[Bridge]

(At Kim's station.)
KIM: Based on the residual neutrino levels, I'd estimate it's been at least six months since the wormhole's last appearance.
CHAKOTAY: From the dispersal pattern of the interstellar plasma, it looks like it isn't fixed. Seems to be travelling through space.
JANEWAY: It may not be fixed on this end, nut if it's shown up in the same location more than once, it's possible its exit point is constant, and it's wagging around the Delta Quadrant like the tail on a dog.
PARIS: Approaching the last known co-ordinates of the wormhole, Captain.
JANEWAY: All stop. Mister Kim, initiate continuous neutrino scans.
KIM: Aye, Captain.
JANEWAY: Mister Tuvok, scan the planets in this system for life signs. Maybe there's someone around here who can give us some helpful information.
TUVOK: I am picking up an M-class atmosphere on the second planet, humanoid life signs. However, metallurgic analysis indicates a pre-industrial civilisation, a Bronze Age level of technology. Curious, Captain.
JANEWAY: What is?
TUVOK: I'm detecting evidence that these people have had contact with the Alpha Quadrant.
JANEWAY: What kind of evidence?
TUVOK: It is a modulated energy discharge that appears to be consistent with the recent use of a replicator.
KIM: If they've got a replicator, it could mean the wormhole leads to the Alpha Quadrant, and that someone's travelled through it.
JANEWAY: I appreciate your enthusiasm, Ensign, but before we indulge in too much speculation, let's see if we can back up your assumptions with some facts. Commander Chakotay, I want you and Lieutenant Paris to go down that planet and have a look around. Launch a high resolution reconnaissance probe to gather information about the local population's dress and appearance.
CHAKOTAY: Aye, Captain.
JANEWAY: In the meantime, Ensign, why don't you and Lieutenant Torres get started on a phase profile of this elusive wormhole's neutrino emissions. Let's see if we can confirm that it leads to the Alpha Quadrant.

Captain's log, stardate 50074.5. Based on information provided by the probe, we have replicated local attire for Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Paris. They have gone to the surface to investigate.

[Temple square]

(Local attire is blue cotton shirt and trousers, with a brown waistcoat. Chakotay uses his tricorder near a fruit stall then walks back to Paris.)
PARIS: This is where we picked up a replicator signature?
CHAKOTAY: Hard to believe, isn't it?
(An older man in a long robe, and wearing a patch over his right eye, enters the square declaiming a poem.)
BARD: Oh, those many years ago, the people's hearts were sad and low. Then the Sages to the city came. They came upon a burning flame just as the Seers said they would. They lifted Takar's blinding hood. Well? What did you think?
CHAKOTAY: It was very nice.
BARD: Nice? I'll wager you've never heard the Song of the Sages more beautifully or faithfully recited.
PARIS: He's got a point. We have never heard the Song of the Sages more beautifully recited.
BARD: As you know, the first verse is free, but the next verse will cost you three frangs.
CHAKOTAY: I'm sorry. Not today.
BARD: Oh, but I need money for ointment for my eye. Please, gentlemen!
MERCHANT: Go away, old man! Can't you see? These are men of commerce. They have no business with your silly poems. And may I say, gentlemen, you both have very fine shoes.
PARIS: Excuse me?
MERCHANT: Well, the Sages say you can tell a great deal about a man from his shoes, and I can tell from your shoes that you're men of refinement, affluence.
CHAKOTAY: We've really got to be going.
MERCHANT: Well, you're obviously new in Takar. Perhaps I could interest you in some property.
PARIS: No, thank you. We're not planning on settling here.
MERCHANT: What about some transportation? The Sages say, 'Time's an asset.' And you shouldn't waste your assets walking everywhere you go. You'd be wearing out those fine shoes of yours.
PARIS: I'm sorry, but we're really not interested.
(Chakotay is using his tricorder behind their backs.)
CHAKOTAY: Tom?
PARIS: Excuse me.
CHAKOTAY: I'm picking up a narrow band EM dampening field around that building. It looks like some sort of temple.
PARIS: Then I'd say the temple's where we ought to look.
MERCHANT: Oh, thank the Sages I found you. You can't enter the temple without wearing your ears.
PARIS: Look, friend, I thought I told you
CHAKOTAY: What do you mean, wearing your ears?
MERCHANT: You're really not Takarian, are you? Nobody visits the temple without displaying at least one ear.
(They see passersby with replicas of large-lobed ears on thongs around their necks.)
CHAKOTAY: Must be some sort of fetish.
MERCHANT: If you're not wearing an ear, you could be fined, even arrested. You wouldn't want that to happen.
PARIS: And let me guess. It just so happens that you could sell us a couple of these ears.
MERCHANT: As a matter of fact, I can.
(The merchant lays out his roll of wares and looks at their fine footwear.)

