(Enter Torres and Seven of Nine) TORRES: Captain, I need permission to shut down the sensor grid. Seven thinks a couple of insects are disrupting the power flow.
SEVEN: Last night, I downloaded six months of ship status reports into my new cortical subunit while I was regenerating.
SEVEN: Eight weeks ago, an away team encountered a Kartelan freighter carrying supplies from sector four nine two, a territory that included a former Talaxian colony. Mister Neelix used the opportunity to acquire twelve kilograms of amber spice, a delicacy among his people.
SEVEN: Because I also downloaded data regarding their life cycles. The larvae flew out of the spice jar in search of their primary source of nourishment, plasma particles. The conduits within the nearby sensor grid contain an unlimited supply of these particles. Ensign Kim had unwittingly given the creatures access by exposing the grid. The now mature creatures periodically tap into the conduit for nourishment. When they do, the sensor emitters momentarily lose their resolution.
[Jefferies tube] Janeway, Torres and Seven are investigating Seven's theory in the Jefferies tube junction. They find said fleas. JANEWAY: Let's find a more suitable home for them.