Blood Fever ( episode ) B ' Elanna Torres experiences symptoms similar to the pon farr after being attacked by Ensign Vorik who is also undergoing the blood fever . Summary . Teaser . comes into orbit around an apparently - uninhabited planet that has been detected to contain gallicite , a substance that can be used to refit the ship ' s warp coil s . Closer sensor sweeps reveal at least a kiloton of the material , more than enough to do the job . There also appears to be an abandoned colony site on the planet . Captain Janeway places B ' Elanna Torres in charge of an operation to potentially collect and utilize the gallicite . Janeway advises her to involve Neelix , as he has mining experience . In engineering , Torres and Ensign Vorik are examining the gallicite deposits further and find artificial tunnels , suggesting past mining operations . After they are finished with their examination , much to Torres ' dismay , Vorik makes the koon - ut - so ' lik - the ritual Vulcan marriage proposal . On top of her objection that the proposal is too sudden , Torres remembers that Vulcan s typically have arranged marriage s but Vorik notes that his betrothed likely considers him lost and would have chosen a different mate by now . After repeated rebuffs of his advances , Vorik attacks Torres , attempting to place her in a mind meld . Torres is able to break away from Vorik , punching him in the face and knocking him across Main Engineering . Act One . In sickbay , The Doctor diagnoses Vorik as having a dislocated jaw and a neurochemical imbalance which he must discuss with Vorik privately . Torres leaves disgusted , after which The Doctor reveals to Vorik that he is going through " pon farr " . Vorik ' s distress upon hearing the diagnosis suggests it is his very first " pon farr " , which can be particularly dangerous to those who are not experienced at mitigating their own symptoms . The Doctor has extremely little information on " pon farr " and requests in vain for any information . Somewhat embarrassed and determined to deal with it himself , Vorik requests to be allowed to deal with the situation himself . With no other alternative for the moment The Doctor agrees , telling Vorik he is confined to quarters and also fits him with a cortical monitor . The Doctor goes to the only other person who could possibly help Vorik : Tuvok . But even he is unwilling to discuss things with The Doctor , leading The Doctor to make the very Human judgment that Vulcans have a Victorian attitude toward sex . Tuvok does say that Vorik only has three alternatives to death : taking a mate , fighting for a mate or intense meditation . He feels that attempting to intervene would be counter - productive . Torres , Neelix and Tom Paris meet in a transporter room where Torres informs the other two that Vorik will not be joining them on the surface . They examine the route they will be taking to the most accessible , useful vein of gallicite and beam down . Neelix and Paris take note of Torres ' unusually cheerful attitude . As they move toward their destination , Neelix finds a colony . Though it suggests it has only been abandoned for fifty to sixty years , it is in bad decay . Paris wants to explore it but Torres suggests , almost flirtatiously , that Paris wants to delay showing off his climbing ability in the gallicite caves . They all head off towards the caves . In the caves , they find that the tunnels are steeper than they expected . They put their fusing piton s into the rocks and descend . However , Neelix ' s piton breaks and he falls , pulling Torres off the face as well . Neelix injures his knee in the landing and Torres yells at him for nearly getting them all killed . Paris tries to get Torres to calm down , noting that he checked Neelix ' rigging work and that his piton must have malfunctioned . Torres decides to continue the mission on her own , even though Neelix has to return to the ship . Paris tries to stop her but she bites him on the cheek and runs away . Paris stays with Neelix and taps his combadge , saying , " " Paris to " Voyager " . We ' ve got problems down here . " " Act Two . Upon being briefed by Paris as to the situation , including Torres ' unusual behavior , Janeway orders a second away team for rescue . Tuvok delays however , suspecting he knows what is wrong with Torres . He goes to Vorik ' s quarters and apologizing for interrupting during such a sensitive time , tries to get him to reconstruct the earlier events with Torres . Vorik states that it was difficult to remember but he recalls putting his hands to her face . Tuvok figures out that Vorik initiated a mind meld in an attempt to establish a telepathic mating bond . He surmises that the mind meld awoke in Torres her compatible Klingon mating instincts ( which are very similar to " pon farr " and potentially just as dangerous to herself and others ) . Vorik wants to help her but Tuvok advises the younger Vulcan to continue his meditative efforts , suggesting that Torres would not want his help . Chakotay and Tuvok go to the surface and brief Paris on Torres ' potentially life - threatening situation . As Neelix is taken to safety , Chakotay , Tuvok and Paris go after Torres . They find her deeper in the caves , where