Captain's log, supplemental. I've been asked to join Lieutenant Torres and Ensign Kim in the science lab to hear what they've termed as very exciting news.

[Science lab]

KIM: We've been able to confirm that the wormhole does lead to the Alpha Quadrant.
TORRES: The problem is that on this end, it's jumping from point to point so quickly that even at maximum warp, by the time we got to its next probable location, it would be gone.
KIM: So we were thinking, if you can't bring the ship to the wormhole, bring the wormhole to the ship. We've detected a subspace instability at our current location that's a result of the wormhole's last appearance here.
TORRES: If we could somehow amplify and polarise that instability, we might be able to get the wormhole to reappear.
JANEWAY: Sort of like using a magnet to move a compass needle. The question is, how do we polarise the instability?
KIM: We haven't figured that part out yet.

[Temple square]

(The deal has been done.)
MERCHANT: Gentlemen, as the Sages say, 'Your goods are now my goods'.
PARIS: And my feet are now cold.
MERCHANT: Perhaps I could interest you in some discounted mining futures?
PARIS: Don't push your luck.
(They walk away.)
PARIS: You know, so far, I can't say that I like this town very much.
(A large gong is struck four times, then the temple door opens and young women in spangly bikinis and thin veils walk out and stand behind two thrones.)
PARIS: On the other hand.
(The gong-striker drags out a box covered in a cloth.)
KAFAR: My friends, the Holy Sages.
(Enter two gaudily clad - Ferengi!)
KAFAR: Behold, the Holy Icon.
(Kafar unveils the replicator, and the crowd gasp.)
ARRIDOR: Greed is eternal.
CROWD: Greed is eternal.
ARRIDOR: Greed is eternal.
CHAKOTAY: Greed is eternal.
ARRIDOR: Now what other wisdom have you learned from the Sages? A wise man can hear profit in the wind.
CROWD: A wise man can hear profit in the wind.
(Chakotay and Paris move out of sight.)
CHAKOTAY: Chakotay to Voyager.
JANEWAY [OC]: Janeway here.
CHAKOTAY: We've found the replicator, Captain.
CROWD: A wise man can hear profit in the wind. A wise man can
ARRIDOR: And now, dear friends, in our great beneficence, we will allow you to come forward to honour our greatness and glorify our generosity. Approach the Holy Sages. Approach your gods and speak your heart. Ah.
(The supplicant goes onto his knees and crawls towards the thrones. Kafar puts a leather box in front of him and opens it.)
SANDAL MAKER: I am a sandal maker from the poorest quarter of the city.
KOL: The laziest, you mean.
ARRIDOR: Speak, my friend. What is your business with the Sages?
SANDAL MAKER: I am in need of assistance. My sandal shop is failing. I can no longer feed my family.
KOL: Same old song.
SANDAL MAKER: My wife and her mother, my five children, the baby.
ARRIDOR: That's seven employees. Eight, if you count the infant. How can your shop be failing?
KOL: You're not paying them, are you?
SANDAL MAKER: My mother-in-law is ill. My children are very young.
KOL: Oh, don't tell me none of them are working. Ignorant, lobeless fools!
ARRIDOR: Exploitation begins at home!
CROWD: Exploitation begins at home.
ARRIDOR: Exploitation begins at home!
SANDAL MAKER: Exploitation begins at home. I understand my mistake and I promise to begin exploiting my family before the end of the day. But could I have some food and, and some medicine?
KOL: Ha! Ha!
SANDAL MAKER: Until my business improves.
ARRIDOR: You shall have something far more valuable. One copy of the Rules of Acquisition, cheapest binding possible.
(The replicator produces it, and Kafar hands it to the sandal maker. Arridor goes back inside.)
KOL: That'll be ten frangs.
SANDAL MAKER: But I
(He puts the coins in the leather box, and Kol picks it up.)
KOL: That's all for today. You may return tomorrow.

