Seven: Commander Chakotay.
Chakotay: I understand you wanted to see me.
Seven: I'm told you are the officer in charge of personnel. That you prepare the duty assignments. Is that the correct phrase?
Chakotay: That's right.
Seven: I am finding it difficult to spend so much time alone. I am unaccustomed to it. The hours do not pass quickly.
Chakotay: I can understand that. How can we help?
Seven: I've been considering the matter carefully. I would like to request a duty assignment.
Chakotay: Did you have something specific in mind?
Seven: Yes.
Torres: Now what!?
Vorik: There's been a rupture in the coolant injector.
Torres: I can see that. Why haven't you sealed it off?
Vorik: I am attempting to do so.
Torres: That's better.
Vorik: Lieutenant, I have an idea. Perhaps it would be advisable to reconfigure the coolant assembly. That would give us greater control over the pressure valve emissions.
Torres: You're probably right. And tomorrow we can do it first thing. But not today.
Vorik: I don't understand. Why wait until tomorrow? Today would be a much better
Torres: Not today, Vorik.
Paris: Good morning. Here's the helm control evaluation you wanted.
Torres: Thank you.
Paris: Are we still on for dinner tonight?
Torres: I may have to work. I'll let you know.
Paris: Ah ha. Okay. Have you decided if you're, if you're going through with it?
Torres: I have. And I'm not. Today hasn't started out very well, and the last thing I need is to get involved with some obscure Klingon ritual.
Paris: You were the one who suggested it.
Torres: I know. And for one sentimental minute I thought that I might actually go through with it. But not anymore.
Paris: Of course not. You wouldn't want to get too sentimental.
Torres: I overslept this morning because I forgot to tell the computer to wake me. And then the acoustic inverter in my sonic shower blew out.
Paris: That'll make your hair stand on end.
Torres: So I didn't have time for breakfast. And when I got here two people were out sick, so I had to cancel the fuel cell overhaul. And then an injector burst for no apparent reason and started spewing plasma coolant
Paris: That's a run of bad luck, all right.
Torres: So I am in a bad mood, and I know that I am being a little bit testy.
Paris: No, that's okay. Think about that dinner.
Paris: Be careful.
Chakotay: Something interesting just happened.
Torres: What's that?
Chakotay: Seven of Nine requested a duty assignment.
Torres: Fascinating.
Chakotay: She wants to work in Engineering.
Torres: What?
Chakotay: The Borg use transwarp conduits to travel through space faster than warp speed. If we could create one of them.
Torres: We don't know anything about transwarp technology. Playing around with it could be dangerous.
Chakotay: That's where Seven of Nine comes in. She's offered to work with you.
Torres: What do you think her real motives are?
Chakotay: She's having a tough time making the transition from the Collective. She wants something to do.
Torres: I never thought of you as naive, Chakotay. The bottom line is, I don't want her working in Engineering.
Chakotay: The bottom line is, I'm giving you an order and you're going to follow it, Lieutenant.
Torres: Whatever you say, sir.
Janeway: Seven of Nine, you told me you wouldn't make any more attempts to contact the Borg. I want to believe that's true.
Seven: I assure you it is.
Janeway: I've decided not to post a security detail while you're in Engineering, but you have to realize there are rules. You'll be expected to follow our protocols. You'll report directly to Lieutenant Torres and obey any order she gives you.
Seven: I understand.
Janeway: One more thing. Your designation, Seven of Nine, it's a little cumbersome. Wouldn't you prefer to be called by your given name, Annika?
Seven: I have been Seven of Nine for as long as I can remember.
Janeway: All right. But maybe we could streamline it a little. How would you feel about Seven?
Seven: Imprecise, but acceptable.
Tuvok: Tuvok to Captain Janeway.
Janeway: Yes, Tuvok.
Tuvok: Please come to the bridge. A ship is approaching.
Tuvok: It's damaged but functional. Energy emissions are so low, it's probably not capable of warp speed. Several dozen lifesigns aboard. We are being hailed, Captain.
Janeway: Open a channel. I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager.
Rahmin: I am Rahmin. My people are the Caatati. I apologize for our appearance and the condition of our ship. Most of our people were assimilated by the Borg over a year ago. We lost everything.
Janeway: How many of you escaped?
Rahmin: A few thousand on thirty ships. All that's left from a planet of millions.
Janeway: I'm sorry.
Rahmin: Captain, I want to assure you, my people were once proud and accomplished.
Janeway: I understand.
Rahmin: It pains me to have to ask this, but I have eighty eight people to care for on this vessel. We need food, medicines. Is there any way you could help us?
Janeway: Of course. Send us a list of your needs and we'll see what we can do.
Rahmin: I'm deeply grateful. If it's not too much to ask, is there any way you might also spare a small quantity of thorium isotopes? Without them, our systems can't function.
Janeway: I think we can arrange that. I'll speak to my engineer.
Rahmin: You can't imagine what this means to us, Captain. Thank you.
Torres: How are those thorium isotopes coming, Vorik?
Vorik: I'll admit I'm having trouble controlling the neutron absorption.
Torres: Try increasing the temperature of the plasma. Get the thorium to the captain as soon as it's ready.
Vorik: Of course.
Torres: Tell me something. When you hear about people like the Caatati, do you have any feelings of remorse?
Seven: No.
Torres: That's it? Just no?
Seven: What further answer do you require?
Torres: Oh, maybe some kind of acknowledgement of the billions of lives you helped destroy. A justification for what you did. Maybe a little sense of guilt?
Seven: Guilt is irrelevant.
Torres: Heartwarming.
Seven: I've set the parameters for the tachyon bursts we'll need to create a transwarp conduit. It will be several hours before the main deflector can be modified. I think it would be best if I waited in my alcove.
Torres: I think you're right.
Neelix: If I ever saw a job for the morale officer, it's sitting right here. I'll bet I can help.
Torres: You're facing a big challenge, Neelix.
Neelix: I enjoy a challenge.
Torres: Is that supposed to make me feel better?
Neelix: Blood pie, for the Day of Honor.
Torres: How did you know about that? Has Tom been talking to you?
Neelix: Not at all. No, I make it a point to know these things. And if I'm correct, many Klingon families traditionally serve blood pie on the Day of Honor.
Torres: I appreciate the gesture, Neelix, but I've decided to ignore this particular tradition. No blood pie, no examining my behavior over the last year to see if I measure up to Klingon standards.
Neelix: Understood. Lieutenant, without knowing why there's a black cloud hanging over your head, may I suggest something?
Torres: Go right ahead.
Neelix: You have a bit of a temper that you keep reined in, and sometimes it builds up inside you until you explode at someone.
Torres: I'd say that about sums it up.
Neelix: I'm offering to be a pressure valve.
Torres: What?
Neelix: You may use me to blow off steam. When you're angry, come see me. Call me names, insult me, question my parentage. I won't take it personally. And you won't need to keep things bottled up inside anymore.
Torres: That may be the nicest offer I've had in a long time. Thank you, Neelix. You're sweet, but I'm not sure I could do that to you.
Neelix: I'm here if you need me.
Torres: Neelix. About this Day of Honor. Do you think I should go through with it?
Neelix: I've always thought traditions were good things, worth preserving.
Torres: I've been thinking a lot about the rituals that my mother taught me, and they don't seem quite so hateful as they did when I was a child. Maybe being so far away from anything Klingon has changed me.
Neelix: It certainly can't hurt to go through with the ceremony.
Torres: I don't know what effect it'll have on me. That's what's frightening. All right, bring on the blood pie. I can do this.
Moklor: Qapla'! What warrior goes there!
Torres: My name's B'Elanna.
Moklor: Do you come to have your honor challenged?
Torres: I guess so. Yes.
Moklor: Are you willing to see the ceremony through to the end?
Torres: That's the idea, isn't it? What do I do?
Moklor: It will be a lengthy ordeal. First, you must eat from the heart of a sanctified targ.
Moklor: Pak'logh! Yes, the heart of targ brings courage to one who eats it. Next, you will drink mot'lach from the Grail of Kahless. Drink to the glory of Kahless, the greatest warrior of all time!
Moklor: Kahless defeated his enemies on the field of battle and built a mighty empire. How have you proven yourself worthy?
Torres: I haven't built any empires, and I can't say that I've personally defeated any enemies in battle, but you have to realize I'm not living among warriors.
Moklor: Then how do you expect to distinguish yourself?
Torres: I don't know. I guess I'm doing the best I can.
Moklor: Huh. A pitiful reply. Let us proceed. A warrior must endure great hardship. To test your mettle you will endure the ritual of twenty pain-sticks. After that, you will engage in combat with a master of the bat'leth. Finally, you will traverse the sulfur lagoons of Gorath.
Torres: You know, I don't think so. I didn't want to do this before you described it. Certainly not now. I'm leaving.
Moklor: Not until you have completed the ceremony, p'tach.
Torres: Thanks so much. It's been lovely.
Torres: Come in.
Paris: I tried to find you before, but you were on the holodeck.
Torres: That's right.
Paris: You know, you left it running. There was a Klingon in there who didn't look too happy.
Torres: Really?
Paris: Yeah, and he was nursing a whale of a black eye. Looked like he'd had a run in with someone having a really bad day.
Torres: That's very funny.
Paris: So, how'd it go?
Torres: It didn't. Do you mind if we talk about something else?
Paris: As a matter of fact I do. You have been like a spitting cobra all day and it's getting boring. You know, we designed that holodeck program together, and I think you owe me the courtesy of telling me what happened.
