 | But while he is working, he hears a sound as if someone is there with him. "Who's there?" |
 | He goes to investigate and collides with something or someone who attacks him. He screams: "Help!" |
 | Neelix and Chakotay hear Pelk's screams and rush to find him. |
 | When Chakotay and Neelix find Pelk, they see he is badly injured. He gasps: "I, I saw it. I saw it."
Chakotay: "What?" Pelk, terrified: "The creature." 
Neelix: "Give me twenty cc's of anaesthezine." Chakotay, via comms: "Chakotay to Voyager. Transporter status." Kim, via comms: "Still too much interference. I'll try compensating. Stand by for further instructions." |
 | Torres and Fesek return. Torres asks: "What happened?"
Neelix: "We don't know. He went away for a minute, he screamed, and we found him here." Fesek, examining Pelk: "These look like chemical burns." Neelix: "Without tricorders, it's hard to make a diagnosis." Pelk: "It's here." Fesek: "What?" Pelk: "The creature." Fesek: "You're hallucinating. It's the radiation, but you're going to be alright." |
 | Pelk: "No. It attacked me. It, er-"
Neelix: "He's going into shock. Cortical stimulator." He places it on Pelk. Fesek: "Pelk, get up!" Neelix: "He's not responding." Pelk is dead. Chakotay: "He said the creature attacked him." Fesek: "He imagined it. He was probably scalded when that conduit ruptured." |
 | Torres: "Or maybe there is someone else on this ship." |
 | Kim, via comms: "Voyager to away team. Transporter interference has cleared. We're locked onto your co-ordinates. Stand by."
Chakotay: "Harry, Pelk is dead. Lock onto his signal and beam him to Sickbay. Ask the Doctor to determine the cause of death." |
 | Kim, via comms: "Aye sir."
Pelk's body is beamed to Voyager. |
 | Chakotay: "Someone still needs to get up there and open the airlocks."
Fesek: "Me." Chakotay: "Hold on. I'll join you. From now on nobody works alone." |
 | Janeway enters the Bridge from her Ready Room.
Janeway: "Progress?" |
 | Kim: "They've vented five decks. Ten to go."
Tuvok: "At this rate, they'll reach the control room in approximately three hours. However, the storage tanks will detonate in less than two." |
 | Janeway: "I've been working on a contingency plan."
She moves to the rear console of the security/tactical station and presses some controls to bring up a star diagram. Tuvok surmises: "An O-type star." Janeway: "If the freighter exploded within the star's corona it might absorb the radiation." Tuvok: "The star is not on the freighter's trajectory." Janeway: "What if we gave it a little nudge?" |
 | Tuvok: "A series of carefully timed tractor pulses could alter the freighter's course, but given the vessel's weakened state, one miscalculation could set off the explosion."
Janeway: "I'm still counting on the away team to succeed, but I want to be ready with Plan B if they don't." She leaves him to organise it. |
 | The away team work their way along a corridor on the Malon freighter.
Torres: "I don't know about the rest of you but I could sure use a sonic shower." Neelix: "I'd like to soak in a hot bath for a day or two." Torres: "Oh no, not me. I want to feel those sonic pulses dissolving every last atom of this grime off my body." Fesek: "We have a decontamination bay on board that can purge over fifty workers at a time." Torres: "Well that sounds like fun." She coughs badly. |
 | Neelix: "B'Elanna?"
Torres: "I'm OK. I'm just a little light-headed." |
 | As she reaches up to activate a control, Neelix notices something on her hand. "Your hand." |
 | Torres, feeling her cheek where there are large blister marks: "Oh God."
Fesek: "Freighter blight from the prolonged exposure." Torres: "Lovely." Fesek: "In my business, it's an occupational hazard." Torres: "We'd better try inoculating you again." Fesek: "If she's blistering, she's already received a fatal dose of radiation. She needs treatment." Torres: "I'll live. Let's keep moving." |
 | Fesek: "We have medicines in the infirmary. It's only two sections from here."
Torres: "We don't have time for a detour." Chakotay: "B'Elanna, go with him. We'll meet you outside the control room." Torres: "Chakotay, I'm fine." Chakotay: "I said go!" |
 | Fesek and Torres enter the freighter's infirmary. |
 | Torres: "This is the infirmary? Looks more like a morgue." |
 | She peers to look in at the bed covered by an isolation tent and looks at the dead body inside. "What happened to him?"
Fesek: "It looks like he was being treated for long-term exposure. He was probably left behind during the evacuation." Torres: "Tough luck, huh?" Fesek: "There was nothing more we could do for him. He was a core labourer." Torres: "Meaning?" Fesek: "He worked close to the storage tanks. Only three of ten core labourers survive a standard mission." Torres: "Occupational hazard?" Fesek: "They know the risks when they accept the assignment." Torres: "They know they're going to end up like this?" Fesek: "Core labourers can make more in two months than most Malon make in a lifetime." Torres: "What good is the money if they're not around to collect it?" Fesek: "It will go to his family." |
 | He produces a large device.
