Gravity ( episode ) Tom Paris , Tuvok , and The Doctor ' s shuttle crashes on a deserted planet within a temporally - distorted area of space , stranding the two with an alien woman who falls in love with Tuvok . Summary . Teaser . In a flashback , an adolescent Vulcan has entered remedial emotional control training under the guidance of a Vulcan Master . The boy tells the master he does not want to be there , and the master tells him that he is a prisoner of nothing but his emotions – he may leave if he wishes to . The boy admits he has nowhere else to go , since he has been banished from his home , and he has lost his seat at his school . The boy then angrily wonders why he must deny feelings if he was born with them . The master tells him that his emotions can be a powerful tool , but that he must learn to control them . The boy vows to question everything he is told , and the master tells him he would not be a worthy pupil otherwise . He then tells him , " " Sit down , Tuvok . " " Act One . On a barren , desert planet , a female alien dressed in protective clothing uses a sonic device to hunt large spiders that live under rocks . She hears a loud noise , and looks up to see a descent trail and uses binoculars to see that a shuttle has crash land ed . She goes to the crash site to scavenge the wreckage , and is interrupted by Tom Paris . She threatens him with a weapon ( although they cannot directly communicate , as the universal translator is apparently malfunctioning ) and steals the medkit he is carrying , along with some other supplies . The female alien starts to head back to her own crashed vessel , but is ambushed by aliens . Tuvok rescues her from them , then introduces himself . She identifies herself as Noss , and he helps her back to the shuttle . On the shuttle , Paris is trying to contact " Voyager " , but his signal is bounced back every time by the distortion that pulled them in . Tuvok enters with Noss , and Paris treats her injuries with the medkit she " borrowed " . Tuvok gives her some food , and Paris tells him that the shuttle is damaged beyond repair , and that the system they are in is stuck in a pocket of subspace . The Doctor is with them , but his mobile emitter was damaged in the crash and he is off - line . Noss senses approaching danger outside the shuttle , and Tuvok scans with his tricorder , detecting thirteen approaching aliens of the same species that attacked Noss . He tells Paris to gather as many supplies as he can carry , and that they will relocate to Noss ' ship , since she has apparently been able to survive for quite a while and clearly has more secure shelter . The three of them make their way to Noss ' much larger ship , which also apparently crash landed on the planet . Tuvok discovers that Noss has been able to erect a force field around the ship , but although it is secure shelter , the ship is otherwise unsalvageable . Paris manages to repair The Doctor ' s mobile emitter and reactivates him , startling Noss . Fortunately , The Doctor is able to communicate with Noss using the universal translator that is integrated into his program , and he has a brief conversation with her . He learns that she has been here for fourteen seasons , and has seen many ships come down , but none have ever gone back up again . Act Two . After having apparently been on the planet for quite a while , Paris is trying ( unsuccessfully ) to hunt spiders . Noss gives him another lesson . Paris laments that he doesn ' t know what ' s worse , hunting them or eating them . On Noss ' ship , The Doctor learns to his dismay that his program should be kept off - line as much as possible , to preserve his mobile emitter as a potential source of power . Noss and Paris return , and Noss tells Tuvok the hunt was good , apparently having been with the two of them long enough to begin to understand their language . Noss and Tuvok bond while cooking a meal , and she asks him to describe his life on " Voyager " . Later , during the meal , Paris regales Noss with stories of his long courtship of B ' Elanna Torres . Tom realizes that Noss has become romantically attracted to Tuvok , and tells him that he should try a relationship with Noss since it is unlikely he will ever see again . Tuvok is clearly offended , although he obviously doesn ' t show it . Later , after dark , Tuvok is re - calibrating their distress beacon , and Paris apologizes for his prior bluntness . He tells Tuvok that he has seen the way Noss looks at Tuvok , and tells him that he has seen that Tuvok looks at Noss " " like someone who wishes he wasn ' t Vulcan " " . In another flashback , the young Tuvok tells the master he wishes he hadn ' t been born Vulcan . The master accuses Tuvok of self - pity . Young Tuvok reveals that the reason he lost control of his emotions was that he was attracted to a daughter of a Terrelian diplomat named Jara , who is a student at his school . The master asks Tuvok what would be his reaction if the master had received a letter telling him that Jara was in love with someone else . Young Tuvok reacts emotionally , and says he would immediately challenge his romantic rival , whereupon the master tells him no such letter was received , and that young Tuvok must enter training to learn to control his emotions , especially love , or they will consume him . Act Three . On " Voyager " , Captain Janeway and the rest of the crew are searching for the lost shuttle , which has apparently been lost for only a few hours from their perspective . The ship gets caught in a gravimetric shear , or " subspace sinkhole " . They barely manage to escape the vortex , and they realize what happened to them obviously happened to the shuttle . Scanning the vortex in astrometrics , they realize that the shuttle has been missing apparently for months from the perspective of the shuttle crew , and that their multi - spatial probe is the only way to contact their missing crew members . Suddenly , an alien vessel crewed by the same species that attacked Noss the first time appears and tries to tractor " Voyager " away from the anomaly . The captain of the alien ship – Supervisor Yost – informs " Voyager " that they have lost eleven ships to the anomaly , and that they have decided to close the rift in less than a day rather than lose any more ships to it . The probe is launched , and it detects the distress beacon and reports back that a temporal differential means that every hour that passes on " Voyager " could mean weeks or months have passed on the planet . And , for more bad news , the increasing gravitational stress in the rift means that the entire system inside the sinkhole will be crushed . Act Four . Paris returns from an expedition to another area of the planet with a badly - injured Tuvok . The re - activated Doctor ( who has been off - line for two months ) treats the injuries and assures a worried Noss that Tuvok will be fine . She is clearly relieved . The Doctor tells Paris that he should remain on - line until Tuvok is recovered . While Tuvok is healing , Noss tends to him and her attraction to him grows . She kisses him but he pushes her away . Noss , very unhappy , asks him if he feels anything for her , but he tells her he feels nothing but respect and appreciation for her . He cannot give her anything more . She replies " " You cannot , or you will not ? ! " " She then berates him , asking why he is always so logic al . She insults him in her own language , which Tuvok appears to at least partially understand , and storms out . On " Voyager " , the crew has found a way to use the multi - spatial probe as a comm signal and a transporter relay . The problem is that that the aliens are ready to seal the rift , and " Voyager " has limited time to rescue their stranded crewmates . On the planet , Tuvok is meditating , and an agitated Paris berates him for breaking Noss ' heart and causing her to threaten to leave , because it is too painful for her to be around Tuvok . Tuvok tells Paris that Noss is under the influence of unfettered emotions . Paris tells Tuvok that not everyone has the ability to " fetter " his emotions the way Tuvok can , and that Noss is in love with him . If Tuvok can ' t return her love , at least try to let her down easy . Tuvok tells Paris that there is no easy way to recover from infatuation , explaining that this was a lesson he learned from his own painful personal experience as a young man ( with Jara ) . Tuvok tells Paris what he himself was told long ago ; that if he can ' t control his emotions , they will control him . Suddenly , the vortex that brought them where they are begins to experience distortions , caused by the alien vessel closing the rift . On " Voyager " , the crew realizes that they have only 29 minutes to rescue Paris and Tuvok before the rift is closed forever , and that they need to get them within a two - meter radius of their distress beacon . Janeway sends a message , which Paris , Noss , and Tuvok are able to speed up to their time frame . Based on " Voyager " s calculated temporal displacement ratio of 0 . 