The Disease

Paris:  

I'm telling you, you should take a look at their database. They've got some pretty amazing stuff on that ship.

Tuvok:  

Stuff?

Paris:  

Their environmental control system, for instance. It's completely regenerative. Zero waste.

Tuvok:  

Impressive.

Paris:  

It can be programmed to create almost any habitat. If you wanted to, you could recreate Vulcan in your quarters with that system.

Tuvok:  

Why would I want to?

Paris:  

A little taste of home in the Delta Quadrant. Think about it. Springtime on the shores of Lake Yaren.

Tuvok:  

I require a desk and a bed. Nothing more.

Paris:  

You're missing the point.

Tuvok:  

No doubt.

Paris:  

These people have been travelling for four hundred years. They've learned a thing or two about living comfortably.

Tuvok:  

Our systems are more than adequate.

Paris:  

Ah! I give up.

Chakotay:  

After only two minutes? Tuvok, how do you do it?

Tuvok:  

I wait until his own illogic overwhelms him. I'm detecting an unauthorised transmission.

Chakotay:  

Origin?

Tuvok:  

Unknown. It's been encoded.

Chakotay:  

Find out where it's going.

Jippeq:  

Do your officers make a habit of seducing the species they encounter?

Janeway:  

Certainly not. But it's my understanding that this relationship was consensual.

Jippeq:  

I find that difficult to believe. We don't share your cavalier attitude toward intimacy.

Janeway:  

Our attitude is anything but cavalier. Ensign Kim has already been reprimanded. What about Tal? What happens to her?

Jippeq:  

In our society, mating is taken very seriously. When two people choose each other, the bonding is permanent. They become biochemically linked. Separation is rare. It induces illness, sometimes fatal. What's to become of Tal when your ensign flies off in search of his next conquest?

They enter Engineering.

Torres:  

Captain.

Janeway:  

You found something?

Torres:  

We've detected microfractures in one of Voyager's docking ports.

Jippeq:  

Microfractures? That's the same problem we've been having.

Janeway:  

A coincidence?

Torres:  

I had suspicions that it wasn't. Seven confirmed them.

Seven:  

Observe. Silicon based parasites, which feed on duranium alloys. Apparently they began replicating on the Varro ship's hull several months ago and then migrated to Voyager.

Torres:  

We analysed them and found artificial gene sequencers. The parasites are synthetic.

Seven:  

They may have been created by someone aboard your vessel.

Jippeq:  

Sabotage? I don't believe it.

Seven:  

Perhaps not everyone is content to be in your Collective.

Tal:  

Look at this. A subspace vacuole near the centre of the cloud. It must act as a gravitational anchor. Oh! There's so much data here, it'll take weeks to analyse! You have a storage device? We need to download these readings. What?

Kim:  

I've just never seen anyone so excited about a class three nebula before.

Tal:  

Maybe you've been taking them for granted.

Kim:  

Maybe I have. Don't stop. You're beautiful when you're scanning.

Tal:  

Is that what you say to every girl you take for a ride? I bet you've left a trail of broken hearts across the Delta Quadrant.

Kim:  

Actually...

Console beeps.

Tal:  

You said we had a couple of hours. No one's going to come looking for us.

Kim:  

Oh, you don't know Commander Tuvok. If he sees one electron out of place, he calls for red alert. Oh, here we are alone, and all I can think about is duty and orders.

Tal:  

Those things are important. I think about them too. But sometimes you need to follow a different kind of protocol. If you believe in something strongly enough, you can't ignore it, even if it means breaking a few rules.

Kim:  

That's why I took this shuttle. But every time I break a rule, I feel like my skull's going to decompress. I'm like some kind of Borg drone, programmed. Except I was designed to be the perfect Starfleet officer. Top of his class, Captain of the velocity team. Interstellar honours. First field assignment, Bridge officer on a starship. Every cadet's dream come true.

Tal:  

You're not a program. In fact, I envy your freedom. I mean, your crew's mission - to seek out life - what could be more liberating? You explore the unknown. Don't be afraid to explore what's happening between us.

Console beeps again.

Kim:  

Oh no. The Delta Flyer.

Tal:  

Commander Tuvok?

Kim:  

We're being hailed.

Tal:  

Well, you better answer them before they open fire.

Kim:  

Kim here.

Tuvok:  

[Ensign, you are in direct violation of the Captain's orders. Return to Voyager immediately, and bring Derran Tal with you.]

Kim:  

Yes, sir. But why bring Tal?

Tuvok:  

[She is wanted by the Varro authorities, regarding an act of sabotage.]