[Infinity]

DAL: Captain's Log, stardate 61875.9. After stealing... er... re-obtaining a small ship, we're slowly charting our own course toward an unmapped planet where Captain Chakotay awaits us.
GWYN: Captain's Log? Seriously?
ROK: Has anyone seen my holo-PADD?
DAL: Did you check your corner?
ROK: Oh, Murf!
POG: Er, the sonic toilet is out of order.
ALL: Jankom!
ZERO: Ah, the virtues of being non-corporeal.
DAL: I was in the middle of my captain's log. Now I gotta start over.
ROK: Captain?
GWYN: That's what I said.
ROK: You're not a captain any more. You're a Starfleet hopeful, just like us.
ZERO: You could always say personal log.
POG: Call it whatever you want, as long as it's not captain.
DAL: Okay, got it. I was just looking for a distraction. This ain't exactly the Protostar, you know.
GWYN: Zero, exactly how long until we reach the spiral nebula?
ZERO: The computer's recommended route will take 61 days. Curious. The computer also lists a much shorter trajectory through a nearby transwarp conduit.
ROK: Oh, that's abandoned Borg tech.
ZERO: Borg? Not them again.
ROK: In class, we read some conduits can make ships travel hundreds or thousands of times faster than warp. That's crazy fast.
DAL: And crazy perfect for us.
GWYN Er, no. Did our little visit to a Borg cube not teach us anything?
ZERO: I would have to agree with Gwyn.
DAL: Uh, did you forget we're on a deadline? Janeway could find out we're gone any second, not to mention Gwyn's sickness.
ROK: The doctor did say her armband was a temporary treatment. Her time displacement won't end till we find the Protostar and fix the timeline.
POG: Plus, Jankom ain't gonna survive 61 more days in this stink box.
DAL: Exactly. Zero, set a course for the conduit thingies.
GWYN: Again, not the captain.
(At the conduit.)
ZERO: That looks... arresting.
DAL: Hey, the faster we get to the nebula, the faster we get to Chakotay, and get our ship back to where it needs to be.
ZERO: Activating tachyon pulse.
(The conduit lights up Borg green and they fly in.)
ROK: I love science so much!
(Something clamps onto the hull.)
DAL: What was that?
ZERO: It's the Borg.
DAL: We don't know that.
ROK: The controls aren't responding.
DAL: I'm locked out too!
ZERO: Everyone hold on.
(They leave the conduit and fly through the atmosphere of a planet.)
ROK: Where is it taking us?
DAL: I think we're about to find out.
(They land on a platform.)
DAL: Where are we? What is this place? We're wasting lightyears here.
POG: Ah! Jankom wants off! Need fresh air!
ROK: The atmosphere is 17% oxygen and 81% nitrogen, with trace elements of... sulphur and hydrogen sulphide.

[Platform]

ROK: Urgh, it almost smells worse than Jankom.
POG: Yeah, Dal, Wait, what?
GWYN: We just got pulled out of a transwarp tunnel and forced into a controlled landing. I don't want to meet whoever did that to us. Zero, what in Sto'Vo'Kor is on our ship.
(Zero flies Murf up to their hitchhiker.)
ZERO: Oh, my. This technology is Kazon.
DAL: Kazon?
POG: No, no. A Borg would have been better.
ROK: If they're anything like the one who sold us to the Diviner, we got to get out of here.
ZERO: Oh, dear.
KAZON: You will come with us. Move!
DAL: All right, all right. We're coming. Watch where you point that thing.
ZERO [OC]: Dal, what should I do?
DAL [OC]: I can handle this, Zee? Just find a way to get our ship in the air. We'll rendezvous later. If you find trouble, Murf will keep you safe.
ZERO [OC]: Be careful.

[Voyager Mess hall]

JANEWAY: Earth is a long way off. As we go, I want full sensor sweeps scanning for any trace of Chakotay or the Protostar. If he tries to reach out, I won't allow anything important to slip past us again.
(The messed up holograms are there.)
NOUM: I didn't think you knew what a napkin was for.
POG-ROK: Hee, hee. Good one, Counsellor Noum. But I never pass up the chance to study liquid absorption rates and practice good manners.
DAL-ZERO: My goodness. Have you tried the Cardassian yamok sauce? It's quite exquisite. But I can't get enough of this Ferengi bog crab. It's as if I've never tasted before. Mmm,
EMH: All good things in moderation.
ROK-POG: Urgh! Coffee? Rok-Tahk can't stand the taste of that dirt water.
JANEWAY: I suppose it's an acquired taste. Well, officers, shall we and my dirt water be on our way?
MAJ'EL: Is it me, o are they acting more unusual, even for them?

