Parallax ( episode ) Investigating an apparent distress call , " Voyager " becomes trapped inside the event horizon of a quantum singularity . Summary . Teaser . In sickbay , Lieutenant Carey is being treated by The Doctor after getting into a conflict over the power grid in engineering with B ' Elanna Torres . He is extremely furious with Torres , telling Chakotay and Tuvok that he wants her kept away from engineering after Chakotay tells Carey that he will have a word with Torres . Carey yells at Chakotay to " " keep that woman out of my engine room and everything will be fine ! " " The two officers leave sickbay and discuss the situation in the corridor . A difference in opinion occurs when Tuvok wants Torres confined to the brig with the possibility that she ' ll receive a court martial on the ship , while Chakotay prefers to deal with her on his own . Chakotay is able to persuade Tuvok to let him deal with Torres and enters a turbolift alone , while Tuvok warns that he intends to make a full report in his security log . While proceeding to Torres ' quarters , Chakotay passes Crewman Jarvin and Ensign Seska , who let him know that they will support him in any way possible , if it comes to it . Chakotay ' s bad mood becomes worse at being told this and threatens to personally throw them in the brig for mutiny if he hears it again , leaving Jarvin and Seska shocked . In her quarters , Torres is fuming to the point that when she hears the door chime she throws a plate at the door which misses hitting Chakotay . He hands her a PADD containing information on Joe Carey ' s medical status , and furiously tells her that if she ' d hit him a little harder she might have caused serious and permanent injury and now he has a Vulcan wanting to court martial her on one side and a crew ready to mutiny on the other . Torres mentions how much Carey irritates her . Chakotay tries to coax Torres into apologizing to Carey and getting to know him over a hot cup of pejuta , but Torres scoffs at the very idea . Chakotay then tells her that she could use the help and support of people like Carey if she wants to be the next chief engineer . Torres is suspicious about this , pointing out that Carey is next in line . But Chakotay tells her that she is the better engineer . He moves to leave her quarters , and Torres asks about what Captain Janeway thinks of the situation ; Chakotay replies by revealing that he hasn ' t told her – yet . Act One . In the briefing room , the senior staff members are discussing the situation of the power and personnel shortage , as Neelix and Kes invite themselves into the meeting . Given the energy shortage , dwindling rations and problems with the replicator s , Kes recommends converting cargo bay 2 into a hydroponics lab so they can grow their own vegetables . Janeway agrees , and puts Kes in charge of the project . Chakotay and Janeway then discuss the open chief engineer ' s position , for which Chakotay recommends Torres . Irritated by the suggestion , Janeway wonders – following all the complaints she has heard about Torres – exactly what job it is that Chakotay thinks she can do . He assures her that she is an excellent engineer and could do the job . Somewhat taken aback , Janeway then brings up the topic of medical staff due to the fact that the the Emergency Medical Hologram , which is substituting as the chief medical officer , is unable to leave sickbay and also has no bedside manner . It is decided that someone should train as a field medic , and Tom Paris is unhappy at being selected ( having taken two semesters of biochemistry in Starfleet Academy , he is the most qualified candidate ) . The staff briefing is interrupted when " Voyager " violently shakes ; those present at the meeting all proceed to the bridge . On the bridge , Seska reports that " Voyager " has encountered a spatial disturbance which is actually a type - 4 quantum singularity . A ship is caught near the event horizon and sends a transmission to " Voyager " . The message is erratic and cannot be understood . " Voyager " sends a transmission back , but there ' s no response . Janeway inquires about a tractor beam , but Harry Kim reports that subspace interference in the area is extremely heavy . Chakotay contacts engineering and asks Torres , who recommends remodulating a tractor beam to match the subspace interference . Janeway , who is upset at Chakotay contacting Torres directly rather than consulting the senior officer in charge , interrupts Chakotay and puts Carey in charge . She then asks Chakotay to see her in her ready room . In the ready room , Janeway and Chakotay begin an argument over duty and protocol on " Voyager " . Janeway tells him that his behavior on the bridge was unacceptable . Chakotay states that he contacted Torres because he felt that she would give him a quicker answer . He explains that , if she received a senior position and if the former Maquis crew members were granted more responsibility in general , they would finally become more loyal . Janeway argues that all the Starfleet officers have worked hard and