What happened to the Rescue-Ships in the Endgame Timeline?

[Guy Gardener]

At the end of season 6 in Life Line (Written by Robert Picardo!) Janeway receives a message from Starfleet telling her that two long range Rescue-Ships will be rendezvousing with Voyager in 5 years. A year later Admiral Janeway turns continuity on it's ear with her time-meddling... During which Admiral Janeway claims that 22 crew die in the next 17 years it takes them to get home, which is a considerably better mortality rate than they're pushing up to that point, but because the blonde is on the death list it's no time to be pragmatic...

At this time Captain Janeway was four years from bumping into two Longrange Starfleet Exploration vessels who instead of heading off into the unknown frontier, had had their agenda castrated so as to flit into the sphere of the already propperly mapped universe which had been "Discovered" by Janeway, and then if they weren't going to escort Voyager back to Earth, then what was the point in arranging the playdate in the first place? ...You know how you're generally pissed off when someone stands you up for a blind date after you've gone to some effort? The guys in these Rescue-Ships would be livid chose to ignore their sacrifice and further antagonized that Admiral Janeway didn't think to either take them home too or return them to unknown space where they were supposed to be before they got cockblocked by the time-traveler wasting a year of their lives trying to "rescue" the Voyager Crew!

Something horrible might have happened to these vessels sure, but it's just as likely that they all met up and Voyager became part of a convoy, and who is to say if Janeway was the "Fleet Captain" since the other two Captain's were backtracking through (15 years worth of) known space and Janeway was still a stranger in a distant land just winging it...

But depending on how large those ships were and their compliments(lets face it why send anything less than a city in space 20 years out from the center of the human empire?), the population of Starfleet Officers thereabouts making their way back to Earth certainly easily tripled, or if two Galaxy Class, or even Ambassador Starships made young "Admiral" Janeway's acquaintance four years after she skulked past the Borg Transwarp Hub in the (more) original timeline, then the size of the federation population centre in the Delta Quadrant could have increased by a factor of a 14 and a third which would make the mortality rate for the rest of the journey of just %1!

Kirk lost %15 a month. Archer lost 18 in a single botched attack on the Xindi base at Azati Prime and Picard got a "Bloody nose" by losing 15 crewmen to the Borg in their first encounter in Q-Who...

An omission IS a lie, do you think Admiral Janeway forgot to mention the Rescue-Ships and how they changed the nature of Voyagers return home, or for one reason of another they just missed each other and that truly nothing diluted the accomplishment of Voyager's homecoming other than than Grandma stacking the deck?

 

[Sec31Mike]

Certainly an interesting continuity mishap. Just another messup on the writing staff's part. If they had remembered the premise from Lifeline, they should have at least mentioned it in Endgame.

Without the explanation, the crews of those 2 long range rescue ships were sent out on a long term wild goose chase. Ihat is simply unacceptable to inconvenience that many people/families. To embark on a 10 year mission outside Federation space basically means that the crew's previous life is over, they would be effectively severed from their spouses and children.

I was always against the "Admiral" Janeway concept. In endgame, she sure did screw te pooch with a major disruption in the timeline (Wonder where the Relativity's crew was to prevent/cleanup that mess). I'm sure the violation of the temporal prime directive was recorded and logged. They still promoted her anyway, I just don't get it.

I pin this major screw up on the writers.

 

[Finn]

"present-day" Janeway wasn't the one who meddled with the timeline in this episode. They wouldn't penaltize her for something she haven't done... It was her future self.

And why would they have to be mentioned. Besides, by your logic, Voyager would have to decline a trip into a wormhole enroute that would take them to say...Klingon Space just because it would be inconvenient to those rescue ships. Those crews knew there was always a chance Voyager found a way home faster before they got to it when they "signed up". Also if Starfleet was able to communicate with Voyager, they would be able to do so with those ships too.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: What happened to the Rescue-Ships in the Endgame Timelin

If we must bring up my logic, then by not opening fire on Admiral Janeway's shuttle immediately Captain Janeway created a co-dependent and criminal relationship with Admiral Janeway. Failing murder, then the shuttle with it's technology should have been thrown into a star and Admiral Janeway should have been confined to some solitary environment for the next 17 years (or stasis.) until Voyager got home as it was supposed to. Captain Janeway was just as bad as Admiral Janeway and someone, probably the Vulcan, should have called them on this because look what did happen! They prematurely warned the Borg of advanced weapons technology affording them time to construct countermeasures and changed Borg Migrationary pattens across the entire galaxy that the supposed and destined destruction of the Borg was suddenly no longer a certainty because entirely new weapons technology would have to be invented to defeat the Borg in battles which the borg could no longer get to, forcing the Federation to travel harder and faster (which is obviously beyond their means!) to find the Borg now isolated and stuck in whatever pocketed section of the Galaxy they thought was next to a hub egress which suddenly no longer is. Y'know, "all for the want of a nail".

