(Paris is piloting the Flyer through a very dense asteroid field.)
(PARIS: What's the matter, Harry? You look a little pale.
KIM: I volunteered for a test flight, not a suicide mission.
PARIS: How can we put the new Delta Flyer through her paces without taking a few risks?
KIM: Another risk like that and we'll have to rebuild her all over again. There's a vessel coming up fast off our starboard beam.
PARIS: Shields.
KIM: Range fifty kilometres. Ten. It's pulling alongside.
PARIS: Wow, nice ship.
KIM: It's scanning us.
PARIS: This is Lieutenant Tom Paris. Please identify yourself.
IRINA [OC]: Vectored exhaust ports, accelerated driver coils. Your vessel must be fast.
PARIS: Gets us where we want to go.
IRINA [OC]: Check your scanners. You'll see a comet on the other side of the asteroid field. I wonder which of our ships could get there first?
PARIS: Sounds like a challenge.
IRINA [OC]: Are you going to accept?
KIM: We are not going to race her.
PARIS: This is a test flight, right?
KIM: Yeah, but
PARIS: What better way to test the new ship than to see how it stands up to a little competition? We're ready over here. Shall I count to three?
(Irina accelerates away.)
PARIS: Guess not. She's a lot more manoeuvrable than we are.
KIM: Not that I'm endorsing this misguided exercise, but maybe we can even the odds. New impulse thrusters.
PARIS: Now that's the spirit, Harry.
(A pair of thrusters open up at the rear of the Flyer.)
KIM: We're catching up. A hundred metres, fifty.
PARIS: Bring the backup generators online and reroute power to the thrusters.
(Irina's ship clips an asteroid and her starboard nacelle starts venting.)
PARIS: And it's the Delta Flyer by a nose.
KIM: Something's wrong with her ship. The cabin's filling up with nyocene gas.
PARIS: Stand by for emergency transport.
(A humanoid female with pointed ears and tight leather trousers is beamed aboard, coughing.)
KIM: Are you all right?
IRINA: I think so.
KIM: I told you this wasn't a good idea.
IRINA: Does that mean you're afraid to try again?
PARIS: Yeah, Harry, you afraid?
KIM: No, of course not. It's just that your ship is in no shape for a rematch.
IRINA: My power transformer overloaded.
KIM: I bet we could find you a spare back on Voyager. We were about to head back anyway. Right, Tom?
PARIS: Whatever you say, Ensign Eager.

[Doctor's office]

EMH: I've been looking forward to my holodeck time all week. Why can't you borrow three hours from someone else?
TORRES: Yours are the last piece to the puzzle. Tom and I have finally managed to get a weekend off together. I've been trading favours with members so that we could get the holodeck to ourselves.
EMH: A romantic getaway.
TORRES: Well, that's the idea, yes.
EMH: Well, ordinarily I wouldn't hesitate to oblige but I've been looking forward to indulging myself in a new hobby. Something human doctors have been enjoying for centuries.
(He picks up a golf club and ball.)
EMH: I've already booked a tee time.
TORRES: Well, if your tee time is more important than our happiness. Our first chance to be alone in months.
EMH: Fine. Take my three hours.
TORRES: Thank you.
EMH: So, what programme are you planning to run?
TORRES: Something new, called Gedi Prime.
EMH: I've heard of that. The vacation paradise that makes Risa look like a tourist trap.
TORRES Endless kilometres of crystalline beaches, mood reefs, bioluminescent waterfalls.
EMH: And a championship golf course, if I'm not mistaken. Why don't I just join you?
TORRES: Somehow I don't think that would add to the mood.
EMH: Don't be so sure. You haven't seen me in a bathing suit.

