She convinces him to free her arms -- then orders him away at phaser-point. He leaves, but comes back and offers her food. Meanwhile, she finds there's not enough power on the shuttle to contact Voyager.

Kelus knows of a dilithium deposit, but it's on his patron's hunting grounds. He could be executed for trespassing there. B'Elanna demands he go anyway.

A coincidental burst of lightning convinces him to comply, as it seems proof that B'Elanna is an "Eternal," which is to say, pretty powerful.

"Don't get caught," she says helpfully.

Night. Kelus returns. He has some dilithium. In return, she has an idea to inspire him -- a play called "The Rescue of B'Elanna Torres," to be performed in one week.

The Flyer. The transmitter blows out, and B'Elanna needs a metal plate to fix it. Kelus will get her one; his people know how to make bronze, at least. He presses her for story material about Vulcans.

Rehearsal. Kelus chastises an actor for crying -- he's supposed to be the unemotional Tuvok. The actor responds that the audience won't believe such a character. Kelus explains that, under his hard exterior, Tuvok's heart is breaking for his lost comrades. The dialogue includes a line from the absent Harry Kim.

Someone runs into the rehearsal area. The patron's been insulted by a neighboring honcho. War is likely. It happens again and again among the gentry, and the common people suffer.

Kelus returns to the Flyer where (unbeknownst to the other locals) B'Elanna awaits. He gives her the metal plate, but it has too many impurities to fix the transmitter. She puts her head in her hands. But Kelus has a new idea -- B'Elanna can help him write a play that will convince the patron not to wage war.

After she reluctantly agrees to help, he presents her to the troupe as a poet from across the sea who's an expert on Voyager's mythology arc. She wears a hooded robe that fails to conceal the bony protuberance on her forehead.

They work with the actors on developing the play. Kelus displays a somewhat formulaic approach, encouraging an older poet to criticize his trendy ways. They keep working.

Voyager. Chakotay is showing data to Janeway. A static-ridden distress call indicates that B'Elanna ordered Harry to eject from the Flyer some 10 days ago. Their only hope for survival is if both reached an L-class planet. It doesn’t look good -- if Harry didn’t land somewhere, he'll be dead by now.

Janeway and Chakotay discuss this in a formal, unemotional way. But after he leaves, she weeps.

On the planet, the writers and actors continue to mull over the play's ending, which has failed to gel. "Harry" wouldn’t be kissing the Delaney sisters at a moment of crisis. "Tell me more about the Borg," asks Kelus.

More work on the play. Kelus threatens to have "B'Elanna" die tragically. "You wouldn’t dare," she says. The literary humor makes them smile.

Later, B'Elanna is alone in the Flyer, when the blonde actress ("Seven") barges in and accuses her of being the real B'Elanna, an Eternal and not merely a visiting poet. The actress, jealously wanting Kelus' attention, threatens to expose B'Elanna's more-or-less true identity if she comes to the performance.

"Fix your ship and go -- please," she demands tearfully and runs off.

"Friend of yours?" It's Harry. He's alive, and has been trekking across land to get to the Flyer. Better yet, he has an undamaged transmitter -- it merely needs a power source, like B'Elanna's newfound dilithium.

Daylight. Kelus is having trouble writing the ending. The performance is tonight. The blonde exults that the visiting poet seems to have headed back "across the sea."

On the Flyer, Harry and B'Elanna work to get the transmitter operating. They succeed on their 38th try.

Time for the play. The patron arrives, in a bad mood. The troupe is deeply worried about the ending, which doesn't yet make sense. Meanwhile, on Voyager, Tom awakes Tuvok, who's fallen asleep in the command chair. They receive a rough but comprehensible transmission from B'Elanna and Harry.

On stage. The "Delta Flyer" is in pieces. "Janeway" orders "Seven" to find "B'Elanna." In an aside to the audience, "Seven" explains that she's the "Borg Queen," secretly planning to assimilate the crew. "Janeway" then tells the audience that she knows of this nefarious plot.

The Flyer gets a reply from Tom. Voyager is on the way. But B'Elanna also receives a note from the desperate Kelus and, to Harry's dismay, wants to help write the play's ending. "Harry, have you ever inspired anybody?" she asks, asserting that Kelus will be killed if the play is bad.

The transporter is on line. But she tells Harry to tell the Captain she'll be a little late.

On stage. "Janeway" has "Seven" under arrest, but decides to let her go. In a pointed aside, "Janeway" then notes that the "Borg" can attack again if they want, but it will lead only to futile hatred and destruction.

B'Elanna arrives. The blonde actress gets upset and tries to denounce her to the patron, but Kelus nimbly convinces the patron and the audience that this commotion is part of the show.

Kelus asks B'Elanna to stay; he needs her inspiration. But she argues that he has talent. After she apparently slips him a datadisc, he happily says that's plenty of inspiration.

B'Elanna is beamed away from the stage, fulfilling a makeshift ending that "B'Elanna" will return to the Eternals in a blaze of light.

Kelus tells the audience and patron that the stories will continue as Voyager heads back toward Earth. He pointedly notes that Earth is a place of peace.