Saowin: Hello? Hello? I'm here! Hello?
Saowin: I'm here to see Mister Kurros. Could you?
Saowin: Could you tell me where to find Mister Kurros?
Saowin: Wait!
Kurros: Do not mind Bevvox. He can be grouchy in the morning. Welcome aboard.
Saowin: Thank you.
Kurros: You seem tense.
Saowin: No.
Kurros: This is a time for celebration. The geostability of your world has been restored, your people saved. And all because you had the wisdom to accept our help.
Saowin: You accomplished in days what our scientists failed to achieve in decades.
Kurros: That it not to say it was not a challenge. Finding the precise harmonic for a planetary containment field did put my colleague here to the test.
Kurros: But in the end, she prevailed.
Saowin: We owe you our lives.
Kurros: Solving problems is what we do. And seeing the look of gratitude in your eyes is almost reward enough. Almost.
Saowin: I have some bad news. Our bernicium mines were destroyed in the last series of quakes. The ore's buried under sixty gigatons of rock. We can't get to it. We hoped you'd accept this instead. A rubidium geode. Priceless. The only one ever found on our planet.
Kurros: It is rare, but hardly unique. And it is not what we agreed upon.
Saowin: I'm sorry, this is all we can offer you.
Kurros: You are lying. The mines collapsed, but before they did you transferred the ore to a shielded storage facility. Needless to say, we detected it.
Saowin: Please, we need the ore to repair our replicator systems. Without it, we'll be unable to feed our people.
Kurros: Get it to us now, or I will deactivate the containment field. Have you ever experienced a level twelve seismic event? Most violent. Quite unnerving.
Saowin: No! I'll have the ore transported at once. This, this was all a misunderstanding.
Kurros: Of course. It is already forgotten, my friend. Perhaps we will do business again someday.
Saowin: Yes.
Kurros: Show our friend back to his shuttle. I would hate for him to get lost in such an unfamiliar place.
Saowin: Oh! Pardon me.
Janeway: Yes?
Seven: Captain, long range scans have detected.
Janeway: One second. I've wasted two hours on this thing and I'm no closer to solving it.
Seven: You can thank Ensign Paris for introducing the artifact to the ship.
Janeway: He was behind the last ship wide craze, too. Yo-yos. Now it's Sheer Lunacy. Another hour and I'll go insane.
Seven: The solution is quite simple. If you align
Janeway: No, I want to figure this out myself.
Janeway: You said something about long range scans?
Seven: They've revealed a planetoid with high concentrations of dilithium crystals.
Janeway: Let's take a look.
Kim: Got it! False alarm.
Paris: Keep at it, Harry.
Seven: We're within visual range.
Janeway: On screen.
Tuvok: Initial scans reveal substantial dilithium deposits beneath the planetoid's crust.
Chakotay: Full sensor sweep.
Kim: The deposits are in the upper mantle, about sixty kilometers down.
Tuvok: We'll have to use phasers to cut through the
Kim: Hold on.
Janeway: What is it?
Kim: Some kind of resonance wave emanating from the core. It's building fast, Captain.
Janeway: Right after we ran our scans? That can't be a coincidence. Back us off, Tom.
Seven: The planetoid is destabilizing.
Chakotay: Shields.
Janeway: Report.
Chakotay: We're trapped in a cloud of meteron gas. It's collapsed our warp field and knocked the impulse engines offline.
Tuvok: A heavily armed vessel just dropped out of warp off the port bow.
Seven: Captain, I recognize it. It's Hazari. Species four two two eight. Technologically advanced, extremely violent. They make excellent tactical drones.
Kim: What do they want with us?
Seven: The Hazari are hired to capture and deliver alien vessels.
Paris: Bounty hunters.
Seven: Yes.
Kim: So who hired them?
Chakotay: The Malon, the Devore? We've made our share of enemies here.
Kim: They're hailing.
Y'Sek: Surrender. No one need be hurt. My client would prefer your vessel intact.
Janeway: Who hired you?
Y'Sek: That's not your concern.
Janeway: I'm only asking because I'm curious how much they're paying? Maybe we can do better.
Y'Sek: Doubtful.
Janeway: We're far from defenseless. Why don't you save yourself some trouble.
Y'Sek: It's no trouble.
Janeway: Charge phaser banks to full power.
Y'Sek: Fire and you'll ignite the gas cloud. You'll be destroyed.
Janeway: You've left me no choice. I suggest you back off if you want to save your own ship. End transmission.
Tuvok: They are moving closer. They've locked on a tractor beam.
Paris: Looks like they're calling your bluff, Captain. It was a bluff, wasn't it?
Janeway: Seven, do we still have warp power?
Seven: Yes, but it's useless while we remain in the gas cloud.
Janeway: Maybe not. Reroute every spare gigawatt to the shields. Prepare to fire phasers.
Tuvok: Our target?
Janeway: The gas cloud.
Seven: Do you believe the impact will throw us clear?
Janeway: If our shields hold.
Paris: That's a big if.
Janeway: Go to warp one on my command. Fire.
Tuvok: Shields are holding. We're approaching the perimeter of the gas cloud.
Paris: We're out.
Janeway: Warp speed.
Tuvok: No sign of pursuit.
Janeway: They weren't that heavily damaged. Why aren't they following us?
Chakotay: There's the reason they didn't come after us. They've got reinforcements throughout the sector.
Kim: Twenty three ships.
Chakotay: And long range scans show more on the way.
Kim: Must be one hell of a reward.
Tuvok: The size of the bounty is immaterial. According to Seven of Nine, the Hazari pride themselves on honoring their agreements.
Kim: Great. Bounty hunters with a work ethic.
Chakotay: There's got to be a way out, something they haven't anticipated. Download the data for the Captain. She wants to see what she can come up with on her own.
Neelix: Should I have the Doctor prepare a hypospray?
Janeway: Excuse me?
Neelix: So you can absorb the caffeine more directly. Save time.
Janeway: Point well taken. I'll make this my last cup.
Neelix: How about trying a sounding board?
Janeway: Oh, you don't want that job.
Neelix: Try me.
Janeway: It's these Hazari. They're like jackals, circling, feinting to draw us out while they cut off every route of escape.
Neelix: You make them sound worse than the Borg.
Janeway: At least the Borg come straight at you. The Hazari wait, invite you to make mistakes. They've anticipated almost every move we can make, and the few things they seem to have missed, I'm convinced are traps. You still glad you volunteered?
Neelix: We've faced tough odds before. You'll get us through. Goodnight.
Janeway: Goodnight.
Kurros: There is nothing like a good problem to spark the synapses, is there? To open the mind to new possibilities, new ways of seeing things. Of course, one must always confront self- doubt and fear, but that is a small price to pay for the exhilaration of finding the perfect solution.
Janeway: Who are you and what do you want?
Kurros: You have a problem, Captain. I am the solution.
Janeway: Security to the Mess hall. Intruder alert
Kurros: I've deactivated your communications device, Captain, but do not worry. I am not an intruder. In fact, I am not really here.
Janeway: A hologram.
Kurros: Nothing so crude. An isomorphic projection.
Kurros: You actually enjoy this?
Janeway: It's an acquired taste.
Kurros: It bears a resemblance to an Alkian confection we acquired several years ago.
Janeway: We?
Kurros: I am a member of a small group. Explorers, like you. But we seek out challenges, problems to be solved. Technological, biological, social, even artistic.
Janeway: A Think Tank.
Kurros: I like that. It's very apt. Our Think Tank is nearby. A modest vessel. I have come to offer our help with your Hazari paradox.
Janeway: Paradox?
Kurros: That is right. Is it an escape route or is it a trap? Do they know that you know that they know? It is the best kind of puzzle. Pure tactics, psychology.
Janeway: Something tells me your help comes with a price tag.
Kurros: Whatever your culture has to offer that is unique. Technology perhaps, or maybe something you would not even think to value. I would need a closer look at your database.
Janeway: And how do I know you aren't an Hazari trap? Maybe they're trying to lure us into an ambush, like before.
Kurros: You are wise to be suspicious, Captain. We have done some preliminary analysis on their maneuvers. It does suggest some more likely ambushes. I've downloaded the data onto your computer.
Janeway: All right. You've got my attention. But I want to meet you face to face. And the rest of your crew.
Kurros: Naturally. Our coordinates are in here, too. But we have our own security concerns, Captain. Please, bring only one crewman and no scanning equipment.
Janeway: Fair enough.
Kurros: Then I look forward to meeting you in person.
Tuvok: We're approaching the coordinates.
Janeway: Full stop.
Chakotay: Looks like there's nothing here.
Kim: Maybe they're cloaked.
Seven: I'm reading a subspace flux.
Tuvok: The vessel's hull is composed of a neutronium-based alloy.
Janeway: Starfleet's theorized about such materials, but we've never come close to producing them.
Seven: Neither have the Borg. The Think Tank's technology is advanced.
Janeway: Well, you and I will have the chance to evaluate it first hand. Mister Kim, you have the transport coordinates.
Seven: The universal translator must be inoperative.
Janeway: Or his speech patterns are too complex to process.
Janeway: They must be studying it.
Kurros: Actually, she is studying you. Our resident expert on temporal physics. Perhaps the most gifted member of our group. She finds you interesting.
Seven: How do you communicate?
Janeway: One of my most gifted crewmen, Seven of Nine.
Kurros: Bionetic implants, neural transceivers? A Borg? I've never seen one outside the Collective.
Seven: I am an individual now. You may address your comments to me.
Kurros: Forgive me. I am Kurros, and this is Fennim. In answer to your earlier question, this device allows the members of our group to communicate telepathically.
Seven: Impressive.
Kurros: It sounds as if another member of our crew is anxious to meet you.
Seven: A bioplasmic lifeform.
Kurros: His name is Bevvox. He prefers a variable gravity environment.
Janeway: What's his specialty?
Kurros: At the moment exo-sociology and quantum mechanics, but his interests vary from time to time. Bevvox founded our group more than one hundred years ago, after wandering the galaxy on his own for a few millennia.
Seven: How old is this creature?
Kurros: If you please, that is a sensitive topic with him. And there is one other individual who rounds out our group.
Seven: An artificial intelligence.
Kurros: The mind of mathematician and the soul of an artist. I'm afraid he'd much rather be modeling a fractal sculpture than analyzing the data of our latest astronomical scan. And now you have met us all. A small group of minds, but we have helped hundreds of clients. We turned the tide in the war between the Bara Plenum and the Motali Empire. Re-ignited the red giants of the Zai Cluster. Just recently, we found a cure for the Vidiian phage.
