Alternate ways Voyager could have gotten home.

[Turbo]

I agree. I don't think the Bajoran wormhole would have been a viable option--at bare minimum it would have required them to travel another 50,000 light-years farther away from where they already were and travel through already hostile space (the Dominion had already seized control of the Gamma Quadrant end of the wormhole a year prior to Voyager's launch) and hope they weren't shot down like the Odyssey was.

So the Dominion is more dangerous than the Borg, Hirogen and the Vaadwa? None of which would've much of a threat of Voyager hadn't ran into them.

The Borg were a known threat, and Voyager would've had to deal with them either way. The Kazon, Vidiians, and Hirogen were scattered races which would have posed no threat to Starfleet, but did to the solitary Voyager. The Vaadwaur would've been more of a threat if they had come back. The Dominion, on the other hand, destroyed a Galaxy-class starship without so much as breaking a sweat (from Voyager's perspective), and as we know, they nearly defeated the combined forces of the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans. The Dominion was by far the largest threat outside of the Borg.

 

[DWF]

The Borg were a known threat, and Voyager would've had to deal with them either way. The Kazon, Vidiians, and Hirogen were scattered races which would have posed no threat to Starfleet, but did to the solitary Voyager. The Vaadwaur would've been more of a threat if they had come back. The Dominion, on the other hand, destroyed a Galaxy-class starship without so much as breaking a sweat (from Voyager's perspective), and as we know, they nearly defeated the combined forces of the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans. The Dominion was by far the largest threat outside of the Borg.

There would've no more Borg had Voyager not made a deal with them Species 8472 would've taken care of them. And if travelling naturally that is to say at normal warp speeds it would've been well after the end of the Dominion War by the time Voyager reached their space. The war was over with anyway and I'm sure Odo would've allowed Federation access to their space.

 

[Akiraprise]

Unless of course the Feds lost, in which case Voyager's generational journey would have had a rather unpleasant ending.

 

[DWF]

Unless of course the Feds lost, in which case Voyager's generational journey would have had a rather unpleasant ending.

This is Voyager we're talking about not the new Battlestar Galactica.

 

[DonIago]

I still wonder why people are willing to assume that the Bajoran wormhole would have still existed by the time Voyager reached it, had they opted to travel in that direction. More than one attempt was made to close it during Deep Space Nine, and that was in only 7 years.

 

[C.E. Evans]

The Borg were a known threat, and Voyager would've had to deal with them either way. The Kazon, Vidiians, and Hirogen were scattered races which would have posed no threat to Starfleet, but did to the solitary Voyager. The Vaadwaur would've been more of a threat if they had come back. The Dominion, on the other hand, destroyed a Galaxy-class starship without so much as breaking a sweat (from Voyager's perspective), and as we know, they nearly defeated the combined forces of the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans. The Dominion was by far the largest threat outside of the Borg.

There would've no more Borg had Voyager not made a deal with them Species 8472 would've taken care of them. And if travelling naturally that is to say at normal warp speeds it would've been well after the end of the Dominion War by the time Voyager reached their space. The war was over with anyway and I'm sure Odo would've allowed Federation access to their space.

The stuff about Odo is hindsight that came years after the Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. At the time Janeway set out for the Alpha Quadrant, however, the wormhole in the Gamma Quadrant was still firmly in control of a hostile powerful alien government the Federation was preparing for a major war with. A peaceful outcome by the time the Voyager reached Dominion space was by no means guaranteed.

So basically Janeway had two choices: Set out on a direct route to the Alpha Quadrant and hope to find shortcuts along the way...or travel even farther away from home and hope that the Federation made peace with the Dominion (as well as hope that "the Prophets" hadn't collapsed their wormhole) by the time they got there.

The direct way home was inarguably longer, but it also had more of a guarantee of them eventually getting home, barring accidents. Going to the Bajoran wormhole could shave a couple of decades off their trip, but it could have also possibly added another century to their trip if the wormhole was inaccessible or no longer existed.

In the end, it probably comes down to which choice was the safer bet and which one was the more riskier bet based on the information Janeway had available at the time...