[Irina's ship]

(Safely in Voyager's shuttlebay, repairs are underway.)
IRINA: Could you hand me the veridium injector.
KIM|: Veridium injector. Er, let's see.
IRINA: The one with the long handle.
KIM: Of course.
(He sits in the co-pilot's seat.)
KIM: Comfortable.
IRINA: My co-pilot thinks so, too.
KIM: Co-pilot?
IRINA: I was on my way to meet him when I ran into you.
KIM: So, tell me more about where you're from.
IRINA: It's a small trinary system about half a parsec from here.
KIM: Three suns? Must make for some long days.
IRINA: Are you always this inquisitive?
KIM: That depends on who I'm talking to.
PARIS: Your new power transformer is installed and ready to go.
IRINA: Thanks.
PARIS: Your impulse drive is a real beauty.
IRINA: I designed it myself.
PARIS: But I couldn't help noticing your warp system seems so rudimentary.
IRINA: Warp's fine if you like going fast in a straight line. But to me that's just physics, not flying.
KIM: I guess it's just a matter of taste.
IRINA: Anyway, for the kind of flying I'm here for, warp is not a factor. The race course is only two billion kilometres long.
PARIS: Race course?
KIM: What kind of race course?

[Briefing room]

PARIS: The Antarian Trans-Stellar Rally. Three segments covering two point three billion kilometres.
KIM: With obstacles ranging from dwarf star clusters to K class anomalies.
PARIS: Two man crews and most importantly, each ship is limited to sub-light speeds. It is the ultimate test of ship design and piloting skills
TUVOK: Not to mention a serious drain on Voyager's resources. You're suggesting we reassign fifteen crewmen to modify the Delta Flyer.
PARIS: The race has very specific guidelines.
CHAKOTAY: All the ships have to use enriched deuterium fuel. The Delta Flyer's not equipped for that.
KIM: Irina agreed to lend us a fuel converter.
PARIS: Captain, this race is more than just a sporting event. Until recently this region was a war zone. Four different species fought for nearly a century to control it.
KIM: Now, for the first time, they're competing peacefully to commemorate the new treaty that ended the war.
PARIS: This race embodies everything the Federation values. Peaceful coexistence, free exchange of ideas
JANEWAY: I think it's a great idea.
PARIS: You do?
TUVOK: You do?
JANEWAY: Absolutely. This competition is just the sort of break we need. It would give us the chance to make some friends, and allow the crew a little R and R. Request granted.
PARIS: Thank you, Captain.
JANEWAY: One thing, gentleman. Now that we're in this race, we're in it to win. After all, Starfleet's honour is at stake.
PARIS: Don't worry, it's in good hands.

[Sickbay]

(The Sickbay doors open and a flashing green golf ball rolls out. Paris picks it up. Inside, the EMH is practising his putting.)
PARIS: A little tip, Doc. This game was not meant to be played indoors.
EMH: Here to rub salt in the wound?
PARIS: I beg your pardon?
EMH: I planned to be putting the greens at Saint Andrews. Instead I'm putting into beakers in Sickbay, thanks to you.
PARIS: Me?
EMH: Oh, don't be coy. I've already approved your time off.
PARIS: The Captain's told you about the race already?
EMH: What race? I was referring to your romantic getaway.
PARIS: Oh, no.
EMH: Don't tell me you forgot.
PARIS: Do me a favour Doc. Keep a lock on my biosigns.
EMH: What for?
PARIS: Because in about five minutes there may be a medical emergency in Engineering.
(Paris leaves.)
EMH: Maybe I can get that tee time back.
(He finally gets a ball into the beaker.)

[Engineering]

PARIS: Hi.
TORRES: You're early.
(She drags him to a quiet corner for a kiss.)
TORRES: You packed?
PARIS: Not yet. Actually, there might be a little problem.
TORRES: Problem?
PARIS: I have the chance to pilot the Flyer in a race. A really unique race and the captain thinks it's a great idea, and I guess I got so excited I forgot about our plans. But I don't have to do it. The captain would understand.
TORRES: It's all right.
PARIS: No, no. I should have remembered. This just seemed like such an amazing opportunity. Pilots from all over
TORRES: I said it's okay.
PARIS: Really?
TORRES: The holodeck will always be here. This race won't.
PARIS: I do not deserve you.
TORRES: You're right about that.
PARIS: So, we'll plan this vacation for another time.
TORRES: Sure.
PARIS: I'm going to make this up to you, I promise.