I think it's obvious (if this was a problem to anyone one writing Star Trek at the time, which it probably wasn't. "Headaches" my ass.) that Janeway was promoted out of a position where she had quick and immediate access to Time Travel technology so as to make her less problematic... Admiral in charge of paper clips and staples? ...Because just like Ducane arrested Braxton for Future Crimes in VOY Relativity, one Janeway had proven that it was "in the nature" of all Janeway to play fast, loose and irresponsibly with time, so no Janeway could be completely trusted just like you don't trust an arsonist with matches.

But that's not the point I was trying to make.

Disgustingly, Berman and Braga was using different maps than in the encyclopedia, by the way. According to them, Voyager never had to go through the Romulan or Klingon controlled Beta Quadrant at all. No one talks about that much because it's just too depressing.

And why would these ships have to be mentioned in Endgame? Because, as you say, Voyager was in contact with Earth, even if communication had to be routed through the Midas Array, then Janeway had had the opportunity to be in contact with these people in both Rescue-Ships for the last year if she had felt civil enough to open a dialog with these two crews who were going to joining her excursion for possibly the next 20 years...

And who do you think were laying the subspace booster communication relays (See ENT Silent Enemy. Hey was Voyager dropping subspace booster communication relays too, or were they afraid the tech would just be pirated and abused by bastards claiming salvage?) which allowed Janeway to chat with Neelix in Endgame anyway? Or was that more Midas Array?

The Rescue-Ships where only drawn off mission for a single year(Season Seven. I doubt they would have back tracked to resume their original missions(you were thinking 5+5?) rather than lay an alternate course to assure the diversity of their mission of exploration after finding out as quickly as earth did that Voyager had made it home.) not ten, and really I can't be sure if these "two ships" were already working together, or if they were on two separate deep space missions on distinct sides of the "Delta Quadrant" when they too were ordered to converge? But certainly once Voyager was "rescued" then they could be about their own business and whatever their previous fates as support "vessels for the Voyager convoy" and whatever impact on the galaxy they had had that was all smoke on the water.

HEY!!??

Those crews would have intermingled socially and sexually and children would have been born, all those women on Voyager who hadn't had babies for the last 7 years because all the men were idiots and losers (Worst Birthrate Ever.) now had two new worlds of options and surely... With possibly of as may as 2150 people out there together for 17 years, how many babies did Admiral Janeway uncreate when she violated the solvency of the timeline?

Hell, the rescue ships even solved Janeways sexual issues of refusing to submit underneath a subordinate. Two Starfleet Captains to chose from or switch off from if they hadn't already married off monogamously.

 

[Timo]

Re: What happened to the Rescue-Ships in the Endgame Timelin

I don't quite understand where we would get the impression that these ships would be "rescue" vessels.

I mean, when we first hear of them, they are just five years from our heroes' position near the Beta/Delta quadrant border already. And they are characterized as "deep space vessels", not rescue ships; they are "diverted" from the deep space missions they were already performing.

If they are only as fast as Voyager (and they can't really be all that much faster), they have already spent about half a century reaching that point. The five-year sidestep would be so insignificant on a fifty-years-out-plus-hopefully-other-fifty-back trip that the crews might not take much notice. Heck, the diversion might be more than welcome on a mission with such built-in potential for boredom...

Note that Starfleet never makes any promises of using those ships to get the Voyagerites home faster. All it offers is a rendezvous, perhaps just for some resupply and "Are you sure you are okay?". But those deep space ships would probably have been laying their own breadcrumbs for conventional communications with Earth, so Janeway could at least stay current to the gossip on her final fifty-year leg of the homeward journey, even without the benefit of the Midas trick.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: What happened to the Rescue-Ships in the Endgame Timelin

Ships that are not lost are sent to the aid of a ship that "was" lost, after a point that Voyagers presence must have become public knowledge to some degree if the Ferengi are making sinister plans about stealing Borg Nanites... The return of Voyager at that point was more culturally important to the people of the UFP embracing the legend of the little starship which could... Now y'know how Moses died a couple hours out from the holy-land, or how the Martians kidnapped Santa Claus?