 

[captainkirk]

Species 8472 can open their singularities anywhere so why not after making friends with each other, Voyager goes to Fluidic space, then go through another singularity near Earth.

 

[DWF]

The Borg were a known threat, and Voyager would've had to deal with them either way. The Kazon, Vidiians, and Hirogen were scattered races which would have posed no threat to Starfleet, but did to the solitary Voyager. The Vaadwaur would've been more of a threat if they had come back. The Dominion, on the other hand, destroyed a Galaxy-class starship without so much as breaking a sweat (from Voyager's perspective), and as we know, they nearly defeated the combined forces of the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans. The Dominion was by far the largest threat outside of the Borg.

There would've no more Borg had Voyager not made a deal with them Species 8472 would've taken care of them. And if travelling naturally that is to say at normal warp speeds it would've been well after the end of the Dominion War by the time Voyager reached their space. The war was over with anyway and I'm sure Odo would've allowed Federation access to their space.

The stuff about Odo is hindsight that came years after the Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. At the time Janeway set out for the Alpha Quadrant, however, the wormhole in the Gamma Quadrant was still firmly in control of a hostile powerful alien government the Federation was preparing for a major war with. A peaceful outcome by the time the Voyager reached Dominion space was by no means guaranteed.

So basically Janeway had two choices: Set out on a direct route to the Alpha Quadrant and hope to find shortcuts along the way...or travel even farther away from home and hope that the Federation made peace with the Dominion (as well as hope that "the Prophets" hadn't collapsed their wormhole) by the time they got there.

The direct way home was inarguably longer, but it also had more of a guarantee of them eventually getting home, barring accidents. Going to the Bajoran wormhole could shave a couple of decades off their trip, but it could have also possibly added another century to their trip if the wormhole was inaccessible or no longer existed.

In the end, it probably comes down to which choice was the safer bet and which one was the more riskier bet based on the information Janeway had available at the time...

When Voyager was taken by the Caretaker in 2371 the Dominion had barely been mentioned and the war was long since over with by the time Voyager did get home in Endgame. And as far as Janeway knew it was a stable wormhole and she did talk about finding wormholes in Caretaker.

 

[C.E. Evans]

There would've no more Borg had Voyager not made a deal with them Species 8472 would've taken care of them. And if travelling naturally that is to say at normal warp speeds it would've been well after the end of the Dominion War by the time Voyager reached their space. The war was over with anyway and I'm sure Odo would've allowed Federation access to their space.

The stuff about Odo is hindsight that came years after the Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. At the time Janeway set out for the Alpha Quadrant, however, the wormhole in the Gamma Quadrant was still firmly in control of a hostile powerful alien government the Federation was preparing for a major war with. A peaceful outcome by the time the Voyager reached Dominion space was by no means guaranteed.

So basically Janeway had two choices: Set out on a direct route to the Alpha Quadrant and hope to find shortcuts along the way...or travel even farther away from home and hope that the Federation made peace with the Dominion (as well as hope that "the Prophets" hadn't collapsed their wormhole) by the time they got there.

The direct way home was inarguably longer, but it also had more of a guarantee of them eventually getting home, barring accidents. Going to the Bajoran wormhole could shave a couple of decades off their trip, but it could have also possibly added another century to their trip if the wormhole was inaccessible or no longer existed.

In the end, it probably comes down to which choice was the safer bet and which one was the more riskier bet based on the information Janeway had available at the time...

When Voyager was taken by the Caretaker in 2371 the Dominion had barely been mentioned and the war was long since over with by the time Voyager did get home in Endgame. And as far as Janeway knew it was a stable wormhole and she did talk about finding wormholes in Caretaker.

The Dominion was recognized as a major threat as early as 2370 with the destruction of several Federation ships--including the Starship Odyssey--and the entire New Bajor colony. Starfleet and the Federation were warned from the start that Dominion agents had already infiltrated the Alpha Quadrant and had already gathered tactical information for an invasion. By the time the Voyager launched in 2371, Starfleet was already on a defensive posture with the Dominion.

Janeway may have known that the Bajoran wormhole was stable, but she also knew that it was artificially created and had been shut down more than once already, so it still wasn't a guaranteed bet that it would still be there if the Voyager traveled an additional 50,000 light-years or so in that direction. Much about the aliens controlling the wormhole was still unknown in 2371.

