Why did Janeway choose the long way round?

[Toban Kal]

I just figured this the other day when I saw this map on my Star Trek screen saver.

Voyager's location is marked in the left corner in orange.
She then chose to go all the way across the Delta quadrant with the intention of crossing the Beta quadrant to get back to federation space and Earth.
BUT, wouldn't it have been quicker to go across into the Gamma quadrant and reach the Idran end of the Bajoran wormhole (marked on the left side of the map in yellow)? From the look of things it would have taken about half the time to reach the wormhole and get back into the alpha quadrant.

When Janeway left she would have known about the wormhole. She didn't know about the Dominion or the Jem Ha'dar. (not sure about spelling.)
I suppose by the time she got there the Dominion side of the wormhole would have been in contest and she wouldn't have had an easy time getting through, but probably an easier time than she had getting back to the alpha quadrant via the long way around.

So why did she choose the long way? It makes no logical sense.

 

[sbk1234]

It was an important plot complication.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

^^^

Because it was a show about finding a way back to Earth and not a show about finding a way from one distant part of the galaxy to some wormhole in another distant part of the galaxy, which would then lead to a part of the galaxy which is not too distant from Earth... meaning it would have been too complicated for the average (non-Trek fan) viewer.

 

[Toban Kal]

... meaning it would have been to complicated for the average (non-Trek fan) viewer.

But only trek-fans would have watched it.

 

[Peter the Younger]

... meaning it would have been to complicated for the average (non-Trek fan) viewer.

But only trek-fans would have watched it.

Only Trek fans did watch it.

Incidentally, I'm not sure I like the setup of that map. The placement of the Borg Collective, for instance, seems off - unless we're supposed to believe Janeway went through the Galactic Core to get home. It also places Earth and Vulcan waay too far apart, so it's pretty much suspect.

The Galactic map from Geoff Mandel's Star Charts book seems more accurate - and form that, it seems clear that the Bajoran Wormhole would have been less direct (not to mention the fact that you would have to go through the Dominion.)

 

[Guy Gardener]

frequently asked question. My first post here even nearly a decade ago.

The 2bee's at conventions SWEAR that it is equidistant and Janeway made a judgement call. Even though most maps put it 1/2 to a third the distance, a GOOD argument is, that just because the Wormhole had been stable for the last 10 thousand years, it doesn't mean that it would still be working in some 30 years when they finally got to where they thought it was.

Though I had a new thought.

If they were heading toward the bajoran Wormhole, surely that would mean that EVERY episode they would be saying at least once "Bajoran Wormhole" or/and "Deep Space Nine" which would help immensely with te DVD sales and the ratings on the other show which bless the pun, were not exactly stellar.

Complete open hostilities had not begun with the Dominion, but they had destroyed the USS Odyssey during the final episode of Season 2 DS9. So she knew there was a bad guy on the other end of the wormhole, but then if she was going to trek the way she wanted to, that would have put her at heads with the Borg, the Romulans and the Klingons, and maybe another dozen space bastards that we know about, not that there wasn't a period int time when the B's were reading their map backwards and swore that Voyager would never pass through the beta quadrant at all.

Though considering they had travelled about 40 thousand lightyears by the back half of seaon seven and hadn't breached either the Alpha or beta Quadrant, and Earth is on the rim of the galaxy almost, well the maps I was drawing with my 6th for knowledge of triangles were looking crazier and crazier.

 

[Michael]

That's an easy one: This star chart isn't canon. The position of the wormhole in the Gamma Quadrant is purely conjectural.

 

[Frazzled]

Hmmmm .... and a chart is flat whereas the real universe is 3D .... it's never going to be able to show the true distances correctly anyway!

 

[Guy Gardener]

Your quibbling gentlebeings is probably a question of a couple weeks difference if they maintain a cruising speed of warp seven for the most part.

Though those 2 long range ships (if Voyager was a small fleet for the last 15 years of it's voyage home in Admiral Janeways timeline, and the crews of possibly intentionaly generational starships would be many many times that of Voyagers scant 152ish, that the complete menifest of A Starfleet officers under janeways command by 2384 might be a few thousand: and she still only loses 20ish crewmen? these percentages just become more and more amazing the more I think about how that woman turned time ass ovver tea kettle to rescue that girlcrush she had with the Borgette.) that were just 5 years from intercepting Voyager? Who is to say that their long range mission of exploration didn't begin from the bajoran Wormhole? if that were in the slightest true, you'd have to wonder if janeway would have taken it well if she was ordered to camp out on a planetand "wait" for the other ships to catch up?

 

[Toban Kal]

Though those 2 long range ships (if Voyager was a small fleet for the last 15 years of it's voyage home in Admiral Janeways timeline, and the crews of possibly intentionaly generational starships would be many many times that of Voyagers scant 152ish, that the complete menifest of A Starfleet officers under janeways command by 2384 might be a few thousand: and she still only loses 20ish crewmen? these percentages just become more and more amazing the more I think about how that woman turned time ass ovver tea kettle to rescue that girlcrush she had with the Borgette.) that were just 5 years from intercepting Voyager? Who is to say that their long range mission of exploration didn't begin from the bajoran Wormhole? if that were in the slightest true, you'd have to wonder if janeway would have taken it well if she was ordered to camp out on a planetand "wait" for the other ships to catch up?