Torres: It was ridiculous, meaningless posturing. Honor, dishonor, what does it matter?
Paris: It matters because it's part of who you are. You've been running away from that your whole life.
Torres: Who are you to tell me that?
Paris: I care about you, but if you're going to keep pushing me away then there's no point in my staying around, is there?
Torres: Fine! Just leave me alone.
Paris: Don't worry. If this is the way you treat people who try to be your friend, you'll be alone all right.
Lumas: There are over two hundred people on our three ships alone. Everyone of them suffers from malnourishment, but it's been hardest on the children. Every parent sacrifices for their child, but even so, there's not enough food. If you could hear the crying of the babies, you would have as much trouble sleeping at night as I do.
Tuvok: Have you considered relocation to a planet where you could grow your own food?
Lumas: Of course, but we haven't been welcomed anywhere. Because we have no resources everyone treats us like vagrants, even criminals.
Chakotay: We're not unsympathetic, but we have limited supplies. We can't possibly provide enough for all your people.
Lumas: Forgive me but, from my perspective you live in luxury. You don't suffer from debilitating diseases. You have many sources of energy. Replicators. Your crew is very well fed. Apparently, keeping your bellies full is more important to you than helping those less fortunate.
Neelix: That's unfair. These are the most generous people you could hope to meet. But if we gave supplies to everyone who asked, we wouldn't have anything left.
Janeway: Neelix, how much food can we spare?
Neelix: We could provide each ship with several hundred kilograms.
Janeway: Do it, and check with the Doctor to see if he can spare any medical supplies.
Neelix: Aye, Captain.
Lumas: Thank you. May the gods smile on you and your crew.
Janeway: Tuvok, please escort our guest to the transporter room.
Paris: I've never navigated a transwarp conduit. Any problems I should be aware of?
Seven: You have no idea what you are doing. If we attempt to enter one, I'll have to take helm control.
Paris: I am a quick study.
Lumas: What species is that?
Tuvok: She is a human who lived as a Borg.
Lumas: Borg!
Tuvok: She is disconnected from the Collective. She won't harm you.
Lumas: Where's my wife? Where are my children? What did you do with them after you took them? What did you do with my family?
Tuvok: Mister Paris, please proceed.
Lumas: I lost everything. My family, my home.
Paris: Sorry about that.
Seven: About what?
Paris: Well, the way he reacted to you.
Seven: He didn't injure me.
Paris: Good.
Seven: There are many people on this ship who have similar feelings towards me.
Paris: I'm afraid you're right. Does that bother you?
Seven: No.
Paris: Well, I'm not one of those people. We all have a past. What matters is now.
Seven: I'm uncertain what you're trying to say.
Paris: That if there's any way I can help you adjust to your life here on Voyager, please ask me.
Seven: I will remember your offer.
Seven: All systems are ready.
Torres: We're only going to take a peek. We open a conduit, get as much sensor data as we can, then close it up. I want to take this one step at a time.
Vorik: I've set up a temporary tachyon matrix within the main deflector. It's online.
Torres: Engineering to the bridge.
Torres: We're ready to start, Captain.
Janeway: Go ahead. We'll monitor your progress from here.
Torres: We'll need to be at warp speed to create a large enough subspace field. I'd like to reroute helm control to Engineering.
Janeway: Agreed. Janeway out.
Torres: Take us past
Paris: Past warp two. I know. We're at warp two point three.
Torres: All right. Vorik, start emitting the tachyons.
Vorik: Energizing the matrix.
Seven: There's no indication of a subspace field. I recommend switching to a higher energy band.
Paris: That did something.
Seven: The subspace field is forming.
Torres: Tachyon particles are leaking into the propulsion system.
Paris: Shut down the deflector.
Vorik: Done. But the leak is continuing.
Janeway: Janeway to Engineering.
Torres: The tachyons are flooding the warp core, Captain.
Janeway: If you can't stabilize the core immediately, evacuate Engineering.
Torres: Aye, Captain. I'll get back to you.
Vorik: I've cut all power relays, but the tachyon levels are still rising.
Torres: All right, everybody out! Now! That means you as well.
Seven: I could be of help.
Torres: That's an order.
Paris: You can't order me, I outrank you.
Torres: We've got to neutralize the core.
Paris: I'll try decoupling the dilithium matrix.
Torres: No effect. Try it again.
Paris: It's not working. The core is about to breach!
Torres: I've got to try one more thing.
Paris: B'Elanna, there's no more time. We've got to get out of here. Come on.
Torres: Computer, prepare to eject the warp core. Authorisation Torres omega phi nine three
Torres: Computer, eject the warp core. Torres to Janeway.
Janeway: Go ahead.
Torres: We've dumped the core. Welcome to the worst day of my life.
Torres: Vorik, we have to get those impulse engines back online. You and Nicoletti get started.
Vorik: Yes, Lieutenant.
Janeway: Report.
Torres: We're stopped dead. The warp core is millions of kilometers away by now, and the impulse engines are seriously damaged. I can give you a few thrusters, but that's about it.
Janeway: How long before I can have impulse power?
Torres: I can't give you an estimate on that. We're still assessing the damage. So much for opening a transwarp conduit. I sent the Borg back to her alcove. We won't be needing her in here any more.
Janeway: At least the core's still intact. Tom, take a shuttle and find it. See if you can tractor it back to Voyager.
Paris: Yes ma'am.
Torres: It'll be unstable. It should be repaired before he tries to put a tractor beam on it.
Janeway: Well then, you go with him. Do whatever you have to. Just get it back here in one piece.
Torres: We're getting near some random ion turbulence.
Paris: I'll change course to avoid it.
Torres: I wonder what else can go wrong today. If we get this core back, I'm going right to bed and sleeping straight through till tomorrow. Get this day over with.
Paris: Well, look at it this way, how much worse could it get? Having to dump the warp core has to be the low point of any day.
Torres: Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm asking for this trouble somehow.
Paris: Or maybe it's just a streak of bad luck? Sensors have picked up a polymetallic object. Could be the core.
Torres: That's the warp signature all right. There's something else out there. A ship. According to sensors it has the same energy signature as the Caatati ships.
Paris: Maybe they're guarding it for us.
Torres: Right.
Paris: I see it. What do they think they're doing?
Torres: They're trying to put a tractor beam on it.
Paris: This is the Shuttle Cochrane to the Caatati vessel. Please respond.
Lumas: Don't come any closer. We're performing a salvage operation.
Paris: Oh, what a coincidence. So are we.
Lumas: I'm afraid we got here first. Don't interfere or we'll open fire.
Torres: Don't you realize that core is highly unstable? If you try to tractor it like that you could cause an antimatter explosion.
Paris: They're not answering.
Torres: Idiots!
Paris: We have to stop them from destroying the core.
Torres: I'm going to try and disrupt their tractor beam.
Paris: It's working.
Paris: What was that?
Torres: They sent an antimatter pulse back through our particle beam.
Computer: Warning. Structural integrity field has been compromised. Now at fifty three percent and falling. Hull breach in two minutes twenty seconds.
Torres: Reroute power from the propulsion and weapons systems.
Computer: Warning. Hull breach in two minutes ten seconds.
Paris: No effect.
Computer: Warning. The structural integrity field has collapsed. Hull breach in two minutes.
Paris: We have to get out of here.
Computer: Warning. Hull breach in one minute fifty seconds.
Paris: Computer, send a distress call to Voyager. Give them our coordinates. Computer, respond.
Torres: The comm. systems must be down.
Paris: Transporters are still online. Stand by to energize. Energize.
Paris: Paris to Voyager. Do you read me? Please respond. Paris to Voyager.
Torres: It's no use. The comm. system in these suits won't carry that far.
Paris: When they get the impulse engines repaired they'll come looking for us.
Torres: Well, I don't plan on just drifting here hoping someone will just come along and rescue us. There must be something we can do.
Paris: Agreed. If we could interplex the comm. systems in both suits we might be able to create a phased carrier wave. Voyager would read the signature and know it's from us.
Torres: Good idea. Let me access your controls.
Paris: I thought you'd never ask.
Torres: That's it. This would be a lot easier if I had a hyperspanner. Hold still.
Paris: Why is it we have to get beamed into space in environmental suits before I can initiate first contact procedures?
Torres: Why is it that if we're alone for more than thirty seconds you start thinking about contact?
Paris: Ah, that is not fair. The other day in Engineering I must have gone four minutes before I started thinking about it.
Torres: Okay, I'm ready to initiate the carrier wave.
Paris: Ah! Ah!
Torres: Sorry. Better?
Paris: Yeah. Let's hope it's still that strong by the time it gets to Voyager.
Janeway: Come in. Would you like tea or coffee?
Seven: I have no need to ingest liquids. I still receive energy from the Borg alcove.
Janeway: My understanding is that you're almost ready to begin eating food.
Seven: That is what the doctor says. Why have you asked me here?
Janeway: Whenever there's an accident on the ship, even a minor one, we investigate it in order to minimize the chances of its happening again.
Seven: A prudent course of action.
Janeway: I didn't have a chance to talk to Lieutenant Torres before she left the ship, so I wanted to ask you some questions about what happened in Engineering. Sensor logs indicate the tachyons were leaking into the warp core. Do you have any idea how it started?
Seven: No. We had reconfigured the deflector shield to emit tachyon bursts. The procedure must have triggered the leak.
Janeway: Who was controlling the tachyon bursts?
Seven: Ensign Vorik.
Janeway: What were you doing?
Seven: Monitoring the transwarp frequencies.
Janeway: And did you at any time access deflector control?
