld with him. Amazingly, the mind-meld takes Tuvok and Janeway to the scene of the young Vulcans first Starfleet duty - on the bridge of the U.S.S. Excelsior with Captain Hikaru Sulu in command.
The Doctor and Kes monitor them, Janeway and Tuvok delve deep into the mind-meld. Tuvok attends to duties with his fellow crew members including Commander Janice Rand, while Janeway in anunseen observer. She learns that Tuvok's first deep space assignment, as a junior officer aboard the U.S.S. Excelsior, was a disagreeable tour of duty for the young Vulcan and sees how it eventually led to his departure from Starfleet over 50 years ago. Janeway also has a chance to see firsthand what her kindred officer, Captain Sulu, choose to do in the heat of battle with the Klingons, led by Commander Kang.
Tuvok clashes with Sulu over the Captain's orders to make the bold mission to the Klingon Homeworld to rescue Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy and Janeway gets to "ride shotgun" with a different breed of Starfleet officer. Janeway and Tuvok continue with the mind-meld in hopes that it will yield just what repressed memory is causing such a physical reaction in Tuvok - until something goes wrong and without warning, Sulu and the U.S.S. Excelsior crew can see Janeway. |