Janeway: The Vidiians?
Kurros: You would hardly recognize them now. Just last month we helped retrieve a Lyridian child's runaway pet. A subspace mesomorph, I might add. We had to invent a whole new scanning technology just to find it.
Janeway: And what did you ask for as compensation?
Kurros: One of their transgalactic star charts. The best map of the known galaxy ever created. When we helped the citizens of Rivos Five resist the Borg, all we asked for was the recipe for their famous zoth-nut soup. Care for a taste?
Seven: Another time, perhaps.
Janeway: Tell me, is there any job you won't do?
Kurros: What do you mean?
Janeway: Well, we have a non-interference protocol, our Prime Directive. I'm curious where you draw the line.
Kurros: As you know, there is no shortage of conflict in what you call the Delta Quadrant. Many of our clients are at war. To be frank, we will assist in the neutralization of fleets, starbases, even planets. But we will not participate in the decimation of an entire species, nor will we design weapons of mass destruction. My colleague here wishes to speak to Seven of Nine about her bionetic technology. May he interface with you?
Seven: I am in direct telepathic communication with this individual. It is requesting information about integrating organic components into its technology.
Janeway: Feel free to give him some pointers.
Seven: You're welcome.
Kurros: To business, Captain. I believe we can solve the Hazari paradox without firing a single weapon.
Janeway: That's just what I'm looking for.
Kurros: Then there is only the matter of payment.
Janeway: Voyager's schematics and an overview of its database. Specify what you want and I'll see what I can do. I recommend the replicators. They're very popular this year.
Kurros: I'll contact you with our requests.
Chakotay: I take it First Contact was a success?
Janeway: I have some qualms about their morality, but I believe they can help us.
Seven: It was an interesting experience.
Chakotay: Glad to hear it. We don't have much good news of our own. Every escape route we've considered is clearly a trap, and more Hazari ships keep joining the search.
Janeway: Then we have no choice. We'll put our own plans on hold and see what the Think Tank comes up with.
Janeway: Come in.
Tuvok: You have a visitor. Mister Kurros has returned in isomorphic form.
Janeway: Send him in. Welcome back.
Kurros: Captain, we have compiled a short list of items we would like. It was not easy. Voyager has a great deal to offer.
Janeway: Quantum slipstream technology. I should warn you. We never got that to work reliably.
Kurros: It is still intriguing, theoretically.
Janeway: Neelix's recipe for Chadre'kab?
Kurros: Yes.
Janeway: An ancient Olmec figurine. I guess Commander Chakotay can be persuaded to part with it.
Kurros: I am pleased to hear that.
Janeway: You can't be serious.
Kurros: I realize the next item may seem unorthodox, but I believe it can be beneficial to both of us.
Janeway: You never mentioned anything about bartering my crew members.
Kurros: She will have an extraordinary opportunity to explore the galaxy as one of us.
Janeway: I'm afraid the answer is no.
Kurros: I understand your feelings, Captain, but have you thought to ask Seven of Nine herself?
Seven: A curious proposition.
Janeway: To say the least.
Seven: How do you wish to proceed?
Janeway: I want your opinion.
Seven: They are offering us the assistance we require, I am the payment they require. The solution is obvious.
Janeway: This isn't a puzzle, Seven. There is no solution. What's at issue here is your future.
Seven: The issue is Voyager's survival.
Janeway: Sit. Please. While I still question this Think Tank's way of doing things, there is a genuine opportunity for exploration. It could be the chance of a lifetime.
Seven: You're saying I should go?
Janeway: I don't want you to go, but it's not my right to tell you what to do. Until now, I've kept a close eye on your progress, helped you with decisions but, I think you've learned enough as an individual to make this decision yourself. Would you like to join them?
Seven: I am intrigued. They are an unusual Collective with a compelling mission. But I require more data.
Janeway: That's why I want you to talk to Kurros yourself. See if he can answer your questions.
Seven: Captain, I appreciate your giving me this choice.
Janeway: You've earned it. And remember, if you do choose to go, make sure it's what you want, not what you think is best for Voyager. We're getting out of this, with or without the Think Tank's help.
Seven: Why me?
Kurros: I admire your humility. The collective knowledge of the Borg contained within a single mind. When we factor in your innate intelligence and the enhancements afforded you by your bionetic implants, we concluded you are an ideal candidate. The first we have recruited in seventeen years.
Seven: When did you arrive at this assessment?
Kurros: During your interview.
Seven: My dialogue with the artificial intelligence.
Kurros: It was the most efficient way to evaluate your abilities. I am sure you can appreciate that.
Seven: How much do you know about me?
Kurros: Enough to know that you are tapping into only a fraction of your potential as a member of Voyager's crew. You were adjusting the deflector array to improve shield harmonics. Do you find such duties challenging?
Seven: No.
Kurros: Without problems that test the limits of your abilities, you cannot expand them. Perfection will always be beyond your reach. Seven, you could become one of the greatest intellects in the galaxy, but that will not happen here among these limited lifeforms.
Seven: The crew of Voyager has accepted me, integrated me into their Collective.
Kurros: They are your family. It was hard for me to leave my family, too. And I was only a child. Not much older than you when you were first assimilated.
Seven: Why did you leave?
Kurros: To help them and my world solve a cataclysmic problem.
Seven: The Think Tank requested you as payment.
Kurros: I did not realize it at first. I was too young. But they gave me a remarkable opportunity, and now I am offering the same to you.
Seven: Your group can assist many Collectives, and yet you often use that ability as a means of coercion to obtain what you want. How many have suffered because they were unwilling to agree to your conditions?
Kurros: We have a singular mission, to perfect our knowledge. Perfection sometimes necessitates selfishness. It is your life. Not Voyager's, not Captain Janeway's or anyone else's. It is up to you to achieve the goals you have set for yourself.
Seven: I agree, but I can do that here.
Kurros: Please, take more time to think about this. We will remain nearby in case you change your mind.
Seven: I doubt that will happen.
Tuvok: Seven of Nine, report to the bridge.
Seven: Acknowledged.
Kurros: May I accompany you?
Seven: As you wish.
Kurros: Do you have a problem, Captain?
Janeway: Two Hazari ships are approaching.
Seven: I have declined their offer.
Kurros: Our first offer.
Janeway: Glad you're sticking around. Take your station.
Tuvok: They are dropping out of warp, flanking our position.
Janeway: Which one fired?
Tuvok: The ship to starboard. Shields down to sixty percent.
Chakotay: Evasive maneuvers. Target their weapons systems and return fire.
Tuvok: Their shields are holding.
Paris: I can't get away. They're right on top of us.
Kim: Hull integrity's been compromised on decks seven and twelve.
Kurros: Captain, when the Hazari strike in pairs, one ship always remains behind to reinforce the shields of the attacking vessel.
Janeway: So we should target the support ship. How much is this tip going to cost me?
Kurros: This one is free.
Janeway: I'll take it. Tuvok.
Tuvok: Retargeting. Firing photon torpedoes. They are disengaging.
Janeway: Get us out of here, maximum warp. Thanks for the help.
Kurros: Consider it a friendly gesture of goodwill in the hopes that Seven will change her mind.
Seven: I have not.
Kurros: You are making a fatal mistake. We have already analyzed hundreds of scenarios. Voyager will not survive without our help.
Janeway: Your scenarios, not mine.
Kurros: Your confidence is unfounded, Captain. Reconsider. Order Seven of Nine to join us.
Janeway: We have an old expression, Kurros. Don't call us, we'll call you. Remodulate the shields to a phase variance frequency.
Tuvok: His ship is vanishing from sensors. It's being absorbed into subspace.
Chakotay: I get the distinct feeling they won't take no for an answer.
Janeway: Same here. Looks like we're facing two threats now. The Hazari and our would-be saviors.
Kurros: Our offer was denied. How shall we proceed?
Fennim: We are already proceeding.
Alien In Tank: Our offer was refused. We must let the scenario continue.
Artificial Intelligence: Our calculations indicate a ninety six percent chance the Borg will still be ours.
Kurros: Then it is decided. We will wait and let our problem solve itself.
Y'Sek: Duranium hull fragments, a thruster assembly, human organic residue. We were supposed to disable their ship, not destroy it.
Tuvok: They've entered the debris field.
Janeway: Detonate the spatial charges.
Tuvok: Their vessel has taken heavy damage. Shields and weapons are offline.
Janeway: Move us into position. Lock on a tractor beam and pull them into the shuttlebay.
Paris: We're in transporter range.
Kim: I've got a lock. Two lifeforms.
Janeway: Energize.
Janeway: Any luck?
Chakotay: I'm still trying to access their primary database.
Janeway: Let me guess. They're the strong but silent types.
Tuvok: Very silent.
Chakotay: Did you try a mind meld?
Tuvok: Without success. They are unusually resistant.
Janeway: Well, hold off on the torture till we see what we can dig up here.
Chakotay: I've found something. A series of encoded transmissions.
Janeway: They've been discussing Voyager. Our coordinates, our defenses.
Tuvok: Whoever hired the Hazari know a lot about us.
Janeway: Check these sensor logs. See if they had any visitors recently.
Chakotay: I've got some bioreadings, but they're pretty scrambled.
Tuvok: If they are bioreadings, perhaps the Doctor can unscramble them.
Janeway: Tell him to give it a try.
Emh: I've created a forensic reconstruction from the bioreadings, using the holoemitters. Brace yourselves.
Janeway: Malon. Huh, they must really hold a grudge. We haven't run into them for months. I'm sorry, Doctor, something doesn't feel right.
Tuvok: The Malon are economically motivated.
Janeway: And there's no profit in revenge. Take a look at this. Isomorphic signatures embedded in the bioreadings. This was no Malon, it was only a projection.
Emh: You mean that's a hologram of a hologram?
Tuvok: In a manner of speaking. I believe I can restore the original biosignal parameters. Brace yourself.
Janeway: Well, it appears our Hazari paradox is more complex than we thought.
Janeway: I believe we're both being manipulated by the same person. Recognize him?
Y'Sek: No.
Janeway: His name is Kurros, The Malon you met with was nothing more than a projection.
Y'Sek: My sensors would have detected a hologram.
Janeway: Not this one. Kurros is a member of a Think Tank. They solve problems for a price. Oh, you have heard of them.
Y'Sek: They're notorious in this sector. They've made quite a few enemies.