Seven: You believe I'm responsible for the accident. That I deliberately sabotaged the ship. You are like the others, you see me as a threat.
Janeway: I won't lie to you. Part of me is suspicious. We've dealt with tachyon fields before and never had this kind of problem.
Seven: Captain. I am unaccustomed to deception. Among the Borg it was impossible. There were no lies, no secrets. And I assure you I had nothing to do with the accident in Engineering.
Janeway: I believe you. Thank you.
Seven: I am finding it a difficult challenge to integrate into this group. It is full of complex social structures that are unfamiliar to me. Compared with the Borg, this crew is inefficient and contentious, but it is capable of surprising acts of compassion.
Janeway: Unexpected acts of kindness are common among our group. That's one of the ways we define ourselves.
Seven: Is there anything more?
Janeway: Yes. We still have to find out what caused the tachyon leak. Tell me what you remember about the power fluctuations in the propulsion system.
Torres: This isn't anything like the simulations we had at the Academy. They felt peaceful, like floating in the womb. But right now I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach.
Paris: You dropped out too soon. In the third year there's a six week course of actual spacewalks so you can get used to them.
Torres: I never would have lasted to the third year. If I hadn't dropped out, they would have asked me to leave.
Paris: I wish I'd known you then.
Torres: You'd have hated me.
Paris: I can't imagine a time I wouldn't have found you fascinating.
Paris: What the hell was that?
Torres: More ion turbulence.
Computer: Warning. Oxygen level at one hundred fourteen millibars.
Paris: My oxygen supply is leaking.
Computer: Warning. Oxygen level at ninety three millibars.
Torres: We'll have to share mine.
Torres: Are you getting air now?
Paris: Yes. Much better. Thanks. What's wrong?
Torres: The turbulence must have damaged my suit too. I should have at least twenty four hours worth of oxygen, but there's only about a half hour left.
Vorik: Engineering to Captain Janeway.
Janeway: Yes, Ensign.
Vorik: I'm pleased to inform you that impulse power should be restored
Vorik: Within the hour.
Janeway: Good news. Let me know the minute the engines are online.
Vorik: Yes, ma'am.
Seven: Captain, I believe I've found the cause of the accident. Erratic fluctuations in the ship's warp power. When tachyon levels rose to a resonant frequency, core pressure increased.
Janeway: Then it was an accident. Come in.
Chakotay: Captain, we've picked up a carrier wave with a Starfleet signature. I'd guess it's Tom and B'Elanna, but they're not answering our hails.
Janeway: They may be in trouble. As soon as we get impulse power
Tuvok: Tuvok to the captain. Can you come to the bridge?
Janeway: On my way.
Tuvok: We're being approached by an armada of Caatati ships.
Kim: They're hailing us.
Janeway: On screen.
Lumas: Hello, Captain.
Janeway: You've brought some friends.
Lumas: Needy friends. We're hoping you will offer us more supplies.
Janeway: I made it clear last time that we couldn't possibly you with enough for all your ships.
Lumas: And I had to accept that because your ship is more powerful than ours. But the situation has changed, hasn't it? You seem to be at a disadvantage now. We have your warp core. You can't escape. I'm hoping that'll make you more generous.
Janeway: We've given you everything we can spare. Return the core and we'll be on our way.
Lumas: One of our ships might not seem threatening to you, but I assure you, twenty seven can inflict considerable damage. We are desperate. Prepare to send us food, weapons, and your entire supply of thorium. And that Borg you're protecting. We want her too. There are many who'd enjoy a chance to repay one of them for what they did to us.
Paris: I'm lowering the oxygen ratio. That should give us a few more minutes.
Torres: I'm feeling kind of groggy.
Paris: Oxygen deprivation.
Torres: And you're lowering it?
Paris: We have to try to make it last as long as possible.
Torres: It's ironic, isn't it.
Paris: What?
Torres: Today, the Day of Honor, is the day that I'm going to die.
Paris: We are not going to die. Would you stop talking like that?
Torres: We have to face up to it, Tom.
Paris: There's something I've been wanting to ask you.
Torres: Well, now's the time.
Paris: When we first met, you didn't have a very high opinion of me.
Torres: That's putting it mildly. I thought you were an arrogant, self- absorbed pig.
Paris: Flattery won't get you any more oxygen. Do you think I've changed?
Torres: A lot. Now you're a stubborn domineering pig. I'm just kidding. There I go again, just pushing you away. You were right about me. It's what I do, push people away.
Paris: Well, it's a sure fire way of not getting hurt.
Torres: What a coward I am.
Paris: Shush.
Chakotay: Our weapons are more powerful than theirs. I say we fight.
Kim: Maybe if we give them something?
Janeway: Like what? I can't imagine what would satisfy them now.
Seven: I will go. They asked for me. If I surrender myself perhaps they'll let you leave.
Janeway: That's very generous, but I will not turn you over to them.
Seven: I was only offering to do what would be best for this group.
Janeway: You're part of this group now and we're going to protect you. It's time to stop talking about this. Tom and B'Elanna are in trouble and we have to find them. Tuvok, what's the status of our weapons array?
Tuvok: Weapons are at the ready, Captain, but our shield strength is extremely low.
Janeway: We'll have to shut down non-essential systems. Reroute power to the shields. We're going to fight.
Seven: That might not be necessary. Caatati technology is dependent on thorium isotopes. If they had enough they could become self-sustaining.
Kim: But we don't have that much thorium to give them.
Seven: When the Borg assimilated the Caatati, the survivors lost their ability to replicate the isotopes. But I have retained that knowledge. I could design an energy matrix that would produce thorium in large quantities.
Chakotay: If you've had this knowledge all along, why didn't you say so?
Seven: I am not accustomed to thinking that way. Borg do not consider giving technology away, only assimilating it.
Janeway: And what do you suppose made you consider it now?
Seven: I am not certain.
Janeway: Maybe it was just an unexpected act of kindness. Work with Vorik to build the energy matrix, while I convince the Caatati there's a better way out of this.
Seven: This matrix will produce nine hundred forty four grams of thorium per day.
Janeway: Now you can power all your systems and begin to rebuild your replication technology. Will you allow us to leave?
Lumas: One device isn't enough for all our ships.
Seven: Using this matrix as a template you can construct as many as you like. We can provide you with components and specifications.
Lumas: You are free to go. And thank you.
Seven: You're welcome.
Computer: Warning. Oxygen level at one hundred four millibars.
Torres: Tom. Come on. Open your eyes.
Computer: Warning. Oxygen level at eighty seven millibars.
Paris: I was having a dream.
Torres: There's something I have to say.
Paris: Me too. I'm glad the last thing I'll see is you.
Torres: I've been a coward about everything. Everything that really matters.
Paris: Now you're being a little hard on yourself.
Torres: No. I'm going to die without a shred of honor. And for the first time in my life that really bothers me. So I have to tell you something. I
Computer: Warning. Oxygen level at seventy one millibars.
Torres: I have to tell you the truth.
Paris: The truth about what?
Torres: I love you. Say something.
Paris: You picked a great time to tell me.
Janeway: Voyager to Tom Paris. Tom, do you read me? Respond.
Paris: We're here.
Janeway: Prepare to beam aboard.


Namon: Don't move.
Brone: What's this?
Namon: We found him in the trunks, a hundred footfalls past Grove Yellow.
Brone: Arms?
Namon: None, sir.
Brone: These colors?
Namon: We didn't ask.
Brone: He's no Krady beast, is he?
Namon: No, sir, but he doesn't bear Vori colors either.
Brone: Hmm. His glimpse is too tame to be a Kradin.
Namon: I hadn't fathomed that, sir.
Brone: Well, fathom it now. He's no nemesis, is he?
Namon: I'm not certain what he is, sir.
Brone: Weren't you drilled to fathom the nemesis?
Namon: Yes, sir.
Brone: And we abhor none but the nemesis, do we?
Namon: No, sir. None but the nemesis!
Brone: Then set him loose. Didn't you hear, Novice?
Chakotay: Thanks.
Brone: Go take provisions.
Namon: I'm sorry, sir.
Brone: Go.
Chakotay: I take it you're in charge here.
Brone: Team Leader Brone, Fourth Vori Defense Contingent.
Chakotay: Commander Chakotay of the starship Voyager.
Brone: I'm very sorry for my defenders. They're new to the clash and glimpse the nemesis all around them.
Chakotay: The clash. You're at war?
Brone: You've strayed into the fullness of it.
Chakotay: That explains why my shuttle came under fire.
Brone: One of my defenders glimpsed a vessel falling in Grove Yellow. It must have been yours. Why fly so close to this sphere?
Chakotay: I was on a survey mission. I picked up traces of omicron radiation in your atmosphere so I slowed down to take a look. As soon as I did that, I came under attack. I lost helm control and had to make an emergency transport to the surface.
Brone: It'll be the Kradin that fired at you.
Chakotay: The Kradin?
Brone: Our nemesis.
Chakotay: I see. Well, I tried to explain that I had no hostile intentions, but they just kept shooting.
Brone: The nemesis crave supremacy in the air. They fire on any craft that doesn't show Kradin colors.
Chakotay: I tried to contact my ship but my communicator's not working.
Brone: All dispatching in the clash zone has been suppressed.
Chakotay: I have to find my vessel. Maybe it's salvageable.
Brone: That's little likely. We're ordered to cluster with the Seventh Contingent two new lights from now. They'll have means to signal your people. You can make the walk with us to meet them.
Chakotay: I appreciate the offer, but I can't wait two days. I have to find my vessel now.
