Kathryn found herself shivering uncontrollably. Her teeth were chattering, and she couldn't stop them. She felt like she was freezing cold.

The Doctor had been summoned and was examining her with his medical tricorder.

"You became overheated in the suit, Captain, and you're body is reacting to the cooler temperature of the ship. If we don't get you into a warmer environment, you will most likely suffer a mild case of hypothermia."

At that moment someone handed a blanket to the Doctor, which he promptly placed around Janeway.

Chakotay moved to the circle of people. "What's going on?" He asked as he approached.

"The Captain has gotten a chill. She became overheated inside her suit." B'Elanna explained.

A worried expression came over Chakotay's face. He managed to squeeze past a couple of people to find the Doctor with his arms around Janeway, holding her in a blanket.

"You okay, Captain?" He asked her.

"Just a bit chilled. I'll be fine."

"She needs to get cleaned up, and get her body temperature back to normal. Give her at least a good hour and a half, would you, Commander?" The Doctor said.

"Of course." He answered, stepping back as the Doctor lead Janeway out of the shuttle bay.

"Where's he taking her?" Chakotay asked B'Elanna.

Torres shrugged her shoulder. "I think to her quarters. He said something about a hot bath, some hot soup and a brief lie down." That was exactly what the Doctor had said. He escorted Kathryn to her quarters and insisted on waiting in the outer room while she ran a bath, undressed and proceeded to soak in the tub of hot water.

The chill she had been feeling began to fade away as her body warmed in the water. It also had a relaxing effect on her and she began to feel less tense.

When she emerged, scrubbed and clothed in a robe and slippers, the Doctor was waiting for her with a bowl of hot soup. Exactly what kind, Kathryn didn't know.

"I had Mr. Neelix bring it while you were getting cleaned up."

"Thank you, Doctor." She told him as she sat down at the table and picked up her spoon. It smelled alright, so she wondered what Neelix had made. Her first taste of it left her surprised as to how good it was. That was when the chime to her door sounded.

"I'll see who that is, Captain." The Doctor said as he walked over to the door.

Upon opening, it revealed Chakotay. "I wondered if I might speak with the Captain, Doctor. It's rather important."

The Doctor looked from Chakotay to Janeway, who had turned in her seat and was looking expectantly at the two men. The Doctor then turned back to Chakotay. "I really would like the Captain to at least get in a short nap before resuming her duties."

"I'm fine, Doctor. Between the bath and the soup, I'm feeling much better." She told him. "If what Chakotay has to tell me is important, then I think I need to speak with him."

The Doctor again looked back and forth between the two most senior officers of Voyager. "Very well. But if you become over tired, Captain, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll take your suggestion under advisement. Dismissed."

"Very well." The EMH said and left.

Chakotay stepped into Kathryn's quarters as the Doctor stepped out. He had a slight grin on his face.

"Something amusing?"

"Just the Doctor. I think he takes himself a little too seriously sometimes."

Kathryn smiled back. "I know. Have a seat. I suppose you want to see me about this sinking situation?" She asked him, continuing to eat her soup.

"Yes, I do. We need to discuss it."

"Agreed. Sorry about the delay...but you know how the Doctor is." then without any further ado she was all business. "When we spoke you said we had five hours. I'm assuming it's a lot less time now."

"Yes. There's about 3 hours and 45 minutes until the ship is completely submerged and begins sinking to the bottom of this ocean. Estimates are that the nacelles will be submerged in approximately 1 hour from now. I know this ship was built for deep space. She's taken a lot over the past few years...but can she handle being submerged at such a great depth."

"I understand your fears, Chakotay. To be honest I know she'll remain dry, as long as the hull doesn't succumb to pressures that could cause it to buckle."

"That's not my only fear. Will the engines be able to function underwater? Will we be able to get out?"

"I'm wondering about that myself. Is there any way we can shunt enough power to the shields to help with pressurization?"

"I've had Harry working on it. He thinks we can create enough power so that the shields will protect the outer hull, at least until we get enough Deuterium to maximize power."