Janeway: Enemies who might be willing to pay a hell of a bounty.
Y'Sek: Their technology is very advanced. It makes them difficult to track.
Janeway: Not if we work together. You're the best hunters in the quadrant and we have the perfect lure. All we have to do now is out-think the Think Tank.
Janeway: We've got a puzzle and we're not leaving this room until we solve it. The Think Tank is out there somewhere, hiding in subspace. How do we find them? And even if we can, their ship's hull is neutronium-based alloy, impervious to our weapons. How do we capture them?
Kim: What if we send out a multispatial probe?
Torres: It would take weeks of scanning to find them.
Y'Sek: Weeks? We're not willing to wait that long.
Tuvok: We could use subspatial charges to force them into the open.
Chakotay: Where do we target the charges? We've still got to find them first.
Janeway: Maybe we're going about this the wrong way. A direct assault seems unlikely to succeed. Pure tactics, psychology. That's how they solve problems. That's what we have to do. They've created this paradox to manipulate us into giving them Seven of Nine. How do we manipulate them? Think.
Neelix: I thought we were onto something with B'Elanna's plan
Torres: Forget it. I was wrong.
Paris: Let him talk.
Emh: We're talking in circles.
Y'Sek: Enough! Three hours, no progress. I should have contacted my ships by now.
Janeway: Maybe we can't out-think them.
Chakotay: Captain?
Janeway: We have to assume they've planned for every contingency, including anything we could come up with to undermine their plan. This thing has been driving me crazy. You said you knew the solution. Prove it.
Janeway: Seven, how'd you do that?
Seven: I scanned the device. Its mechanism operates on a simple fractal regression.
Paris: You scanned it? That's cheating.
Seven: Cheating is often more efficient.
Janeway: If you can't solve a puzzle, cheat. If you can't out-think a Think Tank, don't try.
Neelix: Are you suggesting we give up?
Janeway: Not at all. When you were in contact with the artificial intelligence, you were linked through their internal communications array.
Seven: Yes, for several seconds.
Janeway: If you were to link with them again, we might be able to disrupt those systems. If they can't communicate, they can't function as a Think Tank. They'd be vulnerable.
Emh: Back to square one. How do we find them?
Janeway: Simple. We give them what they want. You're going to join their group willingly.
Y'Sek: They won't believe her.
Janeway: We'll have to make them believe. Pull up a chair. We've got some more work to do.
Intelligence: An Hazari vessel is sending hails into subspace. It's trying to contact us.
Kurros: Put them through.
Hazari: They're responding.
Kurros: Hazari vessel, we have received your hails. Can we be of assistance?
Y'Sek: You deceived us.
Kurros: I do not believe we have met.
Y'Sek: Stop the pretense. You wanted us to deliver Voyager. Very well. But only if you triple our bounty.
Kurros: My friend, regardless of the circumstances, we have a contract.
Y'Sek: Pay us, or we let Voyager go.
Kurros: All right, we will triple the bounty. But you must deliver them to us now.
Y'Sek: Agreed. We'll contact the rest of our ships. We'll seize Voyager as planned.
Tuvok: Shields down to thirty percent.
Janeway: Return fire.
Tuvok: Our phasers aren't penetrating their shields.
Kim: That last volley took out our shield generators and phaser banks.
Tuvok: Life support's failing, all decks.
Kurros: Let us be honest, Captain. Things do not seem to be going your way.
Janeway: Don't count us out just yet.
Kurros: I admit you have been clever. You uncovered our subterfuge, but you failed to factor in all the variables. The greed of the Hazari, for example.
Janeway: Photon torpedoes?
Tuvok: Aft launchers are still online.
Janeway: Target a full spread at the lead Hazari ship.
Kurros: A few torpedoes will not alter the outcome. If you do not convince Seven of Nine to join us now, the destruction of your ship is ninety nine point eight percent certain.
Janeway: Fire.
Tuvok: Direct hit. It's been disabled.
Kurros: Clinging to that point two percentage? Hazari reinforcements should be here any minute.
Paris: He's right. Sensors just picked up a half dozen ships on an intercept course.
Chakotay: Captain, I'm detecting an unauthorized shuttle launch. It's Seven of Nine.
Janeway: What the hell is she doing?
Kurros: I believe she's saving your ship.
Kim: She's not answering hails. Her shuttle's being pulled into subspace. She's gone.
Kurros: Have a safe journey home, Captain.
Kurros: Seven of Nine, welcome.
Seven: Your hospitality is irrelevant. I am here because you left me no choice.
Kurros: You gave into your human instincts to save your crew, as we knew you would. Just another factor in our equation.
Seven: If Voyager is destroyed, I will not cooperate.
Kurros: Do not worry. The solution to the Hazari paradox is quite simple.
Kurros: We have what we want. Call off your attack.
Y'Sek: Not until we've been compensated.
Kurros: Fine, but first order your other vessels to stand down.
Y'Sek: Now, or we'll destroy Voyager.
Kurros: Why is he in such a hurry?
Seven: Comply.
Kurros: If we decloak, we would be vulnerable. The Hazari could make quite a bounty on us. Far more than we are paying them.
Seven: Their technology is inferior to yours. They would never attack you directly.
Kurros: I think this is a trap, a new paradox your Captain has created for us. If we call their bluff, the Hazari might destroy Voyager, and we would lose you. If we reveal ourselves, we could be destroyed.
Seven: You told me, without problems to test the limits of your ability, you can never expand them.
Kurros: There is one very simple way to narrow the odds. We simply link you to our communications system, allow our artificial intelligence to probe your mind as it did before, and Captain Janeway's plans will be revealed, like a jewel in a bed of fog.
Emh: Sickbay to bridge. Seven's neural transceiver has been activated.
Janeway: Acknowledged. Do it.
Tuvok: I'm transmitting the carrier wave.
Kurros: Voyager is sending an interference signal into our systems using her cortical implants as a relay. Disconnect the link.
Kurros: Disconnect the link.
Seven: They can't understand you.
Janeway: Voyager to Hazari vessels. Their systems are down. Fire the spatial charges.
Seven: We seem to be experiencing some turbulence.
Kurros: Primitive spatial charges. I will have the dome back online before they can do any damage.
Kurros: We're being pulled out of subspace.
Kim: I've got a lock on Seven.
Janeway: Initiate transport.
Tuvok: The Hazari vessels are converging on the Think Tank.
Janeway: Tom.
Paris: Setting a course.
Kurros: I urge you to reconsider, Captain.
Janeway: A good guest knows when he's outstayed his welcome.
Kurros: We can still negotiate a peaceful solution. Do not destroy my faith in diplomacy.
Janeway: Your diplomacy could use some polishing.
Kurros: You know you will never be satisfied here among these people. Is this what you really want?
Seven: Acquiring knowledge is a worthy objective, but its pursuit has obviously not elevated you.
Janeway: Looks like your ship's having difficulties.
Kurros: A minor problem.
Janeway: Oh, I'm sure you'll find a solution. Just give it some thought.


Pelk: Zeeesh. Alert, alert, decompression on platform six eight four. Brace for hull rupture. Thrusters are down. We're going to crash! Ahhh. Hey, what do you think? Look at the detail on the dorsal plating.
Fesek: Impressive. Are you sure you're willing to part with it?
Pelk: I just hope your boy enjoys it as much as I do.
Fesek: I'm certain he will, if we make it home in time for his birthday.
Pelk: We'll make it.
Fesek: If you and Savar had a child of your own, you'd have an excuse to play with toys more often.
Pelk: I'm detecting a fluctuation in tank four. There's a full scale rupture in progress.
Fesek: Isolate the deck. Activate the emergency containment field.
Pelk: The emergency systems are offline.
Fesek: Backup controls are down too. Eject the tank.
Pelk: Here? There's an inhabited system.
Fesek: We have no choice!
Pelk: The ejection ports aren't responding.
Fesek: Impossible.
Dremk: There's another rupture forming in tank six.
Fesek: We'll have to send somebody down there to seal off the tanks manually. Contact the theta core.
Pelk: Communications are down.
Fesek: Get down to the injector pod and seal those tanks.
Dremk: I didn't sign up for core labor.
Fesek: I'm giving you an order.
Dremk: I'll be contaminated.
Fesek: Now!
Tuvok: The flame, like emotion, is a primitive force. Left unchecked, it's chaotic, destructive. But if controlled it can be a powerful tool. The lamp controls the flame, as you must learn to control your emotions.
Torres: I lost my temper. No big deal.
Tuvok: You destroyed the Doctor's holographic camera.
Torres: I told him three times to leave Engineering, but he kept buzzing around snapping pictures for some photo essay.
Tuvok: A day in the life of the warp core.
Torres: I apologized, and I replicated him a new camera.
Tuvok: You have a long history of emotional volatility. The point of this exercise is not to atone for past transgressions, but to prevent future ones.
Torres: You can't order someone to meditate.
Tuvok: Commander Chakotay thinks otherwise.
Torres: Are my eyes supposed to be open or closed for this part.
Tuvok: Whichever allows you to focus your mind.
Tuvok: Envision the flame burning within you.
Torres: Sorry.
Tuvok: The flame grows hotter. A point of white light. Follow it backward through the years to a time when you were younger, a child. Is there something amusing, Lieutenant?
Torres: I'm sorry, an image just flashed through my mind. You as a child, those pointy little ears. You must have been cute.
Tuvok: Indeed. Please follow my instructions or we'll discontinue this exercise.
Torres: Right. Me, childhood. How old?
Tuvok: Your earliest memories. Try to recall a time when you experienced uncontrollable anger.
Torres: Daniel Byrd.
Tuvok: I beg your pardon?
Torres: He was one of my classmates in grammar school. He was always terrorizing me. He used to point at my cranial ridges and tease me about being half Klingon. He called me Miss Turtlehead.
Tuvok: That angered you.
Torres: Of course, it did. So I attacked him once, during recess, on the gyro-swing. I disengaged the centrifugal governor. He was spinning so fast, he almost flew apart. Then I yanked him off the swing and started pounding his little face! If Miss Malvin hadn't showed up, I probably would have
Tuvok: Describe the anger you felt at that moment.
Torres: I, I wanted to hurt him. To take revenge for all the humiliation he caused me.
Tuvok: Your anger was a source of strength. It protected you, gave you courage.
Torres: I suppose it did.
Tuvok: And when the Doctor tried to take a holo-photograph of you?
