Part I Ensign
Lon Suder, having been confined to his quarters for life as punishment for his murder of Crewman Darwin, has attempted to make amends by making several agricultural advancements. His homicidal tendencies seem to be well under control through the use of
Vulcan mental disciplines learned from
Tuvok.
Seska calls
Voyager stating that
Commander Chakotay must rescue her and her newborn baby, since Culluh saw that the child was not his.
Captain Janeway and Chakotay argue on whether or not to save his son, whether it is a trap or a real plea for help. In the ready-room, everyone thinks up ideas to fight the Kazon in the event of a trap. An apparent defector of the
Kazon is soon found on a stranded ship and taken on board to
Sickbay, and explains his predicament, although Chakotay remains suspicious — especially when he mentions Seska's death. As
Voyager travels further into Kazon space, facing heavier attacks that seem focused at the same general area of the ship, the man commits suicide in a violent explosion, which severely damages Suder's quarters and disables several of ''Voyager's
systems. As Voyager
is overwhelmed by the Kazon, Lt. Paris takes a shuttle to find a Talaxian colony for aid. Voyager'' is boarded and taken over by Kazon forces. Captain Janeway attempts to activate the ship's self-destruct sequence to prevent the Kazon from taking the ship, but the system that controls this ability was damaged in earlier Kazon skirmishes, revealing the true strategy of the Kazon.
Part II The crew is marooned on a barren planet inhabited by primitive, hostile natives. Only two crew members are left on board
Voyager, the Doctor and Suder, who was presumed dead in the explosion. It is revealed by the Doctor that Culluh, not Chakotay, is the father of Seska's baby. Suder hides in the vents and
Jefferies tubes of the ship, having a crisis of conscience after he is forced to kill a Kazon soldier. Meanwhile, on the planet, crewman Hogan is devoured by a gigantic serpent creature. The natives of the planet kidnap
Kes and
Neelix. Chakotay attempts to negotiate for their return, but this fails and he, Kes and Neelix are forced to hide in one of the caverns that the giant serpent lives in. The natives attempt to smoke them out with a fire. Back at camp,
Ensign Wildman's baby
Naomi falls ill and Chakotay's team is still missing. Janeway gathers her own crew to search for Chakotay. Inside the caverns, a mis-step leads to a crew member being eaten by the serpent. Janeway has
Lt. Torres and two others distract the natives. The diversion works, allowing them to extinguish the fire and save the rest of the crew. The serpent ends up buried under tons of rock dislodged by Tuvok and others as they escape. Suder, accompanied by the Doctor, risks his life to repel the Kazon. Suder, under orders from Paris, attacks the engineering section of
Voyager. He succeeds in sabotaging the ship's phasers, but is shot in the back by a dying Kazon and dies moments later. The Kazon then attempt to destroy Paris' shuttle but the sabotaged phasers overload, killing most of the Kazon and forcing them to abandon
Voyager. Seska herself is mortally wounded; she stumbles into Janeway's ready room and dies next to her child, who survived. Maje Culluh takes the baby and leaves. Volcanic eruptions on the planet have forced the
Voyager crew and the natives to migrate together. Chakotay gains the respect of the natives when he rescues one of their children from a lava flow. The leader of the tribe gathers together plants that heal Naomi. The crew and the natives both watch in bewilderment as
Voyager descends to the planet to pick them up. Tom Paris greets Janeway and the crew on the bridge and tells of Suder's bravery. In sickbay, Tuvok wishes that Suder may find the peace he could not in life. The natives wave farewell as
Voyager departs. ==Notes==