The Void (Star Trek: Voyager)

"The Void" is the 14th episode of the seventh season of Star Trek: Voyager, the 161st episode overall.

Plot

While on course for the Alpha Quadrant, Voyager is suddenly pulled into an area of space absence of any matter, and which a number of other starships have been trapped. In the chaos of their arrival in this area, Voyager is set on by another ship that disables its shields and transports away its deuterium stock and other supplies before moving away. Captain Janeway orders a counter-attack, but the ship has moved off to warp.

They are approached by another ship which hails them. Its captain, General Valen, explains they are in "The Void", and while impressed with Voyager's response to the attack, believes they can help if they were given some of the ship's photon torpedoes. Janeway refuses, unsure of Valen's purpose. Valen departs with his ship.

Later, Seven offers a potential way out of the Void by recreating one of the funnels to normal space that brought them there via shield modulation. However, though they nearly escape, they are drawn back in forcefully at the last moment, damaging many of the ships systems. Janeway asserts they must find the ship that stole their supplies to sustain themselves. Tracking the ship, they find it has been attacked with complete loss of life, and all of its supplies, including those belonging to Voyager are gone. However, among the ship's casing they find a wounded humanoid creature that they bring back to Voyager for treatment.

The crew recognize damage to the ship belonging to Valen's species, and track his ship down. They disable his shields and demand he return their supplies, but Valen refuses. Janeway orders them to recover their supplies and considers taking more, but decides against it. They find they have recovered less than half that was stolen, and First Officer Chakotay suggests they may have to resort to stealing from other ships to survive, an action Janeway refuses to take. Instead, she offers the idea of creating an alliance with the other ships to pool their resources so they may all escape the Void. Voyager begins contacting the other ships, many who agree to the alliance, and the various crews start sharing their resources and technologies, with Voyager itself gaining several useful upgrades for their journey home should they escape. When Voyager and another alliance ship stop Valen from attacking a recently arrived Hierarchy vessel, Valen reluctantly decides to join this alliance.

Meanwhile, the injured humanoid, called Fantome by the crew, has recovered. The being is mute and does not appear to understand their language but picks up on sound and music, and Seven works to create a device to allow primitive communication. The Doctor suspects Fantome and others its species are native to the Void. When Bosaal, another alliance captain, sees Fantome, he calls the species "vermin", noting that they will somehow occupy ships in the Void. Additional beings like Fantome are found in Voyager and though harmless, Janeway offers to keep them under security to calm Bosaal. However, when Janeway finds that a functioning polaron modulator, needed to escape the Void, installed on Voyager was obtained by an act of piracy by Bosaal, she orders the device removed and forces Bosaal off the ship. Lieutenant Tuvok witnesses Bosaal and Valen discussing creating their own alliance to attack Janeway's alliance. Janeway pushes on B'elanna Torres and Seven to fashion a new polaron modulator before they can launch this attack.

Soon, the alliance's combined technology has completed the necessary modifications to attempt escape. Janeway approaches Fantome to explain they are about to leave. Through the Doctor, Fantome thanks Janeway for their help and offers their help in return. Soon, the alliance fleet is set by Valen, Bosaal, and other vessels that aligned with them. Voyager and their alliance are able to disable their shields, and Fantome's people beam aboard these ships, disabling their engines so that they will not trouble the alliance during their escape. The combined shield modulation is successful and all the ships of the alliance escape the Void. After saying their goodbyes, Voyager returns course to home, with Janeway considering their brief time with the alliance like being part of the Federation again.

See also

• The Time Trap - an episode of the animated series Star Trek where the heroes' ship is caught in an assumed-inescapable region where resources are drained but escape is possible with cooperation from others.

References

External links

• The Void at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Void" at TV.com

• The Void at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

• The Void at StarTrek.com