Torres: "What is that thing?" Fesek: "It's a subdermal injector. It contains analeptic compounds to reverse the cell damage." Torres: "I feel better already." |
 | Fesek: "I won't hurt you." She turns and he injects her. "I've done this a hundred times. You'll feel a slight burning sensation." |
 | Tuvok enters Voyager's Astrometrics Lab.
Seven: "Commander. The Captain's plan B." She hands him a PADD. "I've calculated the inertial force required to divert the freighter." |
 | He turns to leave but is stopped by her next words: "Plan C. Shield modulations that should reduce the structural damage of Voyager. It will also help protect the crew against theta radiation poisoning, if we fail."
Tuvok: "A wise precaution. With any luck, we won't be needing it." Seven: "I didn't think Vulcans believed in luck." Tuvok: "As a rule we don't, but serving with Captain Janeway has taught me otherwise." Seven: "She does seem to succeed more often than random chance would allow. I'll factor it into my calculations."
Tuvok: "Is there a Plan D?" Seven: "No." He leaves. |
 | On the Malon freighter, deck 5.
Fesek: "Initiating decompression sequence, deck 4! Deck clear!" Neelix: "Twelve down! Three to go!" |
 | Torres: "The air locks are opening on this deck!"
Fesek: "What!" Torres: "I can't close them." Neelix: "Forcefields, where are they?" Torres: "They're offline!" Chakotay: "We've got to get off this deck. Move!" Fesek: "This way." |
 | Chakotay ensures Torres, Neelix and Fesek are ahead of him approaching safety. He points his torch back toward where they have come from.... |
 | .....as he thinks he saw a movement in the corridor behind them. But he can see no one. The airlock starts to open! |
 | As Chakotay climbs the ladder, he is struck by flying debris and falls off. |
Torres cannot see Chakotay. She calls out: "Chakotay!"
Neelix: "He was right behind me."
Torres taps her combadge. "Torres to Chakotay." No response!
Fesek: "That deck is a vacuum by now."
Torres urgently contacts the ship: "Torres to Voyager."
Kim, via comms: "Acknowledged."
Torres: "Lock onto Chakotay's comm. signal and beam him to Sickbay."
Kim, via comms: "We've got him. He's OK."
 | Torres rounds on Fesek: "I thought that deck was secure!"
Fesek, baffled: "It was." Torres, furiously: "Then why did we almost get blown into space?!" Fesek: "I don't know!" Torres: "Air locks don't open by themselves!" Fesek: "What are you saying? You think it was me?" Neelix: "Calm down, both of you! We don't have time to argue about what happened. We've got to keep moving." |
 | Janeway is working at the Engineering II station on the Bridge. |  |
Tuvok arrives.
Janeway: "Chakotay?"
Tuvok: "Unconscious but stable. The Doctor is treating him now. We'll be able to talk to him in less than an hour."
Janeway: "I'll want a full report."
 | Tuvok: "Shall I beam to the freighter and take command of the away team?"
Janeway: "I just spoke with B'Elanna. She's got everything under control." Tuvok: "This is a dangerous situation. There is no margin for emotional error." Janeway: "We have plenty to do here. Help me remodulate the tractor beam." Tuvok: "B'Elanna is unpredictable, Captain. Under these circumstances her volatile nature could compromise the mission." Janeway: "Your concerns are noted, but if I send you over there I'd be sending the wrong message, that I don't have faith in her, but I do." Tuvok: "Your faith is admirable, but logic suggests-" Janeway firmly: "This isn't about logic, it's about trust. She'll come through for us. Now, give me a hand." |
 | On deck 2 of the Malon freighter, Neelix comes up to report to Torres to find her sitting very still.
Neelix: "Lieutenant? Lieute-" He stops when he sees she has stopped. "Are you alright?" |
| Torres: "Fine. Report."
Neelix: "We just vented the last deck. We should have a clear path to the control room." Torres: "Let's get this thing over with, then." She clears her throat. Neelix: "If you need to rest...." Torres: "I said I'm fine. I was," she hesitates before admitting, "meditating." Neelix: "Meditating?" He chuckles. "You?" Torres: "Do me a favour - don't tell Tuvok." Neelix: "Your secret's safe." Torres: "It's this place." Neelix: "I know how you feel. The next time I volunteer to board a Malon freighter, check me into Sickbay and have my head examined." Torres: "I feel like I'm ready to explode." Neelix: "We'll get through this together. I've got a knack for diffusing explosive situations." Torres: "Thanks." She leaves. |
 | He puts his left hand on the ladder and goes "Ugh" at the grime before following her. |
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