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Episode Synopsis
Jessie, James, Lena and Craig take a shuttle out to explore an ocean moon, but they get trapped hundreds of kilometres under the sea with a not too friendly sea creature

Written
2nd & 3rd March 2002

Episode Based In
February 2378

The Conference Room:
All of the original main cast were sitting at the table. Kathryn stood up and she hovered by the window. The window showed a beautiful but dark planet.

"How much are we talking about?" Kathryn asked, as she kept a watchful eye on the planet.

"Well lets just say it's enough to last a year," Harry said with a grin plastered on his face.

"Then we should take the Flyer down then," Chakotay said.

"There is a problem though," Harry muttered.

"And what is that?" Kathryn asked.

"The Flyer can't take all the pressure down where the dilithium is," Harry replied.

"So what do you suggest?" Chakotay said questioningly.

"We can modify the Flyer to go so far, but the rest of the trip will have to be done by away team members," Harry said.

"Er, Harry. I think the Flyer would have a better chance in going that deep," Tom said.

"No, we can modify the suits to allow the team to go down there with no problem. If we were to modify something as big as the Flyer the same way, it would take weeks," Harry said.

"I must point out that the crewmembers who go down there will be under extreme risk," Tuvok said.

"I think we're all aware of the risks," Harry said.

"So who volunteers?" Kathryn asked.

Nobody put their hands up, everyone just glanced at the person next to them.

"Maybe we should tell crewmembers who weren't here to hear Tuvok's remark. We have more chance of them volunteering than people who heard him," Tom said.

"I suppose that's a good idea, but we still have to warn them of the risks," Chakotay said.

"He's right Tom," Kathryn said.

"Oh come on, nothing's going to happen. This is episodic TV," Tom said.

"No it isn't, it's episodic fanfiction," Harry said.

"Same principle," Tom said.

"He has a point too. Very well, inform the extra characters," Kathryn said.

The Readyroom, ten minutes later:
Kathryn was once again sitting at her desk with a cup of coffee, when the door chimed.

"Come in," she called.

Lena, James, Jessie, Craig, Ashley, and Tani walked in.

"So I take it you're the awayteam," Kathryn said.

Everyone but Lena nodded. Lena was dancing to something. Everyone stared at her.

"Lena!" Kathryn yelled. Lena looked oddly at her, and she took her headphones out.

"Yeah?" Lena said.

"I thought you stopped doing that," Kathryn said.

Lena rolled her eyes, and she stopped the CD Player in her pocket.

"Ok, have you been told about your mission?" Kathryn asked.

"Sort of," Craig replied.

"What do you mean by sort of?" Kathryn asked.

"All we've been told is that we have to swim to the bloody dilithium Nobody has told us how," Jessie replied. She pulled out a packed of crisps out of nowhere, and she starting eating them. "These things need more salt," she muttered. Everyone stared at her as she ate her Salt & Vinegar crisps.

"Oh, shut up b**ch," Tani said as she folded her arms.

"Excuse me, what did I say to deserve that insult?" Jessie asked.

"You just said one thing, and I hate you for it," Tani replied.

"I just said my crisps needed more salt," Jessie said.

"I didn't mean that, idiot," Tani said.

"Er, I'm confused," Jessie muttered.

"Don't worry, that's normal," Tani said.

"Would you two cut it out, I thought these arguments were over," Kathryn said.

"I didn't do anything," Jessie said.

"Yeah, whatever," Tani muttered.

"If you want to know more about the mission, Tuvok will give you a quick briefing in the shuttle bay," Kathryn said.

"Oh, whoopiedoo," Lena said sarcastically.

"Whoopiedoo?" Kathryn said questioningly.

Shuttle Bay 2:
"So here's a good question for you lot, why is there two shuttle bays when there only seems to be one door on the ship?" Lena asked. Everyone but Tuvok shrugged.

"Miss Janeway, can you please stop changing the subject," Tuvok said.

"Yes Mr Tuvok," Lena said as she did a brief salute.

"One more thing, don't over stock the dilithium If you do, the shuttle may not be able to come up to the surface," Tuvok said.

"I take it that's not a good thing," Tani said sarcastically.

"It means that we'll be stuck together for the rest of our lives," Lena said.