[Mess hall]

NEELIX: Late night? Can I get you anything?
TORRES: No, thanks.
NEELIX: Oh, ah, ow. oo.
TORRES: Are you okay?
NEELIX: Oh, my feet. Ow. I haven't had a chance to sit down all day.
TORRES: If you're thinking of cheering me up, don't bother.
NEELIX: Who, me? Never.
TORRES: And by the way, you can have your holodeck time back.
NEELIX: What about your weekend with Tom?
TORRES: He just cancelled it.
NEELIX: Does he have any idea how much planning it took?
TORRES: No. And you're not going to tell him, either. He just entered this big race, and he's really excited and, I don't want to spoil it for him.
NEELIX: I'm sure if you tell him how important this weekend was to you, he'll reconsider.
TORRES: Probably. But he should be able to do what makes him happy.
NEELIX: What about what makes you happy?
TORRES: It's time I faced facts, Neelix. Tom and I just don't belong together.
NEELIX: Then you're not in love with him anymore?
TORRES: I didn't say that.
NEELIX: B'Elanna, if you still love each other
TORRES: Maybe that isn't enough.
NEELIX: Call me a hopeless romantic, but I still think it is.
TORRES: There's a Klingon phrase my grandmother used to use. Mok'tah. It means bad match. That's what Tom and I are. I just hate that it's taken me three years to realise it.
NEELIX: If you're really such a mok'tah, it must have been an awful three years.
TORRES: No. Tom is a great guy. We've had a lot of fun together. And that seems to be enough for him. But not for me.
NEELIX: Why aren't you saying all this to Tom?
TORRES: I plan to. After the race.
NEELIX: By which time, he'll have already disappointed you again. I may not know as much about Klingon tradition as your grandmother, but somehow, keeping Tom in the dark doesn't seem very honourable. My feet are feeling better. I should go back to work.

Captain's log, stardate 54058.6. Our request to enter the Delta Flyer into the rally has been accepted. I'm meeting with the race coordinator, Ambassador O'Zaal, to work out the details.

[Ready room]

O'ZAAL: We have teams that have travelled quite a distance, Captain, but none from as far as the Alpha Quadrant.
JANEWAY: We're always willing to go that extra light year for a good cause.
O'ZAAL: Well, your entrance petition seems to be in order. The Delta Flyer meets our guidelines. Now all you have to do is win.
CHAKOTAY: Something tells me the other teams aren't going to make that too easy.
TUVOK [OC]: Bridge to the captain.
JANEWAY: Go ahead, Commander.
TUVOK [OC]: There is an incoming transmission for the Ambassador.
JANEWAY: Route it here.
O'ZAAL: I asked not to be disturbed.
ASSISTANT [on monitor]: I'm sorry, but the Aksani are threatening to withdraw unless they're allowed to host the post-race ceremony.
O'ZAAL: Did you explain that we've already promised that to the Chessu.
ASSISTANT [on monitor]: Yes. They said that was unacceptable.
O'ZAAL: Arrange for another meeting. I'll have to find some way of appeasing them. Well, I hope the race you just entered doesn't end before it begins.
JANEWAY: It's that serious?
O'ZAAL: The peace is still very fragile. Every decision I make, no matter how trivial, is looked upon as symbolic.
JANEWAY: So, every time you make a concession to one participant
O'ZAAL: Another is offended, yes.
JANEWAY: Maybe we can help.
O'ZAAL: That would be wonderful, but how?
JANEWAY: By providing neutral ground for the pre- and post-race activities. Since we've never taken sides in your conflict, you couldn't be accused of showing favouritism.
O'ZAAL: If your racing skills are as sharp as your diplomatic instincts, the other teams won't have a chance.

[Mess hall]

The pre-race get-together is going with a swing. Paris and Kim are wearing new uniforms with grey and black vertical panels and white shoulders.)
IRINA: There's someone to watch out for.
PARIS: What's his story?
IRINA: His name is Assan. He was a fighter pilot. One of the most ruthless.
KIM: Where you going?
PARIS: A little personal reconnaissance. We are the hosts. Lieutenant Tom Paris. Welcome aboard.
(The reptiloid in blue leathers does not turn around.)
PARIS: Could I get you something? A drink? Something to eat? A tour of the ship?
ASSAN: Were you assigned to serve me?
PARIS: Er, not exactly.
ASSAN: Are we friends?
PARIS: I guess not.
ASSAN: Then you must be one of those pilots who believes in the fellowship of combat.
PARIS: Correct me if I'm wrong but, I thought this was a friendly race, not a battle.
ASSAN: If that's what you believe, then you've already lost.
PARIS: Well, nice chatting with you.
KIM: Learn anything?
PARIS: Yeah. I should leave the hosting to Neelix.
(A man in tight leather trousers enters.)
IRINA: Joxom!
KIM: Who?
IRINA: My co-pilot.
JOXOM: Irina. Hi.
(Joxom hugs her.)
PARIS: Looks like they're good friends.
KIM: They're team-mates.
PARIS: Close personal team-mates.
KIM: Oh, it was nice while it lasted.
PARIS: Come on.