Voyager was a symbol too important to be allowed to swan about unprotected, because the conclusion to this story of anything other than Voyager getting home would be wholly depressing for the hundred trillion people in the Federation taking a keen interest in this empowering story of over coming obstacles.

But considering how well past the Federation boarders those ships were and close to Janeway, they would probably be quite old ships and be just that much slower than Voyager if any of them decide to spend anytime cruising at high warp if they don't have to.

 

[Deks]

Re: What happened to the Rescue-Ships in the Endgame Timelin

I find it odd that those 2 ships would be on a 5 decades trip to begin with.
Yes those are deep space vessels, but still ...
No SF ships were were ever mentioned to operate on a single mission for THAT long (even though they should be able to).

If anything I was under the impression those two ships were of newer (or already familiar) class launched recently (perhaps two years after Voyager) that were modified to reach higher warp velocities.

Subject to personal interpretation really.
But I must admit that the writers messed continuity on that one with Endgame.
Although it could be that after Voyager reached Earth the two SF ships resumed their deep space missions as designated.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: What happened to the Rescue-Ships in the Endgame Timelin

What was that space bugger who accidentally drove spock crazy? totally inhuman and magnificent navigators... The point being is that there are going to be a couple species in the Federation with extensive life spans that they can not even think twice about singing up for a 70 year mission.

Arex for example, fell though a hole in time, and when he showed up home 80 years later his parents hadn't noticed he was missing...

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Re: What happened to the Rescue-Ships in the Endgame Timelin

I'm also of the opinion that the two deep space vessels were leaving behind a trail of subspace beacons to communicate with home. For the rest of the trip home, it'd at least make communication a whole lot easier.

For me though, I'm much more interested in the mechanics of deep space exploration for Starfleet. Are these two ships simply surveyors? Simple first contact missions? Wave the flag, say hello, tell everyone where your home planet is? The WHAT of the mission is kinda iffy, if if the WHY of the mission is the classic "we're enlightened human beings out to explore" thing. If humanity is indeed over all its hangups by the 24th century, I see no problem with finding enough people to sign up for what would literally be the mission of a lifetime.

I imagined them to be operating in tandem for safety, never more than a couple dozen light years apart to cover more ground as they putter along. Maybe each ship has a relatively small crew for its size, such that if one were lost, potentially both crews could continue the mission or return home on one ship. Following recent discussion on long-term space flight, they may even exchange parts of their crews every few years to keep things sane.

Mark

 

[Bones1864]

Stafleet would have called them back. On the way back they would take a slightly different course and explore space on teh way home. Fpr period of time they would go back uyp to High warp along the same routes they took towards the delta Quad. to make up time . I would imagine they would make a few rest stops along the way.

 

[Timo]

Re: What happened to the Rescue-Ships in the Endgame Timelin

Well, the E-D was "originally" intended to be a deep space exploration vessel, too. In the sense of the filler material in Roddenberry's sales pitch, that is: there'd be gobbledigook there about how the families aboard would help alleviate the strain of a decades-long assignment and whatnot.

Of course, none of that could ever have been expected to hold true for the series, where dramatic necessity would have the heroes interacting with the rest of humanity on a regular basis. But there's nothing to say that Starfleet didn't send its other vessels of Galaxy class on assignments like those described for the E-D. They might well be ideally suited for that, without any radical departure from what was shown on the E-D in terms of technology or operating procedure.

Indeed, we might speculate that the E-D was supposed to launch on a "deep space" mission originally as well, beyond Deneb IV, much as Picard says. But Starfleet got cold feet after learning about the Q, and decided to keep the big flagship closer to home, assigning more of a diplomatic mission to her. Which was a smart thing to do in light of all the political problems that sprung up in the next few years.

Something similar happened to Kirk, too: he was originally to probe beyond the rim of the galaxy, but never did, after the "Where No Man" experience. But his ship would supposedly have been capable of the feat in technological and operational terms.

Timo Saloniemi