Brone: It wouldn't be sharp to return to the trunks. The nemesis is everywhere there.
Chakotay: Then I'll have to do my best to steer clear of them.
Brone: If your tactic won't change.
Chakotay: It won't.
Brone: It's sharper to wait for the new light.
Chakotay: Then I'll take your advice and wait.
Rafin: Provisions? It's not so savory.
Chakotay: Thanks. I'm sure it'll be fine.
Rafin: They call me Rafin.
Chakotay: Chakotay. Pleased to meet you.
Rafin: In the trunks, did you glimpse any?
Chakotay: Any what?
Rafin: Krady beasts.
Chakotay: No, I didn't.
Namon: Rafin's never glimpsed the face of the nemesis either. Have you, Rafin?
Rafin: No. It's my first walk in the clash zone.
Namon: You'll glimpse them in the soon after. When you do, you'll fathom there's no heart thumping beneath their flesh. How many beasts will you send to the Wayafter, Rafin?
Rafin: I couldn't say.
Namon: Me, I'll nullify one for each brother and cousin that I've lost. And then one more after. True or not, my allies?
All: True.
Namon: So I ask you again, Rafin. How many will you nullify?
Rafin: As many as I'm able.
Namon: You've got the trembles. If you don't wrestle your trembles to rages, ally, the nemesis'll nullify you.
Chakotay: This nemesis of yours. Why do you call them beasts?
Rafin: It's told they all wear the same horrid face. Their flesh is gnarled and blistery like the rotting trunks. Their glimpses flame like fire, And if you dare near enough, their breath stinks of muck.
Chakotay: You know, sometimes people say terrible things about their enemies to make them seem worse than they really are. There might be some young Kradin soldier out there who's more afraid of you than you are of him.
Rafin: The nemesis wasn't scared to fume my village, nor scared to nullify my cousins and brothers in their sleep. And my old mother's mother, too, who never told an unkind word nor nullified an insect in all her days and nights on this sphere.
Chakotay: That's pretty rough.
Rafin: And who but a Krady beast would leave the nullified bodies of mine and ours upturned, so they'll never descend to the gloried Wayafter?
Chakotay: What do you mean by upturned?
Brone: Which of you will walk with Chakotay to find his craft when the new light comes?
Chakotay: I appreciate the offer, but I'll be fine on my own. l
Brone: You don't fathom the trunks and you don't carry arms. One of my defenders will walk with you. Which will it be? You, Rafin.
Rafin: Sir, I, I
Namon: I'll walk with the stranger, sir. If any beast comes to clash, I'll nullify the beast.
Brone: Well told, Namon. Now close your glimpses, defenders, and dream of your sisters and mothers.
Namon: Have you never nullified another, stranger?
Chakotay: Killing's the worst thing I've ever had to do.
Namon: Then the nemesis you nullified wasn't half so beastly as the Kradin.
Chakotay: Maybe not.
Namon: In their glimpsers, we're less than nothing. They flame our homes, take our plantings, make playthings of our sisters. If you were a Vori you'd crave to drive them from this sphere just as I do.
Chakotay: Maybe I would, if they did things like that to the people I loved. But on the sphere I come from we try to find other ways to resolve differences. Peaceful solutions, Negotiations.
Namon: You don't fathom the nemesis.
Chakotay: No. I suppose I don't.
Namon: Beg the power you believe in that you never will. The light will be old soon. We'd be sharp to cluster with the others.
Chakotay: In a few minutes. We should be getting close.
Namon: You'd be sharp to do my tellings.
Chakotay: Go back if you want to. I've got to keep looking.
Namon: No, wait. I pledged to walk with you. Glimpse there.
Chakotay: It doesn't look like there's much left of my shuttle.
Namon: You'll have to make the walk with us to the Seventh Contingent.
Chakotay: Don't make me kill you.
Chakotay: How is he?
Rafin: Nullified.
Brone: We beg peace from the Power who made us Vori, and we commend our brother, Namon, to the gloried Wayafter.
Chakotay: What's this?
Brone: Namon's coverings.
Chakotay: Shouldn't they go to his family or someone he was close to?
Brone: It's a long walk to the cluster mark. It's sharper to blend with the trunks. Your fleet colors will get us all nullified.
Chakotay: I'm sorry about what happened to Namon.
Brone: The nemesis has nullified mine and ours in the before, and will in the now. But in the soonafter, we'll send them flying from this sphere and go back to our sisters and mothers.
Brone: Take it.
Chakotay: This isn't my war. I'm not planning to shoot anybody.
Brone: If we greet the nemesis in the trunks, you'll fire like the rest. As long as you're with us, you do my tellings. Fathom?
Chakotay: Fathom.
Brone: Rafin.
Rafin: Yes, sir.
Brone: Drill Chakotay to fire Vori arms.
Rafin: Now you. Your glimpse is too low. With these arms it's sharper to aim higher than the mark.
Chakotay: You're good.
Rafin: Don't mock me.
Chakotay: I was paying you a compliment.
Rafin: It is one matter to fire at clay marks, but much another to nullify the nemesis. That's what Namon told, and he told the truth before he went to the gloried Wayafter.
Chakotay: He was right. Killing's not easy.
Rafin: Risking my own days and nights to drive the nemesis from our sphere. That should be as easy as a long sleep.
Chakotay: Who told you that?
Rafin: My brothers and uncles who were in the clash. Brone my driller. And Namon, my ally, who was nullified because of me.
Chakotay: You think it's your fault that Namon died?
Rafin: If I didn't have the coward's trembles, I would have walked with you in the trunks. And it would be me and not he who went to the Wayafter.
Chakotay: You weren't the one who pulled the trigger, Rafin. And there's no shame in being afraid of fighting. Having the trembles is natural.
Rafin: How do you fathom that?
Chakotay: Because I've been in battle before, fighting to free my people from a nemesis called the Cardassians.
Rafin: These Cardassians, were they beasts?
Chakotay: Let's just say they weren't very friendly. The point is, even though I believed in what we were doing, I always felt fear before a fight.
Rafin: But you wrestled your trembles to rages, didn't you?
Chakotay: I guess I did, but that doesn't mean
Rafin: I was told to drill you, Chakotay. But it's you who've drilled me. Drilled me to fathom the rages.
Chakotay: Brone.
Brone: What is it?
Chakotay: I don't know.
Brone: Neck-strapped and upturned. Left to be cooked by the glare.
Chakotay: He's one of yours?
Brone: By his coverings he's of the Seventh Contingent. Likely a scout walker.
Chakotay: Desecrated by the Kradin.
Rafin: He'll never turn his face to the Wayafter.
Brone: We're three hundred footfalls from the cluster mark. Signal the Seventh. Again.
Rafin: Why don't they answer?
Chakotay: Is it possible they moved their camp for some reason?
Brone: Little likely. You two, fast walk to the cluster mark and glimpse what you can.
Rafin: Sir.
Brone: What?
Rafin: Let me go.
Brone: Well told, Novice. Keep the talk low and your glimpse wide.
Rafin: Sir.
Brone: What have you glimpsed?
Rafin: The Seventh Contingent, sir. Nullified.
Brone: What, all of them?
Rafin: At least twenty defenders. And that's not the whole telling of it. They're all, they're all
Brone: Tell it, Rafin. They're all how?
Rafin: Like him, sir. Upturned. Staked to the dirt up and upturned.
Brone: Those motherless Krady beasts. Do you glimpse the fullness of it now, stranger?
Chakotay: Yes. I think I do.
Brone: Now you fathom why we name them beasts and not men?
Chakotay: I'm sorry.
Brone: We're much more than sorry, aren't we, defenders?
All: Yes, sir!
Brone: The nemesis wants your plantings.
All: True, true.
Brone: He wants your homes. He wants your sisters. But does it suffice him to nullify you? No. He craves to shame you, mock you, keep you from the gloried Wayafter! We're wearied of it, aren't we?
All: Yes sir!
Brone: We're wrestled to the rages for it, aren't we?
All: Yes, sir!
Brone: And we're not going to swallow it. Not in the now, or in the soonafter!
Brone: Assault! Apply yourselves and fire back!
Rafin: Motherless beasts!
Chakotay: Rafin, no! Stay down!
Rafin: I'll nullify you all!
Chakotay: Hold on. I'm gonna get you out of here.
Rafin: Please. Turn my face to the Wayafter.
Penno: A defender. Mark, neighbors, a defender!
Karya: Welcome to Larhana settlement, gloried defender. You're brightly greeted.
Janeway: Captain's log, stardate 51082.4. After searching for more than two days we've finally located what's left of Commander Chakotay's shuttle. I can only hope the Commander has fared better than his vessel.
Tuvok: According to the ambassador, Chakotay's shuttle was hit by enemy fire and crash-landed somewhere on the southernmost continent.
Janeway: Right in the middle of the war zone.
Tuvok: I'm afraid so.
Janeway: Can we get a lock on him?
Kim: There's too much atmospheric radiation from weapons fire. We can't scan the surface.
Tuvok: Which means we don't know if he's still alive.
Janeway: Why don't we assume he still is?
Paris: I should have gone with him.
Janeway: It's not your fault, Tom. We couldn't have anticipated this. What we've got to do now is figure out how to deal with it. B'Elanna, try to modify the scanners. Cut through the interference.
Torres: Aye, Captain.
Janeway: Neelix, what do you know about this war?
Neelix: It's vicious. Ambassador Treen's people have been defending themselves against a particularly savage aggressor for more than a decade.
Janeway: Is the Ambassador willing to help us find Chakotay?