"Alright. Our next concern is keeping water out of the nacelles. As far as I know, I doubt that water could actually get into them. They were designed to keep the vacuum of space out, so it would stand to reason that they should be able to keep water out as well. I just don't know if it will work under the kind of pressure that water can exert at a given depth."

"Agreed. I want you to get B'Elanna and Harry working on the problem, and Seven when she returns to the ship. She and Tuvok may not have to come to the surface to return to the ship, at the rate we're sinking." Kathryn said, almost to herself. "I'll check the ships specifications to see if any modifications might not help. If we can keep Voyager water tight, then when we've got the Dilithium and Deuterium recharging the ship we should be able to get her back into space."

"I hope you're right." Chakotay said as he rose.

"If I'm not, then it's been nice knowing you." Janeway said, irony in her voice. "I'm going to change and I'll be in my ready room in about 15 minutes."

"Aye, Captain." Chakotay said, and left his Captain to change back into her uniform.

After checking Voyager's specifications Janeway headed for Engineering, where B'Elanna and Harry had the Engineering staff busy. "Report." She ordered upon entering the massive room.

Torres looked up from the Padd she and Harry had been studying. "The unrefined Deuterium is causing some fluctuations I'm not happy with, but at least it's giving us the power we need. The shield re- enforcement will work."

"I've manage to increase shield power 200 percent. That should at least keep the outer hull from buckling under the extreme water pressure." Harry said.

"Good. What about the Nacelle's?"

"We've been working on that." B'Elanna began.

"Come up with anything?"

B'Elanna turned to Harry, who looked over at Lt. Carey. Harry then nodded to Carey, who stepped forward.

"I think I may have come up with a way to keep the nacelles from being damaged after Voyager is submerged."

"Go on Lieutenant." Janeway encouraged. "I'm listening."

"I have done an analyses of the water content. Aside from almost microbial life forms, it also contains a high salt concentration. Very much like the oceans back home on Earth."

Janeway nodded for him to continue.

"Therefore I've determined that the water wouldn't be harmful to the interior of the nacelles. Although the water temperature is extremely cold, once the nacelles are brought on line and powered up, they should have additional power to help boost Voyager's take off."

Janeway studied the young man, then looked at B'Elanna and Harry. "So what you're saying is that the cold water could be used as a catalyst in launching us out of the water like a catapult?"

"Something like that."

"The mixture of hot from the nacelles and the cold water, will create an inversion of sorts that will more or less kick Voyager out of the water." Harry explained.

"Only draw back is, it'll be a rough ride." B'Elanna explained.

"I don't care how smooth or rough the ride, as long as we can get the hell off this planet in the end."

"That we can, Captain." The three engineers assured her.

"My only other concern is about the salt penetrating the hull."

"It shouldn't be enough to do any permanent or long lasting damage, despite the salt's corrosive effects." B'Elanna assured Janeway.

"Good, then proceed."

An hour later, Seven and Tuvok were ready to leave the ocean floor and return to Voyager. The air supply in their suits would last only long enough to allow them the time needed to ascend to the surface. Then they got the message.

"Janeway to Tuvok and Seven."

The two responded. "You'll need to rendezvous with Voyager at about a depth of 75 to 100 meters from the surface." She told them.

"Captain?" Seven asked.

"While you're on your way up, Voyager is on her way down. The ship is sinking. Since she'd going down slowly, you'll have a brief period to decompress, but not long enough. We have enough power for transporters so we'll beam you to Sickbay where the Doctor will have a containment field set up to decompress you."

"Do you wish the whole away team to return? Tuvok asked.

"Is the mining complete?"

"Almost. Seven and I do not have a sufficient supply of oxygen to remain with the other members of the away team. However, Ensign Vorik can remain with them for some time yet."

"Very well. Bring what you have. We'll probably end up picking up the away team once we've settled on the bottom of this ocean. Depending on how fast we sink."

"Understood." Tuvok said.

"Captain?" Seven then asked.

"Yes, Seven, what is it?"

"Will you be able to navigate Voyager to the bottom of the ocean?"

There was a moment of silence. "I don't know...we have just enough auxiliary power at the moment with the recharge that the small amount of Deuterium has given us. I hadn't thought about navigating the ship underwater."

"I believe it could be done, but I would need to show you."