But by the time the Dominion War ended in 2375, the Voyager had already traveled more than 44,000 light-years, so they were already closer to Earth by going the direct route than they would have been by going towards the Gamma Quadrant...

 

[DWF]

Janeway may have known that the Bajoran wormhole was stable, but she also knew that it was artificially created and had been shut down more than once already, so it still wasn't a guaranteed bet that it would still be there if the Voyager traveled an additional 50,000 light-years or so in that direction. Much about the aliens controlling the wormhole was still unknown in 2371.

But by the time the Dominion War ended in 2375, the Voyager had already traveled more than 44,000 light-years, so they were already closer to Earth by going the direct route than they would have been by going towards the Gamma Quadrant...

When was the wormhole shut down prior to Voyager being taken into the Delta Quadrant? And no I can't count the events in Emissary since the wormhole was only shut down for a short time by the aliens themselves. And they were closer to earth by 2375 because of Kes's push and Borg enhanchments.

The Bajoran wormhole was an alternate route one that seemed to disagrded a bit too early on and I think had they gone that way Voyager might not have ran into many of the problems they had as the series continued.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Janeway may have known that the Bajoran wormhole was stable, but she also knew that it was artificially created and had been shut down more than once already, so it still wasn't a guaranteed bet that it would still be there if the Voyager traveled an additional 50,000 light-years or so in that direction. Much about the aliens controlling the wormhole was still unknown in 2371.

But by the time the Dominion War ended in 2375, the Voyager had already traveled more than 44,000 light-years, so they were already closer to Earth by going the direct route than they would have been by going towards the Gamma Quadrant...

When was the wormhole shut down prior to Voyager being taken into the Delta Quadrant?

Sorry, I should have said blocked--once by the Prophets and a second time by Dominion forces.

And no I can't count the events in Emissary since the wormhole was only shut down for a short time by the aliens themselves.

Actually, that very much counts because it means that the wormhole could be collapsed at any given time at the whim of the Prophets. And at the time of the Voyager's disappearance, the only known way to safely go through the Gamma Quadrant (and avoid Dominion forces) was with a cloaking device.

And they were closer to earth by 2375 because of Kes's push and Borg enhanchments.

Exactly my point. If they hadn't gone that way, I would argue that the Voyager would still be decades away from reaching the Bajoran wormwhole.

The Bajoran wormhole was an alternate route one that seemed to disagrded a bit too early on and I think had they gone that way Voyager might not have ran into many of the problems they had as the series continued.

The ship probably would probably still be a few years away from crossing into the Gamma Quadrant at this point.

Janeway made the right call going the direct route.

 

[B_L_T]

I do not think that everyone understands the distances. The distance for Voyager to reach the Bajoran wormhole, and the distance for Voyager to head to the alpha quadrant was the same. So it would not make sense for Voyager to go to the wormhole

 

[EMHMark613]

In False Profits, Janeway could have placed the Ferengi behind a forcefield in the transporter room, and then used the Barzan wormhole to get home.

In the actual episode, she asked security to escort the Ferengi to the brig. She could have turned the transporter room into a make-shift brig.

Any thoughts?

 

[DWF]

Janeway made the right call going the direct route.

No, it only appears that way in retrospect but we also had some questionable decisions from Janeway by going that way, we have no idea what would've happened by taking a different route. By the time they reached Dominion space the war would've been long since over even if they took some short cuts along the way.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Janeway made the right call going the direct route.

No, it only appears that way in retrospect but we also had some questionable decisions from Janeway by going that way, we have no idea what would've happened by taking a different route.

By that very same token, there was no way for Janeway to know what would've happened if she went an additional 50,000 light-years out of the way to cross a great deal of both the Delta and Gamma Quadrants to reach a wormhole that may or may not be there when the Voyager got there.

It becomes a "do I turn right or do I turn left" case at that point because neither route offered absolute success. But at least by going the direct route, the ship was constantly heading towards home rather than farther away from it. Janeway still made the right choice, even if only in retrospect.

By the time they reached Dominion space the war would've been long since over even if they took some short cuts along the way.

