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Preparing for an Away Team mission
to a planet with a large reserve of gallicite, Torres is taken
aback when a Vulcan ensign named Vorik asks her to be his mate.
She declines, but Vorik grabs hold of her face and she
dislocates his jaw. The Doctor explains that Vorik is going
through a Vulcan mating ritual known as the pon farr. If he
doesn't mate, he may die. Vorik attempts to get through the
difficult period by engaging in intensive meditation.
The Away Team begins the search
for the gallicite, but Torres is strangely aggressive, at one
point viciously biting Paris. Tuvok finds out that Vorik touched
Torres' face, which initiated a telepathic mating bond between
them. Now Torres is also experiencing pon farr. Vorik is
half-mad with his desire to mate with Torres, but he's forced to
remain on Voyager, where the Doctor tries to help him by
programming a holographic Vulcan female.
Back on the planet, Paris, Tuvok and Chakotay locate Torres and
explain to her what she's experiencing. As they try to convince
her to leave the planet, a group of subterranean aliens surround
the Away Team. A scuffle breaks out and the aliens disappear
with Chakotay and Tuvok, leaving Paris and Torres alone. While
searching for their missing crewmembers, Torres alludes to the
idea of Paris mating with her, but he refuses to take advantage
of her.
Chakotay and Tuvok convince their alien captors, the Sakari,
that they've come in peace. The Sakari explain that they moved
underground after their ancestors were attacked by unknown
invaders. Chakotay offers to help them protect themselves from
future attacks in exchange for some gallicite. Elsewhere, Torres
tries to seduce Paris, but he again rejects her advances. Not
long after, Tuvok and Chakotay locate the pair.
Suddenly, they're joined by Vorik, who can no longer resist his
instincts. He challenges Paris for Torres, but Torres takes up
the challenge herself and engages in the ritual battle,
overcoming Vorik. The blood fever purged, the Away Team returns
to the ship — but not before Chakotay finds evidence of who the
invaders were that attacked the Sakari: the Borg! |