[Astrometrics lab]

TORRES: Seven, I need to run a diagnostic on the lateral sensor array.
SEVEN: As soon as I'm finished.
TORRES: With what?
SEVEN: Plotting the most efficient course for the first segment of the rally.
TORRES: Seems like the entire crew has come down with race fever.
SEVEN: Maybe you could persuade the Doctor to develop a vaccine.
TORRES: I'm surprised you're putting time into this.
SEVEN: Initially I did find the activity irrelevant. But then I realised that it's important for the crew's morale, and for my relationship with Lieutenant Paris.
TORRES: Your relationship with Lieutenant Paris.
SEVEN: I was speaking professionally. I often work with him on navigational problems. He can be an erratic individual, but he's also a very competent officer and clearly a skilled pilot.
TORRES: It's the erratic individual that takes getting used to.
SEVEN: No doubt. But I've learned that if I embrace some of his interests, support him in his personal goals, we're able to function more efficiently as crewmates.

[Delta Flyer]

PARIS: Harry, where have you been?
TORRES: Say Q'apla!
(Torres takes photograph of Paris as he turns.)
TORRES: It means success. I just wanted to capture the moment. Not to mention that cute bewildered expression.
PARIS: What are you doing in that flight suit?
TORRES: There's been a change of plans. I'm your new co-pilot.
PARIS: Look, I don't have time for practical jokes.
TORRES: Neither do I. Ready to bring that impulse drive online?
PARIS: B'Elanna.
TORRES: Okay. I was upset that you cancelled our weekend. But then I realised, why should we spend this time apart when we can be together doing something you love?
PARIS: What about Harry?
TORRES: I assigned him to a level five diagnostic in Engineering.
PARIS: Oh, that's terrible.
TORRES: I'm just kidding. I told him how hard it was for us to get time together and he understood. Anyway, the way I see it, you're trading an Ensign for a Chief Engineer.
PARIS: Well, you don't have to convince me. I couldn't ask for a better co-pilot. Now just remember, we're not on vacation. The point is to win.
TORRES: And you know how much I hate to lose.
PARIS: Thrusters online. Opening shuttlebay doors.

[Bridge]

TUVOK: The racers are moving into position.
JANEWAY: Ambassador.
O'ZAAL: Welcome to the first running of the Antarian Trans-Stellar Rally. This moment marks a hopeful point

[Delta Flyer]

O'ZAAL [OC]: In our shared history. A chance to put aside old animosities and come together

[Irina's ship]

O'ZAAL [OC]: In a spirit of peace and friendly competition.

[Assan's ship]

O'ZAAL [OC]: Good luck to all of you. Prepare for the starting signal.

[Bridge]

O'ZAAL: Captain, the honour is yours.
JANEWAY: Mister Tuvok, fire.
(A low-yield photon torpedo flares gently as the starting signal, and the competitors zoom away past the windows of the mess hall.)

[Delta Flyer]

TORRES: We've passed two more ships. Three still ahead of us.
PARIS: How's my impulse engine?
TORRES: Hot but stable, thanks to the new fuel converter.
(A ship passes them so closely they rock.)
TORRES: That was the number eight ship.
PARIS: Assan.
TORRES: Whoever it is just grazed our shields. Port thrusters are offline.
PARIS: Compensating. That was an old trick. Back at the Academy we used to call that scraping.
TORRES: Assan just almost scraped us out of the race.
PARIS: How are we doing on time?
TORRES: Twenty seconds to the third marker. Assan's already rounding it, thanks to his little tactic.
PARIS: It's a long race. We'll catch him.

