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While Tuvok works to rehabilitate
Ensign Suder, an unstable killer confined to his quarters,
Chakotay receives a desperate subspace message from Seska. She's
given birth to the child that was fathered with the DNA stolen
from the First Officer, and she claims that her Kazon lover,
Maje Culluh, is going to take her son away.
Chakotay is torn. Seska is
untrustworthy and could be trying to lead Voyager into a trap.
But if it is truly his child, he owes it his help. They set out
to find Seska, and en route, Voyager receives a distress call
from a Kazon shuttle manned by Tierna, one of Seska's aides. The
injured Kazon reports that Culluh has killed Seska. Tierna
managed to survive by bribing a guard and stealing a shuttle.
Voyager heads for the colony world where Culluh has sent
Chakotay's son. The starship sustains several minor Kazon
attacks, although none cause serious damage. Still, the fact
that each of the attacks has focused on a certain section of the
ship makes them suspicious. When Janeway tells Paris to alter
their course, the ship is suddenly confronted with eight large
Kazon vessels, clearly attempting to coerce them into a
different direction. Unwilling to be manipulated, Janeway
decides to intercept the lead Kazon vessel.
Using some deception of its own, Voyager manages to send most of
the vessels at different targets, leaving only the lead vessel
to fight. But as the battle intensifies, Tierna deliberately
triggers a massive explosion in his own body, sacrificing his
life to damage the ship. The tactic also serves to destroy
Voyager's decoy, and three of the previously distracted Kazon
vessels return to attack. Paris quickly boards a shuttlecraft to
seek help from a neighboring Talaxian colony, but the little
ship is hit by Kazon fire, and Voyager loses contact.
As Kazon intruders board the crippled starship, Janeway is
forced to surrender. A victorious Culluh and Seska, who is still
very much alive, take command while the Doctor secretly
deactivates himself for twelve hours. The Kazon then strand the
crew on a primitive planet and depart, unaware that there is
still one crewmember aboard: Ensign Suder.
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