"No it wouldn't, I'd just swim to the surface," Tani said.

"More like float. There wouldn't be enough oxygen to help you swim that far so you'd die," Ashley said.

"Even if you did reach the surface, you would just end up floating through space," Lena said.

"So much for that," Tani muttered.

"You had better get going," Tuvok said, and he headed towards the door.

"I've just realised, we're going near a planet with a shuttle. We're doomed," Craig said.

"We can't exactly crash, we'd get crushed before we got that far," Lena said.

"Crap, I prefer crashing," Tani said. Everyone agreed.

"We're not going to die, we're main characters. Well except for poor Ashley here. He's a guest star, so he'll probably die," Lena said.

"I'll make my wills before I go on this mission," Ashley said, and he pulled a PADD out of nowhere.

Five minutes later:
The Delta Flyer flew out of the bay doors and it flew towards the ocean planet. It plunged into the dark but clear waters.

"I wonder why this ocean planet has a crust and everything, when that other one we passed ages ago didn't," Craig said.

"When did you pass another ocean planet?" Lena asked.

"Between Timeless and The Fight," Craig replied.

"Oh, that's probably why we don't remember it," Tani said.

"Erm, how long until we reach that point of no return?" Lena asked.

"No return, well erm twenty minutes," James replied.

"Crap, who let you fly the shuttle?" Ashley asked nervously.

"I let myself," James replied.

"So glad I wrote my will," Ashley muttered.

"Hey, I'm a good driver," James said.

"That maybe so, but you're not a very good proposer," Lena said and she laughed.

"Oh don't start," James muttered.

"Whatever, I just wish I stayed around to see the result," Lena said.

"Don't blame me, I didn't want to see it," Tani grumbled.

"Oh, that's why you were angry with me before," Jessie said happily. Everyone sighed.

"Yeah, cow," Tani said.

"Hey it's not my fault, you jealous little cow," Jessie said.

Everyone but Tani and Jessie groaned.

"So, what was the answer then?" Ashley asked.

Tani and Jessie stopped arguing and they turned to Ashley.

"It's embarrassing enough," Jessie muttered.

"It was yes, wasn't it. Lucky sod," Craig grumbled.

"It wasn't actually, Craig," James said.

"Oh," Craig said, he pointed his finger at James and he laughed mockingly at him.

Tani turned to Jessie. "How could you turn that guy down?" she yelled.

"I'm not ready, and it's not really your concern," Jessie replied.

"Oh geez, Jess. You could of done what Danny and Ian did, have a long engagement," Craig said.

"Wait a second. I heard off people who were in the Mess Hall at that time, and they said that you said yes," Lena said.

"Well they would say that," Jessie said.

"Yeah, they're probably all shippers," James said.

"Good point, but I would of thought James wouldn't be in public for a while after a public rejection," Lena said.

"It takes getting used to, that's all. I should know," Craig muttered.

"Yeah, but girls don't like you, Craig. You're probably the only guy in the world who gets rejected every time you even ask a girl out," Tani said.

"Doesn't Lena count anymore?" Craig asked.

"Nah, she just felt sorry for you," Tani replied.

"Excuse me, Tani. That's only a little right," Lena said.

"Whatever," Tani muttered.

"I hate to change the subject, but who's actually going to do the swimming trip?" Ashley asked.

"Anyone except James, he can't swim," Lena said.

"Oh, tell the whole shuttle," James muttered.

"It's ok, I never learned to swim either," Jessie said.

"Wasn't there any pools or anything in England?" Lena asked.

"Well, yeah, it's just I couldn't be bothered to learn," Jessie replied.

"Great, hands up anyone who can swim," Lena said, she put her own hand up. Craig put his hand up, but nobody else did. Lena groaned.

"We were on a Borg ship all our lives, more or less," Tani said.

Ashley nodded. "The YWF ship didn't have any swimming facilities either."

"So me and Craig will have to go. Can somebody tell me, why did you volunteer if you couldn't swim?" Lena asked.

Nobody had the chance to reply, the shuttle shook violently.

"What was that?" Lena asked.

"I have no idea," Ashley replied, the shuttle shook violently again.

"What the hell is that?" Jessie asked as she pointed at the front view port. Everyone looked up to see what she was pointing at. A strange shark looking creature was swimming towards the shuttle.