[Astrometrics lab]

NEELIX: How's our team doing?
SEVEN: I announced the Delta Flyer's progress over the comm. eleven minutes ago.
NEELIX: In a race like this, eleven minutes can be an eternity.
SEVEN: The Delta Flyer is in fourth position, having completed sixty two percent of the course. The Aksani vessel is in third position, having completed sixty eight percent of the course.
NEELIX: You don't make it sound very exciting.
SEVEN: I'm relaying the relevant information.
NEELIX: It's all in the delivery. Do you mind? Attention, all hands. Stand by for a race update. With only fifty eight million kilometres left od the first segment, the Aksani, Imhotep and Terrellian ships are still battling for the lead. Wait, the number eight ship just cut off the number three in the Darla system. Now three's changing course using the gravity from a gas giant to boost its speed. It's making up for lost ground.
(Janeway and Kim have entered.)
JANEWAY: Sounds like quite a race.
SEVEN: Apparently, it's all in the delivery.

[Delta Flyer]

PARIS: So much for the Aksani. Now it's just down to Irina and Assan.
TORRES: In a few minutes they'll just be echoes in our aft scanners.
PARIS: Well, we've still got the Mobius Inversion coming up.
TORRES: The what?
PARIS: Tell me you read the course manual.
TORRES: I skimmed it. More or less.
PARIS: Oh, great.
TORRES: So, what exactly is this Mobius whatever?
PARIS: Take a look. It covers the entire last third of the course. Level six subspace distortions, gravimetric shears. Just think of it as a little wormhole with a big attitude.

[Astrometrics lab]

(Now packed with keen racer watchers.)
NEELIX: The Terrellian and Imhotep ships are still in the lead, the Delta Flyer trailing by a few seconds. Meanwhile, the two Chessu ships are continuing to advance, claiming fourth and fifth position.
TUVOK: My weekly security report.
JANEWAY: I'll read it later.
TUVOK: There are a few matters we should discuss.
CHAKOTAY: She said later, Tuvok.
NEELIX: Something's wrong. They're disappearing.
SEVEN: Radiation from the Mobius Inversion is blocking our sensors.
TUVOK: How will we track their progress?
CHAKOTAY: We can't, not until they emerge from the other side of the anomaly.
JANEWAY: Want to talk about that report now, Tuvok?
TUVOK: Later, if that's permissible.

[Delta Flyer]

TORRES: Fifty metres, forty. We can get through.
PARIS: We're too close to each other.
TORRES: I'm reversing our deflector polarity. It'll repel their shields. Why wait for an opening when you can make one?
PARIS: No, it's too risky.
TORRES: Too risky? That doesn't sound like the Tom Paris I know.
PARIS: What are you doing?
TORRES: Deploying auxiliary thrusters. We'll need the extra manoeuvring power to get through the gap.
PARIS: B'Elanna.
TORRES: Just steer the ship.
(The extra thrust pushes them back into their seats. The Flyer scrapes between the two ships.)

[Astrometrics lab]

NEELIX: It's them. It's the Delta Flyer. They're in the lead. They're pulling away!

[Delta Flyer]

TORRES: We did it.
PARIS: You should have waited.
TORRES: I saw a chance and I took it.
PARIS: I'm the pilot. That means I do the flying.
O'ZAAL [OC]: Attention all racers. There's been an accident. Stay in order and shut down your engines.

[Sickbay]

(Joxom is on a biobed.)
JANEWAY: Report.
EMH: His condition's stabilising. I should be able to start dermal regeneration in a few hours.
IRINA: This was Assan's fault.
O'ZAAL: Why?
IRINA: He collided with me so many times my shield generator overloaded. Joxom's console exploded. He's lucky he's alive.

[Briefing room]

