THE CHUTE
Episode 45
Part B

 

Akritirian prison - Paris' shelter. Kim is alone, and feeling edgy.

At last Paris arrives. Kim: "What took you so long? I've been back at least half an hour."

Paris: "You're starting to feel it, aren't you?" Kim: "Guess I am." Paris: "It gets worse all the time. We have to fight it! Let's focus on something positive."

Kim: "How about a seven-course dinner? I suppose you didn't find any food." Paris: "Well, I found close to 50 good citizens in this quaint little community, but not a grocer among them." Kim: "I take it that's a no." Paris: "Yeah, but if we ever do get our hands on some food, I found a lovely spot for a picnic." Kim: "Great. All we need are the Delaney sisters and we could make a day of it." They give a short chuckle, despite their grim circumstances.

Paris: "So how about you? Come across anything interesting in your travels?" Kim: "If you mean an escape route, I ran into nothing but solid walls." Paris: "Me too. As far as I can see, the only way to the surface is that Chute in the main chamber." Kim: "Question is, how do we get into it without getting fried by that forcefield? You saw what happened to the man who reached inside."

Paris: "That's where this might come in handy." He is holding a metal pipe he found. "I thought if we could get our hands on some loose wiring, you might be able to use it to rig a device that would short out the forcefield long enough for us to get into the tube."

Kim, taking the pipe: "It's worth a try."

Paris, scratching the itch caused by the clamp: "Yeah. Now if we could only figure out a way to short out these implants, we'd be all set."

USS Voyager.

Voyager's Briefing Room. Chakotay: "There's no indication they followed us." Janeway: "I guess they're more interested in getting rid of us than finding out the truth." Torres, forcefully: "We've got to go back for Harry and Tom." Janeway, calming her: "B'Elanna."

Tuvok: "We have no information as to their whereabouts. And if we return to Akritirian space, we are sure to encounter further hostilities." Janeway: "Tuvok is right. Let's concentrate on proving Harry and Tom's innocence." Torres: "How do we do that?"

Janeway: "We know the explosive was trilithium-based. If we find the source of that trilithium, it may lead us to the real bombers."

Chakotay: "Our long-range scans indicate that Liria was right. There's no trilithium in this sector."

Torres: "What about paralithium? It's used as a fuel for some ion-based propulsion systems, and it can be converted into trilithium." Janeway: "Review our sensor logs of ships entering and leaving Akritirian space during the time we were in orbit. If anybody's using paralithium for fuel, I want to find out who they are and where they went."

Akritirian prison - concourse. Kim, working on circuitry exposed behind an access panel near the base of the Chute, talking to himself: "Come on, come on, come on."

Paris: "Take it easy. You'll get it."

Kim drops something. "Damn!" He stops and paces about in frustration. "I can't think! I can't concentrate!" Paris tries to calm him: "OK. OK, concentrate on this - crown roast of lamb, with er a bed of wild rice, and a 2296 Chateau Lafite Rothschild at the real Sandrine's."

Kim, joining in: "Or how about shrimp with fettran sauce, flambé noodles and fudge ripple pudding."

Paris: "Good one. Er, a couple of barbecued T-bone steaks with baked Risan beans and cherry pie for dessert. Let's see you top that one." Kim, going back to work on the circuitry: "Right now, I'm so hungry I could eat a bowl of Neelix's leola root stew." Paris: "Me too. Never thought I'd say that."

Kim: "I'm ready to give it a try. So far, so good." But the circuitry discharges and Kim is knocked flying by the shock.

Paris, rushing over to him: "Are you OK?" He notices Pit and his heavies arrive.

Pit: "What are you doing?" Paris: "Just out for a little stroll." To Kim, pretending to be horrible to him, as Pit would expect: "Move it!" Pit: "What's that?" Kim: "A pipe." Pit: "Let's see it."

Paris to Kim, wanting them to get out of there: "Come on."

Paris warns Pit: "I'd really recommend that you stay out of my way."

Pit: "You should've thought of that before you took him!" He pulls out a knife and attacks Paris.

Pit's heavies restrain Kim, who can only shout encouragement to his friend: "Come on, Tom!"

Paris and Pit fight. Eventually Paris knocks him down.

One of Pit's companions comes up to Paris and stabs him.

Kim yells: "Tom!"

Paris looks down, surprised, and sees the haft sticking out of him and sees the blood, before collapsing on the ground, with Pit gloating.

Enraged, Kim whirls round wielding the pipe. "Back off! Back off! Back off! Back off!" The prisoners, faced by his frenzy, disappear.

Kim bends over the injured Paris. "Hang on. I'm getting you out of here." He rips up some of his clothes and starts tying it over the wound.

Zio comes up to them. Kim is immediately on the defensive, but Zio reassures him: "No fight, no fight."

Zio looks at Paris, assessing him: "If he doesn't bleed to death, he'll die from infection." Kim: "We've got to get him to a doctor." Zio: "Of course. We'll call an emergency vehicle and rush him to a hospital." Watching inmates guffaw at the joke.

Kim helps Paris up and they start slowly back towards their shelter.

Zio: "Hey!" They turn.

Zio asks Kim: "What do you want for the dead man's boots?"

Kim swallows the temptation to make an angry retort, and he and Paris continue back to the shelter without answering.

Kim: "You can make it. Just a few more steps and we'll be back to the shelter."
Paris: "Home sweet home. Harry."
Kim: "Yeah."
Paris: "I'm hurt pretty bad."
Kim: "I'll take care of it."
Paris: "Promise me something."
Kim: "What?"
Paris: "If things get worse, if it comes down to making a choice, don't worry about me. Take care of yourself. Do we have a deal?"
Kim: "Quiet."

They arrive at the shelter but there are others there. "Hey, what are you doing in there?" Rib, who has taken over the shelter: "Get out."

Kim: "This place is ours."

Rib: "Get out! Get out! Get out!"

Rib bangs crazily and loudly on the shelter.

Paris winces in pain from his wound. He and Kim leave the crazy man to it, but know they have nowhere to go.