Captain's log, supplemental. The away team has returned with some very disturbing observations about the situation on the planet.

[Briefing room]

CHAKOTAY: It seems the people have a myth, an epic poem called the Song of the Sages, which predicts the arrival of two demigods from the sky, the Sages, who would rule over the people as benevolent protectors.
PARIS: But these Ferengi are anything but benevolent.
CHAKOTAY: What they've done is co-opt the local mythology by using advanced technology like the replicator to convince the people that they're the two Sages spoken of in the poem.
PARIS: Of course, being Ferengi, they haven't just co-opted the mythology. They've cornered the market on everything.
CHAKOTAY: It's disgusting, Captain. The two Ferengi live in a palatial temple, while the people are lucky to have a roof over their heads.
PARIS: Apparently it wasn't always like that. According to the people that we met, before the Ferengi came, the society may have been primitive, but it was flourishing. What I'd like to know is how two Ferengi got to the Delta Quadrant.
JANEWAY: We've been looking into that. Mister Tuvok.
TUVOK: According to Starfleet computer records, approximately seven years ago, the Federation Starship Enterprise hosted negotiations for ownership of the Barzan wormhole. Included among the bidding parties were two Ferengi, minor functionaries known as Arridor and Kol.
NEELIX: And this Barzan wormhole, it's the same one we've discovered now?
KIM: Apparently, but we've confirmed what nobody knew at the time. The wormhole is fixed in the Alpha Quadrant. But in the Delta Quadrant, it jumps around. It turned out to be worthless.
TUVOK: But the Ferengi were not aware of that, and during a nefarious attempt to secure the wormhole for themselves, they were pulled into it and deposited in the Delta Quadrant.
CHAKOTAY: Now that we've found them, what are we going to do with them?
JANEWAY: Well, I certainly don't intend to leave them here to continue exploiting an innocent society. How are you two coming with getting the wormhole back here and reopened?
TORRES: We've been bombarding the area of the subspace instability with verteron particles.
KIM: So far everything is going according to plan, but it's tricky. There are a hundred factors that could deflect it from this sector. A gravimetric shift, a solar flare.
TORRES: And even if we're lucky enough to get it here, it won't be around for long. We'll have a very short window of opportunity to get through.
JANEWAY: Well, if we can get the wormhole here, we'll be taking two additional passengers with us. We'll turn them over to Ferengi authorities when we get there.
TUVOK: Captain, I must remind you that the Ferengi are not members of the Federation. They are not bound by the Prime Directive. Nor would it seem that the Prime Directive would allow us to interfere with the internal affairs of this society, as much as we may disapprove of what the Ferengi are doing.
JANEWAY: The Federation did host the negotiations. And if it weren't for those negotiations, the Ferengi wouldn't be here. So one could say, without being unreasonable I think, that the Federation is partially responsible for what's happened, and therefore duty bound to correct the situation.
TUVOK: That is a most logical interpretation, Captain.

[Vault]

(A secure room within the Temple. Arridor is counting coins, while Kol is getting oo-mox from two of the ladies.)
ARRIDOR: 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148. Profits from the Ga'nah Province are down.
KOL: Hmm?
ARRIDOR: Are you listening to me? I said, profits from the Ga'nah Province are down!
KOL: Down? Profits are down? Both of you leave me alone. Can't you see I'm trying to conduct business here? I'm sorry, Arridor. It's just that they can't get enough of my lobes. Where were we? Oh, yeah, profits are down?
ARRIDOR: And what are we going to do about it?
KOL: What are you looking at me for? Ask that idiot Kafar. He's in charge of collections in the Ga'nah Province.
ARRIDOR: Kafar!
(Kafar runs in.)
KAFAR: You called, Great Sage?
ARRIDOR: What is the 95th Rule of Acquisition?
KOL: Huh.
KAFAR: Expand or die?
ARRIDOR: He knows the rules better than you do.
KOL: He does not.
ARRIDOR: And where is it we've been trying to expand this month?
KAFAR: Into the Ga'nah Province, Great Sage.
ARRIDOR: And who is in charge of collections in the Ga'nah Province?
KAFAR: I am, Great Sage.
KOL: Then why are profits down, you idiot? Where's our money?
KAFAR: Please forgive me, Lesser Sage.
KOL: Oh, I told you to stop calling me
(Then Arridor and Kol are beamed away. Kafar looks around then settles down on Kol's chaise-longue.)