Torres: I was annoyed. He kept getting in the way.
Tuvok: The rage within you runs deep. It's been with you for many years.
Torres: I'm not a Vulcan. I'll survive.
Tuvok: Whatever you say, Miss Turtlehead.
Torres: What did you say!
Tuvok: You're easily provoked. You must learn to master your emotions.
Torres: I've had enough mastery for one day. School's out.
Paris: So, how'd it go with B'Elanna today?
Tuvok: Our meditation sessions are confidential.
Paris: No, I'm not asking for sordid details. I just want to know if you think you can help her.
Tuvok: Her training will be a challenge for both of us.
Paris: Take it from me, getting B'Elanna to control her temper is like convincing a Ferengi to leave his estate to charity.
Kim: Captain, we're receiving an automated distress call.
Janeway: Origin?
Kim: Coordinates one twenty one by two six eight. Range, two billion kilometers.
Chakotay: Who's sending it?
Kim: I can't tell.
Janeway: Let them know help's on the way. Set a course, Mister Paris.
Tuvok: Thirty seven escape pods.
Paris: They're contaminated with theta radiation.
Chakotay: Malon?
Janeway: Possibly. Lifesigns?
Kim: Two, but they're erratic.
Janeway: Beam them to Sickbay. Initiate bio-hazard containment procedures.
Tuvok: Theta radiation has affected a radius of six hundred million kilometers.
Janeway: Source?
Tuvok: A Malon freighter traveling at high impulse. It appears to be abandoned.
Tuvok: I thought we'd seen the last of the Malon.
Janeway: I guess they're looking for new places to dump their toxic waste.
Emh: Do we know what happened to their ship? Were they attacked?
Janeway: I'm just as curious as you are. Can you revive either of them? I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway.
Fesek: Fesek. Controller Fesek. Where am I?
Janeway: You're on my vessel. We responded to your distress call.
Fesek: My ship?
Janeway: It's heavily damaged.
Fesek: Where?
Tuvok: Three million kilometers from here.
Fesek: That's too close. We've got to get further away.
Janeway: Calm down, calm down. Tell me what's wrong with your ship. Why did you abandon it?
Fesek: We were on a waste export mission.
Tuvok: Dumping theta radiation.
Fesek: Two of the theta tanks ruptured. Systems malfunctioned one by one, communications, navigation, propulsion. We had no choice. Radiation was venting from every port. Over sixty crewmen died within minutes. It was chaos. We stumbled through the gas to get to the escape pods. Only a few of us made it. Where are the others?
Janeway: The two of you were the only ones we found alive.
Fesek: Listen to me very carefully. The fact that we're still here means the ship hasn't exploded, yet. When it does, over four trillion isotons of antimatter waste is going to ignite. Everything within three light years will be destroyed.
Janeway: Janeway to the bridge.
Chakotay: Go ahead.
Janeway: Put at least five light years between us and the Malon freighter.
Janeway: Quickly.
Chakotay: You heard her, Tom.
Janeway: Send out a sector wide alert.
Janeway: Warn any other ships in the vicinity to
Janeway: Evacuate immediately.
Paris: Our warp field just collapsed.
Kim: All this theta radiation. It's disrupting subspace.
Chakotay: Can you reinitialize the field?
Torres: Negative.
Janeway: Tuvok. Without warp drive there's no chance we'll clear the blast radius.
Tuvok: Agreed.
Janeway: Mister Paris, set a course for the freighter. Full impulse.
Paris: Aye, Captain.
Fesek: What?
Janeway: If we can't outrun your ship, maybe we can disable it.
Fesek: Every deck has been contaminated. Anyone who goes on board will liquefy within minutes.
Janeway: We'll find a way.
Fesek: We? I'm not going anywhere near that vessel.
Janeway: You can either stay and help us or I'll send you back to your escape pod. Your choice. Clean them up, Doctor. I need them on the bridge.
Janeway: How long until those storage tanks explode?
Torres: Approximately six hours.
Janeway: Can we get an away team on board?
Tuvok: The freighter's hull is intact. Life support appears to be operational. However, thirty three of forty two decks are flooded with high levels of theta radiation.
Fesek: Including the control room, which is where we'd have to go to reestablish containment. As I told you.
Torres: We could beam on to one of the lower levels where there's less radiation, and vent the contaminated sections one by one.
Chakotay: Clear a path to the control room.
Fesek: I appreciate what you're trying to do, but if what you're considering were possible, we'd have tried it before we abandoned the ship. We have years of experience aboard freighters of this gradient.
Torres: Your experience is what got us into this mess in the first place.
Janeway: That's enough, Lieutenant.
Fesek: Maybe there's another way.
Janeway: I'm listening.
Fesek: Four hours from here there's a nebula that could protect us from the blast. We could alter course, wait there until after the explosion.
Janeway: There are at least three other ships in the sector. What about them?
Fesek: I don't see what we can do.
Torres: So hundreds of people become contaminated because you're not willing to clean up your garbage.
Janeway: Lieutenant. Assemble an away team. We're going over there.
Pelk: Wait! Tell them about the Vihaar.
Janeway: What's he talking about?
Fesek: Nothing. It's a myth.
Chakotay: What kind of myth?
Fesek: It's an old story shared among freighter crews. Some of them say they've seen creatures in the theta storage tanks.
Torres: Creatures?
Fesek: Created by radiogenic waste. According to the legend, they are poisonous monsters that wreak havoc aboard Malon ships. It's a common belief among our more superstitious recruits.
Pelk: I never believed it myself, but during the evacuation some of the crew people saw something. A form.
Fesek: Hallucinations are one of the first symptoms of theta poisoning. You know that.
Pelk: Maybe. Then how do you explain what happened? We checked every system.
Torres: You'd say anything to get out of going back to that freighter.
Pelk: If you'd been there, you'd be afraid to go back, too.
Chakotay: This chamber seems to be the least affected by radiation. We'll beam in there.
Pelk: That's fifteen decks below the control room.
Chakotay: We'll have to work our way up.
Fesek: The pressurization systems, they're offline. How will we vent the gas?
Neelix: There are two main airlocks on each deck. We'll open them as we go. Perform a series of controlled decompressions.
Pelk: What's to stop us from being vented?
Neelix: Forcefields. I spent six years aboard a Talaxian garbage scow. I know a few things about waste management.
Pelk: Even low levels of theta radiation can be lethal.
Chakotay: Our Doctor's developed an inoculation. It'll temporarily prevent our cells from absorbing the radiation.
Fesek: How long will it last?
Chakotay: Two, three hours.
Pelk: Half of the doors and bulkheads are fused. The ascenders are offline. It could take us twice as long as that to reach the control room.
Chakotay: Then we'll have to work quickly. We'll take phasers to cut through any obstacles.
Fesek: I've ordered my men to do a lot of risky things, but nothing as foolish as this.
Torres: More foolish than towing around a trillion isotons of toxic waste?
Fesek: We take every precaution to keep it contained.
Torres: Until you dump it in someone's back yard.
Fesek: Is your crew always so diplomatic?
Chakotay: Your concerns are noted. Get them inoculated. We'll meet you in Transporter room one.
Chakotay: We're trying to avoid explosions, remember?
Torres: Oh! Not another lecture about my emotions.
Chakotay: No, a lecture about how to treat guests aboard this ship.
Torres: Guests? Chakotay, these people are the scourge of the quadrant.
Chakotay: Agreed, but right now they're our only hope of repairing that freighter, so I suggest you make friends.
Torres: Diplomacy. Janeway's answer to everything.
Chakotay: This isn't the Captain talking, it's me, and I'm giving you an order. Keep your temper in check. Understood? Understood?
Torres: Yeah.
Chakotay: I didn't hear you.
Torres: Yes.
Chakotay: B'Elanna, I need your expertise on this mission, not your bad mood.
Torres: I'll see what I can do.
Chakotay: Ready, Neelix?
Neelix: Ah, not quite. Do we still have a minute? It's just it's not quite strong enough yet. Would you mind passing me that little dish?
Chakotay: Neelix, I admire your dedication, but the crew can figure out lunch on their own.
Neelix: Lunch, and dinner, and a midnight snack have all been taken care of. This is for me. It's a Talaxian theta radiation remedy. Crushed rama leaf and katyllian clove. It helps fortify the cellular membranes.
Chakotay: I think the Doctor's inoculation might be a better way to go.
Neelix: Every little bit helps. Oh, by the way, thank you.
Chakotay: For what?
Neelix: For sending me on such an important mission. Not that my duties in the mess hall aren't challenging.
Chakotay: It was an easy choice. You were the best man for the job.
Neelix: Well, our scow once ran smack into a theta radiation field. Knocked the propulsion out. We had no choice but to sit there. We were barely alive when they found us. If it hadn't been for this, nobody would have survived.
Neelix: Once you get past the choking reflex it's really not so bad. Want to try some?
Chakotay: I'll take my chances.
Kim: Transporter room one to Commander Chakotay. We're ready to proceed.
Chakotay: On our way.
Paris: B'Elanna. Aren't you forgetting something?
Torres: I don't think so.
Paris: A goodbye would be nice. So long, see you soon, something along those lines.
Torres: I didn't want to risk it.
Paris: Risk what?
Torres: Starting an argument.
Paris: Argument? Us? So, I hear it's been a short fuse kind of day.
Torres: About this long.
Paris: Nothing you can't handle.
Torres: If you think so.
Paris: I know so.
Torres: I suppose it's always going to be like this.
Paris: Like what?
Torres: Me against the galaxy.
Paris: Well, the galaxy doesn't stand a chance. Now, promise me that you're going to be careful over there. No stopping to have fun.
Torres: Fun? On a Malon freighter?
Paris: See you soon.
Neelix: Well, it's nothing a fresh coat of paint wouldn't brighten up.
Fesek: This way.
Torres: Theta radiation density, twenty million EV per cubic meter. Structural integrity's holding. Wish I could say the same for my lungs.
Neelix: What was that?
Chakotay: This corridor's filled with methogenic particles, highly charged.
Torres: Something's causing an electrostatic cascade. Our scanning signals are igniting the particles. It's the tricorders!
Chakotay: Take cover.
Chakotay: No more tricorders.
Pelk: Control mechanisms are down. We're going to have to open the airlocks manually.
Fesek: Wait here. We'll take care of it.
Chakotay: B'Elanna, go with him.
Fesek: We can do this ourselves.
Chakotay: I'd prefer to keep an eye on your progress.
