Ensign Kim is thrown into a room full of ragged men via a chute.
All of them want to kill him for no apparent reason and he comes upon a man who is eager to kill
him -- Lt. Paris.
The men in here are dangerous and vicious as they want to kill one another. Paris kills one
man and soon a scuffle breaks out with Kim and Paris escaping from the chaos. Paris explains
that he was interrogated and convicted of a crime recently committed on a planet they were
visiting and Kim explains that he has been convicted too. Kim soon realizes that there is no way
out and this thing they implanted in his head is getting to him.
Meanwhile, Captain Janeway is having problems of her own as Paris and Kim are missing. She
tries talking to the Akritarian leader but to no avail. He won't even bargain nor negotiate
their release and Janeway realizes that this leader is stubborn than she thought. The leader
soon tells Janeway that Paris and Kim have been convicted of a murder they did not commit.
Janeway must now find her two crewmates. Voyager is asked to leave Akritarian space.
In the prison, Paris and Kim devise a plan to escape. After searching the compound, Kim soon
deduces that their only escape is through the chute. But their is a forcefield barrier that
hinders them from escaping. Soon Kim manufactures a pipe that he can utilize to short out the
forcefield, and as they work, Kim is constantly becoming frustrated, thanks to the 'clamp' that
is inside his head. He is even hungry as hell and Paris soon gets Kim back to concentration when
he talks about food.
Back on Voyager, they track down the ship that carries passengers who was responsible for the
attack. When the passengers don't co-operate, Janeway uses force to help them. They beam them
over and tow their ship into their shuttlebay. The passengers are as stubborn as the leader of
Akritar, as one is willing to help, the other doesn't. One is the daughter of the other, and he
doesn't want to see his daughter go to prison and rot to death. Soon Janeway bargains over their
lives for the location of the prison compound that Kim and Paris are located. With much
hesitation, the two comply.
Back in the prison, Paris is wounded during a scuffle between Kim and the prisoners. Now Kim
must work alone to find escape, until an uneasy fellow inmate comes to his aid who will only
assist if he gets Paris's shoes when he dies. With new found Kim soon gets back to work, and he
is successful this time as he enters the chute without getting fried by the forcefield. But what
he sees at the end of the chute is another different matter. They are actually at a space port,
and in fact the prison is a space dwelling prison. Now Kim must devise another way out of here.
Janeway soon re-enters Akritar space, and informs the leader that they have the person
responsible for the bombing. But stubborn as he is, the leader still refuses to hand over Paris
and Kim and thus Janeway must now use force to get the two out. Thanks to Neelix's ship still in
the hangar, they use it to board the space prison, get the two prisoners and get the hell out of
Akritarian space.
Back onboard ship, Paris and Kim's friendship is once again glued, with the clamp removed
from their heads. The two now head off to enjoy their well deserved meal.