[Transporter room]

ARRIDOR: Who are you?
JANEWAY: Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager.
KOL: The Federation?
ARRIDOR: Shut up, Kol. Let me handle this. What, may I ask, is the Federation doing in the Delta Quadrant?
JANEWAY: It's a long story, but suffice it to say we've been stranded here for the past two years. We're on our way back to the Alpha Quadrant and we're taking you with us.
KOL: This is an outrage. We won't allow you to tr
ARRIDOR: You're crazy. It would take decades to get back from here.
JANEWAY: Show them, Mister Tuvok.
TUVOK: We have been bombarding a local subspace instability with verteron particles. If all goes according to plan, the Barzan wormhole should reopen at out present location in a matter of hours.
ARRIDOR: And if all doesn't go according to plan?
JANEWAY: One way or another, you're coming with us.
KOL: We've been kidnapped, snatched from the embrace of bliss. It's all over. No more limitless profits. No more unquestioning adulation of the masses. No more quadruple lobe rubs.
ARRIDOR: If I'm not mistaken, Captain, the Federation has rules, and those rules forbid you to interfere with indigenous cultures.
JANEWAY: What about your interference? You've taken these people's religion and manipulated it for your own selfish purposes, pretending to be their Sages.
ARRIDOR: Who's to say we aren't their Sages, Captain?
JANEWAY: Don't be ridiculous.
ARRIDOR: The song is sung of Sages who can perform miracles which, thanks to our replicator, we do. The song is sung of men coming from the sky on a burning flame. When we crash-landed our shuttle in their quaint little town square, trailing behind us a roaring ribbon of burning plasma.
KOL: You mean we really are the Sages?
ARRIDOR: The point is, Captain, that these people have believed for centuries that gods, known as the Sages, would deliver them from their strife. To them, we are those Sages. What happens to a people when they lose their gods? Despair, fear, confusion. And how can you as a moral people blithely tear down the spiritual structure that has supported a community since before their gods were flesh? What would you be leaving them with?
KOL: Tell us, Arridor. Tell us!
ARRIDOR: Darkness, doubt, hopelessness.
KOL: That was beautiful.
JANEWAY: Mister Tuvok, transport them back to the surface.
KOL: We did it, Arridor. We won.

[Briefing room]

PARIS: We can't just leave the Ferengi there to continue exploiting those poor people.
CHAKOTAY: But Arridor's right. We can't kidnap their gods either.
NEELIX: What other option is there?
JANEWAY: What if the gods didn't just disappear suddenly and inexplicably? What if they left voluntarily, gracefully?
CHAKOTAY: The gods would be gone, but the people would be prepared for it, and they might accept it as a natural ordained occurrence.
JANEWAY: Exactly.
PARIS: But how do we get two Ferengi to just walk away from a monopoly on an entire economy?
JANEWAY: What motivates a Ferengi?
PARIS: Profit.
TUVOK: Then we must find a way to make it more profitable for them to leave.
JANEWAY: Or less profitable to stay.
NEELIX: How do we do that?
JANEWAY: We have to out-Ferengi the Ferengi.

[Vault]