earned their commissions , while the Maquis are criminals who ( apart from Chakotay , who was a command - level officer before his resignation from Starfleet ) are untrained and undisciplined so it would be asking too much that the Starfleet crew be forced to accept a Maquis being promoted above them especially one like Torres who has already shown she can ' t control herself and couldn ' t handle the Academy . She then tells Chakotay needs to stop seeing them as specifically his crew . Chakotay retorts that he won ' t be Janeway ' s " token " Maquis officer and the reason he treats them as his own people is that , if he wasn ' t looking out for them , no one else would . Janeway tells him that she ' ll consider any other Maquis officer he wants to recommend , but he insists Torres is the right choice for chief engineer and asks Janeway to at least talk to Torres and get to know her better . Act Two . Kes enters sickbay to retrieve some nitrogen ated soil for her hydroponics lab . The Doctor begins commenting on how he is going to be used for every minor medical problem that ' s going to occur . Kes notices The Doctor ' s sensitivity in his behavior , but also notices that he appears shorter . The Doctor performs a diagnostic on his imaging processor and discovers he has decreased in height by 10 . 4 centimeter s . He contacts Harry Kim and asks for assistance , but he ' s too busy . Before Kes leaves with her soil samples , she inquires if The Doctor has chosen a name , which he has not . She deactivates his program and leaves . The subspace tractor beam has been completed and is used . The beam is able to penetrate the singularity ' s event horizon , but the new power relays installed begin to fail . " Voyager " is jolted and begins to be pulled into the singularity . Full reverse is engaged but the tractor beam cannot be disabled , causing massive hull stress . Janeway orders the impulse engine s disengaged and " Voyager " begins moving forward again . She then orders the tractor beam disengaged , at which Carey cuts the power feed , manually ; the tractor beam is disengaged . In need of help , Janeway orders setting a course for Ilidaria ( a nearby , technologically - advanced society which Neelix had suggested might be willing to help ) at full impulse . Janeway decides to follow Chakotay ' s suggestion to talk with Torres and invites her to her ready room . The captain tries to bond with Torres , by talking to her about her past , especially with Starfleet Academy . Torres then notes that she didn ' t like Starfleet ' s system and angrily leaves , saying that she didn ' t want anything to do with Starfleet then and is sorry that she has to now . After Torres leaves , The Doctor contacts Janeway , using monitor input 47 , and notifies her of the error in his imaging system . He also relays news to her that nine crew members have reported severe headache s , muscle spasm s , sudden waves of dizziness , all of which are possibly related to the quantum singularity . The ship jolts and Janeway returns to the bridge , while leaving the channel to The Doctor open . Apparently , " Voyager " has found another type - 4 quantum singularity that has all the same properties as the one discovered earlier . Reports indicate , however , that " Voyager " is back to the same position as before , and that it is the same quantum singularity . Act Three . " Voyager " is turned in the opposite direction from the singularity and warp is engaged . At twelve million kilometers from the singularity , it appears ahead of the ship again . All departments are ordered to submit reports and a staff meeting is planned . Chakotay requests that Torres be invited along if she is still being considered as Chief Engineer , and Janeway decides to include her . In Engineering shortly beforehand , Carey submits news of the briefing to Torres , but tells her that he speaks for Engineering and warns her not to say anything unless directly asked , which prompts Seska to privately comment after he leaves to Torres that she should have broken more than his nose . In a corridor , Tuvok and Kim discuss the singularity situation . Kim changes the subject and inquires about the conflict in engineering , noting that he has heard Starfleet and Maquis are figuratively at each other ' s throats . Kim , all of a sudden , collapses , complaining of extreme dizziness . Tuvok helps him up and begins to escort him to sickbay . During the staff briefing , The Doctor reports that 27 more crew members have since encountered the symptoms he mentioned earlier ( a number that includes Kim ) . The Doctor has no idea what ' s going on and therefore cannot provide a treatment . The shrinking is still occurring ; at this point , he has lost 68 centimeters of height . The staff moves onto the subject of the singularity , for which no progress has been made . However , using the problem with The Doctor ' s imaging system , Torres ( who has , in fact , been behaving herself ) is able to determine that she could use a localized dampening field around the external sensors to contact the other