The Voyager Conspiracy ( episode ) Seven investigates a massive " conspiracy " involving the Federation , the Cardassians , the Caretaker , and numerous other alien races , which indicates that " Voyager " was deliberately stranded in the Delta Quadrant . Summary . Teaser . Naomi Wildman waits for Seven of Nine in Cargo Bay Two . When Seven arrives , she questions Naomi ' s presence . Naomi reminds her that it is time for their weekly game of " kadis - kot " . Seven tells her it is rescheduled for the next day and begins to work . When Naomi asks what she is doing , Seven tells her she is modifying her regeneration alcove to serve as a cortical processing subunit . Naomi is disappointed that she cannot watch , but complies when Seven asks her to leave . Act One . Chakotay and Janeway are dining together in the captain ' s quarters , when Chakotay asks if " Voyager " can detour to an interesting class K nebula twenty - five light year s off starboard . Janeway remarks that the decision would be a major course change for a minor nebula , but Chakotay reminds her that they are explorers . Janeway grants the request , then asks Chakotay if he is ready for her home cooking . She remarks that it is a recipe she has never tried , and quips " " We are explorers , remember ? " " Seven of Nine completes her regeneration cycle at 0200 and hail s Lieutenant Torres , who informs Seven of the time and says that it had better be important . On the bridge , a disgruntled Torres asks Janeway for permission to take the sensor network off - line . When Janeway inquires as to the reason , Seven of Nine informs her that she believes a pair of photonic flea s and possibly their offspring have made their home in it . Using her new cortical processing subunit , Seven has assimilated several teraquad s of " Voyager " s database while in her alcove , and has constructed a plausible chain of events . An away team from " Voyager " encountered a Kartelan freighter carrying supplies from a former Talaxian colony . There , Neelix picked up a bucket of amber spice , which contained the larva e of the fleas , and he brought it to the kitchen . At the same time , Ensign Kim was repairing a faulty relay in the mess hall replicator . The newly - hatched fleas left the amber spice and went in search of nutrition , namely plasma particles . The open replicator circuits were a perfect target . Now the photonic fleas have mated and every so often tap into the sensor relay s for nourishment . When they do , the sensors momentarily lose their resolution . Tuvok admits that the theory is logic al , if speculative . Janeway is clearly intrigued – she authorizes the downtime , and accompanies Torres and Seven into a Jefferies tube , where they access a sensor node to examine the relays for themselves . Amazingly , several photonic fleas are indeed living in the network . Astonished , Janeway tells Torres to find a new home for them . " En route " to the nebula , Janeway detects graviton emissions about ten light years away and orders Lieutenant Paris to alter course . Paris reminds the captain that Chakotay had his heart set on the nebula , but Janeway says that he will have to wait . " Voyager " arrives at an unusual station that no one can readily identify . A power fluctuation causes Janeway to hail a vessel near the station and meets a man named Tash . He tells the crew that if he can ' t stabilize the power grid , " " they will be able to see the explosion back to . . . where did you say you were from ? " " Grinning , Janeway replies that she didn ' t , but that they are from a planet called Earth . Tash remarks that they will be able to see the explosion all the way back to Earth , and then proceeds to tell Janeway what the station really is . He explains that it is a " catapult , " a device that is capable of catapulting a vessel across space faster than you can say " catapult a vessel across space " . Intrigued , Janeway beams Tash aboard and meets with him in her ready room , where Tash tells the crew that he built the catapult to get himself home . He had been exploring an unstable wormhole near his homeworld when he was pulled in by accident , stranding him at least ten years from his home . Kim remarks that " Voyager " knows the feeling . Tash says that he is going to make his jump if he can fix his station , and then asks Janeway for her help and what she might want in return . The good captain tells him that she isn ' t asking for anything in return , but Tash catches on and tells her that " Voyager " could use the catapult after he left . It wouldn ' t take them to Earth , but it would cut off a few years . Janeway says that if she can determine that it would be safe for " Voyager " then she would do just that . Seven of Nine wakes up from her alcove and goes to Janeway ' s quarters late at night . Once there , she informs Janeway that Tash ' s catapult uses the same technology the used to trap " Voyager " in the Delta Quadrant five years earlier . Act Two . Shocked , Janeway asks Seven how she came to this conclusion , to which the ex - Borg replies that she scanned Tash ' s station and found an epsilon radiation surge emanating from it . Janeway says that it is not unheard of , but Seven retorts that the radiation is a by - product of a tetryon reactor , a device she believes is in the catapult and a device the Caretaker used to capture vessels , including " Voyager " . Janeway states that the first time she met a Caretaker , she was pulled half way across the galaxy , and the second time she was almost