"I think that answers your earlier question, Lena," Craig said.

"I wonder why it's attacking us," Lena muttered, as the shark thing collided with the shields.

"Well duh, it thinks we're dinner," Tani said.

"We're going to have to go faster to get away from this thing," Lena said.

"If we do the pressure will damage the hull," Ashley said. The shuttle shook violently again.

"Shields are almost gone," Jessie said.

"If we don't, we'll be shark boy's lunch," Lena said.

Ashley sighed. "No, it'll just be me since I'm the guest star."

"No more objections? Fine, lets go," Lena said.

The Flyer picked up speed, and it flew further into the dark depths of the ocean.

"I think we're safe, for now. God only knows what else is further down," James said.

"I doubt many things could live this far down, unless they evolved down here and have adapted to the pressure," Craig said.

"How long until we have to stop?" Lena asked.

"About twelve minutes," James replied.

"I'll be in the other room if anyone wants me," Lena said, and she left the main room.

"Actually, I think I'll go there too," Jessie said while eyeing Tani, who was giving her a horrible glare. Jessie followed Lena into the back room.

"What's wrong?" Ashley asked Tani.

"What makes you think there's something wrong?" Tani muttered.

"You've been all huffy ever since that proposition," Ashley said.

"She has a crush on James," Craig sniggered. Tani stared angrily at him.

"Shut up, you!" Tani snapped which made Ashley laugh slightly.

"Ooh, I see. Tani and James sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g," Ashley chanted.

"I wish," Tani said quietly. Craig and Ashley stared at her oddly, James didn't hear her.

"Do you mind, I'm trying to fly a shuttle here," James said in disgust.

"She didn't just say what I thought she said?" Ashley asked.

Craig laughed nervously. "Yeah, she did."

"Eeew, I was only joking," Ashley muttered.

"What, what did she say?" James asked.

"You don't want to know," Craig replied.

The back room:
Both Lena and Jessie had bottles of Cherry Coke. Lena kept glancing at Jessie, and each time she tried to suppress a laugh. Jessie noticed eventually.

"What?" Jessie said questioningly.

"I still can't believe James asked thee question," Lena said, and she laughed slightly.

"Oh shut up," Jessie muttered.

"No, it's funny. You should have seen Tani's face," Lena said, and she burst into a fit of giggles.

"I don't care about Tani, she should have gotten over him by now," Jessie said.

"I thought she had, actually," Lena said.

Jessie nodded in agreement, and she drank some of her Cherry Coke. Lena watched her do so, but something caught her eye.

"Er, Jess," Lena muttered.

"What now?" Jessie asked in an annoyed voice.

"Well you've either got that ring on the wrong finger, or you were lying when you said you didn't say yes," Lena replied.

Jessie quickly put her left arm behind her back. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Jess, why lie about it. People will have to find out eventually," Lena said.

Jessie sighed. "Yeah, well it was embarrassing enough when he did it in the Mess Hall. I mean 90% of the people there still thought we were just friends," Jessie said.

"So what happened exactly? Tani went into a strop and she left the room. Ashley and I had to go and comfort her," Lena asked.

"I think a flashback will be easier," Jessie replied.

The previous day, aka the ending of 'Territory':
The freeze frame went off at long last. Everyone was staring at James and Jessie with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Ah," somebody said.

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

"Aye."

"Em."

"Oh."

"You?"

"Why?" Duncan added as he walked in.

"Tea?" Neelix added as he held up a pot of tea. Everyone who wasn't serving tea, proposing, getting proposed to, or anyone who didn't actually get the joke collapsed Pokémon style.

Tani quickly got out of her seat, and she stormed out of the room. Ashley quickly followed her, but Lena hesitated before following also.

Jessie finally got over the shock, and she managed to look angry.

"Get up," she said harshly. James slowly stood up, with a nervous expression on his face.

Both she and James tried to ignore all the people going, "oooooh"

"I thought we settled this. Don't you remember what I said earlier?" Jessie asked.

James looked shyly at his own feet. "Yeah, sorry." He looked up, expecting to still see Jessie's angry face, but that's not what he saw. She had a smile on her face. She stepped closer to him, and she kissed him briefly.