she has discovered live artificial lighting circuitry in the richest deposits of gallicite . The crew , for the moment , is more concerned about helping Torres but she is unaware of what ' s going on with her , growing increasingly more irritated and angry . She can ' t understand why the others are acting the way they are . Right then , alien s appear , holding weapons . Act Three . The aliens confront the away team , asking what they want on their planet . Chakotay tries to assure the aliens that they mean no harm . The aliens are suspicious of Torres but Tuvok tries to assure them she is ill and they are trying to get her to safety . Chakotay tells the aliens they thought the planet was uninhabited . The head alien is permitted to examine a phaser and confirms that their tricorder s did not previously detect any life forms . Suddenly , a seismic alarm sounds and the aliens warn them that the walls are unstable . One of the aliens tries to push Torres to safety and is attacked . As an earthquake occurs , the aliens disappear with Chakotay and Tuvok , while Paris tries to calm Torres down . Neither the aliens nor Chakotay and Tuvok can be detected , revealing a jamming field that blocks life sign s . Paris promises to explain to Torres what ' s wrong with her but insists they have to get to the ship before trying to find Chakotay and Tuvok . In sickbay , Vorik has returned to The Doctor , who injects a hypospray to regulate Vorik ' s serotonin levels . He also has postulated a possible course for regulation of symptoms but Vorik is still reluctant to accept help . The Doctor advises that , in " Voyager " s current situation , he may need all the help that he can get from his friends onboard . The Doctor takes Vorik to a holodeck , where he suggests he use a holographic Vulcan female named T ' Pera to deal with his " urges " . Vorik disdains mating with a hologram because " she isn ' t real " , but seeing no alternatives , suggests he may try it . Underground , Torres is trying to make sense of what Paris is telling her . Paris is aware that a bite like she gave him could be an initiation of a Klingon mating ritual . Torres is uncertain of what to do and unwilling to have anything to do with Vorik . Paris assures Torres that The Doctor should be able to help her . When they come to a blockage caused by the earlier tremor , Paris stops Torres from trying to blast it open with a phaser rifle . In the struggle over the rifle , Paris realizes she is initiating a mating ritual with him and resists her actions , even when she begs him to give in . Paris asks her to fight her urges as long as possible , unwilling to take advantage of her when she ' s vulnerable . Act Four . In a hidden tunnel , one of the aliens , a Sakari named Ishan , interrogates Tuvok and Chakotay , wanting to know everything about them , their ship and their technology . He takes particular interest in an artificial joint in one of Tuvok ' s elbows . Chakotay wants to know why the Sakari have taken such great lengths to avoid detection . Ishan says that invaders came long before he was born and destroyed the Sakari civilization . The survivors have hidden underground ever since . Chakotay offers " Voyager " s help to improve their concealment techniques – particularly the concealment of their gallicite , which is how " Voyager " found them , and remove the remaining surface traces of their civilization . Ishan agrees but states that the visitors will be supervised at all times . Then , the Sakari ' s seismic alert sounds again . A partial cave - in occurs where Torres and Paris are trapped . They are okay but the rifle has been buried , hindering their escape . Torres has a moment of weakness and resumes her advances on Paris . She states that she thinks he wants her as bad as she wants him but he is still unwilling to give in . Torres challenges him , telling how she knows he has some feelings for her . She begs him not to push her away , claiming that she does feel the same way . They finally kiss but Paris regains his wits , leaving Torres frustrated by his unwillingness to help by mating with her . On " Voyager " , The Doctor returns to the holodeck where he sees Vorik , who appears more relaxed . He suggests that the holoprogram has helped and wants to return to duty . The Doctor isn ' t ready to release him to work yet . The Doctor reports to Janeway and suggests that the holodeck might work with Torres as well . He enthuses to Vorik about the possibility of publishing a paper the various races ' mating rituals , purely " " from a socio - biological point of view " " , but Vorik ' s non - verbal reaction causes The Doctor to catch himself , assuring the Vulcan that this private medical matter will remain private . In the caves , Torres ' agony is starting to worsen , to the point of short - term amnesia . Chakotay and Tuvok finally clear the rocks from the other side of the tunnel and get Paris and Torres to the surface . When they arrive however , they find communications with " Voyager " are down . Tuvok notices Torres ' condition and tells Paris that the only solution is for he and Torres to mate . If they do not he surmises , Torres " will " die . Paris agrees and Tuvok and Chakotay give them their privacy