ship . Janeway agrees with this idea and dismisses the staff to begin work . As Chakotay leaves , Janeway gives him a small nod to communicate that Torres is starting to impress her . The deflector dish is modified and the dampening field is deployed . The crew receive the transmission from the ship again . It is cleared up and it becomes evident to the crew that it is the same message Janeway transmitted earlier ; the ship is " Voyager " . Act Four . Torres has an explanation for the seeming duplication of the starship , so the staff returns to the briefing room . Torres vocally uses a reflection in water as a metaphor for the current situation , except that what the " Voyager " s crew is viewing is a time - delayed image of themselves . They estimate it will take nine hours until " Voyager " is destroyed by the singularity , so Torres recommends that they find a " crack " to escape . Remembering when they first entered the anomaly , Janeway and Torres think that " Voyager " made a hole in the event horizon and that they will need to find the same hole . Finishing each other ' s sentences , " warp particle s " is the idea developed by Torres and Janeway ; if all goes to plan , such particles will make the crack visible , allowing " Voyager " to fly out . The deflector dish is deactivated and warp particles are routed to the deflector . The particles are deployed and Paris locates an irregularity in the event horizon . The hole is too small , so they will have to expand it . Torres recommends using a dekyon beam to expand the hole . " Voyager " is too far to emit the beam , so a shuttlecraft has to be used . With their understanding of the " finer points " of temporal mechanics , both Janeway and Torres board the shuttle and leave " Voyager " . Act Five . On the shuttlecraft , the dekyon beam is prepared . Torres decides to use this moment to apologize to Janeway about her earlier behavior and also recalls that she left the Academy because she felt she couldn ' t make it in Starfleet . Janeway notes that Professor thought Torres was a promising cadet and , disappointed that she had quit , went as far as noting in her permanent record that he would support her re - entry if she ever decided to reapply . Torres is surprised to hear that , because she always felt that Chapman hated her and couldn ' t wait to see her kicked out of the Academy , but Janeway explains that some professors like students who challenge their assumptions , and many of Torres ' teachers agreed that she had the potential to be an excellent officer . The shuttle arrives at the irregularity and the dekyon beam is charged . They get close enough to fire the beam and do so , causing the hole to start widening . It reaches a 65 % increase in growth , as the shuttle starts to lose power . They turn around and return to find two " Voyager " s : they only have enough power to reach one with no way to communicate with the rest of the crew . Guessing , Janeway chooses the " Voyager " on the starboard side of the shuttlecraft while Torres chooses the one on the port side . Janeway realizes that the port one is moving towards the rift , which the real " Voyager " did , twenty minutes prior whereas the starboard one is pointed away to give them easier access to the shuttlebay . They go with Janeway ' s suggestion , which is indeed the correct one . " Voyager " begins to move towards the rift , which is slowly closing . The rift length reaches 110 meters , which is too small to facilitate the ship ' s exit . Knowing this is their only chance of escape , Janeway decides they ' re going to smash their way through and orders full power to the impulse engines as they approach the rift . Shields fail and the port impulse engines lose power . Despite the problems , " Voyager " is able to punch its way out and clears the singularity . Relieved , Janeway orders that " Voyager " be at least a hundred million kilometers away from the singularity before commencing repairs . In engineering , Chakotay notifies Torres that she has earned the position of chief engineer . Her first duty is to bring the warp drive online by 1300 hours , which she says is impossible . Chakotay suggests she break a few noses , or at least " bend " a few to make it happen . After the commander departs , she orders some officers to work on getting the isolinear bank up and running but they don ' t respond until she says " please . " Torres confronts Carey and asks for his help in her promotion as the new chief engineer . He gladly accepts , stating that she will never get anything less than his best , and they both shake hands . Meanwhile , on engineering ' s upper level , Janeway is observing Torres and the staff , as Chakotay joins her . Two crew members have already filed complaints on Torres ' promotion and she may be in for a rough period of adjustment , Janeway notes , but she has a feeling that adversities will soon subside . Chakotay asks Janeway a question – off the record – if things had happened differently and they were on the Maquis ship now instead of " Voyager " , would Janeway have served