Flesh and Blood ( episode ) " Voyager " answers a distress call from a Hirogen outpost – only to find carnage caused by holographic technology that Captain Janeway has given them . Summary . Teaser . Two Hirogen hunt on a tropical landscape , finally finding and almost successfully hunting down an unknown creature , who barely eludes them . With uncharacteristic caution , they slowly track their " prey " to a small lake but instead Human s in Starfleet uniform s emerge from the water and kill them with a barrage of various weapons fire . Act One . Meanwhile on the , The Doctor asks Chakotay for some time off so he can go to a symposium on space - borne pathogens . Chakotay refuses , saying the planet was two weeks in the wrong direction . As The Doctor argues with him , Captain Kathryn Janeway calls him to the bridge , saying they have received a distress call on a Hirogen frequency . They arrive to find a Hirogen base with strange bio - sign readings . Janeway orders Chakotay to take an away team to the base . Once inside , they find a tropical landscape and two dead Hirogen hunters . Tuvok ' s scans indicate the burns are from a type 3 phaser . They also find a Klingon " bat ' leth " stuck in a nearby tree . When they begin to approach a wounded Hirogen , he fires on them . However , Tuvok sneaks up from behind and knocks him out with a Vulcan nerve pinch . Tom Paris beam s him to sickbay . Seven of Nine soon uncovers Starfleet holographic technology , and identifies holoemitter s throughout the structure . When she shuts off the grid , dozens of dead Hirogen appear , lying in the giant hologrid . After the away team returns and recounts their experience , Janeway is surprised at how real Chakotay says it was ; it fooled their sensors and had no safety protocols . She concludes the Hirogen missed the point of this technology , for it was supposed to let them hunt safely while preserving their culture , not get them killed . In sickbay , they find The Doctor unable to get close to the still - frantic hunter , who believes that this is a simulation and that The Doctor intends to harm him . When Janeway explains who she is , however , the Hirogen , named Donik , recognizes her and wants to know what happened . He cannot believe everyone else is dead . He explains that the base was a training facility for young Hirogen and that he is not a " Hunter " but a lowly technician . The holograms were malfunctioning , and there were too many of them . He couldn ' t shut the system off . Tuvok then notifies Janeway that a Hirogen ship is on an intercept course . It begins firing almost immediately , and refuses their hail s . She orders Tuvok to return fire but to only target their weapon systems . After " Voyager " successfully disables their phaser bank s and Janeway again tries hailing them , the Hirogen retain an aggressive posture yet are now willing to talk . She explains " Voyager " has a Hirogen aboard and manages to get the two Hirogen to come aboard from their now - impotent vessel to speak with her and Donik . Upon receiving a summary of " Voyager " s encounter with the training facility and rescue of Donik , the two Hirogen , revealed to be Hunters , become hostile towards him , accusing him of cowardice and blaming him for the recent holodeck catastrophe . Janeway retains a stern posture towards the Hirogen , preferring to defuse the situation by attempting to ascertain what led to the incident . Donik , when asked , says he couldn ' t delete the holographic prey , for they transferred themselves to another vessel that was equipped with holoemitters . Janeway questions the wisdom of creating holograms apparently capable of self - awareness and ingenuity . The Hirogen simply reply that if they were any less sophisticated , the hunt wouldn ' t be interesting . The two Hunters are more cooperative when it comes down to tracking the missing ship . They quickly and correctly identify the way to track the ship by scanning for polarized EM emissions . They are still hard on Janeway , and blame her as well as Donik , but allow " Voyager " to join the hunt for that ship . Chakotay and Tuvok have reservations about an alliance with the hunters , but Janeway explains that ' s " Voyager " s responsibility since that was Starfleet technology that killed the Hirogens . They find the holograms ' ship soon , and find it has taken damage . The hunters begin to close immediately , but Janeway urges caution . They ignore her . As soon as Harry Kim detects no weapon s , warp drive , or shields , the image of the ship turns into something much smaller which then explodes . The Hirogen ship is badly damaged , and Janeway orders transport of the casualties . However , part way through , another Hirogen ship appears , and this one is real . It ignores " Voyager " s hail , and begins firing immediately . With " Voyager " s shields down , it manages to transport The Doctor ' s program out of sickbay and onto the ship . They go to warp and mask their signature . The Doctor materializes on the ship to find dozens of holograms . Iden , a Bajoran officer in charge , reassures him he won ' t be injured . Act Two . But The Doctor doesn ' t care about that . He wants to treat dying patients on " Voyager " . They won ' t let him go , but the officer explains their situation . Dozens of holograms are " wounded , " beginning to fade out and destabilize , and they need his help . The Doctor insists he is not an engineer , but the officer asks him if he has ever repaired his own matrix . He has , so after being convinced these injures are no different than flesh and blood casualties , he reluctantly agrees to see what he can do . Meanwhile , aboard " Voyager " , Donik is explaining how the emitters work . He believes they can disable a central power generator , and that will disable them all . B ' Elanna Torres , however , disagrees . She shows the captain an intimidating list of capabilities , including enhanced memory and expandable data processing . She concludes that Donik lied ; they are not malfunctioning , they are simply doing what they were programmed to do too effectively . Donik says he did it under orders from his Alpha . Janeway takes him to the mess hall , which has been turned onto makeshift sickbay . The Beta aboard the destroyed Hirogen ship wakes up , angry . Janeway informs him that he will not be contacting his ship , and his superior was the one who gave the instructions for the modifications . The way she sees it , they have planned for the hunters ' tactics , and Janeway is confident she can deactivate them from a distance . The hunter believes it is cowardly , and refuses to help , believing they should be hunted to extinction . Donik , however , will help . Meanwhile , aboard the stolen ship , The Doctor does his best to heal his patients . He has the novel idea of a subroutine transplant , obviously taking a page from medicine . Kejal , a Cardassian with a Bajoran name , assists him . He is surprised with her computer skills . She says she had to teach herself ; the hunters tried to limit their knowledge . The next patient , a woman in a Starfleet uniform , enters with blood on her face and reacts in pain . Kejal explains that the Hirogen wanted the holograms to bleed and suffer pain when they were killed . The Doctor has trouble believing the hunters ' barbarism . When he speaks with the Bajoran officer , he finds him praying . He says he is asking the Prophet s to guide the souls of the dead hunters to the celestial temple . He believes in them . The officer explains their fight just as a Bajoran would the rebellion on Bajor : as a liberation . He came from a training facility fifteen parsec s from that one , he explains , where he was killed over and over again by the Alpha there . For a hologram , not even death would end the pain and fear . He adapted with each death , eventually becoming cunning enough to escape . After fleeing them , he found other holograms fighting their captors , and he was so inspired , he started fighting alongside them . Now , this ship of renegades is looking to create a permanent home away from all of the threatening " organics . " He points out that many organic species throughout the sector as the Nuu ' Bari or the Lokirrim have created and enslaved holograms . He then tries to convince The Doctor to stay with them in the ship , saying that he could have privileges here he couldn ' t have on " Voyager " . The Doctor , however , doesn ' t buy it . He feels respected by his colleagues , and continues to judge him harshly . The officer concludes that he must experience life as prey , and then he will understand , and The Doctor immediately finds himself back in the jungle , running for his life . He is soon caught , brutalized , and killed . He suddenly wakes up on a table , and the officer explains he was made to experience memory files of one of them . He is outraged at being violated in such a way , especially to gain his sympathy . The officer insists they are alike ; it was The Doctor who was the template for them , able to rise above his programming as they can . They offer to take him back to " Voyager " , but he decides to at least hear about the home they wish to build . Act Three . Kejal explains that they are hoping a photonic field generator can be modified for deployment on a planet , where they can use it to create a complete holographic environment . They want The Doctor ' s help to make it possible . He doesn ' t know nearly enough , but he suggests someone on " Voyager " could help , like Lieutenant Torres , since she knows a lot about