Fesek: You're on my freighter. I'm in charge here.
Chakotay: You abandoned ship, remember? You take your orders from me.
Fesek: We'll have to crawl into an injector port. It's only big enough for two people.
Chakotay: Pelk, you stay with us.
Torres: Shall we?
Torres: How can you stand to work in these conditions?
Fesek: You think we're animals, don't you?
Torres: You said it, not me.
Fesek: I'm a waste controller half the year. Do you know what I do the rest of the time? I'm a sculptor.
Torres: What's your point?
Fesek: Every year I give up work I love to expose myself to radiation that will probably cut my life in half.
Torres: Then why do it?
Fesek: Have you ever been to Malon Prime? It's a remarkable place. It's one of the most beautiful worlds you'll ever see. Our planet would choke with industrial wastes if it weren't for the sacrifices of people like me.
Torres: How many worlds are you willing to contaminate to keep your own home so tidy?
Fesek: Do you have any idea of the trouble we go to, to locate isolated areas? Ah, manual actuators. I'll release them, you monitor the pressure variance.
Torres: Right.
Fesek: Do you have any children?
Torres: No.
Fesek: I have a son. He's seven years old. He wants to be a waste controller when he grows up.
Torres: You must be very proud.
Fesek: Ready.
Torres: Torres to Chakotay. Stand by for the decompression sequence.
Chakotay: Acknowledged.
Torres: It didn't work.
Fesek: There's something jamming the airlock controls.
Torres: Torres to Chakotay. We've got a problem. The actuators aren't working. Somebody's going to have to go up there and take a look.
Neelix: Wait. That deck is still contaminated.
Pelk: I'll go. I've been exposed to worse.
Neelix: Wait.
Neelix: One for the road.
Pelk: It's probably just the decouplers. They're always getting encrusted with oxides.
Pelk: Who's there?
Pelk: Help! Help! Help!
Pelk: I saw it. I saw it.
Chakotay: What?
Pelk: The creature.
Neelix: Give me twenty cc's of anesthezine.
Chakotay: Chakotay to Voyager. Transporter status.
Kim: Still too much interference. I'll try compensating. Stand by for further instructions.
Torres: What happened?
Neelix: We don't know. He went away for a minute, he screamed, and we found him here.
Fesek: These look like chemical burns.
Neelix: Without tricorders, it's hard to make a diagnosis.
Pelk: It's here.
Fesek: What?
Pelk: The creature.
Fesek: You're hallucinating. It's the radiation, but you're going to be all right.
Pelk: No. It attacked me. It, oh.
Neelix: He's going into shock. Cortical stimulator.
Fesek: Pelk, get up!
Neelix: He's not responding.
Chakotay: He said the creature attacked him.
Fesek: He imagined it. He was probably scalded when that conduit ruptured.
Torres: Or maybe there is someone else on this ship.
Kim: Voyager to away team. Transporter interference has cleared. We're locked onto your coordinates. Stand by.
Chakotay: Harry, Pelk is dead. Lock onto his signal and beam him to Sickbay. Ask the Doctor to determine the cause of death.
Kim: Aye sir.
Chakotay: Someone still needs to get up there and open the airlocks.
Fesek: Me.
Chakotay: Hold on. I'll join you. From now on nobody works alone.
Janeway: Progress?
Kim: They've vented five decks. Ten to go.
Tuvok: At this rate, they'll reach the control room in approximately three hours. However, the storage tanks will detonate in less than two.
Janeway: I've been working on a contingency plan.
Tuvok: An O type star.
Janeway: If the freighter exploded within the star's corona it might absorb the radiation.
Tuvok: The star is not on the freighter's trajectory.
Janeway: What if we gave it a little nudge?
Tuvok: A series of carefully timed tractor pulses could alter the freighter's course. But given the vessel's weakened state, one miscalculation could set off the explosion.
Janeway: I'm still counting on the away team to succeed, but I want to be ready with plan B if they don't.
Torres: I don't know about the rest of you but I could sure use a sonic shower.
Neelix: I'd love to soak in a hot bath for a day or two.
Torres: Oh no, not me. I want to feel those sonic pulses dissolving every last atom of this grime off my body.
Fesek: We have a decontamination bay on board that can purge over fifty workers at a time.
Torres: Well, that sounds like fun.
Neelix: B'Elanna?
Torres: I'm okay, just a little light-headed.
Neelix: Your hand.
Torres: Oh, God.
Fesek: Freighter blight, from the prolonged exposure.
Torres: Lovely.
Fesek: In my business, it's an occupational hazard.
Torres: We'd better try inoculating you again.
Fesek: If she's blistering, she's already received a fatal dose of radiation. She needs treatment.
Torres: I'll live. Let's keep moving.
Fesek: We have medicines in the infirmary. It's only two sections from here.
Torres: We don't have time for a detour.
Chakotay: B'Elanna, go with him. We'll meet you outside the control room.
Torres: Chakotay, I'm fine.
Chakotay: I said go!
Torres: This is the infirmary? It looks more like a morgue. What happened to him?
Fesek: It looks like he was being treated for long term exposure. He was probably left behind during the evacuation.
Torres: Tough luck, huh?
Fesek: There was nothing more we could do for him. He was a core laborer.
Torres: Meaning?
Fesek: He worked close to the storage tanks. Only three of ten core laborers survive a standard mission.
Torres: Occupational hazard?
Fesek: They know the risks when they accept the assignment.
Torres: They know they're going to end up like this?
Fesek: Core laborers can make more in two months than most Malon make in a lifetime.
Torres: What good is the money if they're not around to collect it.
Fesek: It will go to his family.
Torres: What is that thing?
Fesek: It's a subdermal injector. It contains analeptic compounds to reverse the cell damage.
Torres: I feel better already.
Fesek: I won't hurt you. I've done this a hundred times. You'll feel a slight burning sensation.
Seven: Commander. The Captain's plan B. I've calculated the inertial force required to divert the freighter. Plan C. Shield modulations that should reduce the structural damage of Voyager. It will also help protect the crew against theta radiation poisoning, if we fail.
Tuvok: A wise precaution. With any luck, we won't be needing it.
Seven: I didn't think Vulcans believed in luck.
Tuvok: As a rule we don't, but serving with Captain Janeway has taught me otherwise.
Seven: She does seem to succeed more often than random chance would allow. I'll factor it into my calculations.
Tuvok: Is there a Plan D?
Seven: No.
Fesek: Initiating decompression sequence, deck four. Deck clear.
Neelix: Twelve down, three to go.
Torres: The airlocks are opening on this deck.
Fesek: What?
Torres: I can't close them.
Neelix: Forcefields, where are they?
Torres: They're offline!
Chakotay: We've got to get off this deck. Move!
Fesek: This way.
Torres: Chakotay!
Neelix: He was right behind me.
Torres: Torres to Chakotay.
Fesek: That deck is a vacuum by now.
Torres: Torres to Voyager.
Kim: Acknowledged.
Torres: Lock onto Chakotay's comm. signal and beam him to Sickbay.
Kim: We've got him. He's okay.
Torres: I thought that deck was secure.
Fesek: It was.
Torres: Then why did we almost get blown into space?
Fesek: I don't know.
Torres: Airlocks don't open by themselves!
Fesek: What are you saying? You think it was me?
Neelix: Calm down, both of you! We don't have time to argue about what happened. We've got to keep moving.
Janeway: Chakotay?
Tuvok: Unconscious but stable. The Doctor is treating him now. We'll be able to talk to him in less than an hour.
Janeway: I'll want a full report.
Tuvok: Shall I beam to the freighter and take command of the away team?
Janeway: I just spoke with B'Elanna. She's got everything under control.
Tuvok: This is a dangerous situation. There is no margin for emotional error.
Janeway: We have plenty to do here. Help me remodulate the tractor beam.
Tuvok: B'Elanna is unpredictable, Captain. Under these circumstances, her volatile nature could compromise the mission.
Janeway: Your concerns are noted, but if I send you over there I'd be sending the wrong message. That I don't have faith in her. But I do.
Tuvok: Your faith is admirable, but logic suggests
Janeway: This isn't about logic, it's about trust. She'll come through for us. Now, give me a hand.
Neelix: Lieutenant? Lieuten. Are you all right?
Torres: Fine. Report.
Neelix: We just vented the last deck. We should have a clear path to the control room.
Torres: Let's get this thing over with, then.
Neelix: If you need to rest.
Torres: I said I'm fine. I was meditating.
Neelix: Meditating? You?
Torres: Do me a favor. Don't tell Tuvok.
Neelix: Your secret's safe.
Torres: It's this place.
Neelix: I know how you feel. The next time I volunteer to board a Malon freighter, check me into Sickbay and have my head examined.
Torres: I feel like I'm ready to explode.
Neelix: We'll get through this together. I've got a knack for diffusing explosive situations.
Torres: Thanks.
Torres: Torres to Astrometrics.
Seven: Go ahead.
Torres: We're outside the control room
Torres: But without tricorders we can't tell if it's safe to go in there.
Seven: The room is too heavily shielded. Our sensors can't penetrate it.
Seven: You must stand by.
Fesek: The theta dampening field is still active. It should be safe.
Torres: After you.
Fesek: It's worse than I expected. The theta gas has leaked into the warp manifold.
Neelix: We've got less than ten minutes before this vessel explodes.
Fesek: Emergency systems are down.
Torres: This should feed enough energy to your power matrix to reinitialize them. Try it now.
Fesek: They're coming back online, but only one containment grid is still operational. We have two unstable tanks. One grid can't handle them both.
Torres: We'll seal them one at a time.
Chakotay: Doctor?
Emh: Easy, Commander.
Chakotay: Ow, my head aches.
Emh: I'm not surprised. You took a severe blow.
Chakotay: I've got to get back to the freighter.
Emh: Not in this condition. If you want to help, you can answer some questions about Mister Pelk's death. I've found unidentified tissue in his wounds.
Chakotay: What sort of tissue?
Emh: The computer is running a microcellular scan.
Chakotay: Pelk said he was attacked.
Emh: Ah yes, the Malon Bogeyman.
Computer: Microcellular analysis is complete.
Emh: Odd. The tissue is saturated with theta radiation, but it's not showing signs of decay. It came from someone or something that's developed a resistance to the radiation. Sickbay to Seven of Nine.
Seven: Yes, Doctor.
Emh: Scan for additional lifeforms aboard the Malon vessel.
Seven: I've been running continuous scans.
Seven: I assure you there is no one there aside from the away team.
