Scorpion ( episode ) Upon entering Borg space , " Voyager " encounters an alien race even more powerful than the Borg and bent on destroying all life in the galaxy , leading Captain Janeway to enter into an alliance with the Borg in order to defeat them . ( " Season finale " ) Summary . Teaser . In a region of space , two Borg cube s advance on their next intended targets for assimilation . Their hail is cut off abruptly as energy beam s lash out at the cubes , which are instantly destroyed . Act One . On one of the ' s holodeck s , Captain Kathryn Janeway is running a holo - program , conversing with a Leonardo hologram in a simulation of the historical figure ' s workshop . She receives an urgent hail from Commander Chakotay , who urges her to go to engineering to take a look at something . There , Lieutenant B ' Elanna Torres explains that the long - range probe they sent out months ago has stopped transmitting . However , she was able to catch the last few seconds of telemetry , which show a Borg drone ' s face staring into the viewscreen . Janeway immediately calls a meeting of the senior staff and explains that it is unknown how many Borg vessels are out there but that their space appears to be vast , including thousands of star system s . " Voyager " is no doubt entering the heart of Borg territory and , unfortunately , there seems to be no way around it . However , there might be a way " through " it . Chakotay explains that , before the probe was disabled , it detected a narrow corridor of space devoid of Borg activity – which members of the crew nicknamed " the Northwest Passage " . Navigating through it , however , may prove complicated , as the passage is filled with intense gravimetric distortion s , probably caused by a string of quantum singularities . The crew are left with no choice , though , but to go through the passage . All over the ship , preparations are finalized . In engineering , the warp drive is checked , yet again . Tuvok goes through weapons checks with his security officer s . Chakotay and Kim review planned tactical options in case the Borg invade the ship . While The Doctor and Kes examine the Borg drone corpse the crew discovered a few months earlier looking for possible ways to protect the crew from being assimilated . The Doctor has found that the Borg assimilate by injecting the victim with nanoprobe s which quickly take over the bloodstream and suggests a defense which would involve fighting against the infection before it can spread . Kes suddenly experiences a vivid vision of dismembered Borg drone corpses , piled up on one another . She has no idea what this means but it disturbs her greatly . She experiences these and other frightening visions for the next two hours ; visions of dead drones and " Voyager " s destruction haunt her mind . Tuvok , who is Kes ' mentor in honing her telepathic abilities , is informed of this development . While he discusses Kes ' predicament with Janeway and Chakotay on the bridge , the ship begins to tremble . Kim reports that long - range sensors detect transwarp signatures 2 . 1 light - years away closing from behind . Before they know it , fifteen Borg vessels are rapidly closing on them . Much to everyone ' s surprise , the enormous vessels do not attack , merely racing past " Voyager " . One cube slows and scans the ship , then speeds up to rejoin the others . The subspace turbulence affecting " Voyager " dissipates . The crew is at a loss to explain their unusually good fortune . Act Two . Kim confirms there ' s no damage , and systems are coming back online . Janeway orders the ship to resume course while she reviews the Starfleet database for data on previous Borg encounters . Chakotay interrupts her later to inform her the passage is still clear then , seeing she hasn ' t eaten , offers to eat with her . She declines , then explains she has been seeking useful information on the Borg from the log s of other Starfleet commanders but has gotten nothing . She remarks on the dilemma of facing a huge challenge ahead or retreat to friendly territory , permanently abandoning the journey home . Chatokay gently assures her that he and everyone else will support her and that she is not alone . Janeway says that she cannot imagine a day without him – though just a few years ago , she didn ' t even know his name . While they are talking , Tuvok hails her to the bridge . There , he and Kim report that the Borg cubes have suddenly stopped 5 . 