"Alright. I'll see to it you have a Padd when you return to the ship."

"Understood." Seven said, then she and Tuvok began to swim toward the surface of the ocean.

Janeway, in the meantime had gotten together with Harry and B'Elanna. "We need to show Seven what calculations we've come up with. Voyager wasn't designed to be flown through water, so all we can do is hope that Seven knows what she's doing."

"From past experience with her, although she's arrogant, she does know what she's talking about. I can't fault her on that." B'Elanna said.

"B'Elanna's right. She defiantly knows her stuff. If Seven says that Voyager can navigate underwater, then I believe her."

Janeway gave a half smile. "If the two of you think that she can do it, then that's good enough for me. I just wonder if the Starfleet engineers that designed Voyager, ever imagined that at some point she'd have to act as a submarine."

"Bridge to the Captain."

"Janeway here."

"We've received word that Seven and Tuvok are at an almost equal depth with Voyager. They're ready to be beamed aboard."

"Go ahead and beam them to Sickbay. The Doctor has set up a special containment area for them to decompress."

"Aye, Captain." Came the disembodied voice.

Seven was given the Padd Janeway had promised her, and while she and Tuvok waited out their confinement in the 24th Century equivalent of a decompression chamber, they went over the calculations that Harry, B'Elanna and Janeway had come up with for navigating Voyager off the ocean floor and into flight then into space.

"The calculations are quite good." Seven told Janeway from behind the force field that held a decompressing atmosphere.

"Are they right?"

"Very close. I've made some minor adjustments. Lt. Paris will have to follow the sequence very carefully or it may not work."

"I'm sure Tom will manage just fine. We'll do a simulation dry run on the holodeck just to make sure the timing is perfect."

"I would like to be present." Seven asked.

Janeway looked over at the Doctor. "How much longer will they need to remain in decompression?"

"Approximately another half hour to 45 minutes."

"By that time we'll be so close to the bottom of the ocean floor..."

"Captain. It will not matter if Voyager rests on the ocean floor. As long as shield strength holds to keep the pressure within the hull equalized we should still be able to raise her off this planet."

Almost as if in defiance of those words there was a scream of metal as pressure against Voyager's shields and hull increased with her steady decent into the depths.

Janeway, Tuvok and the Doctor instinctively looked up when they heard the noise. "Let's hope the rest of the away team was able to get the amount of Dilithium and Deuterium we need. B'Elanna, Harry and Vorik are going to have to be creative to refine the material quickly so that we don't start cracking open like an egg shell."

"Agreed, Captain." Tuvok replied.

Turning to the Doctor, Janeway addressed him. "Let me know as soon as you're able to release Tuvok and Seven."

"Aye, Captain." The EMH replied.

Janeway quickly exited Sickbay and headed towards the Bridge.

As soon as she exited the turbo lift the words "Report!" were out of her mouth.

"The hull is feeling the effects of the water pressure. Despite the shields, I suppose Voyager is protesting." Harry Kim answered.

"How is our shield strength, Harry?"

"It's at 150%. Could be better."

Janeway said nothing, but nodded, glancing over at her First Officer.

"Let's hope Voyager doesn't turn into another Titanic, agreed, Mr. Paris?"

Tom swiveled in his seat to face her. "Agreed, Captain." The irony of her statement wasn't lost on her pilot.

Just then, as if in answer, the hull began to protest loudly, making a terrible noise.

"Tom you have the Bridge. Do the best you can to navigate her to a safe landing. Commander, I need to speak with you in my ready room." Janeway ordered, after listening to her ship howl in pain. At least that's how Kathryn perceived it.

Chakotay said nothing, but followed his Captain. Once inside, with the door closed she turned to him. "I'm damned worried."

"You should be. Does it seem like it will be possible to get out of this situation?"

"According to Seven, once our power is restored, Lt. Carey's theory should work and get us, not only to the surface, but airborne, then into space. What worries me is if the shields will hold long enough to keep the water pressure outside from crushing us like a Padd under someone's foot." With that she rolled her eyes, walked over to her couch and sat down, heavily.

"Tired?"

"How'd you know?"