ASSAN: If I'm guilty of anything, it's of coming in second. A situation I'll remedy in the next leg.
O'ZAAL: You're doing a poor job of defending yourself.
TORRES: We may have had something to do with this too. We grazed both of their shields while in the anomaly.
JANEWAY: Intentionally?
PARIS: It was a tight course. Everyone was flying very aggressively.
IRINA: Your team is not responsible, Captain. My generators were already overloading when they made contact.
TUVOK: Perhaps none of you is to blame. I found this interfaced with her ship's shield generator. I ran an analysis. It's a phase inverter, designed to cause a system overload.
JANEWAY: Oh, it's hard to believe someone would go this far just to knock a competitor out of the race?
O'ZAAL: This may be more than a simple case of cheating, Captain. I think someone's trying to end the peace.
JANEWAY: Maybe I'm missing something, but we're talking about a single act of sabotage. How does that threaten your treaty?
O'ZAAL: By itself it wouldn't. But we received several threats of a more serious nature.
TUVOK: From whom?
O'ZAAL: Groups opposed to the alliance. Arms dealers, isolationists, political extremists. Up until now I wasn't sure how seriously to take them.
TUVOK: Clearly they pose a security threat.
O'ZAAL: Yes, yes. We've done everything we could to protect the races, but that may not be enough. I don't want to risk any more lives. We should cancel the race, or at least postpone i,t until we can guarantee everyone's safety.
IRINA: No. If we stop now we'll be letting these extremists win.
ASSAN: She's right.
O'ZAAL: Very well, then. If that's the consensus, we'll resume tomorrow as scheduled. Of course, Captain, if you decide to withdraw, we'd understand.
JANEWAY: The last time I checked, I believe we were winning.

[Corridor]

KIM: There you are. Congratulations on taking the lead.
PARIS: Thanks.
KIM: Of course, you're not going to win.
TORRES: Why is that?
KIM: Because we are. (to Irina) You're looking at your new co-pilot. I checked with one of the race officials. It's perfectly legal. And it's a chance for both of us to get back in the race.
IRINA: I appreciate the gesture, but my ship's damaged.
PARIS: You don't know our Harry. Once he sets his mind on something
TORRES: He'll not only fix your ship, he'll polish the bulkheads.
KIM: How can you turn me down?
IRINA: Apparently I can't.

[Delta Flyer]

(In the shuttlebay, next to Irina's ship.)
PARIS: Come on, you can say it.
TORRES: It's embarrassing.
PARIS: I just want to make sure we're clear on what we're doing.
TORRES: Right at the light, then readjust my sight.
PARIS: Meaning?
TORRES: Come about eighty six degrees at the red giant then recalibrate sensors to compensate for photonic interference.
PARIS: Right. Next?
TORRES: Do I really have to spend my morning reciting nursery rhymes?
PARIS: It got me through the Academy.
TORRES: You were expelled.
PARIS: Okay. Repeat after me. I am not the pilot. I will not attempt to fly this ship.
TORRES: That one doesn't even rhyme.
KIM: Anyone home?
PARIS: Well, if it isn't our competition.
TORRES: Here to spy on us?
KIM: I just stopped by to borrow a hyperspanner.
PARIS: Looks like you didn't get much sleep.
KIM: Irina and I were up all night.
PARIS: Oh, really?
KIM: Making repairs. To be honest, I can't remember the last time I had so much fun. She's funny, smart. We get along without trying. I'm going to ask her if she wants to spend some time on Voyager after the race.
PARIS: What about Joxom?
KIM: Turns out they're just team-mates. I know what you're going to say
PARIS: No, no. Actually, I was just going to congratulate you. She's not a Borg, she's not a hologram, and she's not dead. Looks like you might have finally found yourself the perfect woman.
O'ZAAL [OC]: All teams report to your ships. The race will resume in thirty minutes.
KIM: See you on the course.

[Bridge]

NEELIX [OC]: Attention, all hands. Stand by for another race update. After fighting off a formidable challenge from the Terrellian team, the Delta Flyer has managed to hold onto it's lead going into the third and final segment.

[Delta Flyer]

PARIS: Approaching the pulsars.
TORRES: Straight through the gate.
PARIS: Then remodulate.
TORRES: Harry sure had that glow, didn't he?
PARIS: What glow?
TORRES: You know, that look you get when you first meet someone.
PARIS: Yeah, his cheeks were a little redder than usual.
TORRES: We're through the pulsars. Harry and Irina are right behind us.
PARIS: Ease up off the thrusters now. I want to conserve some fuel for the final leg.
TORRES: If circumstances were right they might even have a future together.
PARIS: What?
TORRES: Harry and Irina.
PARIS: They just met. It's a little early to be planning a wedding.
TORRES: No, I just meant that some people just fit together without having to work at it. And other people, no matter how much they try
PARIS: Are we talking about them or us?
TORRES: What? No, I didn't mean.
PARIS: If something's bothering you, let's talk about it.
TORRES: We should concentrate on the race.
PARIS: Maybe Harry and Irina aren't such a great team after all. They're falling behind.