Emh: This lifeform's heavily irradiated. It could be blending in with ambient toxins.
Seven: I'll recalibrate our sensors.
Fesek: Tank one stable.
Torres: Reroute the containment grid to the tank two.
Neelix: What happened?
Fesek: A power surge. We're losing the grid.
Torres: It was triggered from a workstation on this deck.
Janeway: Janeway to away team.
Janeway: We've detected an alien lifeform aboard the freighter. We believe it killed Pelk.
Torres: Captain, we just lost power.
Janeway: We're diverting the freighter into a nearby star. Leave the control room so we can get a lock on you.
Torres: Acknowledged.
Neelix: What's going on?
Torres: It's jammed.
Seven: Seven of Nine
Seven: To away team. I've detected the alien lifeform. It's moving toward your position.
Neelix: The gas is being routed through the environmental systems.
Torres: I'll try to shut it down.
Neelix: Is there another way out?
Fesek: No.
Janeway: Do you have them?
Kim: Not yet.
Seven: The lifeform has entered the control room.
Torres: I'm trying to vent the gas, but the release valves are jammed.
Fesek: Use the environmental controls instead.
Torres: In the meantime, see if you can get that hatch open.
Torres: Neelix?
Fesek: No, you'll ignite the gas.
Torres: Neelix?
Torres: We've got to get him back to Voyager. Get that hatch open!
Fesek: I'm trying!
Torres: Fesek, behind you!
Torres: You're a core laborer.
Vihaar: Not anymore.
Torres: Stay back. Don't make me kill you.
Vihaar: I'm already dead.
Torres: You've been sabotaging this ship.
Vihaar: There's no other way to make them understand.
Torres: So that's your way of getting even? Killing your crew? Causing an explosion that will contaminate other ships?
Vihaar: They poisoned me!
Tuvok: The freighter is on course for the star.
Janeway: Away team, we've adjusted the vessel's course. It's heading for an O type star.
Janeway: You have to get out of there now.
Vihaar: No. No.
Paris: The freighter's maneuvering thrusters just activated. It's altering course.
Janeway: Compensate.
Tuvok: No effect. I'm detecting radiation surges in the theta tanks. They're going to detonate in three minutes.
Janeway: Harry?
Kim: As long as they're in the control room I can't get a lock
Janeway: Janeway to away team. Get those maneuvering thrusters
Janeway: Offline then get out of the contaminated area. We can't get a transporter lock on you.
Torres: Get the hell away from there, now!
Vihaar: No! It's too late!
Torres: Okay. Okay. Look, I know what they've done to you. They used you. You want to hurt them. Listen, listen to me. I know. I know that you're so angry you want to destroy everything in sight, but there's another way to make them understand. I'm on your side. I can help you. Innocent people are going to die if you do this.
Vihaar: No. It's over.
Torres: Please, please. Please, let me help you.
Vihaar: No.
Torres: Step away!
Paris: The Malon's thrusters are powering down.
Tuvok: I have restored the freighter's trajectory.
Janeway: B'Elanna, get out of there.
Torres: Come on, we've got to go. Fesek.
Janeway: The away team, Mister Kim?
Kim: I got them.
Chakotay: Maybe the meditation's working.
Torres: What makes you say that?
Chakotay: From what Neelix told me. You kept your temper in check over there.
Torres: Don't expect me to make a habit of it.
Emh: Well, I've repaired most of your cellular degradation. I wish I could say the same for you, but you've suffered long term systemic damage. Your condition will deteriorate over time.
Fesek: It's an occupational hazard.
Janeway: We've contacted a Malon transport ship in the next sector. We've altered course to rendezvous with them.
Fesek: Thank you, Captain. I don't know how I'm going to explain what happened.
Torres: Tell them the truth. Tell them the Vihaar is no myth.
Torres: Computer, activate sonic shower.


Paris: So, Harry throws it in gear, floors the gas, and backs us right through a burrito stand.
Torres: So when are you going to teach me how to drive?
Paris: You sure you're ready?
Torres: I've piloted starships. I think I can handle a car.
Paris: You'd be surprised. The clutch on a '69 Mustang can be pretty tricky.
Torres: Take a look. She's watching us again.
Paris: She's working. Relax.
Neelix: Dessert?
Torres: What is it?
Neelix: Some cheese I prepared for our Kadi guest. Tell me what you think.
Torres: It's a little bland.
Neelix: Just a little? Oh, that's bad. The Kadi don't approve of spices. Anything that might inflame the senses.
Paris: You're talking this mission very seriously.
Neelix: The Kadi are easily offended. The Captain's leaving their representative entirely in my hands while she's at the colony.
Paris: I'm sure you're up to it, Ambassador.
Neelix: I hope so.
Torres: She's watching us again.
Paris: You're imagining things.
Torres: I don't think so.
Paris: B'Elanna.
Torres: Enjoying the view?
Seven: Explain.
Torres: You've been staring at us all night. In fact, you were following us yesterday when we were walking to Engineering, and the day before when I was waiting for Tom outside the shuttlebay.
Seven: You are correct, I have been observing you. It's part of my research on human mating behavior.
Torres: Stardate 52647, fourteen hundred hours. Subjects quarrel in corridor outside female's quarters. Male returns with twelve flowering plant stems, species rosa rubifolia, effecting a cessation of hostilities. Stardate 52648, oh three hundred hours. Intimate relations resume. How the hell do you know when we're having intimate relations?
Seven: There is no one on deck nine section twelve who doesn't know when you're having intimate relations.
Neelix: Is there a problem?
Torres: I want all the data you've collected.
Seven: I haven't completed the study.
Torres: Then study this. Borg provokes Klingon, Klingon breaks Borg nose.
Neelix: B'Elanna.
Torres: Call Sickbay. Tell them there's about to be a medical emergency.
Paris: B'Elanna, let's go have a nightcap.
Torres: This time you've crossed the line.
Janeway: I read B'Elanna's report. Needless to say, I was surprised.
Seven: I was careful not to violate protocols.
Janeway: That's not the point. This is a starship, not a nature preserve. Oh, I'm missing a pip.
Seven: You asked me to broaden my knowledge of human behavior.
Janeway: I'm not questioning your goals, Seven. It's your methods. You shouldn't be taking field notes on the crew. Help me with this, will you please?
Janeway: Have you ever considered trying it yourself? Romance, I mean.
Seven: I do not require a romantic relationship.
Janeway: So why'd you collect thirty thousand gigaquads of information on the subject? I'm late.
Janeway: I missed this on my first pass through their database. Kadi monks only wash with purified water, so sonic showers are out.
Neelix: I've already equipped his quarters with an ablutionary fountain built to their specifications.
Tuvok: They observe eight daily services.
Neelix: Noted.
Janeway: Show the ambassador our best side, Neelix. I don't want him going back to his superiors with tales of how immoral we are.
Tuvok: Energize.
Neelix: The ritual greeting.
Janeway: Travelers who have left the sanctity of their home and family, we welcome you into our home, our family.
Abbot: Accept these symbols of our purity and the goddess mother's blessing.
Janeway: Commander Tuvok, the senior officer who will accompany me, and Mister Neelix, who will familiarize your Ambassador with Voyager.
Abbot: Tomin is an excellent judge of character. He'll help us determine whether your crew is worthy of receiving our minerals.
Janeway: He's in very good hands.
Abbot: It is time to welcome you to our home.
Neelix: This way, Ambassador.
Neelix: Voyager's an Intrepid class starship with a crew of one hundred and forty six, designed for long-term exploration. I thought we'd start with a tour of our primary systems. First stop, Engineering.
Tomin: I was hoping I might sample a food item I noted earlier in your data files. Hasperat.
Neelix: It's a Bajoran dish. Very spicy. I believe that your dietary protocols prohibit flavorful foods.
Tomin: I want to broaden my palate while I'm here, in the interest of better understanding.
Neelix: In that case, first stop, mess hall.
Emh: Your cortical implants are operating at peak efficiency. Nanoprobe levels stable. Complaints?
Seven: None.
Emh: I heard about the mess hall incident.
Seven: This crew can be very efficient at disseminating information when they choose to be.
Emh: They say gossip travels faster than warp speed. So why were you studying Tom and B'Elanna?
Seven: Scientific curiosity.
Emh: Are you sure? Perhaps there's a reason that hasn't occurred to you. You're a woman, Seven.
Seven: Is that an observation or a diagnosis?
Emh: A simple biological fact, with repercussions that are hard to deny.
Seven: What is your proposed treatment?
Emh: Perhaps you should consider expanding your research to the realm of dating.
Seven: Dating. You mean procreation?
Emh: One step at a time. Dating is a human ritual wherein two people share a social activity, get to know each other. In time, it can lead to a romantic involvement and eventually, if all goes well, even marriage.
Seven: One step at a time.
Emh: This could be an important stage in your social development. It's worth exploring.
Seven: The Captain would seem to agree. How shall I proceed?
Emh: You mean, we. I'll prepare a lesson plan. Meet me on Holodeck two in one hour. Most women start dating a little younger than you but, better late than never.
Emh: I've prepared an introduction. I call it Love Amid the Stars. The Milky Way, home to thousands of humanoid species and countless courtship rituals. Klingon males initiate courtship by biting the female. Here we see two Bolians getting to know one another. The courtship rituals of some species remain shrouded in mystery. For example Species 8472 appears to have as many as five sexes. Bystanders better keep their distance. Of course, the species you're most likely to interact with is human, so without further ado, Lesson One. First Contact. There are any number of ways humans can meet prospective mates. Here we see the chance encounter. Equally common is the formal introduction. When first contact is successful, romance quickly ensues and, in the happiest of circumstances, procreation. Here we see how fortress ovum is besieged by countless little warriors.
Seven: Doctor, I am familiar with the physiological processes of sexuality.
Emh: Oh. Then let's skip ahead to the first of the practical exercises. Lesson two. Encounter in a Public Place. Computer, initiate holo-program Paris three.
Seven: Our location?
Emh: Chez Sandrine. It's on Earth, in a city called Marseilles. Ensign Paris whiled away a good portion of his Academy years here, no doubt to the detriment of his scholastic performance. Now, pull up a bar stool and pretend you've come here to meet the man of your dreams. Hi, there.
Seven: Hello.
Emh: Come here often?
Seven: This is my first time.
Emh: You must be new in town. How do you like the south of France?
Seven: It is very quaint. Exactly as I've always pictured it.
