An unmanned experimental probe from Voyager attracts the unwelcome attention of Malon scavengers, who try to hijack it in mid-flight. Hoping to dissuade the Malon, Janeway directs the probe into the hazardous atmosphere of a nearby gas giant. But the Malons aren't dissuades from their prize, driving their freighter right into the planet's atmosphere to their deaths. As Paris prepares an entirely new breed of shuttlecraft - hopefully capable of withstanding the enormous pressures of the atmosphere - a second Malon vessel arrives, its captain ready to avenge the loss of his predecessors. With the engineering challenges inherent in a new shuttle design, Voyager's crew needs B'elanna like never before...but B'elanna is indulging in dangerous pursuits of her own.