ARRIDOR: Hmm. There we are. I've reconfigured the matter-antimatter generator to produce an ionic disruption field around the temple square.
KOL: No more unexpected beam-outs.
ARRIDOR: Let's see how smart those humans think they are now.
(Someone hammers at the vault door.)
ARRIDOR: Kafar!
KAFAR: You called, Great Sage?
ARRIDOR: Find out who has the audacity to disturb us in our divine vault.
KOL: Ah! And make it quick!
(Kafar opens a small door within the bigger door.)
KAFAR: Who has the audacity to disturb the Holy Sages in their divine vault?
(The person outside holds a staff through the door. A staff with a Ferengi head on it.)
ARRIDOR + KOL: Grand Nagus!
(Enter Neelix in Ferengi guise, with even more outrageously decorated clothing.)
NEELIX: Not the Grand Nagus. I'm his official messenger, the Grand Proxy.
(Arridor and Kol rush to kneel and kiss the staff.)
ARRIDOR: But Grand Proxy, how did you?
NEELIX: Through the Barzan wormhole. The humans stabilised it temporarily and were kind enough to send a probe through, informing us of your impressive operation.
ARRIDOR: Well, of course, the Grand Nagus, or his official messenger the Grand Proxy, is always welcome in our little world, our rather poverty-stricken little world, and we're thrilled he has taken an interest in our very modest operation.
NEELIX: If I were you, I'd save the grovelling for the Nagus himself.
KOL: You mean the Grand Nagus is coming here too?
NEELIX: Of course not, you idiot! You two are going to him. You've been recalled.
ARRIDOR: Recalled?
KOL: We're ruined.
NEELIX: You will be leaving immediately.
ARRIDOR: (to Kol) This is not a time to lose one's lobes. I'll think of something. (to Neelix) Perhaps the Grand Nagus doesn't understand that profits in this market depend upon our presence. You see, to these people we're, well, gods actually. Without us to make the fools cower in submission, there will be no profits to be had.
NEELIX: The Grand Nagus knows all about your little scheme, the Song of the Sages and all the rest of it. Very clever. But he wants you and all your acquisitions back on Ferenginar before the wormhole closes again.
ARRIDOR: I'm sure the Grand Nagus wouldn't want to lose such a lucrative revenue stream. The wormhole seems to open and close on its own every seven or eight years. We would be willing to forward a fair share of the profits every time it does, say, twenty percent?
KOL: That's coming out of your half.
ARRIDOR: Shut up!
NEELIX: The Grand Nagus has no intention of losing profits from this market. That's why he's already got a team of scientists investigating the human's technology to see if we can find a way to open and close the wormhole whenever we want.
ARRIDOR: Then perhaps the Grand Nagus could simply recall one of us and leave the other behind to administer the operation. You could take Kol back with you.
KOL: Hey, wait a minute.
NEELIX: That's enough!
KOL: I don't think that
NEELIX: The Grand Nagus has recalled you both. It's non-negotiable. Of course, the Nagus doesn't want to upset the local population. He may want to send others in your place. That's why he wants you to make a little speech telling the people that their Holy Sages have been recalled to the Divine Treasury or whatever it is the people around here call it. Then he wants you to tell them not to worry, that everything will be all right without you. Then he wants you to thank them for their generosity.
ARRIDOR: Thank them?
NEELIX: The 299th Rule of Acquisition, Whenever you exploit someone, it never hurts to thank them. That way it's easier to exploit them the next time.
KOL: Wait a minute. There's only 285 Rules of Acquisition.
NEELIX: You've been gone a very long time. Oh, by the way, did I mention that the Nagus is appropriating all your holdings?
ARRIDOR: What?
KOL: All?
NEELIX: All.
KOL: The least you can do is let us keep the females.
(Neelix picks up two sacks of coins.)
NEELIX: I'll be back in twenty minutes to approve your speech. I suggest you start writing. (to Kafar) You! Come with me!
KAFAR: Of course, Greater Sage.
(Neelix and Kafar leave.)
KOL: What are we going to do?
ARRIDOR: What a Ferengi always does in a situation this grave.
KOL: Panic?
ARRIDOR: No, you idiot! He goes to the Rules of Acquisition.
KOL: Oh.
ARRIDOR: Unabridged and fully annotated, with all forty seven commentaries, all nine hundred major and minor judgements, all ten thousand considered opinions. There's a rule for every conceivable situation.

[Temple square]

(Neelix is distributing the coins from the sacks.)
PARIS: Looks like Neelix is pulling off quite a performance.
NEELIX: And you. There you are. Don't push. There's plenty to go around.
MAN: Please, please.
NEELIX: Oh, you're quite welcome. Here. Please, one at a time. There you go.
SANDAL MAKER: Is he another Sage?
KAFAR: Have you ever seen a Sage give away money?
NEELIX: And you.
WOMAN: Oh, thank you.

[Vault]

ARRIDOR: Grand Proxy, avoidance of. Mmm. Grand Proxy, censure by. Grand Proxy, encounters with See Hopeless Situation.
KOL: I told you there was no rule.
ARRIDOR: Then it's time to invoke the unwritten rule.
KOL: The unwritten rule?
ARRIDOR: When no appropriate rule applies, make one up.
KOL: That's a very good rule.
ARRIDOR: Now, let's see. What should it be? The Grand Proxy is the Nagus's official messenger, right? I've got it. 'When the messenger comes to appropriate your profits, kill the messenger.'

