Strand a new crew member

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Premise - after Voyager goes missing, there's a crew member on another ship in the Alpha quadrant who "dreams" they're on Voyager frequently. But it's not really a dream. Somehow, he/she visits Voyager for moments at a time randomly during his/her day. Nobody believes this person.

Meanwhile, Voyager keeps on having intruder alerts for some crewman who can't be located, yet random crew keep seeing them. Nobody recognizes/knows this person.

Eventually, mystery's solved, and for some reason, time/space continuum-crossing Starfleeter winds up choosing to strand him/herself on the Voyager side of the thin space anomaly thing.

Thoughts?

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

That is definitely something that would need to be played over an entire season, in order to build up the audience relationship with the new crewman.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Their original ship would be a ship not seen previously on Trek. Maybe name-dropped, but never seen.

 

[Takeru]

Why would that person decide to strand themselves on Voyager when that could mean never seeing their loved ones again? Why would Janeway not encourage them to keep shifting back and forth for some two way communication with starfleet? What makes them shift? If there's a connection between their ship and Voyager why wouldn't the Voyager crew use it to get home?

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

It's either something that affects only that one person, or it's dangerous. Say, their pattern becomes split between the two locations.

 

[Takeru]

Okay but why does this person decide to stay on Voyager? And what makes the character special? Why dedicate an episode or several to introduce a starfleet officer when the ship is already full of starfleet officers? If the show wants another regular or recurring character why not use Ensign Newman from deck 5?

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Okay, well then, they need not be Starfleet, I guess. Maybe members of a race that doesn't like them?

 

[Oddish]

Why would that person decide to strand themselves on Voyager when that could mean never seeing their loved ones again?

To save Voyager, of course. Once the person gains control of their shifting, they realize that if they stop the shift, they're stranded. But there's an emergency onboard, and Voyager's warp core is about to breach, and only they can fix it. So do they go home and leave 150 people to perish? Or do they sacrifice themselves for the greater good?

 

[Akiraprise]

This kind of reminds me of Non Sequitur. Harry wakes up on the other side of the galaxy at home, but has memories of being aboard Voyager, eventually choosing to sacrifice Tom and a shuttle to go back.

 

[Brennyren]

Okay but why does this person decide to stay on Voyager?

Possibly they are not happy in their everyday life for various reasons: a messy breakup, a frustrating job, the recent deaths of friends and/or family. Possibly they are looking for a fresh start.

And what makes the character special?

Some unique knowledge or skill, perhaps. Maybe they have some knowledge of a new drive system?

 

[Sumire]

I introduced myself as someone all about romance so I propose, the character stays on Voyager for love! And if we’re introducing a new person with a special skill and one who is willing to sacrifice their current life to help Voyager? Pair them with Harry. He deserves a good romance (and a promotion).

 

[Oddish]

Pair them with Harry. He deserves a good romance (and a promotion).

I think you and I will get along just fine.

 

[Lynx]

Premise - after Voyager goes missing, there's a crew member on another ship in the Alpha quadrant who "dreams" they're on Voyager frequently. But it's not really a dream. Somehow, he/she visits Voyager for moments at a time randomly during his/her day. Nobody believes this person.

Meanwhile, Voyager keeps on having intruder alerts for some crewman who can't be located, yet random crew keep seeing them. Nobody recognizes/knows this person.

Eventually, mystery's solved, and for some reason, time/space continuum-crossing Starfleeter winds up choosing to strand him/herself on the Voyager side of the thin space anomaly thing.

Thoughts?

Danny Byrd.

Harry Kim's former Starfleet Academy friend.

In Non Sequitur, Danny Byrd ended up on the ship instead of Kim when the reality was changed.
Kim managed to get back to his real time with the help of Cosimo and the Tom Paris in tyhat alternate universe and time was restored.

But maybe Danny Byrd ended up hanging between those different realities, universes or whatsoever?

 

[Oddish]

Non Sequitur, Danny Byrd ended up on the ship instead of Kim when the reality was changed.
Kim managed to get back to his real time with the help of Cosimo and the Tom Paris in tyhat alternate universe and time was restored.

But maybe Danny Byrd ended up hanging between those different realities, universes or whatsoever?

Or in "Non Sequitur" Harry thought: "Gee... should I stay in this reality, with an awesome job with SCE that might have me at lieutenant within the year, a drop dead gorgeous fiancee, and a barista who knows how I like my coffee... or return to Voyager, with who knows how many years of one pip, cold showers, Neelix's cooking, dying repeatedly, and less character growth than a brick?" And then, he made the sensible choice.

