 | Planning for the away mission gets under way in Engineering as they examine a schematic of the Malon freighter. |
| Chakotay: "This chamber seems to be the least affected by radiation. We'll beam in there."
Pelk: "That's fifteen decks below the control room." Chakotay: "We'll have to work our way up." Fesek: "The pressurisation systems, they're offline. How will we vent the gas?" Neelix: "There are two main airlocks on each deck. We'll open them as we go, perform a series of controlled decompressions." Pelk: "What's to stop us from being vented?" Neelix: "Forcefields. I spent six years aboard a Talaxian garbage scow. I know a few things about waste management." Pelk: "Even low levels of theta radiation can be lethal." Chakotay: "Our Doctor's developed an inoculation. It'll temporarily prevent our cells from absorbing the radiation." Fesek: "How long will it last?" Chakotay: "Two, three hours." Pelk: "Half of the doors and bulkheads are fused. The ascenders are offline. It could take us twice as long as that to reach the control room." Chakotay: "Then we'll have to work quickly. We'll take phasers to cut through any obstacles." Fesek: "I've ordered my men to do a lot of risky things, but nothing as foolish as this." Torres, caustically to Fesek: "More foolish than towing around a trillion isotons of toxic waste?" Fesek: "We take every precaution to keep it contained." Torres: "Until you dump it in someone's back yard." Fesek to Torres: "Is your crew always so diplomatic?" Chakotay: "Your concerns are noted." He issues orders to Neelix: "Get them inoculated. We'll meet you in Transporter Room 1." Neelix picks up the medkit, and he and Fesek leave. |
 | Chakotay to Torres: "We're trying to avoid explosions, remember?"
Torres: "Ugh! Not another lecture about my emotions." Chakotay: "No, a lecture about how to treat guests aboard this ship." Torres: "Guests? Chakotay, these people are the scourge of the Quadrant." Chakotay: "Agreed, but right now they're our only hope of repairing that freighter, so I suggest you make friends." |
 | Torres: "Diplomacy. Janeway's answer to everything." |
 | Chakotay: "This isn't the Captain talking, it's me, and I'm giving you an order. Keep your temper in check. Understood?" She does not reply. "Understood?"
Torres, quietly, reluctantly: "Yeah." Chakotay, firmly: "I didn't hear you." Torres: "Yes." Chakotay rebukes her firmly: "B'Elanna, I need your expertise on this mission, not your bad mood." 
Torres: "I'll see what I can do." She leaves. |
| In the Galley, Neelix has brewed up a disgusting-looking concoction. He sprinkles herbs on it and mixes them in. He tests it. He nearly gags but forces it down, half-choking and spluttering - the stuff tastes really horrible. Chakotay enters.
Chakotay: "Ready, Neelix?" Neelix gasps: "Er, not quite. Do we still have a minute?" At last his half-choking and spluttering finally stop, as Chakotay looks on. "It's just it's not quite strong enough yet. Ah. Now, would you mind passing me that little dish?" Chakotay: "Neelix, I admire your dedication, but the crew can figure out lunch on their own." Neelix: "Lunch and dinner and a midnight snack have all been taken care of. This is for me. It's a Talaxian theta radiation remedy - crushed Rama leaf and Katyllian clove. It helps fortify the cellular membranes." Chakotay: "I think the Doctor's inoculation might be a better way to go." Neelix: "Every little bit helps. Oh, by the way, thank you." Chakotay: "For what?" Neelix: "For sending me on such an important mission, er, not that my duties in the Messhall aren't challenging." Chakotay: "It was an easy choice. You were the best man for the job." Neelix: "Well, our scow once ran smack into a theta radiation field, knocked the propulsion out. We had no choice but to sit there. We were barely alive when they found us. If it hadn't been for this, nobody would've survived." He tries some more. Chakotay gives a little smile. Judging by Neelix's reaction, it tastes utterly foul. Chakotay looks away as for a moment Neelix looks as if he is about to vomit. Finally Neelix gasps: "Once you get past the choking reflex it's really not so bad. Want to try some?"
Chakotay: "I'll take my chances." The comms. signal sounds. Kim, via comms: "Transporter room 1 to Commander Chakotay. We're ready to proceed." Chakotay taps his combadge. "On our way." |
| Torres is on her way to Transporter Room 1 to report for the away mission when Paris catched up with her in the corridor approach.