[Irina's ship]

KIM: I'm reading malfunctions in the EPS relays. But we double-checked all of them last night.
IRINA: We must have missed something. At this rate, we're going to be out of the race in a couple of minutes.
KIM: I think I can reroute power through the impulse manifolds.
IRINA: No!
KIM: Why not?
IRINA: It could damage the reactor coils.
KIM: What do the reactor coils have to do with the impulse manifolds?
IRINA: These systems are different than what you're used to.
KIM: You do want to win, don't you?
IRINA: Of course I do.
KIM: It just seems like every time I make a suggestion, you find a reason to reject it.
IRINA: I'm more familiar with my ship than you are.
KIM: Now what?
IRINA: I think it's the injector ports.
KIM: No, it's an overload in my console!
(Kim dives out of the way just in time.)
KIM: That's the second time your co-pilot's console exploded. Quite a coincidence.
(Irina points a gun at him.)
IRINA: I'm sorry, Harry. I really am.
KIM: You sabotaged your own ship. Twice. Why are you trying so hard to get out of this race?
(He slaps a control and makes the ship jolt. She loses her balance and he wrestles the gun off her.)
KIM: What the hell is going on? Sit down and hold still! All right, if you won't talk to me, maybe you'll talk to Antarian Security. You disabled the comm. system. We'll just wait. Someone'll come along eventually.

[Delta Flyer]

TORRES: We're past the last marker. Time to deploy the thrusters?
PARIS: Whatever you say.
TORRES: What happened to I'm the pilot?
PARIS: That really bothered you, didn't it? It's why you think we don't fit together as well as Harry and Irina?
TORRES: Could we talk about this later? Assan is gaining on us.
PARIS: Well then, I guess you'd better deploy the thrusters.
TORRES: Thrusters deployed. This isn't about the race anymore, is it?
PARIS: You tell me.

[Irina's ship]

IRINA: If we're going to just sit here, we might as well see who's winning.
KIM: You're not exactly in a position to be making requests.
IRINA: Admit it, Harry. You're curious too.
KIM: The Delta Flyer is still in the lead.
IRINA: Good for them.

[Delta Flyer]

TORRES: I thought if we could do this one thing together, something you cared about, that it might help our relationship.
PARIS: I didn't know it needed help.
TORRES: That's part of the problem.
PARIS: What's the rest?
TORRES: You know the rest.
PARIS: So we scrape shields occasionally. It keeps things interesting.
TORRES: Maybe interesting isn't enough for me. What are you doing?
(Paris has turned off the Flyer's engines.)

[Irina's ship]

KIM: They're stopping. They're dead in the water.
(Irina starts to stand.)
KIM: Ah, ah, ah.
(She sits again.)
IRINA: How far from the finish line?
KIM: Less than a million kilometres.

[Delta Flyer]

(The Flyer shakes as a ship roars overhead.)
TORRES: That was Assan. Why are we just sitting here?
PARIS: If we've got a problem, we're going to resolve it right here, right now.

[Irina's ship]

KIM: You done everything possible to take yourself out of the race, and now you seem worried that the Delta Flyer won't reach the finish line. I'm counting more than a dozen ships there. Spectators, officials.
IRINA: All congregated in the name of peace. Touching, isn't it?
KIM: You've planned some sort of attack. There are hundreds of innocent people there. How can you do that?
IRINA: Not everyone is as comfortable mixing with other species as you are, Harry. Some of us believe it was better when we were separate.

[Delta Flyer]

TORRES: Hey, I never asked you to give up this race, or anything else that you care about. I never asked you to stop being yourself.
PARIS: The only self that I want to be is the guy you're in love with.
TORRES: Wow. I didn't know you felt that way.
PARIS: How can you say that?
TORRES: Well, you always seem to have other priorities.
PARIS: I'm showing you my priorities right now.

[Irina's ship]

KIM: The Delta Flyer wouldn't even be in this race if you hadn't told us about it. You gave us the fuel converter so we could qualify. The fuel converter. That's why you're so concerned about Tom and B'Elanna's crossing the finish line. What'd you do to it? Rig it to explode?

