Stardate N.G.   The U.S.S. Voyager finds another Federation starship lost in the Delta Quadrant, the science vessel U.S.S. Equinox, and helps it stave off an attack by creatures from another spatial realm. Captain Janeway now has a kindred spirit in its commander, Captain John Ransom, and helps him salvage his war-torn vessel so they can journey home together. But when The Doctor retrieves data from the U.S.S. Equinox research lab, Janeway learns the hard truth that Captain Ransom has seriously violated the Starfleet oath by commiting mass murder in the Delta Quadrant. When she strips him of his command and confines him to quarters, he and his crew manage to escape with the U.S.S. Voyager's advanced technology - and The Doctor and Seven of Nine as hostages aboard their ship.