[Temple square]

MAN: Thank you. Thank you.
((The sacks are empty.)
WOMAN: It's a miracle.
MAN: Thank you, Great Sage.
WOMAN: Oh, Great Sage, thank you.
MAN: We're so grateful.
(Neelix goes back into the Temple.)

[Temple]

NEELIX: Arridor? Kol? Show yourselves. We can't keep the Grand Nagus waiting.
KOL: If you say so.
(Kol enters carrying a large sword.) 
NEELIX: What is the meaning of this?
(Arridor comes up behind him with another sword.)
ARRIDOR: You're not very bright for a Grand Proxy.
KOL: Ex-Grand Proxy!
NEELIX: But the Grand Nagus
(Neelix dodges Kol's clumsy swing. Kol falls to the floor.)
ARRIDOR: Is on the other side of the galaxy.
(Arridor's swing cuts the staff in two. Neelix holds them off by throwing treasure at them.)
NEELIX: Wait! Wait! I'm not, I'm not the Grand Proxy!
ARRIDOR: Oh, no? Who are you then?
NEELIX: Stop! My name is Neelix!
ARRIDOR: Neelix? That's not a Ferengi name.
(Neelix rolls on the floor, avoiding sword slashes.)
NEELIX: Wait! I'm not Ferengi.
KOL: What?
NEELIX: I've never even met the Grand Nagus.
KOL: A likely story.
NEELIX: It's true! I'm wearing a disguise. I'm really a Talaxian, a crewman on Voyager.
ARRIDOR: If you're not Ferengi, prove it!
NEELIX: I'm not sure how.
(Kol twists Neelix's lobes.)
KOL: Doesn't that hurt?
NEELIX: I can't feel a thing.
KOL: He really isn't a Ferengi.
ARRIDOR: On your feet. All right, Talaxian, back to your ship. And tell those humans to keep their hands out of our pockets, or else.
KOL: And stay out!
(Neelix leaves.)
KOL: We won! We won!
ARRIDOR: No, my friend, not exactly. To be precise, we won again!

[Temple square]

PARIS: What happened?
NEELIX: Suffice it to say, they know I'm not the Grand Proxy.
PARIS: Oh, great.
CHAKOTAY: Let's get to the shuttle.
(The Bard's eye patch has moved from the right to the left eye.)
BARD: Who are you?
NEELIX: I'm, er, well.
BARD: You are another Holy One, aren't you?
NEELIX: That's right. Another Holy One.
BARD: Then you'll appreciate this. The Sages in the sky did dwell upon white clouds that held them well. Until the sentry rang the bell, the Holy Sages never fell. That'll be three frangs, please.
PARIS: But we didn't ask you to recite it.
BARD: Well, you heard it, didn't you?
CHAKOTAY: Your poem's very nice, but we're in a hurry.
BARD: No, please, sir! My eye
PARIS: Look, friend, I'm sorry about your eye, really, but. Wait a minute. Wasn't your patch on the other side?
(The Bard moves his patch from left to right, then holds his hand out.)
BARD: Sir?
PARIS: We've got to go.
BARD: Wait, please. I'll throw in another verse gratis. But when the ringing called them here, from the sky they did appear.
CHAKOTAY: Tell me something. What happens to the Sages at the end of the Song?
BARD: Oh, let me see now. The final verse. It's been a very long time, you know. Those are very handsome shoes you have, sir.
(Chakotay takes his shoes off.)
BARD: Ah, yes, it's coming back to me now. And there, amid the eastern lights, three new stars appeared that night. And with the ringing of the bell, the Sages knew where they must dwell. The Holy Pilgrim led them back, high into the sky of black, and riding on the wings of fire, the Holy Men rose higher and higher. Wait a minute. I know who you are.
(That evening, Neelix walks up the temple steps.)
NEELIX: I am the Holy Pilgrim!
(Silence.)
PARIS: Did you hear that? The Holy Pilgrim!
SANDAL MAKER: The Holy Pilgrim?
PARIS: The Holy Pilgrim!
CHAKOTAY: The Holy Pilgrim! The Holy Pilgrim!
(The voices can be heard inside the vault.) 
NEELIX: I have come to fulfil the destiny that is prophesied in the Song of the Sages.
ARRIDOR: What in the name of eternal destitution is going on here?
NEELIX: Ah, there you are. Do you not recognise me? I am the Holy Pilgrim.
KOL: The Holy Pilgrim? Who's the Holy Pilgrim?
ARRIDOR: Quiet, you idiot. This man is no Holy Pilgrim. He's a Talaxian!
CROWD: Talaxian?
NEELIX: Oh no, Great Sage, you are mistaken. I am indeed the Holy Pilgrim. And just as the Song of the Sages promises, I have come to lead you back, high into the sky of black.
SANDAL MAKER: I have prayed for this day to come.
PARIS: Lead them back! Lead them back!
CROWD: Lead them back! Lead them back! Lead them back! Lead them back! Lead them back! Lead them back!
KOL: What do they mean, lead us back?
ARRIDOR: I don't know. It must be part of the song. I told you we should have listened to the whole thing.
NEELIX: Well, it looks as though you two will be heading off to see the Grand Nagus after all.
ARRIDOR: We'll see about that. This man, this man is a false Pilgrim. He's come to steal your profits.
NEELIX: I am not a false Pilgrim and I'll prove it.
PARIS: That's our cue.
CHAKOTAY: Chakotay to Voyager. On my mark.