"The Doctor said you probably would start feeling tired. You really should take that nap he wanted you to have earlier." Chakotay gave a hint of a smile, his dimples already deepening.

Kathryn eyed him. "I know. But until I know that the ship and the crew are safe, I can't take a nap. I doubt I could relax enough to close my eyes."

"How about just lying down in a quiet, dark room for a little while?"

"Sounds tempting, but I doubt it would work. You know how my mind keeps racing. Especially when something is bothering me."

"Yes, I do know. I won't mention it again."

Kathryn gave Chakotay a wry grin and reached out a hand and placed it on his arm. "I appreciate your concern."

"You're welcome. Now, all we have to do is see how well those Starfleet engineers built this ship. Voyager is probably the first ship in Starfleet history to function as a starship and a submarine."

"You're probably right. Let's just say, it's certainly one for the books." Janeway couldn't help but smile at the irony of the situation. She rubbed her eyes. "You take the Bridge, I'm going to go down to Engineering and see how B'Elanna's coming along. Once Vorik is on board, I'm hoping things will speed up in the processing and refinement of the materials."

"Alright. I'll keep you apprised if there are any new developments."

The two then exited the ready room and as Chakotay headed back to the Bridge, Janeway went to the turbo lift.

Once she reached Engineering, she found Seven working with Harry and B'Elanna.

"Decompressed already?" She asked the former Borg. It surprised her that Seven was already out of Sickbay.

"Yes, Captain. I am able to recover more quickly because of the nanoprobes in my system."

"I see." Then turning to B'Elanna. "How is everything coming?"

"The refining process is coming along. With luck we'll have enough of the substances processed to inject into Voyager's systems and get us out of this mess."

"What about the rest of the material?"

"We're going to store it in containers in one of the cargo bays, and refine it as we find the time."

"Good work. Will what we have now, be enough?" Janeway asked.

"It should be sufficient." Seven answered.

"Doctor to Captain Janeway."

"Janeway here."

"Captain, I have the rest of the away team in Sickbay, being decompressed."

"Good news Doctor. Let Lt. Torres know when Ensign Vorik is able to be released. She'll need his assistance as soon as possible."

"Understood, Captain."

"Keep me posted, B'Elanna." Janeway told her chief engineer, then left Engineering.

As soon as she stepped out, she was overcome by a wave of overwhelming fatigue. She leaned against the bulkhead to give her time to let her head clear. She had her eyes closed, waiting for her vision to clear, when she heard her name.

"Captain Janeway, are you alright?" Tuvok's voice sounded concerned.

She opened her eyes to see him standing by her. His face unreadable. "Just tired, Tuvok. I'll be fine."

"Are you certain? You do not look well, Captain."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be okay as soon as this crisis is over and I can get some rest."

"Of course." Tuvok answered. Janeway knew he wasn't convinced, but she also knew that he would make no further comment about it. "I am on my way to Engineering to assist with the refining process."

"Good. I'm sure B'Elanna and Seven can use all the help there is. I'm heading back to the Bridge."

When she walked off the turbo lift, Chakotay was waiting for her. "Status?" she asked.

"According to the sensors we should be "landing" in about half an hour."

Janeway took in a breath. "So soon? I thought we had a little more time?"

Chakotay shook his head. "We're sinking a little faster than we predicted. As long as the shields hold it shouldn't be a problem."

"Yeah, you're right. B'Elanna says that the refining process is coming along. There just isn't any way to speed it up. So we'll have to spend some time on this ocean floor."

Chakotay gave her a hint of a smile. "I'm sure things will work out okay. The shields are doing their job, so it should buy us enough time."

"I suppose." Kathryn sighed. She sat down, heavily in her command chair.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine."

Chakotay didn't say anything, but kept looking at her.

"I'm tired like the Doctor said I would be."

"Didn't he tell you to let him know."

"If I do that, he'll relieve me of duty, and there's still too much that needs to be done."

"Maybe he'll just give you a stimulant to help you get through the crisis. He knows you have to see this through."

Kathryn smiled wryly up at her first officer. "You wanna be the one to convince him of that?"

"I'm sure you can argue sense into him. You're very good at that."