killed . She is not eager for a third round . In engineering , Janeway , Seven , and Torres question Tash about his tetryon reactor and why he hid it from them . Tash informs them that he hid it because there were many species who would try to steal such advanced technology . Janeway believes him and tells him that she sees no reason why their deal can ' t continue , but does tell him that she will be watching him closely . Pulling Seven away , she tells her that she doesn ' t truly know if he is telling the truth or not . Seven says that the reactor may be from the Caretaker ' s array itself , to which Janeway replies that it is a long shot that could be true . However , Seven continues to produce evidence that her statement was fact . She reviews the ship ' s logs of the array ' s destruction and , in the visual logs , sees a tractor beam on the very section the reactor was located , suggesting a ship protecting it during the destruction . However , the full logs were incomplete through damage received at the time , and the computer can ' t verify anything . Seeing that the torpedo used had a higher yield than expected , she goes to Tuvok briefly , since he designed it , however , he states a reasonable explanation that they wanted to be certain it was destroyed . Next , she sees Neelix , who offers to give her the sensor log s from his ship . Seven of Nine regenerates in her alcove with the new information , and wakes up a few hours later looking disturbed . She hails Chakotay and tells him to meet her in astrometrics . Once he arrives , Seven tells the computer to seal the door and turn off all sensors around the room . Amused , Chakotay asks her why she has done this , to which she turns to him and tells him that " Voyager " s presence in the Delta Quadrant was no accident , but that she was stranded here on purpose . When Chakotay asks her who stranded " Voyager " there , she replies that it was Captain Janeway . Act Three . A very surprised Chakotay listens to Seven ' s theory , noting the various leaps in her theory , but increasingly unable to ignore the circumstantial evidence . She begins by noting that there was a Cardassian ship detected by Neelix ' s ship " before " the " Voyager " arrived . She notes that , instead of being destroyed , the ship vanished , presumably sent back to deliver strategic information . She then states there are precedents in the Federation for unauthorized territorial advances , including those against the Maquis . Focusing on Tuvok and Janeway , she ( strongly ) suggests that Tuvok infiltrated Chakotay ' s ship , in part , to deliver final instructions to the Caretaker . Then , the " Voyager " was pulled in a matter of days . Seven then turns to Janeway , stating she destroyed the array in order to keep the ship in the Delta Quadrant to map it out and gain information . She shows him the picture of the tractor beam during the array ' s destruction , indicating another ship . Further , she notes that tricobalt device s are not standard on Starfleet ships , conveniently the only thing that would tear subspace and possibly protect the reactor if the cloaked ship pushed it in . She states Tuvok and Janeway knew where it was going , and that it would be delivered along their path to Earth independently to Tash . Seven now believes that Janeway intends to use the catapult to bring more Cardassian and Starfleet ships to the Quadrant for conquest . Chakotay dismisses this , and Seven proceeds to recite circumstantial evidence such as Janeway ' s send - off of Kes , someone who had further suspicions of the Caretaker and The Doctor possibly bearing a secret communication in his transmission to a Starfleet vessel . Further , Janeway ' s alliances with the Borg , Hirogen , and the Terkellian could be seen as developing a tactical infrastructure and , coupled with the multiple detours from their path to Earth in the name of exploration , all investments for a larger plan of future conquest . She urges Chakotay to delay the plan to use the catapult , and Chakotay agrees . Back on the bridge , they receive word that Tash succeeded , and Chakotay brings his modifications personally to Torres . There , he orders her to make a small disruptive change to delay the plan , saying he won ' t inform the Captain , yet . Act Four . Torres doesn ' t believe Seven , saying she ' s joking , but Chakotay doesn ' t think so . He won ' t go to the Captain , as it ' s a big accusation and he wants to review Seven ' s data . Torres agrees with delaying the modifications , and even insists to Kim as he comes by that she doesn ' t need help . Meanwhile , Seven of Nine regenerates again , and , this time , hails Janeway to meet her in astrometrics . Once she arrives , Seven tells the computer to seal the door and turn off all sensors around the room . The conversation between Seven and Janeway proceeds similarly to the one between Seven and Chakotay , except Seven now uses the same evidence to accuse Chakotay and the Maquis instead of Janeway and the Federation . Despite Chakotay seemingly giving up his allegiance long ago , she states that he is using the array ' s reactor to attack Starfleet . In support of this , she shows Janeway the Cardassian ship and sees that it was one of the same pursuing Chakotay into the Badlands , and pulled in by the Caretaker during the fight . Seeing as the ship vanished again , Seven suggests it was sent back to the Badlands and subsequently attacked by surprise by the Maquis . Then , Chakotay would have found out about the Caretaker through