hologram generators . They refuse , saying " Voyager " is in league with the hunters . The Doctor offers to talk to Janeway , since he believes they are operating under a misconception . They regretfully agree . Meanwhile on " Voyager " , Donik and Seven find a way to disrupt their emitter with an antiphoton pulse from the deflector dish . Before the modifications can finish , however , the hologram ' s ship intercepts them , and hails . The Doctor makes his plea , saying that the holograms have come to make peace . When The Doctor explains all this , Janeway is skeptical . She says that giving the technology to the Hirogen was a mistake , and furthering their plan with more technology would be a bigger mistake . The Doctor tries to convince her that these holograms are different . They have adapted beyond the viciousness which with they were programmed . The debate is cut short , however , when a fight breaks out in the mess hall . All of the hunters kept there , led by their new Alpha , start attacking the security officers . Tuvok stuns a few , and gets them under control , but not before the new Alpha can send a signal . Two more Hirogen ships are soon detected on an intercept course . The captain orders Torres to shut down the holograms with the burst over The Doctor ' s objections . She asks Iden and the others to allow " Voyager " to transport them aboard , and she will help them find a more permanent residence at a future time . Iden , however , doesn ' t trust her . She says she will deactivate them by force , and he fires and jumps to warp . The Doctor , unhappy with the captain ' s decision , loads himself into the mobile emitter , and gives the holograms " Voyager " s shield frequencies to beam him aboard . He will help them come up with a defense against the pulse . Aboard the ship , The Doctor objects to a suggestion to use their shield frequencies to target the bridge . Fortunately , Iden is a man of his word , and suggests they find another way . They soon find it . Thanks to The Doctor ' s data , they send feedback along the pulse , and overload " Voyager " s deflector dish , along with most of the primary systems . Torres just barely gets a force field around the warp core in time to protect it before a shock knocks her unconscious . With " Voyager " s shields down , Iden has Torres transported aboard his own ship ( having located her by scanning for Klingon life signs ) , and then orders to go to warp . Act Four . The Doctor examines Torres , and is outraged at her abduction . He considers his trust betrayed , and does his best to treat her . Iden insists he will let her go if she doesn ' t want to help them . On the disabled " Voyager " , Seven of Nine is doing her best to repair all of the damaged systems . The captain is still baffled by how they guessed the frequency of the pulse so quickly until Tuvok shows her the report detailing an encrypted transmission and a transport in sickbay . Going down the hall , she asks Chakotay if she should have seen this coming , saying she will run a diagnostic on The Doctor when he gets back . Chakotay , however , points out The Doctor could simply have believed in their cause , and there could be nothing wrong with him . That would create an ethical dilemma . The Doctor tries to talk to the now - conscious Torres . She is angry at The Doctor , and is completely unwilling to assist the photonics . She scoffs at The Doctor ' s common heritage talk , though he tries to draw parallels with her own decision to joined the Maquis . Finally , Torres expresses a reluctant willingness to at least take a look at the photonic generator . She is unimpressed by Iden , and is surprised when she is told she will be working with Kejal , the Cardassian . Back on " Voyager " , Paris , Donik , and the captain are in astrometrics . They cannot track the holograms ' ship , and are keeping an eye on the ever - closing Hirogen ships . Donik offers to stay and modify the shields , not wanting to return to his people . He feels it is his fault since he did the modification , and he doesn ' t want to become a hunter ; he wants to be an engineer . The Hirogen ships , however , are not happy about that . They demand his return , and when Janeway explains he is improving their sensors , they insist they will not share that technology . They warn her to stay away from the holograms , or " Voyager " also becomes prey . Act Five . " Voyager " keeps a sensor lock on them , and Janeway comes up with a plan . Donik explains they have a blind spot due to an ion wake , which " Voyager " can exploit . They can get in range with his knowledge of their scanning frequencies , and then Tuvok can perform a precise strike using the element of surprise . Torres discovers the problem with the photonic generator almost