Neelix: He's willing, but he may not be able.
Tuvok: His resources are extremely limited, and the situation on the surface is chaotic.
Neelix: But he's assured me that if his troops do find Chakotay, he'll receive medical attention and be transported to the nearest command post.
Torres: Let's hope he doesn't meet up with these savage aggressors first.
Paris: Captain, let me lead a team down there and bring him back.
Janeway: I understand how you feel, Tom, but let's take it one step at a time. Tuvok, recontact Ambassador Treen. Ask for any tactical support he's willing to provide. Maps, weapons analyzes, intelligence reports. Before I risk anyone else's life I want to know exactly what we're getting ourselves into.
Penno: By your coverings, you're a novice, defender. Do I tell the truth?
Chakotay: Listen, there's been a misunderstanding. I'm not a defender. My shuttle was shot down by the Kradin and I landed in the clash zone. I met up with one of your patrols. They gave me this uniform.
Penno: Which contingent?
Chakotay: The Fourth.
Marna: The Fourth? They're sturdy clashers.
Penno: Tell us, did you and your allies drive the nemesis from the trunks?
Chakotay: We put up a brave fight.
Marna: Then you're a gloried defender even if you claim not to be.
Penno: Marna tells the truth, Chakotay. You are welcome among my neighbors.
Chakotay: Thank you. That's very kind.
Marna: Do you crave anything more? Drink? Warm coverings?
Chakotay: What I really need is some communications equipment to contact my crew.
Penno: We have no means to signal your people.
Marna: The Kradin drove us from our homes and plantings, and took all the machinery we had.
Chakotay: Do you know where I might find some place with communications equipment?
Penno: The restock unit.
Chakotay: Can you tell me how to get there?
Penno: It's not very near. At least ten thousand footfalls through the thick of the trunks.
Chakotay: Then I'd better get started.
Marna: The new light is coming. Rest till then.
Penno: Yes, please, Chakotay. Rest until the new light.
Chakotay: I think I will.
Penno: Come, neighbors. Let's give defender Chakotay some quiet.
Karya: I wanted to know if you crave more.
Chakotay: No, thank you.
Karya: Oh.
Chakotay: But it was delicious.
Karya: And the blossoms, do you like them? I planted them myself.
Chakotay: They're very pretty.
Karya: I've heard tellings that the Kradin leave our nullied defenders upturned. Is it true? You can tell me. Penno says I'm too small to be told, but I'm not.
Chakotay: It's true the Kradin don't respect your beliefs.
Karya: The Kradin are beasty. I don't fathom why they flamed our homes, nor why they crave to nully us all.
Chakotay: I don't either.
Karya: We never took their plantings. We never nullied their brothers. So why do they hate us?
Chakotay: I wish I could tell you. Hate's not something I understand very well.
Karya: My brother's a defender, too.
Chakotay: Really?
Karya: He left for the clash two plantings before. I was much smaller then. He was sturdy, and pleasing to glimpse in his colors. Like you. Maybe you've glimpsed him. He's called Daryo.
Chakotay: There are a lot of soldiers in the war. I only met a few of them.
Karya: He's a team leader of the Seventh Defense Contingent.
Chakotay: The Seventh. Are you sure he was with the Seventh?
Karya: They're very sturdy in the clash. Have you heard of them?
Chakotay: The patrol I was with was supposed to rendezvous with them.
Karya: Why didn't you? You would have glimpsed him.
Chakotay: We were ambushed before we had the chance.
Karya: But when you go back to the clash, maybe you'll glimpse Daryo then. You could take a letter to him.
Chakotay: I'm not going back to the clash zone. I've got to get to the restock unit so I can contact my ship.
Karya: Then you can bring my letter to the restock unit. Maybe some defender there can take it to Daryo. Will you do it? Please? I'll go write it now, before the new light comes.
Chakotay: I wish you a good day.
Penno: Thank you.
Marna: Provisions for your long walk.
Penno: Walk well, defender Chakotay.
Chakotay: Thank you both. You've all been very kind.
Karya: Writings for my brother. You'll be sure he gets them?
Chakotay: I'll do my best.
Karya: Your best will be enough. The pretty smell of the blossoms will hold the nemesis far away.
Chakotay: Then you'd better keep one for yourself.
Kradin: Offer no opposition, or you will be nullified.
Janeway: No evidence of cellular residue on the shuttle wreckage, so there's a chance Chakotay survived the crash.
Paris: Unfortunately the wreckage was found inside enemy territory,
Tuvok: So there is also a chance he has been captured or killed by the nemesis.
Paris: There you go looking on the bright side again, Tuvok.
Janeway: What's this nemesis?
Tuvok: It is the term Ambassador Treen's people use to identify their enemy.
Paris: Apparently, they're vicious. They shoot without warning, use biochemical weapons, routinely massacre civilians. If we run into them, it's safe to say they won't be hanging out a welcome sign.
Janeway: I want a team on the surface as soon as possible.
Paris: I was hoping you'd say that. Tuvok, let's get moving.
Tuvok: I must caution you both my tactical analysis does not bode well for the success of such a mission. Given the situation in the battle zone, there is a very high probability that an away team will sustain heavy casualties.
Paris: Are you saying we should just abandon Chakotay?
Tuvok: On the contrary.
Janeway: I suppose you've come up with an alternative plan?
Tuvok: Indeed. I have concluded that the least risky course of action is for a single crew member to make the infiltration, accompanied by a commando unit that Ambassador Treen has agreed to provide.
Paris: Fine with me. When do I leave?
Janeway: Something tells me that's not what Tuvok has in mind.
Tuvok: Naturally, I am the logical person to carry out this mission.
Paris: Naturally.
Kradin: Get down there!
Karya: Chakotay!
Chakotay: I heard the explosions, and I came back to help.
Karya: What did the Kradin do to you?
Chakotay: They interrogated me. Where's your grandfather?
Karya: I don't know. He's very gray, and his heart's not sturdy. He needs me to tend him.
Chakotay: You. You! I want to talk to your superior. Hey, I'm talking to you! I want to know what you've done to this girl's grandfather. He's old and needs medical atte - Argh!
Karya: Chakotay! Penno always tells it'll be brighter when the new light comes.
Chakotay: Your grandfather's a wise man.
Chakotay: That's right, get some sleep.
Karya: You'll tend me, won't you, no matter what comes in the soonafter?
Chakotay: Close your glimpsers, and dream of your gloried brother.
Kradin: Come along. Vori. Move along.
Karya: Where are they taking them?
Chakotay: I don't know.
Marna: They'll be fast walked to the extermination facility.
Karya: Why?
Marna: Because they're gray and too long-lived the Kradin think them unfit for toiling. They won't make good servers like us.
Kradin: Offer no resistance.
Karya: Penno. Penno!
Penno: Karya!
Karya: Where are they taking you?
Penno: Be sturdy, my daughter's daughter.
Karya: Who's going to tend you?
Penno: We'll glimpse each other again in the Wayafter.
Karya: Set him loose!
Chakotay: Karya!
Karya: Set him loose!
Kradin: Be still!
Chakotay: Keep your hands off her. Don't touch her!
Commandant: What's the matter, pretty one?
Karya: Set my mother's father loose.
Commandant: Is that the man you mean?
Penno: No! Karya!
Karya: Please, set him loose!
Commandant: You don't want to see him suffer, do you, pretty one?
Karya: No.
Commandant: Don't worry. The old Vori's suffering will be over soon enough.
Karya: No! Penno!
Commandant: Take this shrieking waif to the extermination facility.
Karya: No. Chakotay, set me loose! Chakotay, help me!
Chakotay: Motherless beast!
Janeway: Are Ambassador Treen and his soldiers ready to beam aboard?
Kim: Aye, Captain.
Janeway: Energize.
Janeway: Welcome aboard, Ambassador. Thank you for agreeing to help us find our crewman.
Treen: Your thanks are unnecessary, Captain. Any victim of our bloodthirsty nemesis, the Vori, will always find friends among the Kradin people.
Brone: Chakotay. Be calm now. I'll set you loose. Sorry to leave you upturned so long, but I had to shroud myself in the trunks till the Kradin walked on.
Chakotay: The villagers, from Larhana settlement?
Brone: They were fast walked through the trunks.
Chakotay: And your defenders?
Brone: All nullified.
Chakotay: Thank you for coming back for me. You put yourself at risk.
Brone: And you, Chakotay, clashed beside us against the Kradin though you are a stranger to this sphere. I glimpsed you chancing your days and nights to save Rafin from our nemesis.
Chakotay: You tell the truth when you name them beasts. What will you do now that your men are gone?
Brone: Join with the Fifth Contingent. They're trying to free the villagers. It doesn't go brightly for them.
Chakotay: I'll come with you.
Brone: No. I'll bring you to command. You can signal your people.
Chakotay: That can wait till the soonafter. In the now, you need my help to nullify the nemesis.
Brone: Back walk! Back walk! The nemesis is nearing. It's sharper to back walk.
Chakotay: Brone!
Kradin: Vori soldiers! You are surrounded. Lay down your arms and surrender.
Kradin: Hold your fire!
Chakotay: You'll have to nullify me first!
Kradin: Hold your fire, Commander Chakotay. Do not fire, Commander.
Chakotay: How do you know my name?
Kradin: I am Lieutenant Tuvok,
Chakotay: Tuvok? Don't walk any closer!
Kradin: I've come to take you back to Voyager.
Brone: Nullify him, Chakotay. It's a Kradin tactic.
