 | Voyager enters the deadly anomaly - a lifeform that has lured them inside it! As it does so, the crew, all save Seven and Naomi (and the Doctor, who is offline), believe they have returned to Earth. |
 | Neelix believes that he is met by Starfleet admirals who congratulate him. |
 | The crew believe that Earth is on the main viewscreen and that the ship is approaching it. |
 | The reality - Voyager is deep inside the lifeform! And the crew are unconscious, suffering hallucinations. |  |
 | Tuvok hallucinates that he is reunited with his wife, T'Pel. But in reality he is unconscious! |  |
 | Naomi makes her way from the cargo bay to Engineering. |
 | Naomi enters engineering.  standard doors Inside engineering she sees Seven lying unconscious. As she moves toward her, however, she is stopped by the forcefield Seven erected. She sustains a cut on her cheek as a result. |
 | She calls to Seven: "Seven, wake up! Seven of Nine! Wake up!" |
 | As Seven regains consciousness and gets up, Naomi indicates the forcefield with her finger: "Forcefield?"
Seven deactivates the forcefield and Naomi runs to join her at the control console. |
 | Seven: "You are damaged."
Naomi: "It's just a scrape." Seven: "The crew?" Naomi: "Unconscious, sort of." Seven: "Our hull is demolecularising." Naomi: "Do wormholes do that?" Seven: "No, they don't. Return your quarters while I assess the situation." Naomi: "But I can help. My Mom says 'two heads are better than one'. Isn't that the Borg philosophy too?" Seven: "Simplistic, but accurate." Naomi: "Please, I don't want to be alone." Seven acknowledges this and they leave engineering together. |
 | On their way along the corridor, Naomi suddenly sees Neelix lying unconscious. She runs over to him, deeply upset.
Naomi: "Neelix! Neelix." Seven: "He will survive. We must keep moving. Naomi Wildman! We will return for him." Naomi holds out her arms. Seven picks her up and walks off along the corridor, leaving Neelix." |
 | As they walk along a corridor with windows onto space, they see what Voyager is inside.
Naomi: "I don't think that's Earth." Seven: "No." Naomi: "So where are we?" |
 |
Once they reach the Astrometrics Lab, Seven works at the computer consoles and then announces: "I've restored partial systems. I'm reading organic compounds, bio-plasmic discharges, a vast network of neural pathways."
Naomi: "Is it a lifeform?" Seven: "If it is, it's the largest I've seen - over 2,000 kilometres in diameter." Naomi: "What are you doing?" Seven: "My earlier scans revealed a vessel. I'm trying to find it again." Naomi: "Somebody else is stuck here?" Seven: "Possibly. There! It's heavily damaged, but still functioning." She opens a com. channel. "Alien vessel, respond. This is the starship Voyager. Please respond." Qatai answers the hail. "I told you to stay away," he growls. "Why didn't you listen?!" Seven: "Our crew believed they were returning to their homes." Qatai: "Everything they've always wanted, correct?" Seven: "Yes." Qatai: "He deceived them." Naomi: "He?" Seven: "I believe we should work together to escape this anomaly. Lower your shields and I'll beam you aboard." Qatai: "Shields are the only thing holding my ship together. I'd be destroyed." Seven: "I will enhance your shield emitters." Qatai: "You won't fool me that easily!" Seven: "I assure you we are not a deception." Qatai, sarcastically: "Oh, how convenient! An enormous starship comes to my rescue. You might try a more subtle approach!" Seven: "My scans indicate your shields will fail in approximately 15 minutes. Join us or you can remain on your vessel secure in the knowledge that you were not deceived, but that knowledge will do you little good when you are dead. Decide now!" Qatai: "Alright. Alright! I'm taking my shields down." Seven beams him to the Astrometrics Lab. Qatai looks around him cautiously. He steps up to them, touches Seven's face, and pinches Naomi in the arm. Naomi cries, "Ow!" Qatai: "You look real enough. But over the years he's made me believe many things are real: a fortune at my fingertips, good friends risen from the dead..." Seven: "You're referring to the anomaly we've entered." Qatai: "Anomaly? It's a beast - cunning, deadly." Seven: "What does it want?" Qatai: "You, your ship - anti-matter, bio-matter, he consumes it." Seven: "Everyone believed it was a wormhole." Qatai: "Telepathy, psychogenic manipulation. He senses your thoughts, your desires, and then he preys on them." Naomi: "Like a pitcher plant?" Qatai: "Pitcher plant?" Naomi: "The Doctor taught me about it in botany class. It catches insects by mimicking pheremones." Qatai: "Yes, you're right. But this one doesn't eat insects. He eats starships." Seven: "You are familiar with this lifeform." Qatai: "Familiar? I've been hunting it for nearly 40 years." Seven: "And have you become impervious to its telepathy?" Qatai: "Almost, but there are days when he can still trick me, like yesterday: I thought I had found a way to kill him once and for all. I'd allow him to begin consuming my ship, then I'd fly directly to his most vulnerable system - his primary neural plexus. Boom!" Naomi jumps. "I'd destroy him from the inside out. But he knew. He showed me what I wanted to see. I was nowhere near his neural plexus. I was flying directly into his digestion chamber." The ship is rocked again. "And speaking of digestion...." Naomi: "How do we get out of the monster?" Seven: "It's not a monster. It's a bio-plasmic organism and we will find a way out." Qatai: "No, the girl's right. He is a monster. And the only way out is to destroy him." |
 | The Doctor is brought online.
Doctor: "Please state the nature of the medical emergency." Qatai: "Your ship is being devoured. I'd say that's an emergency." Naomi: "The monster took his ship too." Doctor: "Monster?" Qatai: "I want to see your weapons manifest." Doctor: "Weapons? This is a Sickbay, not an arsenal. What's going on?" Seven: "Voyager's been lured into the digestive chamber of a bio-plasmic organism. We require your assistance in plotting an escape route." Doctor: "Slow down. The last thing I remember I was speaking to Mr Paris. He said the wormhole posed a threat to my program." |
| Qatai: "The beast has been manipulating your crew. The moment he realised you were beginning to suspect something he made sure you were deactivated."
Doctor: "And who might you be? The local monster expert?" Qatai: "As a matter of fact, I am. He's been fooling you for days, creating false sensor readings and he's been altering your crew's thought patterns - a little neurogenic telepathy to make them lower their guard." Doctor: "That might explain the heightened dopamine levels I found during my routine examinations of the crew. Have you informed the Captain?" Naomi: "She's asleep." Doctor: "Asleep?" Seven: "It's our proximity to the creature. The neurogenic field is stronger here. It's already rendered most of the crew unconscious." To Qatai: "Does your vessel's database contain details of the creature's anatomy?" Qatai: "Of course." Seven: "Retrieve it." Doctor: "In the meantime, let's work on a wake-up call for the crew." |
| The Doctor has brought Torres into Sickbay and has attached a cortical inhibitor to her.
Doctor: "Computer, increase neuro-transmitter levels by 29 per cent. Qatai: "A cortical inhibitor? Doctor: "I thought it might disrupt the organism's hold on her. Qatai: "It won't. I already tried a similar procedure. Doctor: "I don't remember asking for a second opinion. It's working." Torres starts to stir. "She's regaining consciousness." Torres: "Doctor?" Doctor: "You're being exposed to a powerful neurogenic field. You've been unconscious for several hours." Torres: "They're here!" Doctor: "Who?" Torres: "The Maquis! They're alive!" Doctor: "B'Elanna, you're still on Voyager. You're hallucinating!" Torres: "Starfleet thinks you've all been killed!" Doctor: "Computer, increase neuro-transmitter levels by another 10 per cent." But Torres continues talking to the Maquis she believes she can see. "B'Elanna, focus on my voice." Qatai: "She doesn't want to." The Doctor realises his treatment has failed and switches off the cortical inhibitor, and Torres lapses back into unconsciousness. Qatai tells him: "They never want to." |
         
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