[Delta Flyer]

TORRES: How come you never talked to me about this before?
PARIS: Well, you've got that tough Klingon exterior. And er, I didn't think you liked the mushy stuff.
TORRES: Do I look that tough right now?
PARIS: Does that mean you're in the mood for some mushy stuff?
TORRES: Maybe.
PARIS: Exactly what kind of mush are we talking about?
TORRES: You tell me.
PARIS: Well, there's, um, kissy stuff.
TORRES: That was nice.
PARIS: And there's the you're the most important person in the world to me.
TORRES: I like that one, too.
PARIS: And there's the happily ever after.
TORRES: How does that one work?
PARIS: Well, traditionally it requires a proposal.
TORRES: We're being scanned by some kind of modulating pulse. It's from Irina's ship.
PARIS: They must be wondering why we stopped.
TORRES: There's something odd about the amplitude.
PARIS: Wait a minute. Dit dit dah. That's Morse code. Harry and I use it in the Captain Proton holoprogramme.
TORRES: What's it saying?
PARIS: Fuel converter rigged. Eject. What does he mean by rigged?
TORRES: The converter's leaking veridium isotopes.
PARIS: Why didn't the computer warn us?
TORRES: The online sensors have been tampered with.
PARIS: Can you contain the leak?
TORRES: Too late. The veridium is already reacting with the warp plasma.
PARIS: That'll cause a warp core breach.
TORRES: In less than a minute.
PARIS: Then do what Harry said. Eject the converter.
TORRES: It's too late. I have to eject the core.
PARIS: Here? We'll never survive the blast. Neither will anyone else within a million kilometres.

[Irina's ship]

IRINA: They're moving again.
KIM: Away from the finish line.

[Delta Flyer]

COMPUTER: Warp core breach in thirty seconds.
TORRES: Where are we going?
PARIS: A J Class nebula filled with ionised gas. Should contain the explosion.
TORRES: I can't get the ejection subroutines online.
COMPUTER: Warp core breach in twenty seconds.
PARIS: So, what's your answer?
TORRES: My answer?
PARIS: Will you marry me?
COMPUTER: Warp core breach in fifteen seconds.
TORRES: You're proposing now?
PARIS: It's as good a time as any.
TORRES: Subroutines back online.
COMPUTER: Warp core breach in ten seconds, nine, eight.
(The warp core drops out of the back of the Flyer.)
TORRES: Clear!
COMPUTER: Four.
TORRES: Go!
COMPUTER: Three.
(The core explodes in the nebula, rocking the Flyer.)

[Mess hall]

(Assan zips through the finishing line.)
JANEWAY: Damn.
O'ZAAL: I'm sorry your team didn't win, Captain.
(Voyager shakes slightly from the explosion.)
JANEWAY: Janeway to the bridge. Report.
TUVOK: That was a shock wave from an antimatter explosion approximately one point two million kilometres from here.
JANEWAY: Excuse me.

[Delta Flyer]

(Torres and Paris wake up lying on the deck.)
PARIS: B'Elanna.
TORRES: I guess we lost.
PARIS: That depends.
TORRES: On what?
PARIS: On how you answer my question.
TORRES: I thought you only asked it because we were about to explode.
PARIS: Well, we're still alive and I'm still asking.
TORRES: How come you never asked me before?
PARIS: How come you're still avoiding the question?
TORRES: I'm thinking.
PARIS: Think faster.
TORRES: Why? You going to withdraw the question?
PARIS: No, but I might start to beg. It could get embarrassing.

Captain's log, supplemental. The Antarians have invited us to participate in the post-race festivities, which has allowed me to give two of my senior officers time off for a well-deserved romantic getaway. The Delta Flyer still needs a new warp core, but I don't think they're in a hurry to get anywhere.

[Delta Flyer]

(Two glasses of champagne are poured out.)
PARIS: To the winners. B'Elanna Paris. That has a nice ring to it.
TORRES: Thanks, but I already have a ring. Anyway, I kind of like the sound of Tom Torres.
PARIS: I hope you're kidding.
TORRES: Hey, it is the twenty fourth century.
(They kiss. The Delta Flyer glides away, with 'Just Married' painted on the stern and trailing strings of cargo canisters.)