"I am, huh? Okay. But if he relieves me, don't say I didn't warn you." Kathryn said as she rose from her chair.

As Kathryn sat on a bio bed, the Doctor approached with a hypo- spray. He held it up to her neck and it hissed softly.

"There, that should keep you going for a few more hours. Afterwards I want you off duty for at least 48 hours. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly. Thank you, Doctor. How long will this stimulant last?"

"Approximately 8 hours. I won't give you another, it's too dangerous."

"Fine. Hopefully by then this crisis will be over. Voyager will be back in space, and I'll be able to get some much needed sleep."

"Agreed."

"Thank you, Doctor." Janeway said as she slid off the bio bed and exited Sickbay.

Now feeling more alert, Kathryn headed back to Engineering.

The rest of the away team had been released and returned to their duties. When Janeway arrived in Engineering, the just processed material was being injected into Voyager's systems. The power levels jumped rapidly.

"I see you've finished the refining." She told B'Elanna.

"Yes, Captain."

"Chakotay to the crew, prepare for landing. We will be hitting the ocean bottom in 1 minute." The shipwide speakers announced.

"Might be a good idea to hold on to something, just in case it's a rough landing." B'Elanna suggested.

"Agreed. Everyone..." Janeway ordered, grabbing onto the rail around the warp core. Harry, B'Elanna, Tuvok, Vorik and Seven did the same, as other members of the engineering staff grabbed onto consoles and other parts of the ship.

Within the amount of time Chakotay had announced, Voyager's struts hit solid ground once again. The impact was minimal. The water had buffeted the landing.

"Alright. The Deuterium supply is up. Now we need to work on the Dilithium." Janeway said.

"It's already being worked on, Captain." B'Elanna announced. "We should be ready in about an hour."

"Good job, B'Elanna. Let me know if you need any help."

"I think we've got it under control, Captain."

Janeway nodded and returned to the Bridge. She exited the turbo lift and headed for her ready room. "I'll be working on reports. Let me know when we're ready to leave."

"Aye, Captain." Chakotay answered.

An hour later, B'Elanna informed Chakotay that the refining of the Dilithium was complete. It was going to take them about another hour and a half to replace the dilithium and restart the warp core. After that it would probably take an additional half hour to 45 minutes before the warp core was fully charged.

"Good work, B'Elanna, I'll let the Captain know of your progress." Chakotay told the chief engineer.

Instead of relaying it over the comm link, he decided to see Janeway in her ready room. He rang the chime, but there was no response. He tried a second time. Tuvok was now at his station, and raised an eyebrow as he watched Chakotay.

Chakotay gave the chime another try. Finally, in frustration he opened the door and entered anyway.

Janeway was sitting at her desk, obviously very engrossed in reading what was on her computer.

Chakotay stood in front of her desk. When she didn't respond, he cleared his throat. "Hum-urh-hum."

Janeway looked up momentarily. "Yes, what is it?"

"If you have a moment, Captain....?"

Finally, she looked up and gave him more than a cursory glance.

"Oh, Chakotay. I'm sorry, I guess I was lost in my research."

Her first officer smiled. "So it seems. More interesting than me?" He joked.

Kathryn smiled. "That depends." She said, getting up and walking around her desk. She walked over to the replicator and ordered a pot of coffee. "Would you like some?" She offered.

"No, thank you. Keeps me awake."

Again Kathryn found herself smiling. Ruefully this time. "I know, I should be getting some rest. I had the Doctor give me a stimulant, and it's not due to wear off for several more hours."

"You're going to be exhausted when it does."

Janeway nodded. "I know. What was it you wanted to see me about?"

"Good news. B'Elanna informed me that we should be able to start the warp engines in about three hours time."

"That is good news. I won't feel at ease until we're off this ocean floor and back in space."

"I agree. So far, the shields are doing their job. There haven't been any leaks, and hull pressure has remained constant."

"Good."

"Maybe you should take a break and get something to eat." Chakotay suggested.

"I suppose I could do with a little something. Will you join me?"

"Why not? We can leave Tuvok in charge." He smiled.

"Let's go." she said as they walked through the doors. "I know Neelix will be surprised to see me." Then turning to Tuvok. "Tuvok you have the Bridge." she announced as she and Chakotay entered the turbo lift.

