Is this an accurate map of the path Voyager has taken?

[David cgc]

Although it brings up the age old question, "Wouldn't it have made sense for Janeway to set course for Bajoran Wormhole opening in the Gamma Quadrant?"

Looks like it's a shorter distance than the 70+ year ride to AQ.

Voyager was lost (at least, based on airdate order) about halfway through DS9 season 3, so they knew the Gamma end of the wormhole was surrounded by a hostile alien power that could take down a Galaxy-class starship without breaking a sweat. Considering the likelihood they might not be able to make it to the wormhole and would have to turn around and go directly back to the Federation anyway, it might just be adding decades to their trip without any gain.

 

[at Quark's]

Or just go around it. The nebula would have to be very weirdly shaped indeed if it wouldn't just be faster to end run around it at 1000c, as opposed to slogging through it at less than light speed.

Seven: It is an inconvenient, but not an unsurmountable obstacle. We simply could pass through at warp 9.975. That way, you'd only need to be in stasis for 10 minutes or so.
Janeway: No. The nebula prohibits us from going at any warp speed. We'll have to trudge through it at impulse, which will cost us a month.
Seven: Why do you say so? None of the sensor readings indicate this.
Janeway: I'm absolutely certain a deeper analysis will reveal this, even if it doesn't look like it now.
Seven: Ok, so let's go around it then. It would take 3 times as long ... but that's still only 30 minutes.
Janeway: No. The moment we attempt that, we'll suddenly find that the nebula is thousands of light years wide. It will simply change shape.
Seven: In that case, let's just put the vessel on autopilot. The computer would be many times more proficient at piloting than anyone of us, and if need be, the computer can still wake me to deal with the crisis.
Janeway (sighing): You just don't get it, do you, Seven? Whatever we try, we'll find that the situation reshapes itself in such a way that the only workable solution is to go through this nebula the slow way, with only you and the EMH awake to steer and maintain the ship.
Seven: But why?
Janeway: Because of the Evil Powers that watch us, Seven. There are many of them and their pleasures are ... perverse. They want to see you suffer, to slowly become unhinged, and only scrape by within the barest possible margin of survival. In case you hadn't noticed by now ... they do this to us every Friday, between 19:30 and 20:15.

 

[DonIago]

Voyager was lost (at least, based on airdate order) about halfway through DS9 season 3, so they knew the Gamma end of the wormhole was surrounded by a hostile alien power that could take down a Galaxy-class starship without breaking a sweat. Considering the likelihood they might not be able to make it to the wormhole and would have to turn around and go directly back to the Federation anyway, it might just be adding decades to their trip without any gain.

Never mind the possibility that the wormhole might simply not be there when Voyager arrived. In only seven years the wormhole stopped functioning or there was discussion of it no longer functioning on multiple occasions, including in its first appearance.

Though I would have loved to see Our Heroes' faces if they'd arrived at the GQ terminus of the wormhole only to find it no longer present.

 

[Farscape One]

AFAIK, they don't even give a reason why they couldn't just cross it at (maximum) warp (they might still need to go into stasis in that case, just much shorter). So I'm presuming they thought that was either too dangerous or the nebula was interfering with the warp field somehow.

Or just go around it. The nebula would have to be very weirdly shaped indeed if it wouldn't just be faster to end run around it at 1000c, as opposed to slogging through it at less than light speed.

I think it was mentioned that the nebula interfered with the engines enough to stop a warp field from forming. Plus the nebula was wider than the range of the sensors, which makes it pretty vast.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Although it brings up the age old question, "Wouldn't it have made sense for Janeway to set course for Bajoran Wormhole opening in the Gamma Quadrant?"

Looks like it's a shorter distance than the 70+ year ride to AQ.

On that map, the difference in length between their two possible routes is about the same as the distance between Deep Space Nine and Earth. I'm not saying that fact is accurate, but... none of it's accurate.

The wormhole, the Caretaker Array and Earth are close enough to forming an equilateral triangle that the question starts to sound like: "Would it be better to drive 180 miles and then catch a free plane to the airport next your house or drive 200 miles and go straight home?"

 

[at Quark's]

I think it was mentioned that the nebula interfered with the engines enough to stop a warp field from forming. Plus the nebula was wider than the range of the sensors, which makes it pretty vast.

Re-checking the script. As far as I can see, nope.

They do establish the nebula is vast ('at least 110 light years, possibly more', but but I don't see a line indicating they couldn't warp through it. There are a few lines of 7 trying to 'alter the warp field dynamics' to give the ship a better protection against the radiation) in a holodeck simulation, but that's all.

For all we know, the intention was they warped through it. In order to travel 110 light years in a month, you'd need to go 1320 times the speed of light, which would be warp nine point something.

Another mystery the episode never answers is why, if the radiation was so instantly damaging to tissue (causing immediate burn-like damage on the skin and even death in a few seconds) stasis would protect the crew from that.

