Night ( episode ) " Voyager " enters a vast region of space with no stars or systems . As the crew tries to find a way to pass time in this desolate part of space , Janeway bitterly reflects on her decision that stranded them in the Delta Quadrant . ( " Season premiere " ) Summary . Teaser . Lieutenant Paris is running his " Captain Proton " holodeck simulation with Ensign Kim . The Doctor interrupts – annoyed , as they have gone into his allotted holodeck time . He tries to end the simulation at the control panel , while Paris tries to stop him . This overloads the hologrid , sending an alarm to the command console on the bridge . Commander Chakotay is in his seat , but , very strangely , the bridge is nearly empty ; no one is there except him and an officer at the conn station . He calls down to Paris and Kim about the alarm , and they assure him they are fixing the problem . Seven of Nine enters from the turbolift . She reports the results of her astrometric scan of the region they are in : no star system s for 2 , 500 light year s . Theta radiation is blocking their sensor s , so they cannot see anything beyond the region . There are no other ships ; " Voyager " is quite alone . Chakotay looks concernedly at the viewscreen . It is as blank as a washed blackboard . He wonders aloud how they will make it for two years in this place . Seven asks him if she should inform Captain Janeway of the results . He decides to do it himself . Act One . In the briefing room , Chakotay conducts a meeting with senior staff . The room ' s windows are as blank as the bridge ' s viewscreen . The captain is absent . The meeting seems pointless , as according to Chief Engineer Torres , there is nothing new to report . The warp core is at peak efficiency , as it has been for weeks and Torres ' staff is going stir crazy . Ensign Kim reports all systems are operating normally . Lt . Commander Tuvok reports an increase in theta radiation in the area . Chakotay considers it may be worth looking into , just to have something to do . The attention then turns to crew morale ; it is suffering , due to the monotony and the oppressive pitch - black nothingness outside every window . Neelix , the jovial Talaxian chef and morale officer , makes some suggestions for a temporary holodeck in Cargo Bay 2 , as well as rotating crew assignments , allowing crew members to work outside of their fields ; learning something new could break the monotony . Chakotay agrees , but becomes irritated when Neelix asks him about the conspicuous absence of Captain Janeway . No one has seen her . Lt . Paris chimes in , saying that , according to rumor , she never leaves her quarters . Chakotay harshly rebuffs them , but then relents , excusing himself due to the strain of the situation . He ends the meeting . In the middle of the night , Neelix wakes up in a panic . Fearful of the utter blackness outside his window , he goes to the mess hall , where Paris and Torres are playing durotta . Torres takes offense at a joke Paris makes and the game ends in an argument . Neelix tries to mediate , but fails . He angrily begins to rebuke them but then begins to hyperventilate . Paris calls sickbay . Neelix is taken to sickbay and is treated by The Doctor . He is diagnosed with nihiliphobia : the fear of nothingness . The Doctor assures him he will get used to it and discharges him . Tuvok seems to be looking out a window at stars , but he is revealed to be in the astrometrics lab , looking at a recorded star field on the lab ' s huge viewscreen . Seven of Nine enters and asks him if the lab has been designated for recreational use . He explains that he is using it to meditate , as he normally does in his own quarters , looking out his windows at the stars . Just then an alarm sounds on the main astrometrics console ; massive amounts of theta radiation have been detected on long - range sensors , source unknown . Meanwhile , Chakotay briefs Captain Janeway on the theta radiation discovery in her quarters . The lights are low . Janeway stands at the far end in silhouette , looking out a window at the nothingness . Sensing she needs cheering up , he tries to interest her in a game of Velocity . She refuses . He then plainly tells her that she should not be isolating herself ; the crew needs her . She comes out of the shadows and wishes aloud for the times before when they were frequently attacked ; it helped her avoid thinking about how they got to be there , stranded in the Delta Quadrant . She orders him to tell her how that happened . He responds that they made a decision to