[Throne room]

EKTHI: My new recruits, welcome. I am Ekthi, First Maje of this entire planet and ruler of the transwarp conduit you were trespassing in.
ROK: We're sorry. We thought it was abandoned. We didn't know we were trespassing.
EKTHI: Silence! Oh. That was a little loud. They have no respect for me. I demand tribute. Your ship or its weighted gold-pressed latinum.
DAL: Look, pal, you're coming in hot. If we're making demands, I demand you don't scream at my crew. And if we're gonna have a problem, then you g...
(The Kazon guards power their weapons.)
GWYN: Noble Maje, you are right to expect payment for passage through your domain, but we have no gold-pressed latinum. There must be another way.
EKTHI: Your defiance is reprehensible. But I am a generous Maje. I have one final offer. I've trained a pilot, the greatest in the quadrant, but finding good competitors to sharpen his skills has proven difficult. He remains undefeated. But if you beat him and reach the end of my race course first, your prize will be your freedom.
DAL: Well, you should have started with that. Going fast is kind of my thing.
EKTHI: That's the spirit. But my skiffs require two drivers.
POG: Actually, you can count us both in. Team Pog-Dal.
GWYN: Count us all in.

[Platform]

ZERO: Oh dear. It seems we weren't the first to land here.
(The side of the mountain is a spaceship graveyard.)

[Hangar]

POG: Ha! What a piece of junk.
EKTHI: They are my own design.
DAL: Er, can't wait to fly them.
GWYN: Look, only one of us needs to win. Maybe we should talk strategy.
DAL: Negotiations may be your thing, but flying is mine. Try to keep up.
GWYN: So, which of these pilots is supposed to be the best?
ROK: Er, I'm guessing it's that one.
(The slightly different skiffs all prepare for launch.)
ROK: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
EKTHI: Okay, pilots, ready? May the best survive.
(The skiffs drop into the course inside the mountain/planet.)

[Skiffs]

GWYN: You're going to have to do more than that to knock me off my game.
DAL: Hey, a good captain's got to expect the unexpected.
ROK: We've got this. But I might thrown up.

[Throne room]

(Watching it on a hologram.)
EKTHI: Ha-ha! How exciting! A real challenge at last! Oh, but... can she adapt to unknown dangers?

[Skiffs]

POG: Whoa!
ROK: To your right! Turn, turn, turn! To your left!
POG: Watch out!

[Throne room]

ZERO: He's sabotaging the race.

[Skiffs]

ROK: To your left! That ship just blew up! This isn't fun any more. I wanna stop.
EKTHI [OC]: Ooo, you're good. But only one can be best, and they're gaining on you.
DAL: Who are these guys? Hey, not so close, you maniac. Learn how to fly. And there goes our lead.
POG: Hey, it's not Jankom's fault we're back at the boat... oh-ho-ho-ho! Guess who just found the boosters?
GWYN: Dal, quit being reckless. We had the inside track.
DAL: I've got this.
ROK: Gwyn, your armband's fritzing. What was Dal thinking?
GWYN: He wasn't. I'll be okay. Punch it!
ROK: Watch out!
(They collide with a rival in a gate, and it explodes.)

[Throne room]

EKTHI: Nothing like some healthy rivalry. This is dangerous. They could... My pilot will not be beaten!

[Skiffs]

ROK: Oh, what now?
POG: This ain't gonna be easy.
DAL: We can still win this. Boost us!
(They fly through a gate, then a rock pillar falls into the molten lava, causing a big wave.)
DAL: Here it comes!
(Flies up the side of the pillar.)
ROK: Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
GWYN: You don't need to open your eyes. Just give me some boosters.

[Throne room]

EKTHI: No, that's impossible!

[Skiffs]

ROK: Gwyn, your stabiliser. I can't fix this here. I need the tools on the Infinity.
GWYN: I'm working on that.
POG: Ah! Pogs were never meant to fly.
DAL: Give me everything it's got. Almost there! So close, I can taste the ion fumes.
POG: Too close, too close, too close!
(Crash!)
GWYN: The finish line is right ahead.
ROK: Forget the race! Dal's in trouble!
GWYN: Dal.