Paris: "B'Elanna. Aren't you forgetting something?" Torres: "I don't think so." Paris: "A good-bye would be nice - so long, see you soon, something along those lines." Torres: "I didn't want to risk it." Paris: "Risk what?" Torres: "Starting an argument." Paris: "Huh! Argument? Us? So, I hear it's been a short fuse kind of day." Torres: "About this long." Paris: "Nothing you can't handle." Torres: "If you think so." Paris: "I know so." Torres: "I suppose it's always going to be like this." Paris: "Like what." Torres: "Me against the galaxy." Paris: "Well, the galaxy doesn't stand a chance. Now, promise me that you're going to be careful over there. No stopping to have fun." Torres: "Fun? On a Malon freighter?" Paris kisses her. "See you soon." He watches her leave. |
 | Chakotay, Torres, Neelix, Fesek and Pelk beam aboard the Malon freighter, into a barely lit place with a noxious atmosphere. |
 | They immediately activate their wrist-beacons.
Neelix, coughing: "Well, it's nothing a fresh coat of paint wouldn't brighten up." |
 | Fesek: "This way."
Torres, reading from her tricorder: "Theta radiation density, twenty million EV per cubic metre. Structural integrity's holding." She coughs. "Wish I could say the same for my lungs." |
 | Suddenly there are a number of small explosions around them.
Neelix: "What was that?" Chakotay: "This corridor's filled with methogenic particles, highly charged." |  |
 | Torres: "Something's causing an electrostatic cascade. Our scanning signals are igniting the particles. It's the tricorders!" |
 | There are more explosions.
Chakotay: "Take cover!" They dodge more explosions. |
 | Coughing, Torres takes off her jacket. Chakotay orders: "No more tricorders." |
 | They step over a dead Malon. |
 | They cannot open the doors.
Pelk: "Control mechanisms are down. We're going to have to open the air locks manually." Fesek to the Starfleet team members: "Wait here. We'll take care of it." |
 | Chakotay: "B'Elanna, go with him."
Fesek: "We can do this ourselves." |
 | Chakotay: "I'd prefer to keep an eye on your progress."
Fesek: "You're on my freighter. I'm in charge here." Chakotay: "You abandoned ship, remember? You take your orders from me." |
 | Fesek gives in: "We'll have to crawl into an injector port. It's only big enough for two people."
Chakotay: "Pelk, you stay with us." Torres to Fesek: "Shall we?" |
| At the injector port, Torres makes a start at making friends, with some casual conversation.
Torres: "How can you stand to work in these conditions?" Fesek: "You think we're animals, don't you?" Torres: "You said it, not me." Fesek: "I'm a waste controller half the year. Do you know what I do the rest of the time? I'm a sculptor." Torres: "What's your point?" Fesek: "Every year I give up work I love to expose myself to radiation that will probably cut my life in half." Torres: "Then why do it?" Fesek: "Have you ever been to Malon Prime? It's a remarkable place. It's one of the most beautiful worlds you'll ever see. Our planet would choke with industrial wastes if it weren't for the sacrifices of people like me."
Torres, diplomacy forgotten, anger surfacing: "How many worlds are you willing to contaminate to keep your own home so tidy?" Fesek: "Do you have any idea of the trouble we go to to locate isolated areas? Ah, manual actuators. I'll release them, you monitor the pressure variance." Torres: "Right." Fesek, working with the manual actuators: "Do you have any children?" Torres: "No." Fesek: "I have a son. He's seven years old. He wants to be a waste controller when he grows up." Torres: "You must be very proud." Fesek: "Ready." Torres taps her combadge. "Torres to Chakotay. Stand by for the decompression sequence." Chakotay, via comms: "Acknowledged." Fesek moves the handle. Torres: "It didn't work." Fesek: "There's something jamming the airlock controls." Torres, via comms (sound with interference): "Torres to Chakotay. We've got a problem. The actuators aren't working. Somebody's going to have to go up there and take a look." Pelk starts to go. Neelix: "Wait, that deck is still contaminated." Pelk: "I'll go. I've been exposed to worse." Neelix: "Wait." He injects him with a hypospray. "One for the road." Pelk: "It's probably just the uncouplers. They're always getting encrusted with oxides." He leaves. |
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