as Torres practically drags Paris by the hand off into the forest . Act Five . Off in the surrounding forest , he and Torres begin to give in to the urges . Before they get too far however , they are interrupted by an enraged Vorik , who has beamed to the surface and is now determined to mate with Torres at any cost . He shouts for Tuvok and declares his intention to initiate the " koon - ut - kal - if - fee " , which Tuvok explains is a ritual challenge in order to win Torres ' hand in marriage . He wants to fight Paris to the death , a challenge everyone knows Paris will lose . Vorik confirms that not only is he the one that disabled communications , but did the same with the shuttles and the transporters to stop any interference . Torres prevents a tragedy by declaring herself her own champion . Chakotay is hesitant to allow it but Tuvok convinces him , explaining that it is B ' Elanna ' s right under Vulcan custom - and it ' s the only option the two engineers have left . With Tuvok officiating the challenge , Vorik and Torres fight and Torres ultimately knocks Vorik unconscious after a long and vicious hand - to - hand battle . Torres , exhausted , falls into Paris ' s arms . The fight clears both Torres and Vorik of their blood fever and they are out of harm ' s way . Back onboard , Paris and Torres run into each other on a turbolift . While both feeling uneasy regarding recent events , she tells him the retrofitting of the warp coils is going well . Paris halts the turbolift and they talk through what happened , taking into account that they will likely be on the ship together for a very long time . Paris states bluntly that he didn ' t think Torres ' Klingon side was that frightening and that he welcomed the possibility of seeing it again some day . As she leaves the turbolift on her level , Torres amicably warns him to be careful what he wishes for . On the surface of the planet , Chakotay sends an urgent hail to Captain Janeway to beam down to his coordinates . He has found something she absolutely needs to see . When she arrives , he takes her to some bushes and pulls them aside to reveal what he has found : the ancient remains of one of the invaders who destroyed the Sakari civilization . Janeway immediately recognizes them in horror : the remains of a Borg drone . Memorable quotes . " " I have always had great respect for B ' Elanna . I hope she isn ' t too . . . upset with me . " " " " With Lieutenant Torres , " upset " is a relative term . " " " " For such an intellectually enlightened race , Vulcans have a remarkably Victorian attitude about sex . " < br > " " That is a very Human judgment , Doctor . " < br > " " Then here ' s a Vulcan one : I fail to see the logic in perpetuating ignorance about a basic biological function . " " < br > " " There is nothing logical about the Pon Farr . It is a time when instinct and emotion dominate over reason . " " " " I tried to stop her from leaving , captain , but she got very hostile and uh . . . bit me . " " " " Lieutenant Torres has never been a great follower of logic . " " " " B ' Elanna , stop it ! This isn ' t about the gun , this is about " sex " . But that ' s not gonna happen right now . " " " " When we get back to the ship , The Doctor should be able to help . Or there ' s always Vorik . . " " " " I am " not " helping that Vulcan " petaQ ! " " " " I ' ll get to work designing the half - Klingon version of the program . There ' s a copious amount of information in the cultural database about their mating practices . Did you know that fracturing a clavicle on the wedding night is actually considered a blessing on the marriage ? " " " " Are you telling me that I ' m impossible to resist ? " " " " I wouldn ' t go that far . " " " " I know this is a pretty bizarre situation . Probably not what either one of us had in mind . " " " " Tom , be quiet . " " " " So , this is the part where you throw heavy objects at me ? " " " " Maybe later . " " " " What are you doing ? " " " " Enjoying myself ? " " " " Then show it ! " " " " You ' re " my " mate , not his ! " " " " No one will keep me from my mate ! " " " " If anyone is going to smash your arrogant little face in , I will ! I take your challenge myself ! " " " " You ' re afraid that your big , scary Klingon side might have been showing . Well , I saw it up close and you know , it wasn ' t so terrible . In fact , I wouldn ' t mind seeing it again someday . " " " " Careful what you wish for , Lieutenant . " " " " We found this as we were clearing away the ruins . Undoubtedly , one of the invaders who destroyed this colony . " " Links and references . References . Borg ; Borg drone ; chemical imbalance ; clavicle ; cortical monitor ; cortical scan ; fusing piton ; gallicite ; geo - spectral analysis kit ; holodeck ; ignorance ; kiloton ; Klingon ; Klingon mating rituals ; " koon - ut - kal - if - fee " ; " koon - ut - so ' lik " ; laser drill ; logic ; Milky Way Galaxy ; microcellular scan ; mining ; neurochemical imbalance ; Osana caverns ; Paxau Resort ; " pon farr " ; Pon farr therapy program ; safety equipment ; Sakari ; sample case ; serotonin ; sociobiology ; T ' Pera ; tricorder ; turbolift ; ; Vulcan s ; Vulcan ( planet ) ; Vulcan mating rituals ; warp coil ; wedding