Stardate not given: The crew of the Protostar runs simulations on how to escape from the Neutral Zone without getting in contact with Starfleet. But each time the outcome is that the Living Construct aboard the ship successfully activates. Gwyn expresses doubts about the goal to join Starfleet. Jankom Pog successfully comforts his crewmates by replicating lots of ice cream. As Dal is taking a rest, a holographic creature from Rok-Tahk's "Delta Heart Magical Veterinarian" program appears in the corridor. In fact, the crew is still on the holodeck, and voice commands are deactivated. They proceed to a lighthouse, which belongs to Zero's "Cellar Door Society" program, where they receive the task to search for the "skeleton key". Zero says that usually after solving the case the arch appears aically. After leaving the room, they find themselves in a street where they face a Tellarite biker gang (all with the face of Dr. Noum from the Dauntless) that was created by Pog. Also, the safety protocols are turned off. Dal contacts Janeway and gives her his command codes to turn them on again. One of the Tellarites has a tattoo of a key with the word "Keyclub", which brings them to an old night club scenario that was surprisingly created by Murf. Gwyn is shocked to see that the bartender is modeled after her father. Rok-Tahk notices that the piano is missing a key, upon which the crew arrive in Dal's pirate scenario. A sea monster attacking the ship turns out to be another creature from Rok-Tahk's program and can be pacified with food. Zero now doubts that there is actually a key. They think the crew has been trapped in an endless scenario, where each clue just leads to the next one. This can't be a malfunction, but someone must have specifically set it up. They refuse to play on and find themselves in the empty holodeck. Janeway appears and says she is sorry. After Gwyn said they shouldn't join Starfleet, the Living Construct used a hidden security protocol to manipulate Janeway, to keep the crew busy, get the command codes and head for the Dauntless...

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