Voyager finds another Starfleet ship willing to do terrible things to survive.
Voyager answers a Starfleet distress call and finds the USS Equinox, a small science ship also flung into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, under attack by nucleogenic lifeforms. Voyager extends its shields to protect both ships, and Captain Rudy Ransom and the few survivors of his crew are welcomed aboard. Ransom explains that they have covered huge distances with enhanced warp engines.
The Doctor and Seven of Nine discover a sealed lab on the Equinox and the truth behind its speed. Ransom's crew have been capturing and killing the aliens to turn their bodies into fuel. Exposed, the Equinox crew steal Voyager's shield generator, abduct Seven and flee, leaving Voyager defenceless against the furious creatures. The fifth-season finale sets Janeway against a Starfleet captain who has given up the principles she has fought to keep, and asks what a crew might become after years alone so far from home.