 

[Oddish]

For all we know, the intention was they warped through it. In order to travel 110 light years in a month, you'd need to go 1320 times the speed of light, which would be warp nine point something.

About 8.5, I think. Warp 8 is 1024c, and warp 9 is about 1500.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

For all we know, the intention was they warped through it. In order to travel 110 light years in a month, you'd need to go 1320 times the speed of light, which would be warp nine point something.

Warp speed can vary considerably "due to local celestial conditions" apparently.

But as an average it's somewhere around Warp 8.63 (TNG Scale) according to a couple of calculators I found online.

 

[NachosRenard]

Looks about right. Below is the main menu for the classic activision game Voyager: Elite Force. When I first played ~ 20 years ago, the main menu stuck with me because it was the first graphical representation I ever saw of the Milky Way and Voyager's journey home.

Comparing it to the above examples, it all jives pretty well enough for me.



Although it brings up the age old question, "Wouldn't it have made sense for Janeway to set course for Bajoran Wormhole opening in the Gamma Quadrant?"

Looks like it's a shorter distance than the 70+ year ride to AQ.

Ahh that map looks awesome x3 I knew Star Trek had some games over the years but I didn't know there was even a Voyager one.

Also the entire thing with the Nebula, it did feel very weird to not just use auto-pilot. If it was so dangerous then it'd have been better to charge through quickly while in stasis then slow down to a stop to check the damage. Janeway tends to make a lot of choices I dislike or feel like are short sighted, I think she'd be a good captain in Federation space, but not a 70 year journey.

 

[Akiraprise]

I knew Star Trek had some games over the years but I didn't know there was even a Voyager one.

One of the best ones to boot.

Star Trek™: Voyager - Elite Force

Putting the final in the final frontier. One blast from destruction, the U.S.S. Voyager

www.gog.com

Released 25 years ago... and I've got the disc. How has so much time passed?

 

[DonIago]

One of the best ones to boot.

Star Trek™: Voyager - Elite Force

Putting the final in the final frontier. One blast from destruction, the U.S.S. Voyager

www.gog.com

Released 25 years ago... and I've got the disc. How has so much time passed?

I used to love that game, especially when they released the update. I regret that I never did get to play the sequel.

 

[Akiraprise]

I didn't find EF2 as good. It looked a bit cleaner graphics wise, and it was fun, but I liked the EF1 single player story better too. GoG has EF2 as well for $10 and it would be worth a buy and play through.

Star Trek™: Elite Force II

The alien invaders show no mercy, and neither should you. Hack, blast and vaporize your

www.gog.com

 

[at Quark's]

About 8.5, I think. Warp 8 is 1024c, and warp 9 is about 1500.

Doing my best Data imitation while stroking my beard: 'Consider it modified thusly'.

(My point simply being it'd need to travel at fairly high warp to get through that nebula in a month.)

 

[Oddish]

Released 25 years ago... and I've got the disc. How has so much time passed?

I played that game so much, I remember dreaming in FPS mode on at least one occasion.

 

[Cryogenator]

(they might still need to go into stasis in that case, just much shorter).

After arriving above Earth in 1996, they could've hidden Voyager within the Solar System and remained in stasis until they caught up to their present.

 

[at Quark's]

After arriving above Earth in 1996, they could've hidden Voyager within the Solar System and remained in stasis until they caught up to their present.

In that case, how do you ensure humans (or other aliens, for that matter) don't discover your ship in, say, 2196, strip it for its advanced technology and hence pollute the timeline anyway?

 

[Cryogenator]

By hiding it well with your future technology and the Doctor's oversight, perhaps encapsulated in a sensor-shielded asteroid.

 

[at Quark's]

Still seems like a pretty big gamble to me.

Also, you'd need a power source that will work for 4 centuries (and a 'cloaking/invisibility field' may have hefty energy requirements)

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

It's funny that they don't mention that the Federation is 8000 LY in diameter. That means it takes...
Warp 5 speed limit: 38 years to cross.
Warp 6 cruise speed: 22 years to cross.
Warp 8 Voyager cruise speed: 8 years to cross.
Warp 9.6 Enterprise top speed: 4 years to cross.
Warp 9.975 Voyager top speed: 19 months to cross.

At one point, it took a long time to cross from one side of Earth to another.
It used to take years, then months, than weeks, than days, now hours.

So I'm not surprised if the UFP is constantly researching new ways to travel faster to make it easier for members of it's Federation Worlds to visit each other in a reasonable amount of time, while consuming less resources.

 

[Oddish]

In that case, how do you ensure humans (or other aliens, for that matter) don't discover your ship in, say, 2196, strip it for its advanced technology and hence pollute the timeline anyway?

Put the Doctor in ECH mode. Give him the capacity to move the ship to evade discovery, and awaken the crew in a serious emergency.