immediately : it needs more optronic capacity . She hasn ' t decided whether or not to tell them yet how to increase the output . She doesn ' t know whether these holograms will take over someone else ' s home when theirs isn ' t big enough . Kejal convinces her that making a home for themselves is all they want , and whatever they may appear to be , they are holograms . She looks Cardassian , but she is not arrogant and cruel , characteristics that Torres supposes describe all Cardassians , even photonics . The Doctor , meanwhile , is having doubts . He is considering returning to " Voyager " with Torres . Iden shows The Doctor the planet they intend to settle on , called Ha ' Dara . It ' s class Y , with a toxic atmosphere , extreme conditions , and has no life . That ' s the point , says Iden ; they are holograms , and they will have what they need most : protection from hostile organics . Since there will be no one to heal , The Doctor will be free to do what he pleases . Just then , the Hirogen detect them . They head for a nebula which blinds their sensors . The Hirogen decide to split up ; one ship scans the perimeter , the other will drive them out . Act Six . " Voyager " , still aft of the Hirogen ship , enters the nebula . They barely manage to stay in its wake . The holograms ' ship , meanwhile , hides . The Hirogen ' s attempt to flush them out is destined to fail . Torres gets Kejal onto the system , and notices great self - confidence in her – a Cardassian trait . At the same time , The Doctor suggests to Iden that he ( The Doctor ) could be Minister of Culture , teaching the holograms about things like art . However , when his lessons begin to speak of " organic " cultures , Iden objects . He wants to create a new one , even a new religion based upon their experiences . The Doctor doesn ' t like being worshiped , but Iden says he has been chosen . Just then , a Nuu ' Bari ship is detected , and they go to " liberate " the three holograms on it . The Doctor confides in Torres about Iden ' s emerging fanatical tendencies , suggesting maybe this whole endeavor wasn ' t such a good idea . Torres then uses this information to confront Iden , but he ignores her . Iden contacts the Nuu ' Bari and informs them they will transfer the holograms to them , or they will be taken by force . The holograms disable the Nuu ' Bari shields with phasers , and then beam their holograms aboard . After that , at Iden ' s orders , they target a photon torpedo at the Nuu ' bari ' s warp core . Over protests from Kejal and Torres , Iden fires , destroying the Nuu ' bari ship , killing its ( organic ) crew of two . Act Seven . Torres and The Doctor are horrified at what seems to them nothing short of murder . There was no reason for them to kill defenseless organics . They drag the protesting Torres to the lab . Iden explains to The Doctor it was necessary ; they were going to call in Consortium hunting parties to track them down . The Doctor tries to dissuade Iden from his view that all organics are like the Hirogen . Iden says they are , and The Doctor just can ' t see that . The Doctor requests his escape pod . Iden says he will give it to them when they reach Ha ' Dara . The Doctor apologizes to Torres for getting her involved in Iden ' s personal war . Torres mentions she has a plan to find a way out , then goes to help Kejal with repairing the Nuu ' bari holograms . Torres tries to convince Kejal to rebel , saying that Iden is not the leader of peace time ; she reminds her that it ' s the engineers like herself and Kejal that actually build societies . However , Iden comes in , and then the Nuu ' Bari holograms are activated . However , no matter what he says , they simply do not understand . Iden wonders if they are malfunctioning , but Torres explains that they are not . They are programmed to support about forty basic subroutines . Kejal confirms this . Iden calls this yet another form of oppression and demands they be enhanced . Torres explains that their programs are not complex enough to allow it . Iden simply brushes it off , claiming that he will deliver them to freedom . The bridge informs Iden they are now in orbit of the planet . Iden has Torres restrained ; The Doctor demands Iden let Torres go , but he refuses because he now sees through her prejudices towards holograms . That ' s when the Hirogen target the holograms , and " Voyager " begins firing on their ships . The engines and weapons of both ships are disabled . As Iden is considering thanking " Voyager " , they begin firing on the holograms ' ship . Iden has them return fire , and beam the Hirogen to the surface to be hunted as they once were . The Doctor objects again , noting that the Hirogen cannot live long breathing that atmosphere , but Iden ignores him ; he intends to hunt