stay to prevent innocent lives from being put at risk . She corrects him , saying that the decision was " hers " alone . The depressing emptiness of the void has made her dwell on that decision , and she has become filled with guilt over it . She bitterly blames herself for making a short - sighted , selfish error in judgment , for which all of them are now paying . Chakotay tries to say otherwise , but she has none of it . The reason for her self - imposed isolation is now clear ; she cannot lift the crew ' s morale ; hers is the lowest of all . She retreats back into silhouette at the far end of the room , telling Chakotay to give the crew her regards if they ask for her . Chakotay leaves silently . The bridge is empty except for Ensign Kim . With absolutely nothing to do , Kim lounges in the captain ' s seat , his feet up on the closed command console , playing a melancholy tune on his clarinet . Tuvok enters . Kim quickly sits up and acknowledges him . Tuvok tells him to relax , and Kim offers to play the tune , a concerto he has written , for him . He calls it " Echoes of the Void " . With nothing else to do , Tuvok listens appreciatively . On the holodeck , Lt . Paris has inveigled Seven of Nine to join him in his " Captain Proton " adventures , playing the role of Constance Goodheart , his " secretary " . Uninterested , Seven plays her part without any enthusiasm . Paris exhorts her to get into it ; she responds with a sardonic gaze . On the bridge , Kim is still playing his concerto for Tuvok . But then the ship is suddenly shaken . Lights and control panels flicker . An alarm beeps as the two officers dash to their stations . Kim reports that they have fallen out of warp and are losing power . A switch to auxiliary has no effect . Lights and systems begin shutting down all over the ship ; even the warp core suddenly goes dark and dead . In her quarters , Captain Janeway , sitting depressed in a chair , looks around startled as the already dim lights go out completely . Every single light outside the now - stationary ship , from the blue glow of the warp nacelles ' warp field grilles and navigational deflector , to the light illuminating the ship ' s registry , goes out , leaving the ship in total darkness , invisible in the blackness of the void . Act Two . Officers and crew scramble to get a handle on the situation . Wrist - borne lights come out . In the holodeck , Lt . Paris , amusingly , has difficulty figuring out how to switch on a simulated 20th century flashlight . He gets it working , and he and Seven make their way to the control panel . They find that power is off all over the ship ; main and auxiliary . Independent subsystems controlling environment , life support and holodecks , however , are still working . This explains why they are still in the " Captain Proton " simulation , though now in the dark . Paris , on Seven ' s suggestion , reroutes power from the holodeck to the emergency relays ; no effect ; the hologrid remains frozen . Chakotay , walking carefully with a wrist - borne light through a corridor , hears panicked breathing . He follows the sound to find Neelix cowering in a corner , incapacitated , given the current conditions . Chakotay gently lifts him to his feet , assuring him it is only a power loss , nothing to worry about , and they go off together . On the bridge , Kim manages to get partial sensors back from a bit of fiddling with a circuit panel . This allows him to find the cause of the power drain ; a dampening field , whose origin is outside the ship , off the port bow . Tuvok orders him to display it on the viewscreen . He does , but all they can see is the void ' s nothingness . Tuvok gets the idea to use a photon torpedo as a flare , to illuminate the source . Lt . Paris and Seven , still trapped in the dark , frozen " Captain Proton " simulation , seek an alternative means of exit . Paris looks around for something to open a hatch with . Then , suddenly , his flashlight beam falls on a creature that was there with them , in the dark , not part of the simulation . It shrinks back , as if hurt by the light . Then it growls , charges and swats him with a glowing hand . He goes down , screaming with pain . Seven grabs his simulated " ray gun " , orders the still - powered holodeck computer to disengage the safety protocols , making a blast from the gun as damaging as if it were real , and shoots the creature , stunning it . In the corridors , Chakotay and Neelix move carefully along . Suddenly Neelix sees something . Chakotay thinks he is imagining things , but Neelix