Working on Starfleet's "" project, Barclay becomes obsessed with the crew of the lost USS "Voyager", which has been stranded in the Delta Quadrant for over five years. He once again creates simulacra on a holodeck, this time of the "Voyager" crew, but based on facts available to him about their true personalities (for the most part; because he named his cat Neelix, he makes the holodeck Neelix purr). With the help of these holograms and Deanna Troi—with whom he has developed a close friendship—he devises a method to use a micro-wormhole to establish two-way communication with "Voyager". This plan is initially shot down, but Barclay defies direct orders and breaks into the laboratories, ultimately making successful contact with the real "Voyager". During this incident, Barclay also works through his relapse into holo-addiction; as he reveals to Deanna, he'd lost his "family" after leaving the "Enterprise" and did not know how to cope except with fake people.