the Hirogen , as they had once hunted him and his kind . Iden orders his ship into a lower orbit . " Voyager " , meanwhile , sends Tuvok and Tom Paris to take the " Delta Flyer " down . After another confrontation , Iden realizes The Doctor is no longer on his side , so he transfers him to the data banks , and then transports the generator to the surface . On the surface , Iden rallies his crew , and begins hunting the hunters for a change . Torres tells Kejal to shut down the holograms and reactivate The Doctor , who re - materializes on the surface of the planet , armed . On the planet , the Hirogen try to fight back , but quickly realize it is useless ; the holograms are invincible to their weapons , and can pass through any barriers the Hirogen put up . The " Delta Flyer " , meanwhile , takes down the shields of the holograms ' ship and beams Torres aboard . Iden fights and subdues a Hirogen , and as Iden is about to kill the Hirogen , The Doctor draws on him . When Iden won ' t back down and is about to shoot , The Doctor vaporizes him . The " Delta Flyer " then beams up The Doctor and the remaining Hirogen . Janeway and Neelix talk the Hirogen out of taking the holograms ' ship , and after the Hirogen depart " Voyager " , she transfers to the hologram ship . Janeway allows Donik to reprogram the holograms with Kejal , the only remaining running hologram , and run the ship . He will get his chance to repair what he did . Janeway then has to face The Doctor . He says he never wanted " Voyager " to be put in danger . He volunteers to give her his mobile emitter , limiting his freedoms as punishment . She declines , for perhaps he has become as fallible as the rest of the crew , and taking away his freedom would be taking his identity . She asks for his report , and leaves him to work out the ethics himself . Memorable quotes . " " I can ' t heal them . They need to be repaired . " " " " What ' s the difference ? " " " " I ' m a doctor , not an engineer . " " " " They can ' t support complex subroutines . " " " " They are children of light and I will deliver them to freedom ! " " " " I modified their programs . What ' s happened to them , the people they have killed , it ' s my fault . " " " " There ' s plenty of blame to go around . There would have been nothing for you to modify if I hadn ' t shared our database . " " " " If you hadn ' t , I ' d have become a Hunter , like my father and his father . Instead , I had a chance to learn , become an engineer . " " " " Darkness will become light . " " " " You and your crew would have made worthy prey , captain . " " " " Thank you . . . I think . " " " " It looks like an Alpha Quadrant summit in here . " " " " You ' ve given me extraordinary freedom over the years . I ' ve obviously abused it . " " " " Maybe . Or maybe you ' ve simply become as fallible as those of us who are made of flesh and blood . " " " " You still believe all organics are like the Hirogen . " " " " One way or another , they are . You just can ' t see it because you lived among them for so long . " " " " What you can ' t see is that you ' ve become no better than the hunters . " " " " It may be the warriors who get the glory , but it ' s the engineers who build societies . " " " " If this marriage is going to work you ' ve got to cut back on the traveling . " " " " Never let your prey control the hunt . " " " " Capable prey make the hunt more challenging . " " Links and references . References . ablative armor ; Alpha Quadrant ; antiphoton pulse ; autonomy protocol s ; Bajoran religion ; " bat ' leth " ; blind spot ; Boray ; Breen ; Cardassian ; Celestial Temple ; class Y planet ; ; Delta Quadrant ; escape pod ; evasive pattern ; Grid 295 ; Grid 936 ; Ha ' Dara ; hexapod ; Hirogen ; Hirogen holographic prey ; Hirogen holoship ; Hirogen hunting vessel ; Hirogen training facility ; holodeck safety protocol ; holo - emitter ; hologram ; holotechnology ; Iden ' s Rebellion ; inertial damper ; ion wake ; Jem ' Hadar ; kilometer ; Klingon ; laborer ; Lokirrim ; main deflector ; Maquis ; megalomania ; memory storage unit ; meter ; mobility algorithm ; monotanium ; nebula ; Nuu ' Bari ; Nuu ' Bari mining vessel ; Nuu ' Bari patrol ship ; " organic s " ; Ovion ; Ovion system ; parsec ; particle weapon ; phase variance ; phaser bank ; photonic field generator ; plasma ; play possum ; prayer ; prejudice ; programmer ; projection subroutine ; ; red alert ; Romulan disruptor ; scattering field ; sensory subroutine ; shield frequency ; shield generator ; spaceborne pathogen ; stealth mode ; subroutine transplant ; symposium ; T ' Leel ; tactical algorithm ; tracking beam ; transwarp ; triaxilation ; tricorder ; tylium ; type 3 phaser ; ; ; violent subroutine ; vocal processor ; Vulcan ( planet ) ; Vulcan nerve pinch ; warp signature