Kim caught up to B'Elanna in the darkened hallways, casting a bemused glance behind him. "Did you see Tuvok smiling back there?" B'Elanna looked at him strangely, and then shook her head.

"Have you been drinking something, Kim? Tuvok doesn't have smiling muscles." She turned back to her tricorder. "His face would crack right in half."

Kim shrugged, looking up at the temple ceiling. "Fine, don't believe me. But the way he was touching the captain, we might need to chaperone." He shook his head in disbelief at the memory of straight-laced captain and Vulcan absorbed in each other like mooning lovers in the dim light. Something was strange, that was certain. Torres was staring at him now, trying to decide whether to take him seriously, when he shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Maybe they're good for each other. But we are still under orders. So did you figure anything out?"

Torres shook her head, frustrated. "The interference from the storm is so bad I can hardly make anything out at all. It's clear that each of these antennae is connected to a single room, and they are energy collectors of a sort. So my guess is that the Laotir perform some sort of energy ritual in each room, and it all gets collected into the array. Beyond that…" She shrugged.

Kim nodded thoughtfully. "Twelve rooms. And the array is pointed up at the aurora, so something the array does must affect the aurora, or the storm."

"But if electricity doesn't work, what kind of energy are they collecting?"

"Psychic? There have been signs of a rudimentary psychic power with these people."

Torres looked strangely at him. "How do you know?"

Kim shrugged. "Well, their musical harmony is incredibly complex, but they use no written score—it all seems improvised. And they made Tuvok smile. Who else could do that?"

She studied him for a moment, and then closed the tricorder. "This I have see for myself."

When they reached the main room, they both stopped at the edge of the floor, stunned. Tuvok and Janeway were standing nose to nose, completely still. The dance continued around them, wild energy crackling around Kim and Torres. Kio spotted them from across the room and hustled across, blocking their view.

"Can I get you anything before you go? The Ritual is about to begin, you realize, and you cannot stay here."

B'Elanna frowned, trying to get a glimpse of her captain. "What do you mean, we can't stay? What are you doing to Tuvok?"

Kio wagged her head. "He is doing it all himself. It is for the Ritual. The Joining. You cannot interrupt. You must call your ship."

Torres pushed past her. "I have to ask the captain for permission." Kim followed in her wake, and they strode up to the captain and Tuvok, who seemed to be caught up in a trance. "Captain…" she said with quiet urgency. Janeway stirred, blinked, and turned, and Tuvok looked down at his hands, and released his captain gently. Janeway swallowed.

"What… what did you find out, Lieutenant?" Her voice sounded as if it were coming from far away. Tuvok looked at Torres, and frowned, and then shook his head once.

"There is considerable psychic resonance here." He made no mention of his captain's small hands still resting on his breastbone. Torres tried to focus on what she had discovered. Kim tried not to focus on the Laotir, whose ceremony had come to an abrupt halt.

"There is, Tuvok. The array is a psychic collector, we think. Harry figured it out. It's probably the only kind of energy that works down here during the aurora and the conjoined storm."

Kim stepped up next to her. "We have been asked to leave, Captain. They want us to go and you and Tuvok to stay for a ritual they call the Joining."

Janeway shook her head again, more decisive now. She released her hold on her second officer and turned to Kio, who was standing behind Kim. "What is all of this for, Kio?"

"You have been requested to become one with us for the Joining, Captain Janeway and Tuvok. It will soon be too late for your others to go back, and they will have to stay outside the temple. Nothing must be disrupted. The Ritual of the Joining is critical to our year's crops. It is too late to get others now. And we greatly wish you and your consort would stay with us." She sounded almost pleading. Janeway turned to Tuvok, and he leaned in to her, his gaze steady and calm once more.

"Captain, I am certain that we will not be allowed to leave. I advise you to allow Kim and Torres back up to the ship, as they have the best chance of deciphering this storm. I do not believe they mean us harm."

After a moment, Janeway nodded. "Agreed. We will stay." She turned to Kim and Torres. "Beam back to the ship at once. Study this storm. We will continue our negotiation for supplies in the morning. By then I expect the transporters to be able to punch through any interference."

Both officers looked dismayed at leaving the captain behind, but Kim was too disciplined to argue. Torres stepped forward, though. "Captain, what do they want of you? What if it could harm you?"

Janeway shook her head. "We will be fine, Lieutenant. You do your job, and I will do mine. Understood?"

Reluctantly, Torres nodded. Janeway tapped her communicator. "Janeway to Chakotay."

Janeway could hear the tense tenor of Chakotay's concern through the commlink. "About time. The aurora might be beautiful, but the interference is playing havoc with our transporter locks. It's now or never."

Janeway nodded at Kim and Torres. "Beam up Harry and B'Elanna, Commander. Tuvok and I are staying on the surface until morning." She felt Tuvok at her back, a steady reassuring presence, and was grateful. Kim and Torres got into position and waited a tense moment until the familiar beams of the transporter took hold of them and they vanished in an unsteady burst. After a moment of silence, a crackle jumped from Janeway's communicator. It was Torres.

"Captain, we just lost our main Transporter circuit to an overload. It will take an hour to replace and repair everything. With the storm's intensity, we won't be able to get you out until it's over. Dammit, Captain!" Janeway heard the anger in her voice. "You should have come."

"That wasn't your choice, Lieutenant. I'm not sorry that my Chief Engineer is up there working on the problem."

"Captain, would you like us to send you a shuttle?" Chakotay knew as well as Janeway did that the shuttle would have a rough ride. She sighed and scrubbed a hand over her eyes.

"No, Chakotay. We'll stay in our host's accommodations for the night, as they meant for us to. As long as we have communication, I can inform you if the situation changes. Janeway out."