"Just forget it," Jessie said softly.

James grinned like a kid, and he hugged Jessie tightly. Everyone finally caught on, and they cheered. Duncan looked up at his parents in disgust.

"Oh please, get a room," he said.

The present:
"Duncan really didn't say that, did he?" Lena asked.

"Yeah, he's a younger version of James. He hated all the so called soppy stuff," Jessie replied.

"What, like me?" Lena asked.

"Exactly," Jessie replied.

"So when are you planning on telling everyone then?" Lena asked.

"When we're ready. So don't tell anyone else," Jessie replied.

"I think I should tell James that I know," Lena said.

"Ok, anyone but him," Jessie said.

The main room:
"So, what exactly happened then. Did she slap you?" Craig asked.

"No, I'm not telling you what happened," James replied.

"Fine, but you can't stop me from imagining it," Craig said, and he went into a daydream.

Ashley waved his hand in front of Craig's face. "Hello?" he said as he did so. Craig didn't snap out of it.

"I hate to know what he's imagining," James said.

"Yeah," Ashley muttered.

Voyager:
Kathryn sat down in her chair, and she looked Tuvok's way.

"Status," she said.

"The Flyer is only five minutes to the designated co-ordinates," Tuvok said.

Tom rushed onto the Bridge. "Sorry I'm late." He rushed to his station.

"Why were you late, Tom?" Kathryn asked.

"If you must know I was getting some information off an unknown crewmember. I lost track of time," Tom replied.

"Ooh, what kind of information?" Harry asked in a hyper voice.

"I'm not saying, this time I'm going to let the ones concerned tell everyone the truth," Tom replied.

"You're no fun anymore," Harry said in his hyper voice.

The Flyer:
Lena and Jessie came into the main room. Both of them briefly glanced oddly at Craig before taking their original seats.

"If we go any further the shuttle will be crushed," James said.

"Well, somebody's going to have to get Craig out of his trance before we can do anymore. I'm not going on my own," Lena said.

"I've got a way to get him out of it," James said.

"Really, how?" Lena asked.

"Ok, let me demonstrate," James said. He stood up and he headed over to where Craig was. "Now watch closely for future reference."

"Get on with it," Ashley said.

"Ok," James muttered. He smacked Craig over the head. Craig got out of his daydream, and he rubbed his head.

"Ow, what was that for?" Craig moaned, and he pouted. Nobody answered him.

"We'd better get in our swimming gear," Lena muttered and she headed towards the back room. Craig went into another daydream. This time Ashley hit him to get him out of the daydream.

"You're a pervert, do you realise that," Ashley muttered.

"What, she said we should get in our swimming gear," Craig said.

"I doubt you'd survive if you went in normal swimming gear," Jessie said.

"Yeah, the pressure will crush you like a bug.. actually please go in your normal swimming gear," Tani said.

"I take offense at that," Craig muttered and he followed Lena into the back room.

Five minutes later:
Lena & Craig, complete with the standard space suits, dematerialised a few metres away from the Flyer. Lena pressed a button on her suit, and a blue shield went around the two of them.

"That'll protect us from the pressure, but we should only be ten minutes," Lena said.

Craig looked around nervously, he couldn't see a thing. The entire area was black. All he could see was the hull of the Flyer, and Lena. "That's all well and good, but I can't see a bloody thing," Craig said.

Lena rolled her eyes. "Well of course. There's no star nearby."

"Can't you switch the torch thing on?" Craig asked.

"You're not scared of the dark, are ya?" Lena asked.

"No, I just don't see how we're going to do anything when we can't see," Craig replied.

"Yeah, I believe you," Lena said, and she switched the light on her arm on. She used the light to look around. All was clear. She pointed in a certain direction. "This way." She swam off.

"Er, are you sure you know where you're going?" Craig asked nervously as he followed Lena.

"Don't ask stupid questions," Lena replied.

They swam for about a minute. Lena shone the light on her arm to see what was ahead. Sure enough, she could see the tell tale signs of the crust.

"Another minute or so, and we'll be there. We can't be long though," Lena said. She looked behind her, Craig seemed to be a bit nervous as he was glancing around. "What's wrong now?"

"Lena, there's something here. I felt it swim past," Craig said.