under him ? She responds , " " One of the nice things about being captain . . . is that you can keep some things to yourself . " " And back in sickbay , The Doctor contacts Janeway again and once again requests a repair crew to fix his imaging systems , as he is now only several centimeters tall and unable to treat Lieutenant Paris ' scratched hand , much to Tom ' s amusement . Memorable quotes . " " I didn ' t even come close to hitting him that hard . " " " " So , on the one side , I ' m facing a Vulcan who wants to court martial you . And on the other , I ' m facing all the Maquis who are ready to seize this ship over this . You ' ve turned this into one lousy day for me , Torres ! " " " " Engine efficiency is down another fourteen percent . If we don ' t get more power to the warp drive , we ' re all going to have to get out and push . " " " " I can do some wonderful things with vegetables , Captain ! My feragoit goulash is known across twelve star systems . " " " " We have a problem . " " " " Lieutenant , I understand you studied biochemistry at the Academy ? " " " " Uh , only two semesters . " " " " Close enough . You ' ve just volunteered to be a field medic . Report to The Doctor as soon as we ' re finished here . " " " " But , captain . . . ! " " " " If I ever hear you talk that way again , I ' ll personally throw you in the brig for mutiny ! " " " " I ' ve made a list of several Maquis candidates who would make good officers . " " " " B ' Elanna Torres ? She was the one involved in that incident with Mr . Carey ? " " " " That ' s right . " " " " Just what job do you think she ' s suited for ? " " " " Chief engineer . " " " " You ' re serious ? " " " " Very . " " " " Regarding sickbay . . . " " " " Now I know how Hippocrates felt when the king needed him to trim a hangnail . " " " " I ' ve never found your twisted sense of humor very funny , Chakotay . " " " " She struck a fellow officer . That is a court martial offense . " " " " She ' s a Maquis , and in the Maquis , sometimes you have to push people out of your way to get things done . " " " " I will never cease to be amazed at the Human capacity for hyperbole . " " " " Mr . Paris is about to impress us with his piloting skills . " " " " Wait a minute , wait . Wait a minute . Let me get this straight . We were cruising along at warp seven . Then , we picked up a distress call and moved in to investigate . But now , you ' re saying that the other ship is actually just a reflection of us and that the distress call is actually just the captain ' s opening hail . But we picked up the distress call " before " she sent the hail . How could we have been seeing a reflection of something we hadn ' t even done yet ? Am I making any sense here ? " " " " No , but that ' s okay . " " " " This isn ' t another singularity . . . It ' s the same one ! " " " " She ' s the best engineer I ' ve ever known . She could teach at the Academy ! You ' re right , Captain ; I do consider these to be my people because nobody else on this ship will look out for them like I will . And I ' m telling you : you ' re going to have to give them more authority if you want their loyalty . " " " " Theirs or yours , Commander ? " " " " I have no intention of being your token Maquis officer ! " " " " In command school , they taught us to always remember that maneuvering a starship is a very delicate process , but over the years , I ' ve learned that , sometimes , you just have to punch your way through . Mr . Paris , full impulse power . " " " " ' Sometimes you just have to punch your way through . ' I ' ll have to remember that one . " " " " Can I ask you a question , off the record ? If things had happened differently , and we were on the Maquis ship now instead of " Voyager " , would you have served under me ? " " " " One of the nice things about being captain is that you can keep some things to yourself . " " Links and references . References . 47 ; assault ; astrogation ; astrogation plotter ; auxiliary power ; bedside manner ; biochemistry ; black hole ; brig ; cargo bay ; cerebellum ; ; cheek ; chief engineer ; chief medical officer ; confined to quarters ; court martial ; cranium ; dampening field ; Deep Space 9 ; dekyon ; distress call ; dizziness ; Emergency Medical Hologram ; Emergency medical holographic channel ; energy matrix ; ethmoid fossa ; event horizon ; Feragoit goulash ; field medic ; gravimetric flux density ; gravimetric force ; hangnail ; Hippocrates ; holodeck ; holodeck reactor ; hull stress ; hydroponics ; hyperbole ; Ilidaria ; Ilidaria system ; imaging processor ; ; Maquis ; medical practitioner ; microscope ; muscle spasm ; navigational scan ; nitrogen ; nitrogenated soil ; Ocampa ; " pejuta " ; permanent file ; pimple ; plasma conduit ; power grid ; quantum singularity ; runny nose ; sculpture ; semester ; seniority ; speaker ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet General Orders and Regulations ; statue ; subspace tractor beam ; tachyon signal ; Talaxian ; temporal mechanics ; " " ; theodolite ; transporter chief ; Type 8 shuttlecraft ; " Val Jean " ; Vulcan