Emh: May I buy you a drink?
Seven: I don't require a liquid supplement at this time.
Emh: You're not giving this a fair chance
Seven: This exercise is pointless.
Emh: It may seem pointless, but small talk is a vital dating skill. It helps to establish a rapport with your companion.
Seven: Perhaps there's something to be said for assimilation after all.
Emh: All right, why don't you try your own approach on that gentleman over there? Go ahead.
Seven: Very well.
Seven: Hello.
Price: Hello.
Seven: May I buy you a drink?
Price: Er, sure. Steven Price.
Price: And you are?
Seven: Seven of Nine, tertiary adjunct of. You may call me Seven.
Price: Seven. That's an unusual name. Please, have a seat.
Paris: Looks like Sandrine's is under new management. Who deleted my pool table?
Emh: Shush. School is in session.
Paris: More social lessons?
Emh: Watch. You might learn something.
Price: Curious jewelery.
Seven: It's a Borg implant. I was a drone.
Price: Oh, so then it's a family heirloom.
Seven: Borg do not have families. They have unimatrices.
Price: Well, in that case, why don't you tell me about your unimatrix.
Emh: They're hitting it off, don't you think?
Paris: He's a hologram.
Emh: Your point?
Paris: Well, you programmed him to interact with Seven. Real people don't respond the same way.
Emh: Under my guidance, she'll be dating real people in no time.
Paris: You're teaching Seven how to date? Ha! Talk about the blind leading the blind.
Emh: I've had my share of romantic encounters. Are you implying that Seven couldn't get a date?
Paris: Are you kidding? Half the men on this ship would jump at the chance. But getting a date is one thing, keeping it from turning into a disaster is another.
Emh: I have every confidence in her social skills.
Paris: Well, fine. Let's say you get her a date. This is the holodeck. The cards are stacked in her favor. If you want to really put her to the test you have to do it in the real world, where anything can happen.
Emh: Mister Neelix is hosting a reception for the Kadi ambassador on Thursday night. Not only will Seven arrive with a date, she will have him eating out of the palm of her hand.
Paris: Put your latinum where your mouth is. If Seven brings a date to the reception, and leaves with the same date on good terms, without causing a diplomatic incident, I will work double shifts in Sickbay for the next month.
Emh: And if she fails?
Paris: I get a month off.
Emh: It's a bet.
Price: Where are you going?
Seven: Our small talk is terminated. I have mastered this exercise. We can proceed to the next.
Paris: If I were you I'd start looking for somebody to fill in for me.
Neelix: One Ktarian pudding.
Tomin: Mmm. Ah. Mmm. Ah, the texture is so frothy. It seems to be evaporating in my mouth.
Neelix: The recipe includes a catalytic agent designed to do just that. If we don't hurry, we'll miss Lieutenant Torres. She's been waiting half an hour.
Tomin: You're right. Engineering, your warp core. I must see that.
Tomin: In our society, males and females work separately, but I can see the wisdom of your approach. Promotes a more stimulating environment.
Neelix: It's time for third prayer.
Tomin: Yes, it is. But I think I can forego this service and perform the appropriate penance later. It's more important that I continue exploring your culture. Perhaps another dessert?
Emh: Good morning. It's time for lesson three. Getting to Know You.
Seven: Elaborate.
Emh: The key to finding a compatible partner is learning how to share your interests and goals. We'll start with hobbies. What do you do with your spare time?
Seven: Regenerate.
Emh: Ah. Tell me about your tastes, your likes and dislikes.
Seven: I dislike irrelevant conversations.
Emh: Okay. Which brings us to goals. What do you want out of life?
Seven: Perfection.
Emh: Perfection is a laudable goal for oneself, but you can't expect it from others. I learned that lesson myself when I was first activated. One of the ways I adapted was to pursue interests people could identify with. Holo-photography, for example. Opera.
Seven: Music does have intriguing mathematical properties.
Emh: Excellent. Perhaps we can mold this curiosity into an interest. Something you can share with others. Let's see how much you know. Here we see
Seven: A basic musical phrase in the major mode. I've done a preliminary study of the topic.
Emh: Sing it for me. Seven, has anyone ever told you, you have a beautiful voice? It's a true gift.
Seven: The gift is from the Collective. A vocal subprocessor designed to facilitate the sonic interface with Borg transponders.
Emh: Let's try something a little more challenging.
Seven: You Are My Sunshine?
Emh: It's a simple melody from Earth's twentieth century. A good piece for beginners. Sing.
Seven: The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms.
Emh: That was flawless, but try putting a little more emotion into it. Like this. When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken and I hung my head and cried. See? Computer, add instrumental accompaniment. On to the chorus. Together now.
Both: You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray.
Seven: You'll never know, dear
Both: How much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away.
Kim: Seven, I need the data from those last two Astrometric scans.
Seven: In a moment.
Kim: That looks like the crew manifest.
Seven: The Doctor asked me to pick a suitable candidate.
Kim: For what?
Seven: Lesson ten. The first date.
Kim: Your first date?
Seven: I've narrowed the list to two crewmen, based on work performance and compatible interests.
Kim: I didn't know you had any interests.
Seven: Neither did I, but apparently they include astronomy, quantum mechanics and music.
Kim: I play the clarinet, you know.
Seven: You are not one of the candidates, Ensign.
Kim: Oh. Well, maybe I could help you pick Mister Right.
Seven: Ensign Bronowski, assigned to the Airponics bay. His work record is flawless and he plays the accordion.
Kim: Badly, very badly. He's got no sense of humor.
Seven: Lieutenant Chapman, Structural Engineering.
Kim: Chapman's a nice guy.
Seven: We worked together on an away mission. He seemed efficient.
Chapman: Robertson, if that's you, I need an isolinear spanner.
Seven: It is not.
Seven: I apologize, Lieutenant. I didn't mean to startle you.
Chapman: No, my fault. You need something?
Seven: Your presence is required er, rather, it is requested, tonight. Nineteen hundred hours, holodeck two.
Chapman: Another engineering simulation?
Seven: Dinner.
Chapman: Dinner?
Seven: The consumption of nutritional biomatter.
Chapman: No, I know what dinner is. I just. Are you asking me to join you?
Seven: Yes. State your response.
Chapman: Okay. Yes.
Seven: Please be punctual.
Chapman: I will, thanks.
Seven: A dropped tool can be a workplace hazard. Be more careful next time.
Emh: Seven. Please state the nature of the medical emergency.
Seven: I have a date.
Paris: Sorry I'm late.
Emh: It's quite all right. In fact, why don't you take the day off, relax. Those double shifts are going to take a lot out of you.
Paris: Oh?
Emh: Seven of Nine has a date tonight. If all goes well, as I'm sure it will, he'll accompany her to the reception tomorrow.
Paris: Who'd she pick?
Emh: Lieutenant William Chapman.
Paris: Ha! Chapman? Good luck.
Emh: What's that supposed to mean?
Paris: He's renowned for being nervous around women.
Emh: So.
Paris: Are you kidding? Seven's dominant personality will have him running for the airlock before dessert.
Emh: Seven may seem intimidating, but that's only a reaction to the way people treat her. In fact, she's an efficient and charming young woman.
Paris: Efficient. I'll give you that, but charming?
Emh: Most people don't take the time to look beyond her exterior. Did you know she has a lovely singing voice?
Paris: No, I didn't, but then again, I've never asked her to sing for me.
Emh: What are you implying?
Paris: It sounds like you're getting a little infatuated with your star pupil.
Emh: Infatuated? That's absurd.
Paris: Whatever you say, maestro.
Emh: It was part of the lesson plan!
Emh: You're meeting with him in ten minutes, Seven. Why aren't you ready?
Seven: I am.
Emh: Aren't we forgetting something? Lesson eight, Dress for Success.
Seven: My appearance is sufficient.
Emh: Sufficient, yes, but you could use a little more panache. Let's start by doing something different with your hair. I don't have much first-hand experience with this, but, try shaking your head a little bit.
Seven: Is this more appropriate?
Emh: Yes. When I first designed your dermaplastic garment I also tried my hand at some casual attire. You might want to replicate one of these.
Seven: How shall I choose?
Emh: I think you'd look very nice in this one.
Seven: I am uncertain how to wear such a garment. Assist me.
Emh: Oh, I, I, I'm sure you'll manage. I'll go prepare the Holodeck. Remember, the idea is to have fun tonight. I'll expect a full report in the morning.
Chapman: You, you look beautiful.
Seven: Thank you. You look beautiful as well.
Chapman: Thank you. Er, would you like to sit down?
Seven: Where is our designated location?
Chapman: Best table in the house. I wasn't sure you'd actually show up.
Seven: I requested your presence.
Chapman: Well, to be honest, I thought one of my friends put you up to it. Champagne?
Seven: Synthehol impairs my cortical function. Water will suffice.
Chapman: Mind if I?
Seven: Proceed.
Chapman: I must admit I'm a little nervous.
Seven: Elaborate.
Chapman: Oh, let's just say it's been a long time since I've been out on a date.
Seven: I've never been on a date. As a result, I am experiencing anxiety as well.
Chapman: Well, I guess that means we've got something in common. Garçon?
Seven: Server, report to this station. We require your assistance.
Chapman: Problem?
Seven: This creature has an exoskeleton.
Chapman: It's a lobster. They're a delicacy on Earth. Try it.
Seven: I will replicate you a new garment.
Chapman: I'm fine, fine. It's just a little bit of exoskeleton. Maybe we should order dessert.
Seven: You wish to accelerate our social encounter.
Chapman: No, no, I didn't say that. I'm just, er, I'm having a very interesting evening. Would you like to dance?
Seven: That activity is covered in lesson thirty five. I haven't reached it yet.
Chapman: I'm not much of a dancer myself, but it might be fun.
Seven: As you wish.
Chapman: Relax. Try to relax. You seem a little tense.
Seven: Relaxation would disrupt my chronographic sequencer. It allows me to maintain synchronous movement with the music.
Chapman: That's handy. But maybe you could ignore your chronographic sequencer and, er, let me lead. That's better.
Seven: You are damaged.
Chapman: No, I'll be all right.
Emh: You've torn a ligament. I'm afraid you'll have to report to Sickbay. Mister Paris will treat you. No need to mention how this happened.
Chapman: I had a great time, Seven. Let's do this again, someday.
Seven: I have failed.
Emh: Nonsense. Even Romeo and Juliet hit a few snags at first. Besides, Lieutenant Chapman's not the only lobster in the sea.
