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During shore leave on Akritiri,
Paris and Kim are falsely accused of a terrorist bombing and
sent to prison. Paris is already in the nightmarish alien jail
when Kim arrives via a long metal chute. As if confinement in
the brutal hellhole weren't bad enough, Paris shows Kim the
"clamp" that every prisoner wears; it seems to affect the
wearer's nervous system and it can't be removed.
On Voyager, Janeway is informed
by Liria, the Akritirian Ambassador, that Paris and Kim have
been imprisoned for a bombing that killed 47 people. The "proof"
is traces of trilithium found on their clothes. Although
trilithium can be made from the dilithium Voyager uses to power
its engines, Janeway emphatically denies that her people were
involved. She leaves, determined to find the real bombers.
Back in the prison, Paris and Kim plot how to escape through the
chute, which is protected by a deadly forcefield. But before
they can, Paris is stabbed by a brutal inmate. With no medical
assistance available, Kim makes a deal with another inmate, Zio;
he'll take Zio with him when he disables the forcefield in
exchange for some supplies to clean up Paris's wound.
Back at the prison, Kim and Zio climb to the top of the chute,
where they find that the opening is actually a docking port
leading into space; what they'd thought was an underground jail
is actually a large isolated satellite. With Paris getting
closer to death, Kim tries to talk some of the inmates into
cooperating in a prison break, but the idea seems so outlandish,
they jeer at him. Later, when a delirious Paris disables the
tool that Kim had used to neutralize the forcefield, Kim comes
close to killing his friend. He regains his senses just in time.
Janeway tracks down and captures the real bombers, a young
brother and sister, but she is shocked when Liria refuses to
trade them for her people; he never reverses a conviction. Now
the Captain is willing to deal with the bombers. In exchange for
their freedom, the pair lead Tuvok and Janeway to the prison,
where they extricate their officers and escape. |