insists . As they move forward he hears breathing . Chakotay points his light in that direction and it falls in a creature like the one that attacked Lt . Paris . It shrinks from the light and then charges them . But its charge is broken off by phaser fire from off in the darkness . Light shone in that direction shows who is responsible ; Captain Janeway , animated by the danger facing her ship , has emerged from her quarters , putting her depression aside . Carrying a phaser rifle , she fires at the creature as it scurries away down the corridor . She orders the two men to follow her . On the bridge , Tuvok fires the " warp flare " he created . It illuminates three ships off the bow . In engineering , Janeway orders a power cell be used to get emergency power back on - line . The engineering staff hooks the cell up to the EPS manifold . On the bridge , Tuvok and Kim watch the ships on the viewscreen , illuminated by the lingering light of the photon torpedo flare . The hook - up is completed in engineering and emergency power comes on . Tuvok immediately raises the deflector shields . In engineering , the warp core starts to hum and glow with matter / antimatter reaction as it begins to function again . Janeway and Chakotay set up a temporary command console . Janeway hails the bridge and Tuvok fills her in : three ships surround them , seventeen aliens are on board . Janeway tries to hail the ships but gets no answer . Weapons come back on - line . She orders Tuvok to fire a few warning shots at the ships . He does . They return fire . Seven arrives in sickbay with a badly burned Lt . Paris . She and The Doctor help him to a bed , as she informs The Doctor of the attack by the intruder . He sends her to bring the incapacitated creature back to sickbay . The alien ships continue to hammer " Voyager " until the shields fail . They restart their dampening field and , once again , the ship begins losing power . But then the field abruptly disappears and full power returns . In engineering , Chakotay reads on the temporary command console that the aliens on board are beaming off . On the bridge , Ensign Kim detects another vessel approaching . It closes in , firing a large volley of spatial charge s , which send the three attacking ships fleeing . The new arrival hails them . Tuvok orders Kim to put it on screen . The image of the new ship is replaced by that of a pasty - looking , balding , humanoid , alien man in a dark , smoky room , presumably the ship ' s bridge . He is clad in a bulky protective suit . Tuvok tries to introduce himself , but the alien interrupts , expecting compensation for the spatial charges he used to drive off the attackers . Tuvok , bemused , agrees . Satisfied , the alien amicably asks them why they are there , in the middle of nowhere . Tuvok and Kim regard him , silently . Act Three . Janeway and Chakotay are in one of the ship ' s transporter rooms . Tuvok is also present , behind the controls . The form of the alien he spoke to materializes on the platform . But , before he becomes solid , the pattern buffer holds him as bio - filters warn that he is emitting large amounts of theta radiation . Janeway orders a force field erected around the platform to contain the radiation . Once solid , the alien cordially introduces himself as Controller Emck , Malon export vessel , eleventh gradient . Janeway warmly thanks him for his help . He replies that they should turn around and go back ; there are thousands more of the ships that attacked them , further in . Janeway responds that going back is out of the question ; they need to cross the region in order to get home . Emck then invites her to follow him to a spatial vortex that he uses for quick entry and exit to and from the void ; it leads directly to the void ' s other end . Janeway again thanks him . But when she expresses curiosity as to why Emck is there , he begins to get hostile . He vaguely responds that he is on a " transport mission " , and demands the alien they have in sickbay as the price for leading them to the vortex . Janeway becomes suspicious at this and asks him more probing questions , pertaining to what it is he is transporting and why he wants the alien . He tersely tells her to cooperate or stay behind . Janeway has Tuvok beam him back to his ship . Suspicious , she and Chakotay go to sickbay to find out the story with these aliens . Sickbay is dark . The Doctor explains to the two officers that the alien is very photosensitive . Its species seems to be indigenous to the void , adapted to total darkness . It is suffering