Stardate: 49447. Voyager encounters Dreadnought, an advanced, self-aware Cardassian missile also drawn into the Delta Quadrant that B'Elanna Torres reprogrammed during her time in the Maquis. The missile, believing it is still in the Alpha quadrant on its Maquis mission, is on course to destroy Rakosa V, an inhabited world of millions. Now, B'Elanna must outsmart her programming to disarm Dreadnought before it reaches its objective.

Voyager rescues a dying Vidiian and during the process of trying to save her life, the Doctor's adaptive program allows him to experience romantic feelings for the first time. Lt. Paris starts objecting to his treatment on Voyager and ends up assaulting Chakotay.