2 light years away , for an undetermined reason . Janeway orders Paris to take " Voyager " to the coordinates of the dormant Borg ships . The crew then finds that every one of the fifteen cubes has been destroyed – with only a few life signs remaining . Tuvok detects two residual weapons ' signatures in the debris : one Borg and the other of unknown origin . Astonished , Paris asks the question that everyone else is wondering : who could bring such devastation to the Borg ? Act Three . The idea of someone more powerful than the Borg seems rather incredible . Kim thinks they might have found an ally but Chakotay warns not to jump to conclusions . While scanning the vicinity for other vessels , the bridge officers detect a biomass attached to one of the Borg ships . They confirm that it is organic but do not receive a response when they send out a standard greeting . They try to beam it away from the ship , but cannot get a lock on it and a tractor beam also doesn ' t seem to have an effect . They realize that whatever is attached to the Borg cube is impervious to their technology . Janeway orders Chakotay to lead an away team to the cube to take a short - range scan of this biomass . Tuvok and Kim join Chakotay on the away team and beam aboard the cube . As they look around , they find nothing but dead drones scattered amid the wreckage . As they move on , they find a pile of dismembered Borg corpses reminiscent of the visions Kes had earlier . They continue forward to the object and find that it has created a gaping hole in the cube ' s hull and fused onto it . Interestingly , there is a Borg unsuccessfully continuing to attempt to assimilate it . Scans reveal it to be an organic - based vessel with high concentration of antimatter particles , possibly a warp core . Chakotay and Tuvok board the ship to investigate while Kim accesses a Borg distribution node to download their tactical database . In " Voyager " s sickbay , Kes is carrying a tray when she is suddenly overwhelmed by visions of Kim screaming in abject agony . She collapses , frantically warning that the away team is in grave danger and that they need to leave the cube immediately . On the Borg ship , Kim calls the other two officers to his position , as he has detected something that is biological in the vicinity but does not appear to be Borg . Just then , Janeway hails and tells them to prepare for immediate return to " Voyager " . The unknown life form suddenly tears through a wall of the cube , entering a corridor where the away team is . Immediately , it attacks nearby drones , swiping them before turning to Kim and attacking him . Kim collapses , screaming in excruciating pain , just as he had in Kes ' s vision . The creature moves to finish him but , just then , the away team is beamed back aboard " Voyager " . On the bridge , Paris reports that the alien ship is detaching and powering up , apparently readying to fire a weapon . Kes , who is also on the bridge , experiences another vision of the pilot on that bio - ship communicating with her . Janeway orders Paris to take them out of the area at maximum warp . As " Voyager " moves away , the bio - ship fires , not landing a direct hit but " Voyager " loses control . Paris is able to jump to warp speed , and the bio - ship does not give chase . An alarm - stricken Kes tells Janeway that it is not the Borg that they should be worried about but this new species . Kes informs the captain that the creature told her , " " The weak will perish . " " Act Four . As Janeway enters sickbay , she is horrified to view Harry Kim ' s condition . The Doctor tells her that the alien cells are consuming his body from the inside out , while he is conscious . He shows her the scan of the alien cells which contain more than a hundred times the DNA of a Human cell . It would take him years to decipher it . The Doctor is unable to sedate Harry as anything that penetrates this species ' cell - membrane – biological , chemical or technological – is instantly destroyed . Janeway realizes that this is probably why the Borg cannot assimilate the species . The Doctor , however , believes that Borg technology holds the key to saving Kim , as he hopes to unleash an army of modified Borg nanoprobe s into Kim ' s blood stream , designed to target and eradicate the infection . He has successfully managed to dissect a nanoprobe , access its recoding mechanism and reprogram the probe to emit the same electrochemical signature as the alien cells . That way , the probe can do its work without being detected . The Doctor is not certain he will be able to modify enough nanoprobes in time to save Harry . On the bridge , Tuvok and Torres show Chakotay a part of the tactical data Kim retrieved from the cube . According to it , the aliens – designated by the Borg as Species 8472 – have engaged the Borg twelve times in the last five months and , each time , the Borg have been defeated swiftly . The bridge officers also finally determine that Species 8472 comes from the Northwest Passage – which would explain why it is a region devoid of Borg activity . While discussing this , Tuvok detects 133 bio - ships coming from a quantum singularity . A grim - faced Janeway watches the visual as it shows hundreds of the aliens ' ships streaming forth from quantum singularities in the Northwest Passage . Kes notifies the captain