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When one of Voyager's probes is
pursued by a Malon ship, Janeway orders that it be steered into
a gas giant. After the Malon ship follows and implodes, it is
obvious Voyager cannot go in to retrieve the probe. Paris has
conceived a new technologically advanced shuttle — the Delta
Flyer — that could withstand the giant planet's atmosphere, and
Janeway gives him permission to work with the rest of the crew
on building it. Meanwhile, Torres begins pulling away from the
others. She activates a holodeck simulation of battle with
Cardassians but disengages the safety protocols.
Another Malon ship approaches
Voyager, and Janeway is hailed by an alien named Vrelk. He tells
the Captain his ship is going to retrieve the probe, and she
should stand down. She ignores his threats until Seven of Nine,
using neutrino beams to spy on the Malon vessel, discovers they
are building a shuttle of their own. It can also withstand the
giant's atmosphere, and it's scheduled to be operational before
the Voyager crew finishes their shuttle.
The crew steps up the pace of construction, and Seven's
intelligence shows they are in a dead heat with the Malon to
finish the vessels. When Torres runs a shuttle simulation in the
holodeck to check for a fatal flaw, she once again disengages
the safety protocol. The atmosphere of the gas giant begins to
cause microfractures in the shuttle, and Torres is knocked
unconscious. Just before the hull breaches, Chakotay arrives and
freezes the program.
 Once Torres is taken to sickbay, the Doctor finds old wounds
that went untreated. Chakotay learns she has been running very
dangerous holo-simulations without the safety protocols. When
confronted, she admits she has been testing herself, trying to
experience an emotion or feel pain. Ever since she and Chakotay
received the Starfleet message telling them their Maquis friends
had been slaughtered, Torres has felt numb. Suddenly, Voyager is
attacked by the Malon, who are firing to create a distraction as
they launch their new shuttle.
Janeway is forced to launch the Delta Flyer ahead of schedule
and attempt to retrieve the probe first. Torres persuades
Chakotay to let her accompany the away team. When the Malon
begin firing charges at them, Seven's torpedo scores a direct
hit, forcing them to retreat. Once Kim locks a tractor beam onto
the probe, the shuttle begins losing structural integrity. Just
as the hull breaches, Torres creates an ingenious device to trap
the incoming gas in a containment field. The Delta Flyer returns
to Voyager safely, and Torres is on her way to feeling whole
again.
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