47 44 seconds per minute , they determine that they must wait over two days to get to the designated coordinates . However , more aliens have begun to gather to attack their position . Act Five . On the planet , the aliens have begun to set photon grenade s against the force field . Noss leaves the ship to repair the field generator , telling Tuvok that risking two lives would be illogical . " Voyager " has less than two minutes to beam them out before the rift is closed , which of course is a few hours from the perspective of the landing party . Two of the aliens continue to attack the force field while Noss struggles to keep it up . They manage to disengage it , and she drops one of them with her weapon , but the other one gets to her and attacks . On " Voyager " , they have only fifteen seconds to rescue their crew . On the planet , one of the aliens is about to deliver a killing blow to Noss , when Tuvok appears and shoots him . He then helps Noss back to their shelter , telling her he could not leave her behind . On " Voyager " : nine , eight , seven . . . On the planet , an alien breaks into the ship . Paris fights him off , and Tuvok shoots him . The four of them gather around the distress beacon . On " Voyager " : four , three , two , " " Initalize transport sequence . Energize . " " On the planet , the four are beamed up in the nick of time . Epilogue . " Voyager " has traveled to Noss ' homeworld , and Tuvok must say goodbye to her , while experiencing discomfort at her departure . Paris catches up with Tuvok and tells him he is impressed with how he has been able to hide how much of a romantic he really is , understanding how much he truly cares for her . Shortly thereafter , in the transporter room , Noss says goodbye to Paris with a hug , then realizing that it would be appropriate for Tuvok and Noss to say their goodbyes alone , Paris exits the transporter room , calling for the crewman at the transporter controls to also exit the room . Tuvok and Noss do not embrace , or show any other outward signs of emotion , but the Vulcan places his hand on his new friend ' s face in the manner of a mind meld , presumably to convey to her the extent of his emotions towards her . She says simply " I understand " , and Tuvok beams her down to her home world . Later , Tuvok meditates in his quarters . In a final flashback , the adolescent Tuvok has learned to control his emotions , and has learned to be guided by the IDIC philosophy . The Vulcan master tells him his training is now complete , and that he is prepared to return to the world , and that he will control his emotions – they will not control him . Tuvok is . . . grateful . Memorable quotes . " " Either the universal translator is offline , or I hit my head harder than I thought . " " " " First day in town and I ' ve already been mugged ! " " " " More spiders ? " " " " Oh , no . Three is my limit . " " " " I ' m a doctor , not a battery . " " " " Only until you are needed . " " " " Make way for the mighty hunters . " " " " If Mr . Paris ' s hunting ability is anything to go by , maybe we should take " him " offline . " " " " Thanks for the vote of confidence , Doc . " " " " Tuvok , everyone feels a little insane when they fall in love , but it ' s worth the risk . " " " " For you , perhaps . But I am Vulcan . My natural emotions are erratic , volatile . If I don ' t control them , they will control me . " " " " You know something ? I always thought that beneath that cold , Vulcan exterior lay a . . . even colder , Vulcan interior . But now , I ' m convinced you ' re a hopeless romantic . " " " " There is no need to insult me , Mister Paris . " " " " Live long and prosper , Noss . " " " " You , too . " " Links and references . References . 47 ; antigraviton ; battery ; " bilak par " ; binoculars ; carrier wave ; class D ; " Delta Flyer ; " distress beacon ; EM displacement ; eros ; field generator ; force field ; gravimetric distortion ; gravimetric disturbance ; gravimetric shear ; G - type star ; gravity well ; IDIC ; helium ; hydrogen ; " I ' m a doctor , not a . . . " ; inaprovaline ; internal bleeding ; isodyne ; Jara ; Jara ' s " crush " ; Jara ' s father ; kilometer ; Kol - Ut - Shan ; logic ; matchmaker ; medkit ; medical tricorder ; meter ; multispatial probe ; Noss ' homeworld ; Noss ' ship ; optronic relay ; photon grenade ; plasma ; polarity ; " pon farr " ; pupil ; red alert ; Renovation Team Nova ; rescue mission ; resonator coil ; rib ; shield polarity ; " shon - ha ' lock " ; spider ; star system ; subdural hematoma ; subspace ; subspace sinkhole ; ; temporal differential ; Terrelian ; tractor beam ; tricorder ; Type 6 shuttlecraft ; universal translator ; Vulcan s ; Vulcan ( planet ) ; Vulcan master ; Vulcan nerve pinch ; Vulcan mind meld ; warp field