As the doors closed she heard Tuvok's response, and saw him walking towards the command platform of the Bridge.

The meal in the mess hall helped revive Kathryn. Now, they just needed some luck and the skill of the engineering staff to bring them out of their predicament. While she and Chakotay ate, there was a sudden brightness to the lighting.

"B'Elanna must have the Warp core on-line." Chakotay said.

So it seems." Kathryn answered, looking up at the lights. "Good thing Neelix's stove isn't powered by any ship's systems."

Chakotay laughed. "Yeah, where would we be without his Leola Root stew?"

Kathryn laughed at the joke. Chakotay thought about how good it was to see his Captain and friend with a smile on her face, during this crisis.

"Shouldn't be too much longer before we're able to try taking off." Chakotay commented.

"The thing that has me concerned is, will we have to tread water for a time before we can fly, or will we just break the surface of the ocean and keep climbing?"

Chakotay shook his head. "I wish I knew. There's no land mass that can hold us for any significant amount of time, so I guess we'll have to hope that Tom's piloting skills are enough to get us to the surface then airborne."

"I'm just wondering if we shouldn't have a talk with him. Just so that he has a better idea of what he may have to do."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"As soon as we're done eating, I'll call him into my ready room so we can talk to him."

"Oh, good. You actually want to wait till after you've eaten." Chakotay smiled.

"Don't push your luck, Commander." Kathryn replied, picking up a forkful of food.

Forty-five minutes later Tom Paris stood in front of Janeway in her ready room.

"You asked to see me, Captain?" He asked her.

"Yes, Tom. There is some question as to exactly how we're going to take off from here. Since starships weren't exactly built to be submersible, this is going to be a never-before-tried maneuver on your part. I'm afraid that you're on your own as to how to proceed. I was just wondering if you had any ideas?"

Tom looked at his Captain, then at Chakotay standing just off to his left side.

"To be honest, Captain, I have been giving it some thought. But I'm not exactly certain how I should proceed."

"Have you discussed with B'Elanna what the hull stress might be like?" Chakotay asked him.

Tom squirmed for a moment. "Not yet. she's been pretty busy trying to get everything back up and running, and at the moment she isn't in the best of moods. Uh, if you know what I mean."

Janeway tried to suppress a smile, and glanced at Chakotay. Yes, she did know what Tom meant. Her Chief Engineer did sometimes let her temper get the best of her. She had mellowed some over the past few years, but there were still times when the Klingon side got the best of B'Elanna Torres.

"Well, I suppose this isn't exactly the best time to be bothering B'Elanna with that kind of thing. Why don't you talk to Seven and see if she can give you some information. If anyone else can tell you how much pressure the water will exert on the hull, depending on our speed, I'm sure it's Seven."

"Aye, Captain. I'll get right on it."

"When you think you have it figured out, I'd like to see the report before we try anything."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Dismissed!" She told him, and the young man exited the ready room.

Janeway eyed Chakotay. "Something bothering you, Commander?"

"I'm just wondering if Voyager can survive taking off with the amount of pressure that water adds. She's built for high speed, that's true, and so far the shields have been holding the water out, but how will they perform under the tons of pressure exerted by being submerged in an ocean?"

"I've had Harry, Tuvok and Seven working on increasing shield strength. I'm just hoping, and crossing my fingers that, with our technological savvy and a lot of luck that we'll be able to get to the surface, then airborne without too much damage."

"Let's just hope that we have a lot of luck working for us right now." Chakotay said.

"Agreed. I'd better get down to Engineering and see how B'Elanna's making out."

"After you, Captain." Chakotay said, swinging his arm and smiling as Kathryn arose from her seat. She smiled back at him as they exited.

Tom's interest in 20th Century technology was starting to come in handy for some situations that Voyager had found herself in since landing in the Delta Quadrant. This latest predicament was no exception.

"So, Seven, what do you think? Will Voyager be able to stand the stresses from the water pressure when we try to take off?"

"With the increase in the shields, I would say that it would not be prudent to attempt surfacing at a high speed."

