The problem is soon found to be in the ship's bio-neural gel pack circuitry. A Maquis Engineer, Dalby, made repairs without warning, an action which defied protocol. In Tuvok's report to Janeway and Chakotay later, they hit upon the idea of a Maquis "boot camp" to bring the new crewmembers up to the StarFleet standards expected of them -- with former Academy
                                            trainer Tuvok in charge.

The four recruits chosen balk at Tuvok's tough discipline until Chakotay himself smacks Dalby in the jaw -- a demonstration of the limits of "the Maquis way." Tuvok finds it so rough to train the Maquis, he even solicits Neelix for advice. He uses the example of a flower stem that breaks instead of bending, to show that Tuvok can be inflexible.

Meanwhile, more and more of the formerly dependable gel packs malfunction and threaten basic ship systems. B'Elanna and the Doctor find that the organic components of the packs are "infected" with a virus and search for a way to sterilize the infection without harming the rest of the ship and crew. The "cure" with heat is almost fatal to Tuvok's team when it is trapped in a cargo bay amid noxious fumes. The crisis is averted as Tuvok gains new respect when the Vulcan risks his life to rescue a Maquis team member. Tuvok decides he needs to bend the rules sometimes.

And the virus? To Neelix's horror, it's traced to a bacteria given off by an alien cheese fermenting in his kitchen and absorbed through the air ducts.