I have read that four times and I can only come to one conclusion "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
None of that applies in any way whatsoever to any voyager I have ever seen.
Have you been watching a different star trek to the rest of us?

 

[TheGodBen]

... meaning it would have been to complicated for the average (non-Trek fan) viewer.

But only trek-fans would have watched it.

They wanted non-Trek fans to watch it too. There may be millions of Trek fans, but there is billions of non-Trek fans, and that is where the money is.

 

[Jaespol]

The map looks very suspect, especially Earth and Vulcan's placing - although Vulcan would seem to conform to "Unifcation"..but let's face it none of this ever made sense.
Anyway, it would have been too much of a risk to fly all the way to the Bajoran wormhole even if it was a bit closer and find out that it had closed.

 

[Michael]

I have read that four times and I can only come to one conclusion "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

Don't worry. You're not the only one.

 

[JB2005]

Your quibbling gentlebeings is probably a question of a couple weeks difference if they maintain a cruising speed of warp seven for the most part.

Though those 2 long range ships (if Voyager was a small fleet for the last 15 years of it's voyage home in Admiral Janeways timeline, and the crews of possibly intentionaly generational starships would be many many times that of Voyagers scant 152ish, that the complete menifest of A Starfleet officers under janeways command by 2384 might be a few thousand: and she still only loses 20ish crewmen? these percentages just become more and more amazing the more I think about how that woman turned time ass ovver tea kettle to rescue that girlcrush she had with the Borgette.) that were just 5 years from intercepting Voyager? Who is to say that their long range mission of exploration didn't begin from the bajoran Wormhole? if that were in the slightest true, you'd have to wonder if janeway would have taken it well if she was ordered to camp out on a planetand "wait" for the other ships to catch up?

So what you're saying is that because of the two ships sent to rendevous with Voyager would have increased the crew pool considerably, making the few crewmen she loss seem a smaller percentage (if both ships were, say, galaxy class with crew comparable to the enterprise, Janeway lost 22/2150 rather than 22/150)

And if those ships were sent via the wormhole rather than from Fed space (more likely, even if Voy and they went at full pelt, they would still take 15 years ish to rendevous if the ships were making a beeline from earth)

And your question is what would Janeway's reaction have been to stop and wait for the other ships to catch up with them? (If they were indeed coming from the BW, which was probably behind them)

I think :S

 

[Toban Kal]

WHAT 2 SHIPS???

THERE WERE NO 2 SHIPS.

were there?

 

[JB2005]

Yeah, rewatch the one where the Doc is sent back to the AQ, the message from Starfleet says

"We have sent two deep space vessels, with any luck they should rendevous within the next five to six years"

 

[Jaespol]

"We have sent two deep space vessels, with any luck they should rendevous within the next five to six years"

That bit was really stupid, wish it had been erased from canon.

 

[Toban Kal]

I think that deadline was made under the belief that Voyager would be travelling towards them as well as them travelling out. so the two would meet in the middle.
If Voyager had just parked up and waited it would have taken longer for the ships to reach them.
And then what? they would just have to continue the journey back to earth once they met up with each other.
So no point in sitting and waiting, just keep going onwards.

But none of that answers the question I posed. Why not head for the wormhole, since it was the quicker way back?

 

[JB2005]

I think that deadline was made under the belief that Voyager would be travelling towards them as well as them travelling out. so the two would meet in the middle.
If Voyager had just parked up and waited it would have taken longer for the ships to reach them.
And then what? they would just have to continue the journey back to earth once they met up with each other.
So no point in sitting and waiting, just keep going onwards.

But none of that answers the question I posed. Why not head for the wormhole, since it was the quicker way back?

Because say the wormhole was ~60,000 light years from Voyager's position, and we know it's ~70,000 lightyears from DS9.

In 60 years, the wormhole could have been destroyed, or gone out, then they would still have had another 70 year journey. The Gamma Q is heading in the wrong direction. They can be fairly confident Earth's not going to move all that much in 70 years, but a spacial anomoly, less confident

That bit was really stupid, wish it had been erased from canon.

Actually it was one part I did like about Starfleet as they were portrayed in Voyager, because it recognised that Voyager was going to need reinforcements and showed them being proactive for once.

I think that deadline was made under the belief that Voyager would be travelling towards them as well as them travelling out.
so the
So no point in sitting and waiting, just keep going onwards.

Yeah, but that was never made clear...

 

[Jaespol]

That bit was really stupid, wish it had been erased from canon.

Actually it was one part I did like about Starfleet as they were portrayed in Voyager, because it recognised that Voyager was going to need reinforcements and showed them being proactive for once.

It made Voyager less special knowing that there were two other deep space vessels so far from the Federation in the DQ, since when did Starfleet have such long range ships?