from acute theta radiation poisoning , however ; it is close to death . Janeway goes to the bed and gently speaks to it . It accuses them of being in collusion with the Malon , which she denies . She asks if they are at war with the Malon . It responds that the Malon are poisoning them . The Malon do not take anything from them ; they simply poison their space ; why , the aliens do not know . His condition worsens , and The Doctor suggests they return him to his people ; there is nothing more he can do for him . The alien provides them with coordinates where more of his people ' s ships are gathered . Janeway sends Chakotay to the bridge while she remains there to talk further with the alien . The bridge has returned to normal ; all stations are manned . A worried Chakotay calls Tuvok into the briefing room . He is very concerned about the captain ' s self - imposed isolation ; they face a possible crisis , but instead of coming to her place on the bridge , she sent " him " , continuing her isolation . He asks Tuvok for insight as to any previous instances of this behavior on any previous ship she served on before taking command of " Voyager " . Tuvok tells him about the . In her first year on that vessel , as a commander , she sent an away team to survey a volcanic moon . Their shuttle was damaged by a magma eruption and three of the team were severely injured . The next day she took a shuttle and returned to the moon alone to complete the survey , though she could have been killed . She was consumed with guilt over the injuries suffered by members of the away team she sent , and wanted to show that their sacrifice had not been for nothing . Chakotay becomes afraid that she will take a similar risk to get them out of the void , consumed with guilt over making the decision which stranded them in the Delta Quadrant . He asks Tuvok ' s support in preventing her from taking any such action , which Tuvok pledges . " Voyager " arrives at the alien ' s coordinates . A bio - scan confirms that every one of them has terminal theta radiation sickness . Before the alien beams to one of the ships , he begs Captain Janeway for help in stopping the Malon . His species has , he tells her , lived in the void for eons . Then Emck ' s ship came and began poisoning them . They tried to talk to him , but were ignored . They tried to stop him by force , but his ship is too powerful . They would close the vortex if they could , to prevent him from returning once he left , but they do not know how to do so . The alien transporter takes him before he can hear Janeway ' s answer to his pleas . Act Four . The Malon ship and " Voyager " sit in proximity . A noxious - looking , green substance pours out from vents in the Malon ship ' s side . In astrometrics , Captain Janeway stands , arm folded , thunderclouds on her brow as she stares at the large viewscreen , watching this . Seven of Nine and Chakotay are at the consoles . Seven reports that the ship is releasing massive amounts of contaminated antimatter . Chakotay adds that its holds are full of it . Angrily , Janeway orders a hail to the ship . Emck responds . He assumes she has agreed to his conditions and begins telling her where to send the alien on his ship , but Janeway cuts him off and demands to know why he is dumping his poisonous antimatter waste in the aliens ' space . He responds that his people produce huge amounts of these industrial wastes every day ; the void is a perfect disposal site . Chakotay accusingly tells him that a species lives there . Emck sees that as unimportant . Janeway sharply disagrees . She proposes a solution . Humans have long ago learned how to purify antimatter waste so that it poses no threat . She will allow him to see the technology they use to do this , so that he and his people can duplicate it . She tells him to prepare for transport to " Voyager " s engine room and ends the communication . She orders Chakotay to go to engineering and show Emck the technology with Lt . Torres . Chakotay leaves and she remains with Seven , analyzing the vortex with the astrometric sensors , in case destroying it becomes their only option to protect the aliens . In engineering , Chakotay and Torres show Emck the relevant technology . They offer to help him and the Malon government to start building and using it . At first he seems interested , but then it becomes clear that he is only stringing them along . " Voyager " s technology , he responds , would destroy the waste export business that he works in . The void provides a perfect opportunity for him to dump the