Reginald Barclay contacts Voyager through a tricky scheme.
On Earth, Reginald Barclay works on Starfleet's Pathfinder Project, an effort to make contact with Voyager. Lonely and anxious, he spends his free time with a holographic copy of the ship and its crew, and he confides in his old shipmate Deanna Troi, who urges him to build real friendships. Barclay proposes using the MIDAS array to open a tiny wormhole near Voyager, but his project leader, Commander Harkins, dismisses him and he is removed for overstepping.
Barclay breaks into the lab and tries his plan anyway, hiding in his holographic Voyager while security closes in. The attempt works, and the real Voyager receives a Starfleet signal. A short two-way link lets the crew send logs and hear Admiral Owen Paris promise that Starfleet will bring them home. The episode begins Voyager's regular contact with the Alpha Quadrant, and the crew name Barclay an honorary member of their ship.