Janeway: "Try scanning for infrared signatures." Tuvok: "There's too much interference." Chakotay arrives. "What's up?" Janeway: "Tom and Harry still aren't back." Chakotay: "You want me to take another shuttle down and look for them?" Janeway: "And risk losing you too? Either we keep waiting until we run out of deuterium and get trapped in orbit, or....."

Chakotay: "Or?" Janeway: "We land the ship." Tuvok: "As you know, Captain, the landing procedure requires a significant output of energy. With shield strength as low as it is, we can't even be certain the ship will survive the descent." Janeway: "What's the alternative? We're up here, the deuterium's down there, and we're stuck without it. We've come this far."

Via comms: "Janeway to Engineering. Vent all plasma from the nacelles. Transfer any available power to atmospheric thrusters and stand by to commence landing sequence."
Torres, via comms: "Acknowledged, Captain." Contact ends.

Janeway: "Commander Chakotay, take the conn."

Chakotay does so. He remarks: "Tom's going to be sorry he missed this." Janeway: "Code blue." This is the code that they are about to land the ship.

Tuvok broadcasts to everyone via comms: "Commander Tuvok to all hands. Go to blue alert. Report to code blue stations."

Chakotay: "Atmospheric controls at standby. Landing struts online. Inertial dampers at maximum." Tuvok: "All operative decks report condition blue." Janeway: "Let us down easy, Commander." Voyager commences toward landing on the planet.

Chakotay: "We're on a declining glide trajectory, altitude 150 kilometres." The ship shakes as it heads in towards the planet surface. It receives a bad jolt and Tuvok reports: "A thermionic discharge. Shields down to 81%." Voyager is receiving a beating from the hostile atmosphere. Part of the computer console behind him explodes, and he ducks. "Shields at 43%."

Janeway makes a warning appeal to Chakotay: "Chakotay!" Chakotay: "I think we're through the worst of it, almost."

Tuvok: " Shields at 22% and falling." Janeway: "Can you shore them up?"

Tuvok: "Negative, there's no more available power."

Voyager's landing struts extend ready for the actual landing.

Chakotay: " Engaging landing struts. Brace for impact!" There is a jolt as the ship lands and then stillness.

Janeway sighs with relief. "Status?" Tuvok: " I could give you a litany of damaged systems, Captain, but suffice it to say, now that we're down, we won't be going up again soon." Janeway orders: "Start organising repair crews."

Janeway pats Chakotay on the back: "That was very good, Commander. Take an away team and find Harry and Tom."

With Chakotay at the helm, Voyager enters the atmosphere of a demon-class planet, extends landing struts and lands on the planet surface. Animation punctuated by four stills. (pop-up window)

Torres, having been apprised that Chakotay is setting out to search for Paris and Kim, accosts Chakotay in the corridor. Torres: "Chakotay, you're going out to look for them, aren't you?" Chakotay: "That's right." Torres: "Take me with you." Chakotay: "I can't do that, B'Elanna. You're needed here to complete repairs." Torres: "I've already handed out assignments. Vorik's on top of it. I want to help you find them." Chakotay: "Look, I know you're concerned about Tom and Harry. We all are. I'll have them back safe and sound in no time." Torres: "Don't patronise me. We both know how dangerous that environment is. They could be in serious trouble." Chakotay: "You're right. I don't know what we're going to find. That's why I need cool heads." Torres: "You think I can't control myself?" Chakotay: "I think you're too close to this." Torres: "You're damn right I am. If someone you loved was missing on this planet, you would be the first one out that door, and you know it." Chakotay: "B'Elanna, the clock is ticking. Go back to Engineering, do your job, and let me do mine." Torres: "Do me a favour." Chakotay: "What?" Torres: "Take Seven of Nine with you." Chakotay is surprised, given Torres coolness not to mention occasional hostility toward the former Borg: "You're recommending her?" Torres: "You said you needed cool heads, didn't you? Nobody's head is cooler than hers." Chakotay considers then agrees: "Alright." Torres: "And bring them back safe!" Chakotay promises: "I will." He enters the Shuttlebay. Torres pauses for a moment, then hurries back to Engineering.

Chakotay enters the Shuttlebay. (pop-up window)

In Sickbay, Neelix and the other crewmembers there are on the biobeds, with Neelix on the main biobed, but they are unable to sleep. The Doctor is busy trundling a trolley of medical equipment about and loudly droping pieces of equipment onto it, and humming to himself in a jolly way. But when he breaks into a loud opera aria, Neelix immediately but tackles him about it. Neelix: "Excuse me, Doctor." Doctor: "Yes, Mr Neelix?" Neelix: "We'd like to sleep now, if you don't mind." Doctor: "Not at all. Make yourselves comfortable." He has no intention of accommodating them more than he has to, and hopes that the inconvenience will drive them to leave Sickbay, and the sparring which ensues indirectly continues their earlier argument. Neelix: "But you seem busy." Doctor, cheerfully: "Oh, don't mind me. Just going about my routine. Sleep away." He carries on humming, loudly, and then starts singing, more loudly. Neelix interrupts: "What about the lights?" Doctor: "What about them?" Neelix: "Could we turn them off?" Doctor: "You don't expect me to work in the dark, do you?" Neelix: "Well, no, but I'll never be able to fall asleep." Doctor, rather sharply: "That's not my problem, is it." Neelix is getting edgy. "I've got a very very busy day tomorrow, and my next shift is just four hours away." Doctor: "Perhaps you should have thought of that when choosing your accommodations." Neelix changes tactics. Smiling, he says: "Well, if we can't sleep I guess we'll just have to find some other way to pass the time. How about a sing-along?" He goes from crewmember to crewmember, telling them enthusiastically: "I could teach you all some Talaxian rondos, and I know a Vulcan funeral dirge, not to mention the classics of Klingon opera." He launches, badly, into an aria. At this, the Doctor gives in. "Very well, Mr Neelix, you win. Pleasant dreams." Neelix returns to the surgical bed. Triumphantly, as he gets into bed: "Computer, lights off." The lights go off. At last Neelix and the others can settle down to sleep.

Seven and Chakotay have donned environmental suits and are out on the planet surface.

Seven jumps when flames flare upwards in the distance. Chakotay: "You're a little jumpy, aren't you?" Seven: "I thought I heard something." Chakotay: "Now you know why they call it Demon class." Seven: "Demon implies a presence - this planetoid is unoccupied."

Chakotay, checking his tricorder: "I'm picking up the shuttlecraft."

Following the tricorder readings, they make their way to the shuttlecraft landing site. They find the shuttlecraft. Its door is wide open. They enter. It is empty. Chakotay: "Nobody home." Seven: "It's unlikely their environmental suits were able to survive the elements for this long." Chakotay: "I hope you're wrong." They leave the shuttlecraft.

They head toward and then enter the cavern that Paris and Kim entered. Chakotay: "Looks like they went this way."

Seven: "My tricorder isn't picking up any life signs. How did you reach that conclusion?"

Chakotay: "Footprints. I guess you never assimilated any Indian scouts." He shows her the footprints by the light of their wrist-beacons.

They find the pool.

Seven scans the pool with her tricorder. "High concentrations of deuterium - coming from this fluid. I'll collect a sample." She gets out a sample container and is about to put her hand in the pool that Kim fell into!

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