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My Voyager Reboot

Bry_Sinclair

Vice Admiral
Admiral
SET-UP:
The Intrepid-Class U.S.S. Voyager (the same basic styling, though the nacelles are larger and fixed in place), under the command of Captain Elizabeth Shelby (played by Elizabeth Dennehy, “Best of Both Worlds”, TNG) heads out on a mission into the Badlands to track down the Maquis Raider Corsair, led by former Starfleet officer Calvin Hudson (played by Bernie Casey, “The Maquis”, DS9). Both ships are pulled into the Delta Quadrant, where they are forced to serve together on Voyager after the Corsair was sacrificed to destroy a Kazon destroyer.

It will be serialised, so what happens in one episode affects others that follow (so greater awareness of numbers of personnel, torpedoes and shuttles is a must). The feel of the show would be darker and grittier, with more bickering, in-fighting, and mistrust between the two sides of the crew, made worse by the need for supplies, power conservation, replicator and holodeck rationing, low morale, and patched repair work. The struggle to survive would be something that the crew would have to face on a frequent basis, and not just from the alien-of-the-week. There would also be a greater number of recurring characters from various departments across the ship, both Starfleet and Maquis.


MAIN CHARACTERS:
Captain Elizabeth Shelby – A tough and feisty officer, she has had her sights set on a command of her own since her first day at the Academy. A solid tactician and strategist, she is also a shrewd negotiator, though she knows it is an area she needs more experience to hone.
Lt. Commander* Calvin Hudson – The former Starfleet Liaison to the DMZ, he defected to the Maquis and through him it went from a ragtag band of civvies into organised guerrilla fighters. Fiercely loyal to his people, he harbours a deep resentment to having to wear his uniform again.
Lieutenant Tuvok – Shelby’s former instructor at the Academy, the two have remained close friends ever since. He has become her confidante and advisor, especially in how to deal with the Maquis, having spent months among them.
Lieutenant Aiva Stadi – A warm and sensual Betazoid, she is the Chief Science Officer, so has a far more logical approach to things (not as touchy-feely as Troi). Full-blooded Betazoid, her telepathic abilities are strong. She was a former classmate of Hawk’s, so knows the real man beneath the anger.
Lieutenant JG* Nathan Hawk – Once a promising young officer, he was at the Academy with Stadi and beat her in the class standings. But after his partner was killed by the Cardassians, he went AWOL and in search of revenge by joining the Maquis. He is now a very angry and bitter man. [In “First Contact”, the Conn Officer assimilated on the E-E is Lieutenant Tom Paris]
Lieutenant JG* B’Elanna Torres – A genius engineer, she quit the Academy due to the strict rules and regulations, before drifting to the Maquis. Though her Klingon half gives her greater strength and stamina, she hates it and everything about their culture.
Ensign Sam Lavelle – A rookie officer, he was a junior Ops Officer originally before the chief was killed and he finds himself acting up. Though he has a confident swagger and a way with the ladies, he is inexperienced and unprepared for his new responsibilities. [In “Lower Decks”, TNG, the quartet of junior officers include: Harry Kim, Tal Celes, and Vorik]
The Doctor – [Lost mid S4] The EMH Programme was designed as a short-term emergency supplement to the medical staff, but when Voyager loses all of its, the hologram is all they have left. Though thoroughly programmed as a physician and surgeon, it lacks a bedside manner (though the baldness issue has been resolved).
Neelix – The first native alien the crew meets in the Delta Quadrant; he is a trader, drifter, good-hearted scoundrel. He joins as cook/guide/liaison/jack-of-all-trades after rescuing Kes and seeing the crew do all they can for her. His history is a dark and painful one, which he hasn’t come to terms with yet.
Kes – A young and beautiful Ocampa (who now live for 19 years), she is rescued from the Kazon and asks to stay onboard. She sets up the new hydroponics bay and trains as a medic, all the while exploring her rapidly-developing mental abilities
Seven of Nine – [Joins start of S4] Cameron Miller was a teenager living on an outpost along the Neutral Zone in 2364, when the Borg assimilated it and all the people there. He spent the next 11 years as a drone before being liberated and having to slowly regain his humanity.
Lieutenant Maren Zahn – [Joins mid S4] After the crew discover Hera Colony, this Bolian physician learns the ship has been left without a qualified doctor and transfers onboard. A little quirky but excellent in his vocation, he decides to start training Kes as a doctor, not just a medic.

RECURRING CHARACTERS:
Lieutenant JG* Zavier Ayala – A Starfleeter-turned-Maquis, he is one of the best shots onboard and someone who Tuvok came to greatly respect when undercover.
Ensign Sito Jaxa – An Academy friend of Lavelle’s, she has a not-so-secret crush on him but the ability to do anything about it. She is a junior security/tactical officer onboard.
Ensign Taurik – A bright young engineer, he was Lavelle’s roommate at the Academy and though they bicker they are solid friends.
Ensign Naomi Wildman – A life sciences expert, she takes their situation very hard—especially when she finds out she is pregnant with her first child.
Senior Chief Joseph Carey – The most experienced engineer onboard, he took charge after the Chief Engineer was killed and bumps heads with Torres in the beginning.
Crewman* Seska Anai/Ilani Seskal – An undercover operative for the Obsidian Order, she was disguised as a Bajoran though her true heritage is soon uncovered.