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: Stand by to initiate the photon burst, Mister Kim.
KIM: Aye, Captain.
TUVOK: Captain, I am still unable to penetrate the Ferengi dampening field. If the away team experiences difficulties, we will be unable to beam them out.
JANEWAY: Keep working on it. In the meantime, we'll just have to rely on their ingenuity to get themselves out of there if trouble arises.

[Temple square]

NEELIX: The song says that amid the eastern lights, three new stars appeared that night.
CROWD: That's true. That's what the song says.
NEELIX: Look, my friends. Look! Right up there!
CHAKOTAY: Now.

[Bridge]

KIM: Initiating photon bursts.

[Town square]

(Three bright lights appear in the sky.)
ARRIDOR: It's a trick.
KOL: He's a fraud, I tell you.
ARRIDOR: Kafar, arrest this man. Well, arrest him!
(Kafar strikes the gong instead.)
ARRIDOR: Ow!
KOL: Hey!
ARRIDOR: Stop!
KOL: What do you think you're doing?
ARRIDOR: Ow!
KAFAR: Like the song says, Lesser Sage, with the ringing of the bell, the sages knew where they must dwell.
CROWD: Yeah! Yes!
ARRIDOR: Ow! Ow!
KAFAR: Like the song says, you Sages, it's time for you to go back where you came from!
CROWD: Yes! Yes! To the stars!
KAFAR: And they must go on wings of fire!
CROWD: Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! The sky! The sky! The sky!
(The crowd stop Arridor and Kol going back into the temple, and tie them back to back.)
KOL: We are your gods. This is outrageous. This is outrageous. We are your gods, your sages.
ARRIDOR: I am your god. Hands off your god.
KOL: This mustn't happen.
(As two men approach with burning torches, Neelix is tied to the two Ferengi.)
NEELIX: No, no! Wait a minute, people! No! There's, there's no reason to interpret the Song of the Sages so literally. Kafar! Kafar! Tell them!
KAFAR: We are fulfilling the destiny of the Sages.
NEELIX: I am the Holy Pilgrim, and I have come to tell you there's another verse to the song. It's er, please, don't burn the Holy Ones.
KAFAR: I'm sorry, Holy Pilgrim, but that's not part of the Song.
CROWD: Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire!
NEELIX: Commander? I think now would be a very good time for that beam-out.
(Faggots of wood are laid around the Ferengi's feet.)
CROWD: Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire!
PARIS: We've got to disable the dampening field so they can beam us out of here. Where's the generator?
ARRIDOR + KOL: In the vault!
(Chakotay and Paris run inside as the wood is lit.)
CROWD: Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire!

[Bridge]

TUVOK: We still can not establish a transporter lock, Captain.
KIM: Boosting power to the annular confinement beam.

[Temple]

CROWD [OC]: Wings of fire! Wings of fire! Wings of fire!
(Chakotay and Paris run to the generator.)

[Town square]

KOL: Arridor?
ARRIDOR: What is it now?
KOL: We had seven years of pure profit.
ARRIDOR: We did, didn't we?
CROWD: To the stars! To the stars!

[Temple]

PARIS: I can't shut it down.
CHAKOTAY: Stand back.
(Chakotay phasers the generator.)

[Town Square]

(Neelix, Arridor and Kol are beamed away.)
CROWD: To the stars! To the stars!
KAFAR: The Holy Ones have ascended!

