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During an away mission, Janeway
and Chakotay are bitten by an insect that infects them with an
incurable virus. When the Doctor can't treat them, the two
officers resign themselves to remaining on the planet, which has
an environment that blocks the progression of the terminal
disease. After supplies are beamed to them from Voyager, Janeway
gives the crew orders to proceed to the Alpha Quadrant and puts
Tuvok in command of the ship.
The decision to leave the
Captain and First Officer behind weighs heavily on the crew, and
they urge Tuvok to rendezvous with a Vidiian convoy, knowing
that the aliens' advanced medical knowledge might include a cure
for the virus. Tuvok refuses; Janeway has forbidden the crew to
contact the untrustworthy Vidiians, renowned for their
willingness to murder involuntary organ donors in their ongoing
battle against the Phage.
On the planet, Janeway works to develop a cure for the virus
while Chakotay tries to make their lives comfortable. After a
violent plasma storm strikes the planet and her research
equipment is destroyed, she must come to grips with the fact
that they are unlikely to ever leave this world. On Voyager,
Tuvok realizes that sometimes a Captain must disobey an order
for the welfare of his crew. He contacts the Vidiians and asks
them to put Voyager in touch with the Vidiian physician Denara
Pel, a close friend of the Doctor's. Pel quickly responds and
offers to share the cure to the mysterious virus. They arrange a
rendezvous for the next day.
As Janeway and Chakotay draw closer to each other, responding to
the intimacy of their situation, Voyager goes to meet the
Vidiians. But it's a trap, and the ship comes under a punishing
assault. In the midst of the attack, Dr. Pel contacts the Doctor
and offers the serum. Tuvok is able to drop the shields long
enough for them to retrieve it and to eject an antimatter
container from the ship. Then they fire a torpedo at the
container and the resulting explosion incapacitates the Vidiian
ships long enough for Voyager to escape. Tuvok retrieves the
Captain and Chakotay, who resume command of Voyager and return
to their traditional relationship.
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