SEASONS:
Season One (2371-2372) – In “Caretaker”, the plot follows pretty much the same, though Hawk is in civvies until the very end, whilst it is Lavelle who is abducted. Throughout the season, Stadi handles all the science explanations Janeway did. There is also greater division between the two crews, with them at each other’s throats at times, especially when the truth about Seska is revealed—which sees the Maquis wanting her executed. She is locked up in her quarters. Wildman gives birth to a daughter, with Lavelle’s help, and in his honour she names the baby Samantha. One of the Maquis makes covert contact with the Kazon, with the aims of using them to seize Voyager for the Maquis, but in the finale he is betrayed and the Kazon take the ship for themselves—stranding all the crew, except Seskal, on a primitive planet.

Season Two (2372-2373) – In the opener, Seskal manages to save the ship and recover the crew (with help from the EMH and Hawk) and is reinstalled as an active crewman. They soon leave Kazon space behind them, though encounter a new threat, the matriarchal Vidiians, who suffer from a plague known as the Phage. The need for supplies continues to be an issue, though they have made a name for themselves as do-gooders and find it easier to interact with the alien races they meet.

Season Three (2373-2374) – The two crews finally start getting along better, whilst their provisions and supplies are now at a healthy amount. They leave Vidiian space behind and enter a region that is bereft of “major powers”, but rather a lot of little races that are all out looking for themselves—which allows Voyager to make a few friends, but also some enemies along the way. Lavelle and Torres start sleeping together, though on her terms (no romance). They have their first encounter with the Borg, a Cube adrift and apparently lifeless—something of a ‘gothic horror’ story on a very creepy ship. They come to Borg space in the last episode, where they discover the Collective is at war with an alien race, and losing.

Season Four (2374-2376) – To work with the Borg and defeat Species 8472, they work with a ‘liaison’, Seven of Nine (an assimilated human), who they ultimately disconnect from the Collective and have to help reconnect with his humanity. It takes many episodes for Seven to be de-Borgified, after which time he favours a figure-hugging bodysuit. At the midpoint of the season, they encounter the Krenim, a species attempting to restore the full glory of their empire by messing with the time-stream (this is a four episode arc). Over two episodes, the crew live through a year of hell as they come under constant attack leaving the ship heavily damaged and with heavy casualties. Over the ten month span, Hudson and Lavelle are abducted by the Krenim, Tuvok is blinded by a torpedo, and the Doctor’s programme is irreparably damaged. Near the end of the year, whilst trapped in a cut off section Stadi and Neelix have an intimate encounter. Voyager allies with a couple of other races and manage to destroy the weapon ship, but is left almost crippled with multiple hull breaches. The next episode sees them on a planet surface, repairing all their damage, whilst the crew venture out in the aeroshuttle to other systems for supplies, during which they learn of another Federation ship in the region and once they launch they go in search. The fourth episode of the arc has the crew finding the crashed saucer of the U.S.S. Hera, which went missing months before Voyager, but discovered a network of subspace tunnels and travelled the distance in a fraction of the time—before their warp core destabilised and they had to separate. At Hera Colony, they take on several new crew members, including a replacement CMO. When Voyager breaks orbit, Kes and Neelix are now in uniform (as medical student and Chief of Security, respectively), whilst Tuvok adapts to his condition to remain at tactical. All of the Maquis field ranks are made full commissions. The rest of the season is more exploratory, building on their alliances made in the war against the Krenim. Stadi discovers she is pregnant.

Season Five (2376-2377) – They have a few encounters with the Borg, but rarely engage in full combat, having to utilise other tactics to survive. Stadi and Neelix examine their relationship as her pregnancy progresses. The crew are more self-sufficient, as such life onboard gets a little easier for them in the long run. They face off against a new enemy in the region they traverse, the Hierarchy, a secretive race who are aggressive about protecting their borders. Seven continues his journey to remember who he was and what it is to be human, touching on relationships, even going on a date or two—though neither goes well, until he shares lunch with Hawk. Stadi gives birth to a healthy baby boy, who she and Neelix decide to raise him together.

Season Six (2377-2378) – Early on, Voyager discovers a decimated colony with thousands of sentients buried underground in stasis pods. They awaken the Vaadwaur, the race that created the subspace tunnels (used by the Hera), who go on the warpath once again, seeking revenge against the alliance of races that forced them almost to the point of extinction. Throughout the season, the crew must deal with the consequences of their action as the Vaadwaur make huge gains and expand beyond their original targets, attacking every race they find and carving themselves out a new empire. Seven opts to start wearing standard uniform, he and Hawk also become a couple. Lavelle also must face his relationships when trapped on a shuttle with Torres and Sito. The season finale sees the crew plotting to seize a Vaadwaur corridor device, which would cripple them in their pursuit of power, whilst also giving Voyager a way to return home.