What if the Federation had lost the war with the Dominion and never regained control of the wormhole? What if a tenet of the peace treaty with the Dominion calls for no Federation ships to enter their territory upon pain of death? What if there simply was no wormhole by the time the Voyager got there because of the Prophets finally got ticked off, took their ball, and went home? There was no way Janeway could know any of that in 2371, so she chose the path with the least amount of risk or the least amount of uncertainties to deal with.

Another captain might have gambled that things would work out with the Dominion and gone for the wormhole, yes, but I would argue that they would still be out there today since the biggest short cuts the Voyager encountered were courtesy of the Borg's transwarp network in the Delta Quadrant...

 

[DWF]

What if the Federation had lost the war with the Dominion and never regained control of the wormhole? What if a tenet of the peace treaty with the Dominion calls for no Federation ships to enter their territory upon pain of death? What if there simply was no wormhole by the time the Voyager got there because of the Prophets finally got ticked off, took their ball, and went home? There was no way Janeway could know any of that in 2371, so she chose the path with the least amount of risk or the least amount of uncertainties to deal with.

Another captain might have gambled that things would work out with the Dominion and gone for the wormhole, yes, but I would argue that they would still be out there today since the biggest short cuts the Voyager encountered were courtesy of the Borg's transwarp network in the Delta Quadrant...

If the Federation had lost the war you're whole arguement becomes rather moot since no matter what route Voyager took they would've headed straight in Dominon territory. And no Janeway knew the Delta Quadrant was the home of the Borg and knew how dangerous hte Borg were but yet made no plans on facing them until they were right on top of them.

Going into Gamma Quadrant might've been in the end less dangerous then the path they did take and it is an alternate route home.

 

[C.E. Evans]

What if the Federation had lost the war with the Dominion and never regained control of the wormhole? What if a tenet of the peace treaty with the Dominion calls for no Federation ships to enter their territory upon pain of death? What if there simply was no wormhole by the time the Voyager got there because of the Prophets finally got ticked off, took their ball, and went home? There was no way Janeway could know any of that in 2371, so she chose the path with the least amount of risk or the least amount of uncertainties to deal with.

Another captain might have gambled that things would work out with the Dominion and gone for the wormhole, yes, but I would argue that they would still be out there today since the biggest short cuts the Voyager encountered were courtesy of the Borg's transwarp network in the Delta Quadrant...

If the Federation had lost the war you're whole arguement becomes rather moot since no matter what route Voyager took they would've headed straight in Dominon territory. And no Janeway knew the Delta Quadrant was the home of the Borg and knew how dangerous hte Borg were but yet made no plans on facing them until they were right on top of them.

And then that negates your argument that they should have went for the Gamma Quadrant because either way would be considered a suicide mission into enemy territory in 2371. So one direction would be no better than the other--except that one route pointed towards home and the other route pointed away from it.

Going into Gamma Quadrant might've been in the end less dangerous then the path they did take and it is an alternate route home.

It could also have been an even more dangerous and significantly longer route home too.

But it's really a moot point since the route that was taken did--when all is said and done--get the Voyager home and in one piece in only seven years. Comparatively, the Voyager would still be decades away from home if they tried to go through wormwhole in the Gamma Quadrant, regardless of the political climate there...

 

[DWF]

But it's really a moot point since the route that was taken did--when all is said and done--get the Voyager home and in one piece in only seven years. Comparatively, the Voyager would still be decades away from home if they tried to go through wormwhole in the Gamma Quadrant, regardless of the political climate there...

I thought the point of the thread was to point out alternate routes home for Voyager and the Bajoran wormhole is a viable solution, they could just as easily as have gotten home in seven years no matter which route they took, the show any show will always move at the speed of plot, no matter how big or impossible a show's mission be barring being cancelled it'll end when it's supposed to end.

 

[Finn]

And for all we know, there is a much more dangerous region between Ocampa and Dominion Space. They might have been better off traveling through Borg space.

 

[simmsbc]

It would have been cool if they had found a way to get to the gamma quadrant right smack dab in the middle of the former dominion and would have had to fight their way back to the wormhole through the remnants of the dominion.