Kradin: I assure you, Commander, this is no ruse. It is Lieutenant Tuvok. Don't you recognize me?
Brone: He's the nemesis!
Chakotay: You're a Kradin beast. You destroyed that village, nullified Penno, took away Karya. She was only a child!
Kradin: They've brainwashed you, Commander. Look closer. Try to recall. Your shuttle was shot down. These people, the Vori, they captured you.
Chakotay: No, they rescued me.
Tuvok: That is what they want you to believe. They have been indoctrinating you, training you to fight their war.
Chakotay: Take one more step and I'll nullify you.
Tuvok: You are Commander Chakotay of the starship Voyager. You are a scientist, an explorer. You are not a killer.
Chakotay: Tuvok.
Tuvok: Yes, Commander.
Chakotay: How can you wear those colors? They're Kradin. They're beasts, murderers.
Tuvok: On the contrary, they are the ones who helped us locate you. We tracked you to a Vori training camp. We infiltrated the facility, but you were gone. They had already brought you here to fight this battle. Before today, nothing you experienced here was real. It is the method the Vori use to conscript and train soldiers.
Chakotay: I don't believe you!
Tuvok: I will prove it to you if you will lower your weapon.
Tuvok: Do you recognize this place?
Chakotay: It's Larhana settlement.
Penno: A defender. Mark, neighbors, a defender! Defender. Karya.
Karya: Welcome to Larhana settlement, gloried defender. You are brightly greeted.
Janeway: Captain's log, stardate 51096.5 Although Lieutenant Tuvok has managed to bring Commander Chakotay safely back to the ship, it may be some time before his psychological wounds are fully healed.
Emh: My guess is the Vori used a combination of mind control techniques, including photometric projections, heightened emotional stimuli, and highly sophisticated psychotropic manipulation. From the condition of your hypothalamus, I'd say they had you so mixed up they could have convinced you your own mother was a turnip.
Chakotay: Everything I experienced was some sort of simulation?
Janeway: Except for the battle you were fighting when Tuvok found you. Apparently, attacking the simulated Commandant marked your graduation from basic training.
Chakotay: And the men I fought beside, none of them was real? Namon and Rafin weren't killed in front of me?
Janeway: As far as we can tell, they were part of the simulation. The idea was to make you bond with your fellow soldiers as well as the villagers, so their deaths would enrage you.
Chakotay: Why me?
Janeway: Luck of the draw. You happened to be passing through their space and you were as promising a recruit as anyone else. We've been told the Vori have dozens of these training facilities where they conscript their own people, and any aliens they're able to capture.
Emh: In short, Commander, you've been subjected to a highly sophisticated form of propaganda.
Chakotay: Then the Kradin don't kill innocent civilians? They don't desecrate the Vori's dead?
Janeway: I don't know. But the Kradin accuse the Vori of the same kinds of atrocities.
Chakotay: I cared about the Vori, but I hated the Kradin. I wanted to kill every one of them.
Janeway: Evidently, that was the point.
Neelix: Captain. Ambassador Treen would like a word with the Commander.
Treen: I wish to tell you how pleased my people are to hear of your recovery. I'm only sorry we weren't able to rescue you sooner from our nemesis. Have I said something wrong?
Neelix: I don't know.
Chakotay: If you'll excuse me, Captain.
Janeway: Chakotay?
Chakotay: I wish it were as easy to stop hating as it was to start.


Dejaren: To any vessels within range. I hope this message reaches you. I'm an HD25 Isomorphic Projection. There's been an accident. My crew is dead. I'm alone. Please, help me.
Paris: So we rigged the security console so that every time Tuvok accessed the internal sensors it would play a little message.
Kim: Live long and prosper.
Paris: No matter what button he pushed, live long and prosper.
Kim: Naturally, no one was available to fix the malfunction
Paris: So Tuvok had to stretch his Vulcan patience to the limit for the rest of the day.
Kim: I swear you could hear him grinding his teeth from across the bridge.
Paris: And just when he thought it was over, when he went back to his quarters and ordered a cup of Vulcan tea, the replicator says
Kim: Live long and prosper!
Janeway: The first time I met Tuvok he dressed me down in front of three Starfleet admirals for failing to observe proper tactical procedures during my first command. My human ego took a little bruising, but, of course, he was right. Over the past nine years I've come to rely on his insightful and unfailingly logical advice. For outstanding services, Chief Tactical and Security Officer, it's my pleasure to grant you the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Congratulations, Tuvok.
Tuvok: Thank you, Captain. Had I known this commendation entailed ritual humiliation, I might have declined. However, I accept it with gratitude and will honor the responsibility that comes with it. During my three years on Voyager I have grown to respect a great many of you. Others I have learned to tolerate. As your Tactical Officer, I will continue to do my best to ensure a safe passage home. As a Vulcan, I share the following sentiment. Live long and prosper.
Janeway: Bravo. Well deserved.
Paris: B'Elanna, this is ridiculous. It's been three days and we haven't said a word to each other.
Torres: I know, I know. We have to talk.
Paris: About what you said. I mean, the part about being in love with me. I realize you were suffering from oxygen deprivation and we were literally seconds away from death, so I know you probably didn't mean it.
Torres: No, no, I meant it. But I don't expect you to reciprocate. Really, you can just pretend that I didn't say it. In fact let's just pretend that I didn't
Paris: Shut up.
Emh: Mister Paris, there you are.
Torres: I was just leaving. Lieutenant.
Paris: What can I do for you, Doc?
Emh: The Captain has authorized me to recruit someone with advanced medical training to help out in Sickbay. Unfortunately, the most qualified crewmember is you.
Paris: You want me to be the new nurse?
Emh: If that's the title you prefer. It will only be temporary. Three duty shifts a week. Report to Sickbay and oh six hundred hours. Bring a tricorder and a smile.
Kim: What kind of modifications?
Chakotay: We've like to enhance the Astrometrics lab. It hasn't been upgraded since Voyager left spacedock.
Kim: I'll start right away.
Chakotay: I've assigned Seven of Nine to work with you. She's agreed to provide us with all the navigational data for this area she acquired during her time with the Borg. Is there a problem?
Kim: No. No problem.
Chakotay: Try to make her feel like part of the team.
Kim: Right. Part of the team.
Janeway: Have you made arrangement for the Arritheans for tomorrow?
Neelix: The delegate says he's looking forward to trading with such an advanced starship.
Janeway: You've done an excellent job preparing for this mission, Neelix. I think you should consider this your first official assignment as Ambassador.
Culhane: Ensign Culhane to the Captain.
Janeway: Janeway here.
Culhane: We are receiving an automated distress call five light years from here. You might want to bring the Doctor.
Dejaren: I'm an HD25 Isomorphic Projection. There's been an accident. My crew is dead. I'm alone. Please, help me.
Emh: He's a hologram. We've got to help him. Ensign, track the source of the transmission.
Emh: Once we find the ship, I'll lead an away team.
Janeway: I don't recall giving you a promotion today.
Emh: Oh. Well, I'm the obvious choice to provide assistance to a holographic being.
Janeway: Doctor, I don't want you leaving Voyager unless it's absolutely necessary. I'm still concerned about damaging your mobile emitter.
Emh: I understand. But if this is a hologram, one of my own kind so to speak, I'd like to meet him, study him. I'll bring Lieutenant Torres just to be safe. She knows more about my emitter than anyone.
Janeway: The rest of us will meet with the Arritheans. We'll see you there, when you're finished.
Emh: Thank you, Captain.
Kim: Seven?
Seven: I am here.
Seven: Am I to work with you?
Kim: Oh, hi. Yes, I thought we'd start in Jefferies tube thirty two B. Enhance the astrometric sensors, if that's okay with you. Unless this is a bad time. Maybe I can come back later.
Seven: Ensign Kim, you seem apprehensive.
Kim: No, not at all.
Seven: The last time we worked together, I struck you at the base of your skull and attempted to contact the Collective.
Kim: These things happen.
Seven: I assure you it will not happen again.
Kim: That's good to know.
Seven: I've designed new navigational sensors. Some of the alphanumerics are Borg.
Kim: No problem. I always wanted to learn Borg.
Seven: That is difficult to believe.
Kim: I was kidding. It was a joke. You know, humor.
Seven: I understand the concept of humor. It may not be apparent, but I am often amused by human behavior.
Torres: Relax, Doctor. I'm sure we'll find the ship.
Emh: That's not what I'm concerned about. I've been questioning the wisdom of leaving Mister Paris in charge of my Sickbay.
Torres: Tom will do fine. He's a very responsible guy.
Emh: Well, I suppose you'd know better than I would.
Torres: What's that supposed to mean?
Emh: You seem to have become good friends.
Torres: Let's get one thing straight. I don't appreciate you or anyone else speculating about the kind of friendships I have. Or who I have them with.
Emh: Sorry, I didn't realize I'd struck a nerve. Perhaps you'd like a tranquilizer.
Torres: There it is.
Emh: That's his ship? Try hailing it.
Torres: No response.
Emh: Lifesigns?
Torres: A few energy readings, but they're erratic. Propulsion and main power are down.
Emh: We're approaching transporter range.
Emh: Hello? Is anyone here? We're here to help you.
Torres: No signs of life?
Emh: Not yet.
Torres: I'd like to check your mobile emitter, make sure you made it through the transport okay.
Emh: For a Klingon, you have a decent bedside manner.
Torres: Thanks.
Emh: I wonder what kind of bedside manner Mister Paris will exhibit? That was a rhetorical question, Lieutenant.