Lena sighed. "I doubt many creatures could survive down here." She shone the light around, but all she could see was clear water. "Must of been your imagination."

Craig's eyes widened as he saw a dark shadow come up behind Lena. He quickly grabbed her arm, and pulled her further down. They both felt something large swim a few centimetres over them. Lena tried to shine the light on what swam past.

"Where the hell did it go?" Lena asked as she continued to look around.

"I don't know, I think we should go back," Craig replied.

"The shield should protect us, but I agree with you anyway," Lena said. She spotted something moving in the light. She moved her arm a little to the right. "Holy s**t!" she yelled.

A large creature with razor sharp teeth suddenly lunged at the pair, and it didn't hit the shield. Lena pushed Craig as far as she could, and she quickly followed him. The creature just missed taking her arm off by an inch.

"Get back to the shuttle!" Lena yelled.

"No argument here!" Craig muttered.

The pair went as fast as they could, but the creature was a lot faster than they were.

"Anderson to the Flyer, beam us back!" Craig yelled as the creature was only a metre behind him.

In: "You're not in transporter range yet, what's going on?"

"Well we're going to get eaten if you don't beam us up, do something!" Lena yelled.

The Flyer:
"How long will it take?" Ashley asked.

"Two minutes. We haven't got a choice. We're going to have to get the Flyer closer," James replied.

"Diverting all power to the shields," Jessie muttered and she worked at her station.

"We're going down," James said nervously as he worked at the helm. The shuttle shook violently, and the hull started creaking.

"Is this the scene where I die?" Ashley asked. Everyone ignored him.

"I've got them, they're in the back room," Tani said.

"Taking us up.." James said, but he was interrupted by something large hitting the shields.

Lena and Craig rushed in.

"We're going to have to go back up, we can't get that dilithium out with that thing around," Lena said.

The shuttle lurched to the side as the creature went straight through the shields and smashed into the hull.

"How the hell can it get through the shields?" Tani asked.

"I don't know, it went straight through ours and nearly took a bite out of me," Lena replied.

The shuttle shook violently, and the hull creaked again. The lights went down, and all of the consoles switched off.

"Well going up might be a bit of a problem. The thing has somehow knocked off our power systems," James said.

"Crap, there's something else," Tani said. Everyone looked her way. "We're leaking fuel, if we don't mine any dilithium, we're stuck here."

"Can we send a distress call to Voyager?" Craig asked.

"No, there's not enough power," Jessie replied. The shuttle shook again. A few seconds later water burst out from the ceiling.

"We've got another leak, what should we do?" Tani panicked.

"I'll seal it," Ashley said, and he rushed over to the leak. "Somebody pass me a regenerator."

Craig passed him a regenerator, and Ashley started to seal the breach.

Voyager:
"Captain, the Flyer.. it's moved past the co-ordinates, and it's not coming back," Tom said.

"Confirmed Captain, there seems to be high hull damage," Tuvok said.

"Why on earth did they go further for?" Kathryn asked herself.

"I may have an explanation. I'm detecting what looks like a lifeform," Harry replied.

"Why didn't we detect it earlier?" Kathryn asked.

Tom turned away from the helm. "Maybe it was too far down for the sensors to detect, and we can only detect it now because it's near the Flyer."

"I'm detecting a minor hull breach, also the Flyer's leaking dilithium," Tuvok said.

Kathryn looked over at Chakotay, and he looked over at her too.

"They're not going to last much longer. We'll have to take Voyager down," Kathryn said.

"Captain, there's no way Voyager can last long down at that depth," Tom said.

"I'm aware of that, Lieutenant. But my daughter is on that shuttle, and I'm not going to leave her there to die," Kathryn said. Tom nodded, and he slowly turned back to his station.

Chakotay stood up after keying in some commands on the console next to his chair. "All decks, this is the Bridge. We're taking Voyager into the ocean. Be aware that the hull will be under extreme pressure."

Chakotay then turned to Kathryn. She nodded slightly. "Take us down, Tom."

Tom nodded, and he worked at his station.

"Blue Alert," Kathryn commanded. The lights died down, and the blue lights started flashing on and off.

The Flyer:
Ashley finished sealing the breach and he collapsed onto the nearest chair. He put his hand on his soaking hair to keep it down.

