Stardate: Unknown - In search of the vital chemical deuterium essential to Voyager's energy supplies, they discover a hostile "Demon class" planet with reserves large enough to replenish the ship. Ensign Kim and Tom Paris take a shuttlecraft to the planet's surface in environmental suits. Soon they are found on the planet without suits, and the ship's atmosphere becomes poisonous to them.

Stardate: 51978.2 - An alien translator named Arturis can finally decode the Starfleet message received by Voyager five months ago. It directs them to a nearby sector where an unmanned Federation starship waits for them. It's equipped with a propulsion system faster than warp drive, which can bring them home within three months. While the crew members are elated, Seven requests permission to remain in the Delta quadrant. However, everything is not what it seems when alien technology is found aboard the new ship.