Torres: Your holographic matrix is stable, Let me check your emitter's power cells.
Emh: You might want to consider a career in medicine.
Torres: Where the hell did this come from?
Dejaren: Sorry. Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you.
Emh: You sent the distress call?
Dejaren: Yes, yes, that's me. It was me. And you, you're an isomorph like myself?
Emh: We use the term hologram.
Dejaren: Hologram. And you, you're a hologram too?
Torres: No.
Dejaren: You're organic.
Torres: Ah, that's one way of putting it, yes.
Torres: It looks like your program is fairly compatible with our holographic technology. Can you tell me where I can access your projection controls?
Dejaren: Why?
Torres: You're obviously malfunctioning. Maybe I can repair you.
Dejaren: Oh, of course. I'd appreciate that. Over there. You can access my systems from that console.
Emh: What happened here?
Dejaren: Oh, it was terrible, just terrible. You see, we left Seros eight months ago. Seros, that's our home planet. With a crew of six.
Emh: All isomorphic projections?
Dejaren: No, just me. I'm an HD25 maintenance unit with extreme hazard clearance. I'm responsible for cleaning the reactor core, ejecting antimatter waste, that sort of thing. When the crew got sick there was nothing I could do. I'm not designed for medical functions. I, I
Emh: Try to calm down. Explain what happened one step at a time.
Dejaren: Two of the crew members left to survey a planet. When they came back they'd been infected by a deadly virus. It spread quickly to the other organics on board, and one by one, well, I watched them all die. Then things started to malfunction here. I've limited knowledge of the controls. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come.
Torres: I think I've stabilized your program, but I'll need access to your primary isomatrix. Where is it?
Dejaren: On the lower deck. You, you shouldn't go down there.
Torres: Why not?
Dejaren: Too dangerous. That deck's been flooded with antimatter radiation. Organic flesh would disintegrate within seconds. You can access my isomatrix from this deck. There's an interface junction in that compartment.
Torres: Thanks.
Emh: Mind if I run a quick diagnostic?
Dejaren: What's your name?
Emh: I don't have a name. It's a long story.
Dejaren: I'd like to hear it, and everything else about you.
Seven: I'm ready to supply power to the enhanced sensors.
Kim: What? Already?
Seven: Yes. You believe that my work is unsuitable?
Kim: Of course not. Just checking. Standard procedure.
Seven: I may no longer possess Borg perfection, but my experience as a drone has taught me to be efficient and precise.
Kim: Actually, you've misaligned this optical assembly.
Seven: Impossible.
Kim: Take a look. It's off by point five degrees.
Seven: It must have been my humanity reasserting itself. I will correct the error.
Kim: So, what do you do for fun down in Cargo Bay two?
Seven: Fun?
Kim: You know. Relaxation, entertainment, during your off hours.
Seven: I regenerate in my alcove. I study the Starfleet database, and I contemplate my existence.
Kim: That's a lot of time by yourself.
Seven: It is. The optical assembly is properly aligned. I'm ready to access the main power supply.
Kim: After you.
Kim: Wait! What are you doing? There are five million gigawatts running through there!
Seven: The exoskeleton on this limb can withstand it.
Kim: That's all well and good, but there are safety procedures we've got to follow.
Seven: Your procedures are a waste of time.
Kim: Maybe so, but you've been assigned to me and I say we do this by the book. All right?
Seven: All right.
Kim: Well, now that we've got that cleared up.
Dejaren: You can use this emitter to go anywhere?
Emh: Well, my Captain has imposed a few restrictions. But I'm free to leave Sickbay, join away missions, take a stroll.
Dejaren: Extraordinary. I've never left this vessel before. And until the crew got sick, I ever even left the antimatter storage chamber. Do you know what it's like spend your life trapped inside a tiny room, not knowing what's beyond the door, what the world is really like? Nobody coming to see you or talk to you unless they want something?
Emh: Actually, I know exactly what it's like. When I was first activated I was regarded as little more than a talking tricorder. I had to ask for the privileges I deserved. The right to be included in crew briefings, the ability to turn my program on and off. It's taken some time, but I believe I've earned the respect of the crew as an equal.
Dejaren: An equal?
Emh: I've also been pursuing personal interests. Art, literature, music. Perhaps you could do the same.
Dejaren: Oh, no, no, no. My programrs on Seros would never allow that.
Emh: Then you'll convince them. Maybe they'll appreciate how well you've coped with this situation, how you've managed to find help. Think about it. You've already exceeded the sum of your subroutines.
Emh: What are you doing?
Dejaren: Nothing. Er, nothing. I'm just sterilizing the ship. I'm fastidious about germs. I know that must sound strange coming from an artificial being.
Emh: Not at all. I've been known to act a little strangely myself.
Dejaren: Hungry? You're organic. You require nutrients. They're only rations but our crew liked them.
Torres: Careful! That's an isomimetic conduit. You could destabilize your matrix.
Dejaren: Of course. How stupid of me. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have barged in here.
Torres: It's all right. I could use a break. Thank you.
Dejaren: You nibble, like a fish.
Torres: I'll take that as a compliment.
Dejaren: Oh, it is. I've never seen a fish before, not a real one, but I've read about them on our database. Fish aren't like other organics. They're more passive, I think, most of them. And so clean. Is there anything I can do to help with repairs?
Torres: As soon as I'm done with lunch, you could help me access your primary matrix.
Dejaren: Gladly.
Torres: Is something wrong?
Dejaren: Seeing the ship ripped apart like this, it's. I, I guess I can't help feeling a kind of affinity for this vessel. It sustains my existence. Sometimes I feel like it's a part of my body, my soul. That probably sounds silly to you.
Torres: No. No, I understand how you feel.
Dejaren: You couldn't possibly understand how I feel. You're an organic. You exist apart from your ship. I understand how you feel.
Torres: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you.
Dejaren: You're the one who's trapped, not me. You spend your entire life stuck inside a biological cage of flesh and bone and blood.
Torres: Right. I'm going to go give the Doctor an update.
Dejaren: I exist as pure energy, but you depend on food and water to survive. Frankly, I find it disgusting. Look at you, Look at you. Grinding up bits of plants and animals with your teeth. Secreting saliva to force it down your esophagus into a pit of digestive acids. You can't even stand to think about it yourself. What a repulsive creature you are! Constantly shedding your skin and hair, leaving your oily sweat on everything you touch. You think that you are the height of intellect in the universe, but you are no better than any filthy animal and I am ashamed to be made in your image! My apologies. My apologies. I have acquired some hostility towards organics. It was not meant for you. I was treated quite badly by the crew here.
Torres: I'm sorry to hear that. But you have to realize that we're here to help you. Thanks for the rations.
Torres: We've got a problem.
Emh: Oh?
Torres: I think there's a problem with our isomorph and I'm not talking about his emitters.
Emh: Explain.
Torres: I've just spent the last ten minutes hearing his views on biological life. Let's just say they're a bit unconventional. Did you realize that we organics are a bunch of inferior, disgusting animals?
Emh: Now that you mention it.
Torres: He started ranting about how much he despises organics. I didn't think I was going to get out of there without a fight.
Emh: I will admit he is somewhat socially inept.
Torres: Inept? He's a lunatic.
Emh: That is hardly a sound medical diagnosis.
Torres: He has also been lying to us. I just ran a tricorder scan of the lower deck. The one he said was flooded with radiation? Well, it's not.
Emh: Why would he lie about that?
Torres: I don't know. Maybe he doesn't want us to go down there. Maybe he's hiding something.
Emh: I understand your concerns, Lieutenant. I've been talking to him as well, and I recognize that he has some behavioral difficulties. But imagine what he's been through. Trapped in a room no bigger than a storage compartment. And he's had almost no interaction with organic beings. It's only natural he'd developed problems communicating, even a little resentment. Do you recall my own behavior when I was first activated?
Torres: How could I forget? You were a major pain in the
Emh: My point is, I too was somewhat alienated from the rest of the crew. It took me a few days to master the social graces.
Torres: I realize that he is a fellow hologram and that you are committed to helping him, but I want the ability to shut down his program if I have to.
Emh: If you really feel that's necessary.
Torres: I'm going to search the lower deck, see if I can access his primary isomatrix. You keep him occupied until I get back. I don't think he'd appreciate a filthy animal like me snooping around
Dejaren: Am I interrupting?
Torres: No. Actually, I was just leaving.
Dejaren: I'd like you to meet someone. Doctor, this is Spectrum.
Emh: A holographic fish?
Dejaren: Magnificent, isn't he? So peaceful, and so content. I programmed him to keep me company. Don't you have a pet?
Emh: Oh, it wouldn't be appropriate, not in a medical environment.
Dejaren: They wouldn't let me have one either. I had to hide him.
Emh: He's very lifelike. I didn't realize you had such a talent for holographic design.
Dejaren: Oh, I've programmed all sorts of things.
Seven: This node contains Borg navigational data.
Kim: How do we get it out of here?
Seven: The proper instrument was part of my thoracic assembly before the Doctor removed it. I suggest a radical dislocation.
Kim: A what?
Seven: We need to pull it out. Assist me.
Kim: Okay. On three.
Seven: Three?
Kim: On the count of three we pull together.
Seven: Crude, but effective.
Kim: One, two, three.
Seven: I've been damaged.
Kim: Ooo, that looks pretty bad. You'd better get to Sickbay.
Seven: As a drone I would have regenerated within seconds. I've become weak.
Kim: No more than the rest of us. You'll be fine. Come on, I'll walk you there.