that the aliens have been communicating with her further . Their new messages are even more frightening than the first ; she feels malevolence and cold hatred . Kes says that what they are doing is carrying out an invasion and that they intend to destroy everything . Chakotay and Janeway discuss their next move . The Northwest Passage is no longer an option as a route through Borg space . Now , the choice is between facing the Borg in their space or staying behind and giving up hope of ever returning home . Chakotay reminds Janeway that just because they ' re turning around doesn ' t mean they won ' t find another way home , but Janeway still can ' t bring herself to tell the crew they ' re remaining in the Delta Quadrant and is desperate for another choice between permanent isolation or almost certain death . She decides to get some sleep and see how she feels with a clear head . Janeway however can ' t bring herself to rest and heads to the Da Vinci holodeck simulation , the decision she must make weighs heavily on her mind . She tells Leonardo her problem ( as a metaphor ) and he suggests she journey with him to church and make an appeal to God . This suddenly gives Janeway an idea . . . she could do a deal with the " devil " . Act Five . In the briefing room , Janeway outlines her plan : an alliance with the Borg , against their new enemy . " Voyager " s crew will offer the Borg a way to defeat their enemy and , in return , the Borg will grant them safe passage through their space . Janeway references The Doctor ' s findings regarding the nanoprobes , which she believes can be used as a biological weapon against Species 8472 . The officers are incredulous at her suggestion of teaming up with such an entity . Janeway is adamant that her stratagem will work , however . She has The Doctor save all of the research regarding the nanoprobes in his holomatrix . She also explains that , if the Borg threaten " Voyager " in any way , the crew will simply erase The Doctor ' s program . After everyone else leaves , Chakotay – who has remained rather quiet throughout the meeting – tells Janeway that he believes that what she proposes is far too dangerous . Illustrating his reasoning by citing a parable of the scorpion that allowed itself to die rather than overcome its deadly nature , he argues that her plan is a huge mistake , as she is underestimating the true evil of the Borg . He explains that no amount of diplomacy , reasoning and incentive - providing will ever change what the Borg are . They have no guarantee that the Borg will actually keep their hands off them after they acquire the information . He also wonders how much " Voyager " s safety is ultimately worth , that Janeway is willing to give advantage to a species guilty of murdering billions ; they would essentially be giving the Borg the means to assimilate yet another species , just to get themselves home . But Janeway is convinced that they will be able to keep the Borg at bay with the bargaining chip they have . She furthermore believes that helping to assimilate Species 8472 might actually not be such a bad idea , given the malevolence they have expressed towards the entire galaxy . Chakotay , however , remains steadfast in his objection to her plan accusing her of being so blinded by her desire to go home that she is closing herself to all other options . Janeway asks him to trust her , firmly stating that the time for debate is over as she has made her decision . Chakotay reluctantly agrees that , as her first officer , he will comply with her orders but makes it clear she does not have his support . With misty eyes , Janeway says she guesses that she is alone after all . She dismisses him sadly but her resolve is unshaken . " Voyager " arrives at an assimilated system . Several Borg cubes are in the area , and one of them seizes the ship in a tractor beam . Janeway notifies the Collective that she has tactical information about Species 8472 . She offers to negotiate for it but the Collective refuses . Janeway has Torres transmit ( to the cubes ) a sample of the research , showing the 8472 cells being destroyed by the Borg nanoprobes . The captain declares that this is a sample of the data and threatens to destroy it , if the Collective does not listen to what she has to say . There is a long pause . She again offers to negotiate but , as she speaks , she is transported to the cube , finding herself on a catwalk spanning the vessel ' s vast interior . The Collective instructs her to state her demands . She states that there is only one demand : safe passage through Borg space in exchange for the data . Once her ship is past Borg territory , she will give them their research . The Collective does not accept because their space is vast and her passage would take too long . They demand the technology immediately . Janeway refuses because if she gives the data to them right away , they would