Homestead ( episode ) Neelix is reunited with his people as he tries to save an imperiled Talaxian settlement . Summary . Teaser . is holding a party to celebrate the 315th anniversary of " First Contact Day " , including an ancient jukebox playing the favorite music of Zefram Cochrane and food , about which The Doctor complains to Neelix that it lacks any nutritional value . The party is greatly enjoyed by everyone , with Captain Janeway complimenting Neelix and Naomi telling them that when she was a child all First Contact Day meant was getting to miss school . Tuvok then makes a presentation where he recites the first words that the Vulcan s said to the Human s that day , " Live long and prosper . " , though Neelix must prod him into it . When Neelix then tries to get Tuvok to dance , and the stoic Vulcan refuses , Neelix makes a pledge : before " Voyager " reaches Earth , Neelix will see Tuvok dance at least once . Commander Chakotay interrupts and says that they have found several hundred Talaxian life sign s 4 . 9 light year s away . Act One . When " Voyager " arrives to investigate , Neelix becomes quite anxious on the bridge . The Talaxians appear to be inside an asteroid , and do not respond to hail s . Tuvok , Neelix , and Tom Paris take the " Delta Flyer " into the belt , and are fired at with thermolytic charge s . The " Flyer " takes damage , and is forced to crash - land on the asteroid where the life signs were detected . Neelix and the others are knocked unconscious . Neelix wakes up having his wounds healed by a female Talaxian named Dexa . She asks him a lot of questions , things like what he was doing there , and why he and his alien friends were carrying weapons . He answers all her questions , and manages to ask a few of his own . He finds out they are ignoring hails because they want to avoid contact with outsiders , and the charges were just miners trying to break apart asteroids for their minerals . During their conversation , Dexa ' s son comes in to have a look , and Dexa shoos him away . When Neelix tries to leave , she seals him in with a force field . Act Two . Captain Janeway , having not heard from the away team , sends a shuttle after them . As it is about to be launched , an alien , Nocona , hails them and tells the captain he owns this asteroid field , and that he is performing mining operations . He doesn ' t want her sending a rescue team , since they cannot stop using the charges , but offers to search for them . The captain says she wants to get them . Nocona tells them to stay there , and he will find their people . When Neelix next awakens , he finds Brax by himself . When he sees that Brax has a model ship , Neelix correctly identifies its classification . Brax wants to see Neelix ' s ship , but Neelix says that would be hard to arrange . A loud clank tells Brax his mother is coming . Neelix tells him to hide , promising not to say anything . Dexa soon walks in with Council Regent Oxilon . He informs Neelix that he is free to go . His friends have also been released , and will be asked to leave as soon as their injuries have been mended . He asks if they would let he and his friends stay . Neelix may stay , Oxilon says , but they do not trust outsiders . Dexa takes Neelix on a short tour of the colony . Five hundred people live here , and the habitat is self - contained , built from the parts of ships on which they arrived . Dexa leads Neelix back to his ship , and Paris , Tuvok , and Neelix begin repairs . Neelix tells of his brief encounter , and Tuvok notes his regret that he didn ' t get as much from the experience as he hoped . Neelix doesn ' t consider the trip a waste , as he still got to see some of his people again noting he ' ll almost certainly never encounter another Talaxian after this . Once internal sensor s are working , they indicate there is an intruder . Tuvok and Neelix search the ship to find it is Brax . Neelix takes him back to his mother , again promising not to tell her he was here . On the way back to their home , Nocona is arguing with Oxilon . They are threatening to destroy this asteroid for minerals . Dexa argues strongly , and when Nocona shoves her aside , Brax throws a rock at him . Neelix then stands up for Brax , getting into a fight with Nocona , and pulling his weapon on him and his guard . He then sends them away . Act Three . Dexa and Oxilon are grateful , but think it is impossible to evacuate in time . Neelix suggests they have Captain Janeway negotiate with the miners , and Oxilon agrees to meet with her . Brax wants to go too , and Neelix persuades his mother to let him . As they explore the ship , Neelix takes Dexa and Brax to the bridge , and Brax asks which station Neelix serves at . To spare Neelix any embarrassment , Chakotay and Kim note that Neelix has so many functions on the ship ( Ambassador , chef , moral officer and trade negotiator ) that one station wouldn ' t be enough as he ' s the most versatile member of the crew . In Astrometrics , Seven of Nine shows them a picture of Talax from their database . Neelix and Dexa marvel at it together , and she has to explain to Brax why they couldn ' t just go back there to live . Naomi also says hello , and Brax ends up following her to the holodeck . Once they are alone , Dexa tells Neelix about her husband . He died trying to feed them when they were confined by the government to a small section of a planet they previously settled on . She is very comfortable around him , and says that Brax hasn ' t been so happy since her husband died . When it becomes clear to him how she feels about him ( and he about her ) , Neelix regretfully leaves and gets some sleep , saying he needs to be ready at the negotiating table . The next day , Neelix tries to negotiate with the miners , but fails to make any serious ground . He does get the deadline extended , long enough for them to move all their equipment , but can do no more . He did get Captain Janeway to ferry all of them and their supplies to the nearest M - Class planet . When Dexa and Brax leave , Neelix cannot help but feel that the aid was not enough . Act Four . Neelix asks Tuvok to devise defenses for the nearest planet , since there are several warp - capable species within 2 light - years . Tuvok cannot think of anything significant , but does suggest that if they were going to defend themselves , the best place for them to do it would be their present location . He suggests they could build a shield around the asteroid , however they would also need a leader to defend against a preemptive attack . Neelix asks Tuvok if he would be willing to lead them , however Tuvok refuses , citing the Prime Directive but also states that even if it wasn ' t an issue , he believes Neelix would be a better choice . Neelix tries to shrug off the suggestion , claiming that he ' s just a cook who dreams of being an Ambassador . Tuvok corrects him , telling Neelix he is much more than that , as he considers him the most resourceful person he has ever met . Neelix can ' t believe he ' s hearing such words of praise from Tuvok , who assures him that although he has some annoying habits and qualities he has also developed skills on " Voyager " that would serve him well if he chose to be a leader . Tuvok then makes it clear that although he is only speaking " hypothetically " , and isn ' t telling Neelix what to do , if he ( Neelix ) did decide to defend the asteroid , he would be equal to the task . Neelix decides not to involve the " Voyager " crew in the endeavor , knowing they may have issues with his plan due to the Prime Directive , and prepares to leave in his own ship . He tells Captain Janeway that since he isn ' t part of the crew officially , he isn ' t held to the same constraint . Janeway assures him that she considers him as much a part of the crew as anyone else , but decides to let him leave knowing its something the Talaxian has to do . Arriving at the asteroid , Neelix creates a plan which would have him and Oxilon flying their ships around the asteroid and launching shield emitter s to the surface . Once the emitters are in place , they could be tied into the power core and would never need recharging , however the miners would attack once they realize what the Talaxians are doing . Oxilon isn ' t initially willing to start a conflict , but Neelix points out they could still be terrorized if relocated , and since Oxilon worked so hard to build the colony surely its worth defending . Oxilon finally agrees . Act Five . However , when all but the last two emitters have been laid , the miners attack . When the miners begin dropping charges , Neelix starts shooting them down . When Neelix ' s weapons are disabled , he prepares to fly his ship into the next charge , but the " Delta Flyer " appears and destroys it first . Oxilon manages to get the last emitter in position , and when the next charge is dropped , the shields deflect the explosion . When Neelix leaves the colony , Brax asks him to stay . His mother says he cannot as Neelix walks out the door . When he returns to " Voyager " , he talks to Naomi . He wants to know if there is anything he can do for her , but Naomi has outgrown such things as bedtime stories and Neelix leaves for the Mess Hall , slowly realizing that his time on " Voyager " is coming to an end . It is late , and the captain is awake as well ; she has noticed that Neelix is conflicted between his duties on " Voyager " and those to the other Talaxians , so she puts forth a proposal : since " Voyager " can now communicate with Earth , Starfleet Command feels that there should be a permanent Ambassador to the Delta Quadrant , though the assignment is strictly voluntary . Neelix brightens a bit as he realizes that such a position would allow him the best of both situations : he would be able to remain with his own people in the asteroid colony , but he would also be required to stay in constant contact with " Voyager " and her crew as they travel . On his way to the " Baxial " in the shuttle bay , he is astounded to see many of " Voyager " s crew ( along with Naomi ) standing at attention along the hallway between the turbolift and the shuttle bay . No words are spoken , because there are no words to truly express how much the crew will miss him . As Neelix is about to step through the door , Tuvok very slightly wiggles one foot , with the understanding that he has thus danced and fulfilled Neelix ' s pledge . Tuvok then wishes Neelix goodbye with the old Vulcan adage ; " " Live Long and Prosper " . " Neelix tries to respond , but is unable to bring himself to say anything and instead gives the crew a last smile , then leaves " Voyager " for the final time . When he arrives on the asteroid , his first stop is the home of Brax and Dexa who emotionally embrace him in a hug ; while " Voyager " will always remain dear to him , he knows that he is , at long last , home . Memorable quotes . " " This is an official ship function , Commander . Don ' t make me order you to dance . " " " " Hey , save some for the rest of us . " " " " Mr . Tuvok has agreed to recite the first words spoken by a Vulcan to Humans . Commander ? " " " " Is this strictly necessary ? " " " " You promised ! " " " " Very well , " live long and prosper . " " " " " I ' m not a little girl anymore . " " " " Mr . Neelix . ( Wiggles one foot ) Live long and prosper . " " " " I ' m not a fighter , I ' m just a cook . " " " " Goodbye . . . and good luck , Ambassador . " " Links and references . References . ambassador ; asteroid ; asteroid field ; Axiana Lakes ; " Baxial " ; Brax ' father ; Cheese pierogi ; ; Council Regent ; dancing ; " Delta Flyer II " ; Delta Quadrant ; Earth ; evasive maneuvers ; Federation ; First Contact Day ; force field emitter ; " ' " ; geothermal energy ; goddaughter ; Godo Mountain Range ; Haakonian ; intruder alert ; " Invaders from the Ninth Dimension " ; jukebox ; kadis - kot ; kilometer ; M class ; mining ; Mister Vulcan ; ; Nocona ' s species ; paleontology ; Phanos ; plasma manifold ; proto - humanoid ; refugee ; regent ; school ; shield ; " taga " cake ; Talax ; Talaxian ; Talaxian asteroid colony ; ; Talaxian fur fly ; thermolyte explosive ; torpedo launcher ; Tuvix ; " ' " ; vitamin ; Vulcan s