[Transporter room]

JANEWAY [OC]: Is everyone okay down there, Commander?
CHAKOTAY: We're all here in one piece, Captain.
JANEWAY [OC]: Good work.

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: Report to the Bridge as soon as everything is in order. We'll be entering the wormhole in approximately seven minutes.

[Transporter Room]

CHAKOTAY: Acknowledged.
ARRIDOR: We're not going through any wormhole without our possessions.
CHAKOTAY: Listen, friend, you're lucky to be alive. We beamed your shuttle to the shuttle bay. As for the rest of your possessions, they're back in the hands of the people you stole them from. Ensign Murphy, escort these men to secured quarters.
KOL: This is outrageous.
ARRIDOR: I'll hold you personally responsible for any losses we suffer!
KOL: We'll sue!

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: Shield status, Mister Tuvok.
TUVOK: Shield are optimal.
JANEWAY: Mister Paris, engage manoeuvring thrusters and ease us into position.
PARIS: Aye, Captain.
EMH [OC]: Sickbay to Lieutenant Tuvok.
TUVOK: Go ahead, Doctor.

[Sickbay]

EMH: Ensign Murphy was just found unconscious on deck two.
KES: It's a severe concussion.
EMH: We suspect foul play.

[Bridge]

CHAKOTAY: Murphy was escorting the Ferengi to their quarters.
TUVOK: Captain, security has been breached in the shuttle bay.
JANEWAY: Seal that air lock, Mister Tuvok.
(The ship shudders.)
TUVOK: The Ferengi have phasered the shuttle bay door. They are exiting the ship.
KIM: Activating emergency containment field.
PARIS: They're setting a course for the planet, Captain.
JANEWAY: Lock a tractor beam onto that shuttle.
CHAKOTAY: The gravitational effects of the wormhole are refracting the beam. I can't get a lock.
TUVOK: The Ferengi are hailing us, Captain.
JANEWAY: On screen.
ARRIDOR [on viewscreen]: Thank you for all your assistance, humans.
KOL [on viewscreen]: It was lovely doing business with you.
ARRIDOR [on viewscreen]: We'll be heading back into orbit to transport out acquisitions aboard.
(Transmission ends.)
JANEWAY: Beam those men back now, Mister Kim.
KIM: I'm trying, but the targeting scanners are out of phase.
CHAKOTAY: Try setting the scanners to a narrowband subspace frequency.

[Ferengi shuttle]

(An alarm sounds.)
KOL: What is it?
ARRIDOR: They're trying to beam us back to their ship again. They're using some sort of subspace carrier wave.
KOL: Do something!
ARRIDOR: Shields to maximum.
KOL: Shields are at maximum!
ARRIDOR: Send out a high energy graviton pulse. Let's see their transporter signal cut through that.

[Bridge]

KIM: Captain, the Ferengi are emitting a graviton pulse. It's throwing the targeting scanners off again. Not only that, it's destabilising the wormhole.
(The ship shudders again.)
TUVOK: Captain, a gravitational eddy from the wormhole is attracting the Ferengi shuttle. They're being pulled in.

[Ferengi shuttle]

ARRIDOR: Reverse thrusters!
KOL: They're offline! Aaaaaa!
(The little shuttle disappears down the wormhole.)

[Bridge]

JANEWAY: Follow them in before that wormhole collapses, Mister Paris.
PARIS: Aye, Captain. Resetting the co-ordinates.
KIM: Captain, the entrance to the wormhole is moving. The Ferengi graviton pulse must have increased its rotational momentum.
PARIS: Adjusting course to follow. It's too fast for us, Captain. I need more speed.
JANEWAY: Mister Tuvok, divert auxiliary power to the thrusters.
PARIS: It's not enough.
CHAKOTAY: Initiate a high intensity impulse burst.
JANEWAY: Mister Kim, reinitiate the verteron field. Maybe we can attract the wormhole back.
KIM: The Ferengi graviton pulse knocked the wormhole completely off its subspace axis. It's jumping erratically now on both ends.
JANEWAY: Options?
(Long pause.)
KIM: There are none.
JANEWAY: Mister Paris, reset a course for the Alpha Quadrant. Warp six.
PARIS: Aye, Captain.

[Town square]

(The crowd watch Voyager zoom across the sky.)
SANDAL MAKER: Look. The Holy Ones are going home!