Meanwhile, Voyager hears the shuttle's distress call, and beams the survivor off it in a nick of time. The transporter chief calls Janeway, says she better get down here. Janeway enters the transporter room and sees this completely unfamiliar human on her ship. She grabs a phaser rifle and levels it at his nose, and says icily: "All right... where's Ensign Kim, and who the hell are you?"

Unable to answer the first question, the terrified young ensign addresses the second: "D-d-daniel Byrd."

 

[at Quark's]

Other than Daniel Byrd, I'd suspect Barclay would have been a 'logical' choice as far as the part of nobody really taking him seriously goes, except that he already got involved in the series as it was.

Perhaps dr. Bashir would have been a fun idea, with the rest of the DS9 crew going 'aren't your ordinary evil mutant superpowers enough for you already?'

 

[Tracy Trek]

Danny Byrd.

Harry Kim's former Starfleet Academy friend.

I've wondered if this was supposed to be the same Daniel Byrd who grew up on Kessik and teased B'Elanna when they were kids.

 

[at Quark's]

Or in "Non Sequitur" Harry thought: "Gee... should I stay in this reality, with an awesome job with SCE that might have me at lieutenant within the year, a drop dead gorgeous fiancee, and a barista who knows how I like my coffee... or return to Voyager, with who knows how many years of one pip, cold showers, Neelix's cooking, dying repeatedly, and less character growth than a brick?" And then, he made the sensible choice.

I have this feeling that had I opted to stay, I would have experienced severe guilt about Daniel Byrd now being in the position in which I was 'supposed' to be, Tom Paris not having his 2nd chance, and of having 'abandoned' my crew. So I might have done the same as Harry, as an instinctive reaction.

But I might have used the following reasoning to justify it.

At around the time of the events in Non Sequitur, Voyager was declared 'lost'. Had Harry stayed -and had he be smart enough by staying out of trouble and not doing the stupid and alarm raising things he did- he just might have convinced Starfleet ('weird is part of the job' - these people encounter temporal anomalies and parallel universes every Tuesday after all) that he really was from a timeline/universe where things happened slightly differently, and that Voyager really still was out there, giving them precise information on where they were in the DQ, helping search and other assistance efforts (assuming things like Voyager's location didn't change along with the personnel swap), or at the very least convincing Starfleet not to give up on them. In the long run. that might helped the Voyager crew more than Harry returning to them out of this sense of 'guilt', but not actually helping them by doing that. Perhaps project Pathfinder might have started a lot sooner. Perhaps Starfleet tech had the research resources to actually make the Sikarian Trajector work which Harry tells them about. And then, he could have enjoyed Libby and his stellar career as bonuses too.

 

[Lynx]

I've wondered if this was supposed to be the same Daniel Byrd who grew up on Kessik and teased B'Elanna when they were kids.

Where does that information come from?

I can't remember reading or seeing about Daniel Byrd on Kessik when B'Elanna was a kid.

Anyway, I think you are on something here. Good work!

Edited: Look what I found!
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Daniel_Byrd

it's the same guy! Once again, good work!

I would also like to add that it was such a long time ago I watched the episode Juggernaut so I had forgotten about the incident you mentioned. My mistake!

 

[Summer Solstice]

I've wondered if this was supposed to be the same Daniel Byrd who grew up on Kessik and teased B'Elanna when they were kids.

I choose to believe that they are the same Daniel Byrd. It would have made Caretaker in the Non Sequitor universe a bit different.

 

[Oddish]

We did something like this in TNG, but it could happen in VOY, too: the dynamic cast swap-out.

Begin Season 1: Cast is as written, except Harry Kim is a Lower decker, not included in main cast. Seska takes his place. Also, Carey is chief engineer, and is a regular recurring character.
Season 1: Seska is discovered to be a Cardassian mole, and leaves. Harry is the most qualified person for Operations.
Season 2: Carey leaves in "The 37's". Torres takes his place. Harry leaves in "Non Sequitur", Daniel Byrd takes his place.
Season 3: Kes departs, Seven arrives.
Season 4: Torres killed during Year of Hell. Vorik takes her place.
Season 5: Tuvok and many of security killed during some incident or other. A Hirogen hunter that Voyager rescued from his dying ship fights off the attackers. With Janeway's permission, he takes over as security chief and creates the Hazard Team, specializing in small unit tactics and heavy weaponry.
Season 6: No cast changes, but the command structure is altered: Janeway loses it with the Equinox and is relieved of command by Chakotay. Tom becomes acting first officer.
Season 7: Chakotay is injured*, Janeway returns to command. And Neelix leaves.

*Would have killed him off, but we need him for Prodigy.