Season Seven (2378-2379) – The corridor device arc carries on for a couple of episodes into the final season, which sees the crew successful, delivering a crippling blow to the Vaadwaur and using it to get home. Back in the Alpha Quadrant, they have several episodes dealing with the results of what happened to them, from the Maquis put on trial, to Seven being locked up for experimentation. Ultimately, they manage to pull through and Shelby argues for a mission to return to help Hera Colony and even look at setting up a way to link the two quadrants permanently and opening the DQ up for exploration. Starfleet agrees. Tuvok receives optical implants that allow his to see once again. Shelby turns down a promotion to the admiralty, wanting to lead ‘Operation Return’. At her encouragement, Hudson is promoted to Captain and given command of the U.S.S. Resolute. The crew are divided up between the two vessels (Voyager: Shelby, Tuvok, Hawk, Torres, Zahn, Neelix, Miller/Seven, Seskal; Resolute: Hudson, Stadi, Lavelle, Ayala, Sito, Taurik, Wildman, Kes) and are part of a five ship task force to voyage back to the DQ. They use the corridors to return, but when they arrive, they find the Vaadwaur have gotten around the blocks Voyager put in place and expanding faster than before. The task force is ambushed in the Hera system, they manage to pull through and fortify the colony, but things get worse when the Vaadwaur pick a fight with the Borg and all-out war erupts. The task force must gather as much support as it can and figure out a way to put an end to the conflict, safe-guarding all the innocents caught in the middle, as well as facing off against two powerful and unstoppable races. In the final battle, Shelby must sacrifice Voyager to put an end to the Borg, though she is saved at the last moment by Hudson. With peace restored, a permanent connection established between the two quadrants, the crew onboard the Resolute are left at ‘terminus’ faced with a decision, to travel back to Earth or to stay in the DQ and explore further.
 
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<in before comparisons to nuBSG>
It's a single starship with less than 150 people onboard, in an unknown area of space, 70 years from support, where they have no ready access to antimatter, replicator matter, supplies, replacement personnel, or any comforts of home. It should be a struggle. It should be hard. They should face uncertainty about their prospects.

The VOY concept was a good one, but they had it far too easy. This should've been a hard slog for them, they should've faced times when they questioned their beliefs and methods, where the hopeful optimism of Trek shone through and guided them homeward. They make the hard choices that will prolong their time away from home but are morally right, thinking of others before themselves.

To me that's a better message, other than TNG-lite and relying on reset buttons at the end of every episode.
 
I like the premise, I'm just not sure why you couldn't achieve the same thing with the established Voyager crew. Why change the personnel if the premise and grittier outlook have changed. For example, wouldn't Kim have benefitted as a character if he had existed in your version

One thing I always thought would be interesting was if the original doctor had survived and had worked alongside the EMH until it becomes clear that the EMH was a superior doctor
 
I like the premise, I'm just not sure why you couldn't achieve the same thing with the established Voyager crew. Why change the personnel if the premise and grittier outlook have changed. For example, wouldn't Kim have benefitted as a character if he had existed in your version
Some characters are changed to add a sense of continuity with other series, others simply because I think they were played by better actors who deserved more screen time and development.

Janeway > Shelby: The reason for this switch was to get a connection to TNG, also to have a more inexperienced Captain--newly promoted and having to face a situation even forty year veteran would have difficulties with.
Chakotay > Hudson: Hudson adds a connection to DS9, whose betrayal of Starfleet was seen, so to see him come full circle would be interesting. Chakotay never was much more than a "token Native American" character.
Paris > Hawk: Non-canonly Hawk is gay, which is something that Trek should've included back in the day. I find neal McDonough far better looking, so that's also part of the reason I changed him.
Kim > Lavelle: I like Lavelle as a "Riker Junior" type character, I can just envision the interactions with him and Shelby. Also Kim had his chance to impress, but failed miserably at every chance.

Stadi: With Shelby a soldier and not a scientist, then we need someone to handle the technobabble side of things. I loved Stadi from "Caretaker", always wished we'd seen more of her.
EMH: Recast, as I find the original character/actor just too hammy. I also got rid of him as he has no real limits, as he is essentially the ship.
Neelix: Recast and redesigned, more feline-looking, studly and strapping. He should look like someone who has/can survive on his own guile and wits.
Seven: The character would work just as well as a man, so he gets to squeeze into the catsuit instead. Also he could be used to address the matters of sexuality, as he explores who he is.

Tuvok, Torres and Kes all remain untouched, though Kes would be there until the bitter end.
 
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