waste he transports at only half the expense that other waste exporters must contend with , increasing his profits , native aliens be damned . Torres is furious . Chakotay tries to reason with him , but he will not listen . Chakotay warns him that they will not allow him to continue . He sternly responds that " Voyager " would never have a chance against his ship , and storms off back to the transporter room , accompanied by security . Chakotay and Captain Janeway discuss their next move in her quarters . Chakotay wants to fight past Emck , go through the vortex , then contact the Malon homeworld , report Emck ' s activities and give them " clean antimatter " technology . But Janeway is not sure if the Malon government will do the right thing , if Emck is any indication . She is determined to shut the vortex to protect the native aliens . But it can only be closed at its weakest point , inside the void . . . and Janeway has no intention of asking the crew to again sacrifice their own way out to protect strangers . She has him assemble senior staff on the bridge . For the first time in two months , Captain Janeway steps off the turbolift onto the bridge . All her senior staff is present . She outlines her plan : they will go to the vortex , and , once there , she will stay behind in a shuttle and destroy the vortex from inside the void , after " Voyager " enters . They will continue on without her . But Chakotay , after his talk with Tuvok , is expecting something like this . He informed Tuvok and the other senior staff , and they all know what their response will be . One by one , they all refuse to let her sacrifice herself . She is outwardly angry at this rank insubordination , but it is evident that she is actually touched by their action . Thus she abandons her plan and asks for suggestions . They quickly come up with another idea : enter the vortex and then collapse the vortex with delayed - detonation photon torpedoes from aft . The ship will go into high warp once the collapse begins . Reinforced shielding should protect them from the shock wave . As for Emck , antimatter waste radiation has weakened his cargo hold ' s bulkheads ; a direct shot on them should disable him . Janeway happily accepts the plan and takes her position in the Captain ' s seat once again , with Chakotay in the First Officer ' s seat next to hers . On his order the ship goes to red alert , and Paris takes the ship toward the vortex . Act Five . They arrive and , as is expected , the Malon ship is waiting for them . Emck fires a barrage of spatial charges at them , but they avoid the explosions . Janeway orders a return of fire . Phasers and photon torpedoes strike the Malon ship ' s shields . The explosion from a charge ruptures a nacelle , but they keep going , with only 47 seconds until they reach the vortex . But as they get closer to the vortex , Emck scores a direct hit on their remaining nacelle , robbing them of their ability to go to warp speed once they pass into the vortex . Thus they will be unable to outrun the shock wave from their planned destruction of the vortex with torpedoes . Janeway decides that they will instead ride the shock wave itself out to the other side . But then , on the viewscreen , they see Emck ' s ship moving to block their way , directly in front of the vortex ' s entrance . Chakotay orders Tuvok to prepare to fire , at which point the battle is joined . The native aliens arrive and begin firing on Emck ' s ship . He moves away from the vortex to combat them , but their combined firepower weakens his shields . With a satisfied sneer , Janeway orders Tuvok to target his cargo hold , pointing out mockingly , " " It ' s time to take out the garbage . " " Tuvok does this and opens fire on Emck . A volley of photon torpedoes ruptures his bulkheads , destroying him as " Voyager " flies past , into the vortex . They enter and release delayed - charge torpedoes , which explode , beginning the collapse of the vortex as " Voyager " goes deeper into it . The shock wave hits and , according to plan , pushes them through the vortex and out the other side . But they are still some distance away from the edge of the void itself . Janeway orders a forward view on - screen . Only a black canvas shows up . As they progress in their journey , all eyes watch the viewscreen expectantly . Suddenly , Paris says he thinks he sees a star . They continue watching . Then navigational sensors , which had all the time been silent as they had nothing to detect , begin beeping . On the viewscreen , stars slowly become visible . " Voyager " passes beyond the nothingness of the void into regular space , awash with stars and nebula e . The crew watches with joy and relief . Janeway asks Kim what he sees . He replies with a smile that he sees a densely - packed region with thousands of star systems . Swallowing back emotion , Janeway orders full speed ahead . " Voyager " continues on , once again in a cosmos filled with light and life . Memorable quotes . ( To Captain Proton ) " " There is one force in this universe that even " you " cannot defeat . " " ( To Goodheart ) " " The same to you . " " " " Take a look around you . This is how the twentieth century saw the future . We are studying sociology . " " ( Sarcastically ) " " Perhaps you can teach a course at Starfleet Academy : " Satan ' s Robot : An Historical Overview . " " " " " First thing in the morning , I replicate some curtains . " " " " Oh why sleep when we ' re having so much fun ? " " " " He ' s joking Neelix , we ' re all supposed to laugh . . . " " " " Why don ' t we make a schedule – a fight rotation ? We can optimize our resources : I can start one , then you can start one . . . " " " " I am really tired of these games . " " " " Well , then , don ' t play them . " " " " Needless to say , the view from my quarters has been less than stellar lately . " " " " Citizen of Earth , surrender ! Do not resist ! " " " " I am Borg . " " " " Surenderrr . . . " " " " The robot has been neutralized . May I leave now ? " " " " I ' m telling you , I " saw " something ! I may be nihiliphobic but my eyes work just " fine " ! " " " " I suggest you try Borg regeneration . It ' s much more efficient . A simple cortical implant would be required . " " " " Another time , perhaps . " " " " Chance is irrelevant . We " will " succeed . " " " " A vote of Borg confidence . Who can argue with that ? " " " " Target their cargo hold . Time to take out the garbage . " " " " I ' ve been saving up my holodeck rations and I ' ve got three full hours coming . Any chance I might persuade you to join me for a few rounds of Velocity ? It ' ll help clear your mind . " " " " My mind is perfectly clear . " " " " What if I told you I ' m not leaving until you join me ? " " " " I ' d say , have a seat ; it ' ll be a while . " " " " I made an error in judgment , Chakotay . It was " short - sighted " and it was " selfish " . And now " all " of us are paying for my mistake . " " " " Look , I realize we ' re not exactly best friends . From day one , we ' ve kept each other at arm ' s length . But I ' ve always respected your judgment and right now , I could use a little Vulcan clarity . " " " " It ' s the captain . As you may have noticed , she ' s isolated herself from the crew . . . " " " " She believes that she made an error in judgment four years ago . That she ' s responsible for stranding " Voyager " in the Delta Quadrant . " " " " She told you ? " " " " No . I ' ve been observing her behavior for the past four years . Guilt has been her constant companion . " " " " Anxiety ? Anxiety is what I feel when I burn a pot roast . This . . . this is more like . . . " " " " Dizziness , nausea , unspeakable dread ? " " " " Yes . " " " " Nihiliphobia . The fear of nothingness , or in layman ' s terms , the fear of . . . nothingness . " " Links and references . References . 20th century ; " " ; AM ; antimatter ; astrometrics ; auxiliary power ; bergamot tea ; ; bingo ; bio - filter ; bioscan ; Borg cube ; candle ; Caretaker ' s array ; Chaotica ; clarinet ; Class 2 shuttlecraft ; concerto ; controller ; cortical implant ; country ; curtain s ; Delta Quadrant ; dimensional radius ; dizziness ; Don Carlo ; duet ; Durotta ; Earth ; " Echoes of the Void " ; electron ; emergency power ; EPS manifold ; eye sight ; Federation ; hanging ; holodeck ; hyperventilation ; injector port s ; isolation suit ; isoton ; kilometer ; Klingon ; lava ; layman ; lock plate ; magma ; Malon ; Malon export vessel , eleventh gradient ; meditation ; meter ; Milky Way Galaxy ; mutiny ; nacelle ; Night Alien s ; Night Alien ship ; nihiliphobia ; Novakovich gambit ; Ocampa ; painstick ; photon torpedo ; photosensitivity ; plasma manifold ; poetic justice ; polyluminous burst ; pot roast ; power cell ; Captain Proton ; radiation poisoning ; radio relay ; radiometric converter ; reclamation technology ; red alert ; retrofit ; sailor ; " " ; short - sightedness ; SIMs beacon ; spatial charge ; spatial vortex ; spectral frequency ; star ; star system ; Starfleet Academy ; stir crazy ; theta radiation ; transkinetic chamber ; velocity ; ; Vulcan ; warp flare ; wormhole