"So is the creature the same one we encountered before?" Tani asked.

"Erm, no. Take a look for yourself," Lena replied nervously, as she kept her eyes glued to the viewport.

Tani's eyes widened, and she slowly turned herself to look out the viewport. The creature had swam around into view and it was getting ready to swim towards the shuttle again.

The creature was only a metre away from the viewport, James and Craig got away from their stations, and they joined the others in the middle of the shuttle.

"Get into the other room, quickly. If that thing smashes the window we're goners," Lena said. Nobody argued, and they all rushed towards the door. The creature smashed through the viewport, and it backed off. Water started leaking in by the gallon. It wasn't long until the whole room was flooded.

Lena and Tani sealed the door completely shut.

"That won't last long, will it?" Ashley asked.

"You're right there. We're going to have to leave the shuttle," Lena replied.

"It'll just be as dangerous out there than in here," Craig said.

"No it won't. There's no way to get away if we're stuck in here. If we're out there, we'll have a better chance of escaping," Lena said.

"You seem to be forgetting the fact that there isn't enough oxygen in the suits to help us get all the way up to the surface," Tani said.

"I'd rather suffocate than be eaten by a creature like that," Lena said. There was a large thud against the door.

"We haven't got much time, he or she's going to get in any minute," Craig said.

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather take my chances out there," Lena said, and she picked up the helmet for her suit. Everyone looked nervously at each other, and they all eventually nodded.

Voyager:
"Status, Lieutenant," Kathryn commanded.

"We'll be at their position in five minutes, that's if we survive," Tom said.

"Mr Tuvok, as soon as you can get a lock on the awayteam, beam them up," Kathryn commanded.

"Aye Captain," Tuvok replied.

The ship started to shake violently.

"The shields are failing, Captain," Tuvok said.

"How long until we're in transporter range?" Kathryn asked.

"Three minutes," Harry replied.

"Lets hope the ship can take that long," Tom said.

Meanwhile:
The awayteam were out of the shuttle. Lena and Craig were leading the way, the others were struggling behind.

"This isn't working, they can't swim well at all," Lena said.

"They're not going to learn in a few seconds," Craig pointed out.

"We'll have to help them," Lena said, and she swam back the way she came.

"Wait, what's that?" Craig asked. Lena turned, and the others looked up. A few bright lights were coming towards them, and fast.

"Uhoh, here he comes," Jessie said as she looked behind her. Everyone else looked behind them. The creature had spotted them and it was heading their way.

Voyager:
"I have a lock on them, Captain," Tuvok said.

"Good, beam them aboard," Kathryn said.

The hull began to creak under the pressure.

"Tom, take us up," Chakotay commanded.

"Yes si..." Tom replied. The ship shook violently again.

"What the hell?" Kathryn muttered.

"The lifeform, it's caught up," Tom said.

"Take us up quickly," Kathryn commanded.

"Yes ma'am," Tom replied. He worked furiously at the console.

Voyager did a u-turn and it flew up towards the surface. Voyager emerged from the waters and flew back into the depths of space.

Kathryn sighed and she sat back in her chair. "Damage report."

"Shields are down, decks 12 to 15 are reporting minor hull breaches," Tuvok replied.

"Good work everyone, now lets get out of here," Kathryn ordered.

Meanwhile:
It had been recommended by so many crewmembers. Holo novel of the year, they said. She thought it would keep her busy during her off hours, as well as fill the requirements for the homework Doctor Jones gave her on building friendships. It seemed good at first, beautiful and exciting. She wasn't keen on her outfit but she noticed in a reflection her eyes had been given an oomph, it was almost distracting.

There she was in her starting position, kneeling on top of a moving train. The wind blowing through her hair. She looked badass she thought. Then she caught her reflection in the metal hull again. So beautiful.

The train screeched to a stop, flinging her over the many carriages, until finally she landed with a pathetic ooph on the tracks. It wasn't so bad, just a few bumps and bruises. Next time she'd be more careful.

With that enthusiasm pushing her forward, or rather up, she climbed onto the nearby platform, ready to play the game. Only to instead find herself directly in front of security guards pointing guns.

Game Over, in record time.

THE END

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