its logs , a perfect way to attack both Starfleet and Cardassian vessels . Furthermore , she says Tuvok was collaborating with him and , together , they tried to take control of the array but failed . With Janeway ' s order to destroy the array , Tuvok was the one to carry it out , using a yield which was more than enough and even enough to tear subspace . Showing Janeway the image of the tractor beam , Seven states it was a planned move to save the reactor and deliver it to Tash , who was waiting for it . Janeway starts to convince Seven she ' s building something out of nothing , but then Seven goes into several instances that put Chakotay into a bad light , such as his alleged involvement with Seska when she defected to the Kazon to try to capture " Voyager " , or making a " diplomatic " overture by suggesting trade with the Kolhari , who use tetryon power cells . Janeway increasingly gets suspicious . Act Five . Overwhelmed with information and suspicious , Seven walks down the corridor when Naomi finds her . Naomi asks where Seven is going , but Seven tells her it is not her concern . Naomi asks what is wrong , and Seven asks her about her father . She says that the Ktarian s were officially loyal to the Federation , but they sympathize with the Maquis . She asks who Naomi is working for , Chakotay or Janeway . Naomi is completely confused , and Seven says to tell them it is too late . Naomi runs , terrified . Janeway and Chakotay meet in the cargo bay and , now wary of each other following Seven ' s " evidence " , wonder what each is doing . The two end up comparing stories and they realize Seven is acting irrationally . The Doctor determines that Seven has downloaded far more information than even her enhanced systems can handle . Meanwhile , Seven starts suspecting a third conspiracy , that the aim of the last five years was actually to grab a Borg drone , and send it back to the Alpha Quadrant using the catapult . Furthermore , she believes she is the drone in question and that Starfleet will study and dissect her in order to retrieve tactical data to fight the Borg . Seven steals the " Delta Flyer " in order to escape from " Voyager " . Janeway manages to beam aboard . She tells Seven that there is indeed a conspiracy . Janeway explains to her that the crew " conspired " to help Seven learn how to be Human . She also tells Seven that she put too much information into her brain , which is making her ill and she should return back to the ship for treatment . Seven is eventually convinced to trust Captain Janeway again and agrees to return to " Voyager " for treatment . The crew of " Voyager " manages to use the catapult successfully and cut three years off their journey home . Naomi greets Seven , who is removing the modifications she made to the alcove in Cargo Bay 2 , telling her of the books and reports she has recently " assimilated " . Seven tells Naomi that it is important to learn slowly , so the information can be digested and appreciated properly . She then tells Naomi that she has done enough work for the day and asks her to go to the mess hall and set up the " kadis - kot " board . Janeway and Chakotay have dinner together , both feeling guilty for having genuinely suspected other of a conspiracy . They agree that after all they ' ve been through together , they should never stop trusting each other . Memorable quotes . " " Aesthetics are irrelevant . " " " " Speculation is not evidence . There was no tractor beam because there was no ship in the vicinity to generate one – unless you can prove otherwise . " " " " Can we ask you what it ' s supposed to do ? " " " " Catapult a vessel across space in the time it takes to say ' Catapult a vessel across space ' . " " " " Let ' s keep this one out of our logs , huh ? " " " " Are phaser s standard equipment on board now ? " " " " You didn ' t poison the coffee , did you ? " " " " Not any more than I usually do . " " " " A secret mission ? Starfleet in league with the Caretaker ? It ' s ridiculous ! " " " " Ridiculous ? Seven has some compelling evidence . " " " " Well then let ' s go to the captain , get a straight answer . " " " " Good morning Kathryn . All systems operational , the crew ' s in good health , and by the way , is it true you ' ve been lying to us for five years ? " " " " Warning . Plate is hot . " " " " Now you tell me . Go for authenticity and what do you get ? Second degree burns . " " Links and references . References . Alpha Quadrant ; amber spice ; argon ; assimilation ; away team report ; Badlands ; " Baxial " ; biosignature ; Borg alcove ; Borg cube ; Borg drone ; burn ; byproduct ; Cardassian ; ; Caretaker ' s array ; class K nebula ; cortical implant ; cortical processing subunit ; debris ; Delta Quadrant ; dissection ; Earth ; epsilon radiation ; Federation ; ; generational projection ; graviton ; Greskrendtregk ; ; ; headache ; helium ; Hirogen ; hive mind ; hydrogen ; internal sensor s ; insect ; Jankata Accord ; Jefferies tube ; " kadis - kot " ; Kartelan freighter ; Kazon ; Kes ; Kolhari ; Ktarian ; larva ; logic ; Maquis ; mate ; ; Milky Way Galaxy ; mutiny ; nonaggression pact ; null space ; nursery ; offspring ; photonic flea ; plasma ; poison ; power core ; practical joke ; pregnancy ; ; sector ; Sector 492 ; sensor emitter ; sensor grid ; Seska ; synaptic pattern ; Talaxian ; Tash ' s catapult ; Tash ' s starship ; teracochrane ; teraquad ; Terkellian ; tetryon ; tetryon power cell ; tetryon reactor ; tri - cobalt device ; unimatrix ; " Val Jean " ; walk the plank ; warp 10 ; wormhole