Seven: I wish to terminate our social lessons.
Emh: Just because you didn't achieve perfection your first time out, doesn't mean you should give up.
Seven: Dating is a poor means of interaction. There is far more efficiency in the way you and I communicate. We say what we mean, simply and directly.
Emh: You and I do have a rapport, but we're colleagues. We're not pursuing romance.
Seven: No.
Emh: I'm certain you'll be able to master these basic skills in short order.
Seven: My first date was certainly short.
Emh: Was that a joke?
Seven: Lesson Six, beguiling banter.
Emh: Now you're getting the hang of it. Perhaps this evening doesn't have to end so abruptly. This may be a good time to cover Lesson thirty five, Shall We Dance? Computer, play Someone To Watch Over Me, instrumental only. We'll begin with some simple steps. Place your left hand on my shoulder and your right hand in my left. Now, follow me, one step at a time. Don't worry. I don't have any ligaments to tear.
Tomin: Another drink!
Neelix: Ambassador!
Tomin: Neelix! My friend, my host, my savior. Neelix, I want you to meet, Alandra and Tria.
Neelix: What are you doing?
Tomin: I'm sampling yet another entrée on the menu of pleasure that you have opened up for me.
Neelix: I checked today's menu, and they're not on it. Coffee, black.
Tomin: Neelix, I decided to go exploring and I found your holodecks, where I discovered this little gem still simmering in the memory buffer.
Neelix: You can explore it later. Right now, we've got to get you to your reception.
Tomin: Pungent taste. What is it?
Neelix: Coffee. And there's plenty more where we're going.
Tomin: No coffee on our colony. Nothing to tempt the appetite of even the most weak-willed novitiate. Neelix, a confession. I am thinking of leaving the colony, joining Voyager. I want to throw off my vows and immerse myself in your wonderful culture.
Neelix: That's just the synthehol talking.
Tomin: No, I've never been more clear-headed about anything, and I have you to thank.
Neelix: That's right. Up. There we go.
Emh: Hard at work?
Seven: Our lessons have disrupted my duties.
Emh: Then I suppose you're too busy to attend the Ambassador's reception?
Seven: My presence is not required.
Emh: True, but it might be an opportunity for you to apply your newfound social skills.
Seven: Lesson eleven, Life of the Party?
Emh: Exactly. Join me?
Seven: Are you asking me on a date?
Emh: I suppose I am.
Seven: Then I accept. Is my appearance sufficient?
Emh: You look perfect.
Paris: How do you bend a hologram's ear? Use a prism. What did the counselor say to the hologram? You're projecting.
Tomin: This humor, it's a revelation.
Neelix: Are you sure you wouldn't prefer some more coffee?
Tomin: Coffee. Yes, I'll have that too. Go.
Chakotay: Neelix, is it my imagination, or is our guest of honor drunk?
Neelix: Commander, I tried. I had an itinerary, I even set up a prayer dais in his quarters, but I just couldn't control him. The Captain is due back in the morning with the Kadi minister. What do I do?
Chakotay: Pray.
Paris: Well, well, well. What do we have here?
Emh: Mister Paris, I believe you know Seven of Nine, my date for the evening.
Paris: Oh, you don't say? Well, your last date ended up in Sickbay. I hope this one goes a little smoother.
Emh: There's no need to be insulting.
Seven: It's all right, Doctor. I believe he is merely engaging in small talk. May I get either of you gentlemen a drink?
Paris: Yes, a gin and tonic with a twist.
Emh: You know I don't drink. I don't have the stomach for it.
Seven: A well-crafted joke, Doctor.
Paris: Impressive. You've actually taught her to be polite. But don't think you've won our bet. She was supposed to bring a real date.
Emh: Photons and force fields, flesh and blood, why quibble over details. I'm just as real as any of you.
Tomin: Where's the funny man?
Neelix: Mister Tomin, please, why don't, why don't we sit down.
Tomin: Oh, there he is, there he is. Ensign Paris, tell us another one of those hologram jokes.
Emh: You've been stealing my material?
Paris: That guy's so lubricated he'll laugh at anything.
Tomin: There he is, the Ambassador of humor.
Neelix: I could use a little help here.
Emh: Seven, perhaps now would be a good time to review lesson twenty three, Toast of the Town.
Seven: Very well.
Seven: Ladies and gentlemen, I require your attention. May cultural differences encourage us to build bridges of understanding. To all that makes us unique.
Tomin: Who is that extraordinary female?
Neelix: Seven of Nine.
Tomin: I want to meet her.
Neelix: Take a number.
Paris: That was lovely.
Seven: Thank you.
Paris: I've got to admit it, you've done wonders. All right, you win.
Seven: Win?
Paris: I know when I'm licked. You tell me when you want me to start those double shifts.
Seven: You made a wager regarding me? Clarify.
Emh: It's not what you think.
Paris: Er, don't blame him, it was my idea.
Seven: I believed your interest in my social development was sincere, not motivated by personal gain.
Emh: It was sincere.
Seven: Clearly I am not the only one who requires social lessons. Thank you for a lovely evening.
Tomin: Hey, why don't we go back to my quarters? I've studied human mating rituals.
Seven: Remove your hand or I will remove your arm.
Tomin: Did you hear what she said to me? I am the guest of honor!
Chakotay: Ambassador, it's been a long day. Maybe you should get some rest.
Tomin: No! I'm not leaving! I want another drink.
Neelix: I thought synthehol wasn't supposed to have this effect on people.
Emh: Most people. The enzymes that break down synthehol aren't present in his bloodstream.
Neelix: Can you counteract the effects?
Emh: I can synthesize the enzymes, but that'll take days.
Neelix: Days? The Captain will be back in the morning.
Paris: Maybe he needs a cold shower.
Neelix: If his superiors find him like this he'll be banished from the colony, and our trade agreement will go right out the airlock.
Tomin: Oh, Seven of mine.
Seven: It may be possible to encode some of my nanoprobes to assimilate the synthehol molecules.
Tomin: Assimilate me.
Emh: There may be some adverse effects.
Tomin: Please.
Emh: But it's worth a try.
Neelix: The Kadi have rules against medical procedures that haven't been sanctified.
Paris: I'd say he's already violated a few rules. What's one more?
Emh: Either we treat him or he remains intoxicated. You're his caretaker, decide.
Neelix: Nanoprobes.
Emh: I owe you an apology.
Seven: Nanoprobe extraction is an insignificant procedure. My systems will adapt.
Emh: No, I'm referring to the wager I made with Ensign Paris. I can see how you might have felt manipulated, but I assure you that was never my intention.
Seven: I accept your apology.
Emh: I want to make this perfectly clear so there's no room for misunderstanding. I asked you to go with me to the reception because I enjoy your company. In fact, over the last few days I feel as though we've grown closer.
Seven: Closer?
Emh: We've become more than colleagues. We're friends?
Seven: Friends. Agreed. I should begin.
Emh: Of course.
Emh: I'll take over from here. Mister Paris. Hypothetically, if one develops romantic feelings for another person, how does one usually go about expressing them? It's for one of Seven's social lessons.
Paris: Ah. I recommend the direct approach. Tell the person how you feel.
Emh: What if the feelings aren't mutual?
Paris: Well, that's the risk you always take.
Emh: Oh. Thank you.
Paris: Why don't you tell her? Come on, Doc. It's obvious the Ambassador is not the only one in this room who's intoxicated.
Emh: Impossible. She's my student.
Paris: A hologram and a Borg? Stranger things have happened. Just look at me and B'Elanna.
Tomin: Er, could we walk a little slower?
Neelix: They're due back any minute.
Tomin: But my throat feels like an ancient parchment. Can't we go back to Sandrine's for a refreshing glass of
Neelix: No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Tomin: Those doors, they're so loud
Neelix: You've got a hangover.
Tomin: Neelix, I don't remember much of last night but, I imagine I might have said some things.
Neelix: You spoke eloquently, charmed the entire crew. Your reception was a success. Understand?
Tomin: Yes. Neelix, you've been most patient.
Neelix: Well, that's my job, and it isn't over yet.
Neelix: Welcome back.
Janeway: Good to be home. How's it going?
Neelix: All systems functioning normally. Ensign Kim detected a minor fluctuation in sensor array, but he took care of it.
Janeway: I was referring to Ambassador Tomin. Did he enjoy his visit?
Neelix: Oh, well, well, I would say that he, er, he enjoyed himself immensely.
Abbot: There are many distractions aboard this vessel. You didn't indulge in any of their more colorful traditions?
Tomin: Of course not.
Neelix: We followed the itinerary that you approved, to the last detail.
Abbot: Oh, shame.
Tomin: Your Holiness?
Abbot: It isn't a violation to explore new experiences, as long as you don't make a habit of it.
Tomin: I see your point.
Abbot: Shall we conclude our negotiations, Captain?
Janeway: By all means.
Tuvok: I'll show you to the briefing room.
Janeway: Good work, Ambassador.
Emh: Do you like them?
Seven: Species rosa rubifolia. State your intention.
Emh: I wanted to congratulate you on the latest phase of your social development. Why don't you read the card?
Seven: You are my sunshine.
Emh: These past few days have been unforgettable. You've brought light into my life, Seven.
Seven: You have developed romantic feelings for me.
Emh: It's as if you've become a part of my program. When we're apart, I, I feel like I'm missing a subroutine. I don't expect you to reciprocate, but I wanted you to know how I feel. Computer, end program.
Emh: Enter. Seven.
Seven: I wish to speak with you.
Emh: What a coincidence. I was hoping to speak with you as well.
Seven: Regarding?
Emh: You first. What's this?
Seven: It's a medical tricorder. I enhanced its scanning resolution by thirty three percent. You once stated you desired a more efficient instrument.
Emh: I suppose I did.
Seven: It is a gift. Lesson twenty two, Thanks for the Memories. Is it insufficient?
Emh: No, no, it's very thoughtful.
Seven: I chose to convey my gratitude at this time because I no longer require your assistance. It's obvious there are no potential mates for me aboard this vessel. However, if I encounter a compatible individual in the future, I will again seek your guidance.
Emh: Guidance. Of course.
Seven: You said you had something to tell me.
Emh: I just wanted to say, the past few days have been unforgettable. Thank you.
Seven: You're welcome.
Emh: Computer, activate holoprogram Paris three.
Emh: Won't you tell her please to put on some speed, follow my lead. Oh how I need, someone to watch over me.