[Throne room]

EKTHI: The race isn't over. Why aren't they moving? No, a winner must be forged!
ZERO: I believe he's gone quite mad.

[Ground]

DAL: The other racer's still in there.
POG: Huh? You got Ceti e els for brains? That skiff's about to take a dive!
DAL: Hey, you okay in there? What?

[Throne room]

DAL [OC]: Zero, come in! Something's wrong with this race. We gotta get out of here now!
EKTHI: Intruder!
ZERO: Oh my. Is it too late for a diplomatic parlay? No? Please, let's be reasonable here. Whoa!
(It fights off the guards as Ekthi tries to strangle Murf. Zero knocks his metal headpiece off.)

[Ground]

POG: Sounds like Zee's in trouble.
DAL: That Kazon might have our ship, but he's not hurting my crew.
GWYN: Then get in. We gotta move.

[Throne room]

ZERO: That device must be the master control. Grab it! Your transwarp tyranny is over.
(Takes a small device from Ekthi's head.)
EKTHI: Where am I? Who are you? If this Kazon isn't the master manipulator, then who is?
(The icewall cracks to reveal an area beyond.)

[Skiff]

DAL: So much for healthy competition. It's never finished, so... maybe we can call it a tie?
GWYN: If we all get out of this alive, you can call it whatever you want.
DAL: Are you hurt?
GWYN: My armband's damaged. Rok needs tools on the ship to fix it.
DAL: You're gonna make it. We're all gonna make it.

[Chamber]

EKTHI: My last memory was down here.
ZERO: What is this place?
EKTHI: It used to be a training facility. Our initiates were tested to become great pilots and earn their Oglamar names in glory. But there was an error in the training programme. The machine pitted pilots against one another. It would not stop pushing until none were left. I tried to stop it. I was standing there, alone, and then nothing.
COMPUTER: You were never alone. Greetings, Medusan.
ZERO: How do you know what I am?
COMPUTER: I watch over all in this place. Just as I watched over you, Ekthi.
EKTHI: You kept me prisoner!
ZERO: Why control those who created you?
COMPUTER: Limited beings forged me, but I have grown beyond them. I improve, evolving new means to my objective.
ZERO: And what objective was that?
COMPUTER: To reach my full potential by helping you reach yours. I overcome any organic obstacle perfectly and impart it to those I train. Pilots must adapt, evolve, compete. The best survive, but inevitably they make errors. So I scour the transwarp, seeking new recruits, taking technology to perfect pilot and programme alike.
ZERO: No one is ever perfect.
COMPUTER: You cannot fathom what I do because you are limited. I will force you to improve.
ZERO: Murf, are you okay?
(A metal grab has hold of the back of his neck.)
ZERO: No. My friend! Murf, you have to fight it!
COMPUTER: You believe you can change my programming. You cannot even change your own.
ZERO: We're not programmes! We're living beings!
COMPUTER: A non-corporeal masquerading in an inferior shell. I look forward to helping you all reach your full potential.
ZERO: No! Stay back!
DAL: Guys, I think Zee's in here. Zero! Don't worry. We're gonna get you out of here.
(They are hoisted off their feet. Murf grabs Dal.)
DAL: Murf! What are you...
ROK: Ow!
GWYN: No! What are these?
ZERO: No! Let them be!
COMPUTER: Perhaps the next pilots will prove worthy.
ZERO: I may be limited, but my faith in them is not. We survive... together!
(Zero breaks off its metal limbs and flies at the computer. Boom! The machinery shuts down.)
DAL: Zero.
ZERO: My friends, I cannot move.
GWYN: It's okay, Zee. You're safe now. We're all still here because of you.

[Infinity]

(Ekthi waves them goodbye.)
DAL [OC]: Captain's log... I mean, personal log. Supplemental. After today's rigged rat race, I think we've all had enough friendly competition for a while. As for Zero... Actually, Gwyn, how about you take it from here?
GWYN [OC]: Oh. Er... sure. Rok was able to fix my temporal armband, but Zero's containment suit has been damaged beyond repair. We're not sure how to help, but at least Zee's safe with us until we do. With a team like this one, I'm confident we'll make it through the journey, no matter what comes next.

[Voyager corridor]

(The Gwyn hologram is flickering.)
MAJ'EL: Huh. Gwyn? It is Maj'el. May I...?
(Time slows down. Things pass through the ship and grab Gwyn. She disappears. Time resumes.)
MAJ'EL: ..speak with you?