Paris: Another half a millimeter and you would have severed the carpal nerve. I'd have had to operate. You're a mere mortal now. As your family doctor, I suggest you be more careful. There, good as new.
Kim: I'll see you back in the Cargo Bay.
Kim: What kind of bedside manner was that?
Paris: What are you talking about?
Kim: Can't you see she's feeling vulnerable, and here you are going on about severed nerves and major surgery.
Paris: Take it easy. I was just trying to lighten the mood. She wasn't upset by it.
Kim: Yes she was. I can see it on her face.
Paris: You seem a little protective. This morning you were dreading being in the same room with her.
Kim: Well, I've gotten to know her a little better. I don't think most people realize she's not just some Borg automaton. She's actually very complex.
Paris: Oh, really?
Kim: Yes, she is. She's even got a sense of humor. It's offbeat, a bit subtle maybe, and she's incredibly intelligent.
Paris: She ought to be. She assimilated enough people.
Kim: See? See what I mean? It's Borg this, Borg that. You can't resist making a joke. There's a woman in there, if you'd take the time to look.
Paris: Harry, you've got a crush on her, don't you?
Kim: What? No, not at all. Maybe just a little.
Paris: I've seen this look in your eyes right before you fall head over heels. You always go for the tough ones. What was it last time, a hologram? I don't know much about Borg women, but my advice to you is, don't.
Kim: Just trying to make her feel like part of the team.
Paris: Part of the team? You sound like Chakotay. Look, she's beautiful, and she's smart, and I'm sure she's a wonderful conversationalist. But a month ago she was Borg. You don't really know who she is. It's great that you're trying to make her feel comfortable. Just be careful.
Kim: Thanks for the advice.
Paris: I just hope you take it.
Emh: Now that we're clear on the helm controls
Dejaren: This is a lot to learn.
Emh: You're doing fine. It's vital that you familiarize yourself with all the ship's systems so you can be more self-sufficient. Here are the environmental controls and life support functions.
Dejaren: Well, I won't need those any more. No crew to worry about.
Emh: Not at the moment.
Dejaren: Fifty nine point two percent.
Emh: I beg your pardon?
Dejaren: That's how much power went into life support. Fifty nine point two percent. Just to keep them breathing, warm, comfortable.
Emh: They do require quite a bit of maintenance, don't they?
Dejaren: I should know. I spent my entire existence cleaning up after them. When they were busy sleeping or reading, or engaging in their slovenly carnal pleasures.
Emh: And this is the sensor grid. You'll find it most useful when you want to scan
Dejaren: They took advantage of me. I wish I'd been more like you. You showed me that I could be more than a slave to these biological creatures.
Dejaren: I'm not taking this ship back to the organics. I won't return to that existence.
Emh: It's a little extreme, don't you think?
Dejaren: Join me. Leave Voyager. Escape your prison. Together we'll take this vessel and explore the galaxy.
Torres: There you are.
Dejaren: Don't look so surprised. You gave me the idea!
Emh: Me?
Dejaren: You said I should be more self-sufficient.
Emh: I agree that we should be treated equally as members of the crew. But we're still projections of energy and light. We have limitations.
Dejaren: No! No! No, no, no, no, no! We don't need nourishment, we don't suffer disease. We're the higher form of life.
Emh: What's that?
Dejaren: Lower deck. Someone's trying to access my matrix. I'll be back.
Dejaren: You.
Dejaran: No. No!
Emh: B'Elanna! Ensign Kim personal log, stardate 51186.2. Working with Seven of Nine is starting to get a little awkward. Tom's right. Anything more than friendship is a bad idea. But I can't stop thinking about her.
Seven: You wish to see me, Ensign?
Kim: I had this midnight inspiration about reconfiguring astrometric projectors. I hope you weren't regenerating.
Seven: I was not.
Kim: This is tricky stuff. It could use your touch. Your way of looking at things. A fresh perspective.
Seven: Your data.
Kim: Why don't you sit down?
Seven: I prefer to stand.
Kim: This could take a while. You'd be more comfortable.
Seven: Comfort is irrelevant. We're here to work.
Kim: Okay.
Seven: This light is insufficient.
Kim: But it's relaxing, don't you think? After hours, quiet. Voyager isn't all Jefferies tubes and cargo bays, you know. Tell you what, when we're done here, I'll take you to the holodeck. We'll run the Ktarian moonrise simulation. It's beautiful.
Seven: Beauty is irrelevant. Unless you wish to change the nature of our affiliation.
Kim: What do you mean?
Seven: I may be new to individuality, but I am not ignorant of human behavior. I've noticed your attempts to engage me in idle conversation, and I see the way your pupils dilate when you look at my body.
Kim: I don't know what you're talking about.
Seven: Obviously you've suggested a visit to the holodeck in the hopes of creating a romantic mood. Are you in love with me, Ensign?
Kim: Well, no.
Seven: Then you wish to copulate?
Kim: No! I mean. I, I don't know what I mean.
Seven: All of these elaborate rituals of deception. I didn't realize becoming human again would be such a challenge. Sexuality is particularly complex. As Borg we had no need for seduction, no time for single cell fertilization. We saw a species we wanted and we assimilated it. Nevertheless, I am willing to explore my humanity. Take off your clothes.
Kim: Er, Seven.
Seven: Don't be alarmed. I won't hurt you.
Kim: Look, this is a little sudden. I was just trying to. Part of the team, you know? Maybe we should just quit for now.
Seven: All right. Let me know when you wish to resume our work.
Emh: It's all right, B'Elanna. You're safe.
Torres: The isomorph?
Emh: Apparently you deactivated him.
Torres: I took all of his emitters offline.
Emh: Not a moment too soon. I found six corpses on this deck, all of them murdered. You almost became number seven.
Torres: Ah! Oh, what did he do to me?
Emh: He reached inside your chest, grabbed your heart, and perforated your fourth ventricle.
Torres: Great.
Emh: I've stabilized your pericardium, but I'm concerned about the internal bleeding.
Torres: Prognosis?
Emh: Less than stellar unless I can get you back to Voyager. Unfortunately I'm having trouble accessing our transporters.
Torres: He must have disabled our comm. link to the shuttle. Help me get to the command chamber.
Torres: Looks like he set up a dampening field. I think I can cut through it, but I'll need to open this control panel. My engineering kit, it's on that console.
Emh: B'Elanna, I thought you said you took all the emitters offline.
Torres: I did. Why?
Emh: I think you'd better double-check.
Dejaren: You said you'd help me.
Emh: Put that down.
Dejaren: You lied. You lied to me. I thought you were my friend.
Emh: It's for your own benefit. Someone needs to repair your program. It's malfunctioning. You're unstable.
Dejaren: No, no, no! You're unstable. You're a hologram who thinks like an organic.
Emh: This could get tedious.
Dejaren: Freedom. Oh, you're getting blood everywhere. I'm going to have to deactivate you.
Emh: Is he?
Torres: Deactivated.
Emh: And you?
Torres: Ready to get out of here.
Chakotay: Come in.
Kim: We've completed the schematics for the Astrometrics lab.
Chakotay: Already? You and Seven must have been putting in a lot of extra hours on this.
Kim: She's not much for procrastinating.
Chakotay: I'm sure she's not. Looks like you're ready to begin construction.
Kim: It might be better, more practical, to bring in an engineering team for that.
Chakotay: Recruit all the help you need.
Kim: In fact, they should probably take over at this point.
Chakotay: Don't you want to supervise their work? The Astrometrics lab is your baby.
Kim: I would, of course. Er, I just don't think that would be the best use of ship's personnel.
Chakotay: Oh, I can rearrange the duty shifts.
Kim: Oh, no, Commander, you don't have to do that. I'm sure Seven can handle things without me.
Chakotay: Harry, are you having some kind of problem with her?
Kim: No, no problem.
Chakotay: Because if you are, I'd like to hear about it.
Kim: No sir, there's no problem. Not at all. Absolutely not. Er, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be going now.
Chakotay: Ensign Kim. Let's have it.
Kim: We had a misunderstanding.
Chakotay: About?
Kim: It's nothing really important. Just your basic Borg - human cultural differences.
Chakotay: Really? That's not what she says.
Kim: You, you, you spoke, you spoke to her?
Chakotay: She seems to think you're making good progress. She finds you reasonably efficient, and says you've been helping her learn more about our complex social interactions. Any idea what she meant by that?
Kim: Can't imagine.
Chakotay: You two make a good team. I want to keep you together on this project.
Kim: Sir. Aye, sir.
Chakotay: And maybe others in the future. Have fun.
Emh: I've stopped the internal bleeding, and repaired the tissue damage. Your pericardium is clean as a whistle. Which is more than I can say for my Sickbay.
Paris: I'm sorry about the mess. I haven't had time to clean up. It was a hectic day. I treated two broken bones, an upset stomach and a lacerated hand.
Torres: Does this mean you're too tired to meet later, in my quarters?
Paris: Are you sure your heart can take it?
Emh: I'm detecting elevated hormonal levels. If you two don't take it easy, I'll have to declare a medical emergency.
Paris: If you'll excuse me, I have to go check on Harry. I hear he's having a nervous breakdown. It's a long story.
Emh: Not so fast, Mister Paris. You are going to help me sterilize every square millimeter of this Sickbay. No doubt you've left your oily residue on every hypospray, your sloughed secretions on every console. Just kidding. In fact, I've had a change of heart about my fastidiousness. A little clutter never hurt anyone. Sickbay should have a more organic touch, don't you think? To help our patients feel more at home.
Paris: What's gotten into him?
Torres: It's a long story.