Tom shook his head. "That's what I was afraid you were going to say. Problem is, if we don't reach a certain speed we can't get airborne once we surface from the water."

"I know. I have been working on the calculations to try and solve that problem, but I'm not certain how we can."

"Wow, something the Borg don't know anything about." Almost as he said those words an idea began forming in the back of his head. Tom grabbed Seven's hand and led her out of the Astrometrix lab and to a holodeck. He called up one of his programs.

"Lieutenant, this is no time for recreational activities." Seven told Tom.

"This isn't recreation, this is research." Tom said as the doors to the holodeck opened. Tom again took Seven by the hand and pulled her with him onto the holodeck. When they entered they were on a seaside dock. There, anchored to the dock was what appeared to be half a ship. Most of it's hull appeared to be submerged, while the conning tower and a few centimeters of the topside of the hull remained above the surface of the water.

"What is this?" Seven asked.

"A submarine." Tom announced. "They were used to submerge below the water, first for war, then later for research and to find sunken ships. They were made smaller and for deeper depths. One of those things could have gone into space and lasted several generations. Only thing is, they weren't built for speed, only depth."

"How is a holographic submarine going to help us get Voyager out of this ocean and back into space?" Seven asked him.

"I don't know yet, but I'm sure the answer is in there somewhere." He told Seven as he grabbed her hand and led her to the ladder that would admit them into the bowels of the ancient submersible.

Once inside, Tom began examining the controls, and told Seven to do the same.

In the course of their searching, Seven came across something that seemed important.

"Lieutenant, there is something here, It is called a depth gauge. Is that significant?"

Tom turned to look at the former Borg..."Yeah, that sounds like what I'm looking for." He said as he came over to where she stood.

He leaned over to see what the gauge said.

There was not only numbers giving depth, there was another gauge next to it reading pressure.

"Okay, this gives a red zone for pressure. I'm going to have the computer simulate submerging to below what the safe zone is, then see how quickly we can surface without breaking up."

"Very well." Seven replied.

Tom then initiated the program.

When the simulation ended he had a complete report for Janeway.

Seven and Tom stood in front of Janeway in her ready room waiting for her to finish reading the report.

When she finished, she placed the Padd down on her desk. I'm impressed, Tom, you've really done your research." Then addressing Seven. "Do you think that the modifications to the shields will hold up under the stresses of Voyager surfacing and flying out of the atmosphere?"

"The modifications will hold under the stresses. Lt. Torres and I have made additional modifications. There should be no significant stresses to the hull with these latest modifications."

"Good. Then get to it. We're going back into space. Dismissed."

The two left and headed to their respective posts. Janeway followed them out and sat in her command chair.

Chakotay gave her a smile as she sat. "Everything looking good?" He asked, his dimples deepening with the smile.

Janeway smiled back. "So far." She answered him, then directing herself to business she called to Tom. "Mr. Paris, take us up."

"Yes, Ma'am." Tom said as his hands began to dance across the helm controls.

Within moments of hearing the engines roar to life, Voyager began to rise...The slowness of her assent was apparent only by what was being shown on the view screen. The water pressure was being read outloud by Ensign Kim. If not for that, there would have been no discernible clue to indicate that Voyager was attempting to leave from below an ocean.

The time it took for her to finally reach the surface was longer than had been estimated, but Janeway didn't want to increase the hull stresses any more than necessary.

When Voyager finally broke the surface of the water and was free, she began to gracefully soar into space like an eagle wafting on warm air currents.

Within moments of being freed by the confines of the ocean, Voyager was above the planet.

Paris turned to Janeway..."Would you like me to go to warp, Captain?" He asked her.

"Janeway to Torres, what's the status down there?"

The disembodied voice of Voyager's chief engineer was heard. "The warp engines are running at 120 percent efficiency."

"Then you'd say it's safe to go to warp, Lieutenant?"

"Absolutely, Captain." Came the response.

Janeway smiled. "Mr. Paris Warp 4...course...the Alpha Quadrant."

"Yes ma'am." the pilot replied.

Chakotay turned to his Captain..."Well, now we know that Starships can swim too." He said, a huge smile on his face.

Kathryn could only smile back....as the USS Voyager once again flew through open space.