assimilate " Voyager " . The Collective explains that Species 8472 has to be stopped and the Collective ' s survival is " Voyager " s survival . Janeway then comes up with a plan : they would collaborate – as " Voyager " traverses Borg space – in order to craft a bio - weapon using the data . She is in the middle of outlining this plan when the cube is violently shaken . On " Voyager " s bridge , Tuvok informs Chakotay that a quantum singularity has opened and that more of the ships are coming through . The cube ' s shields are weakening but not enough to beam Janeway back to " Voyager " . Nine bio - ships converge in a star pattern and head toward the assimilated planet . They destroy the planet and all the Borg cubes in the vicinity , except for the one holding Janeway and " Voyager " . The remaining cube hurtles away at high warp , just ahead of the explosion , with " Voyager " still held firmly in its tractor beam . TO BE CONTINUED . . . Memorable quotes . " " We are the Borg . Existence as you know it is over . We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own . Resistance is fu . . . " " " " Better to ride the rapids than face the Hive . " " " " In their collective state , the Borg are utterly without mercy , driven by one will alone : the will to conquer . They are beyond redemption , beyond reason . " " " " It is my opinion that the Borg are as close to pure evil as any race we ' ve ever encountered . " " " " It ' s nothing to be ashamed about , echoing the greats . Ensign Hickman in astrophysics does a passable Janeway . " " " " If we manage to survive the next few days , I ' m going to have a chat with Ensign Hickman . Imitating the captain – surely that violates some kind of Starfleet protocol . " " " " We might have just found our ticket through Borg space : an ally . " " " " Let ' s not jump to conclusions . " " " " Fight it , Harry ! That ' s an order ! " " " " There ' s a story I heard as a child , a parable , and I never forgot it . A scorpion was walking along the bank of a river , wondering how to get to the other side . Suddenly , he saw a fox . He asked the fox to take him on his back across the river . The fox said ' No . If I do that , you ' ll sting me and I ' ll drown . ' The scorpion assured him , ' If I did that , we ' d both drown . ' So , the fox thought about it , and finally agreed . So , the scorpion climbed up on his back , and the fox began to swim , but halfway across the river , the scorpion stung him . As the poison filled his veins , the fox turned to the scorpion and said , ' Why did you do that ? Now you ' ll drown too . ' ' I couldn ' t help it , ' said the scorpion , ' it ' s my nature ' . " " " " They have an extraordinary immune response . Anything that penetrates the cell membrane , chemical , biological , technological , it ' s all instantly destroyed . That ' s why the Borg can ' t assimilate them . " " < br > " " Resistance in this case is far from futile . " " " " The Borg aren ' t exactly known for their diplomacy . Can we really expect them to cooperate with us ? " " < br > " " Normally , the answer would be no , but if what I ' ve learned from the aliens is true , the Borg are losing this conflict . " " " " There are times , Caterina , when I find myself transfixed by a shadow on the wall , or the splashing of water against a stone . I stare at it , the hours pass , the world around me drops away . . . replaced by worlds being created and destroyed by my imagination . " " " " Think good thoughts . " " " " There ' s a path before me . . . the only way home . And on either side , mortal enemies bent on destroying each other . If I attempt to pass through them . . . I ' ll be destroyed as well . But if I turn around . . . that would end all hope of ever getting home . " " " " What if I made an appeal . . . to the Devil ? " " " " The weak will perish ! " " " " Three years ago , I didn ' t even know your name . Today I can ' t imagine a day without you . " " Links and references . References . abbot ; access point ; ; Arm of Hephaestus ; Amasov ; assimilation ; assimilation tubule ; Battle of Wolf 359 ; binary matrix ; bio - ship ; Borg Collective ; Borg cube ; Breen ; bronzetto ; cardinal ; destroyed Borg planet ; Delta Quadrant ; devil ; disruptor beam ; DNA ; electrodynamic fluid ; emergency power ; ; ; evasive maneuvers ; fear ; fluidic space ; goose grease ; gravimetric distortion s ; Hephaestus ; Hercules ; Hickman ; holodeck ; horse ; inflection ; interdimensional rift ; " Leonardo da Vinci ' s workshop " ; " maestro " ; monk ; nanoprobe ; " Northwest Passage " ; oak ; organic ; parable ; ; polaron beam ; prayer ; Q ; red alert ; Santa Croce ; scudi ; sedative ; short range scan ; skeletal lock ; Species 8472 ; Species 8472 bio - ship ; standard greeting ; starling ; subspace turbulence ; System D43119 ; tactical alert ; tactical database ; telepathy ; transwarp ; transwarp signature ; Wolf 359