Repentance ( episode ) After " Voyager " rescues the crew of a severely damaged alien vessel carrying convicts to their executions , the crew begins to question the aliens ' legal system . Summary . Teaser . responds to a distress call from a damaged ship . When Harry Kim detects two weak life sign s , Captain Janeway has them beam ed to sickbay , and the rest to cargo bay 1 . Tuvok sends security team s to both locations . When the crew of the damaged ship is beamed aboard , one of the aliens , Yediq , is dismayed that he and his security officers do not have their weapons . They are guarding eight very dangerous prisoners , two of whom did not appear with them . Those two are in sickbay , and one of them , Iko , holds Seven of Nine hostage with a scalpel . Act One . The Doctor has the security officers put down their weapons , and begins negotiating with Iko . Tuvok walks in , and says once again he will not be harmed . Yediq , however , informs him he will not negotiate , making things worse . Fortunately Seven managed to disarm him , and his next target , The Doctor , simply allows Tuvok ' s phaser shot to go through him . Later , Tuvok asks Yediq in the conference room why he did not use the escape pod s . Yediq replies that he did not want his prisoners to get away , despite the grave risk . He is taking them back to their homeworld for execution . All were murderers , and several are multiple offenders . He asks to be taken back to his homeworld , which is in the wrong direction . To avoid any more delay , he even agrees to have his world send a ship to pick them up . Janeway agrees . After the meeting , Chakotay raises the ethical implications of helping take prisoners to their deaths . Janeway says she understands , but the Prime Directive applies . In sickbay , Seven of Nine has recovered , and The Doctor does have a minor glitch . Janeway comes to check on their progress , when she is threatened by Iko . He presses his hand on the sickbay force field , and says that he will kill them all if he is not released . She has Tuvok beam them to their new accommodations in the cargo bay : eight cells with tritanium chain mesh , and impenetrable force fields , as well as the guards with their weapons , which they will only be allowed to carry in the cargo bay . Soon after , Neelix arrives with Talaxian spice stew served over leola rice pilaf . Yediq tells him to take it away , since these men do not deserve such a meal . However , when Neelix points out the Federation protocols for treatment of prisoners , he lets them take the food . Joleg thanks Neelix for standing up to him . Back in sickbay , Seven of Nine , while repairing The Doctor , debates the ethics of capital punishment . The Doctor argues for rehabilitation , stating that the emotional basis for eye - for - an - eye is revenge . Seven argues for capital punishment , pointing out the resources necessary . She admits that she was seeing both sides of the argument , but The Doctor is still annoyed . In the prison cell , the prisoners fight among themselves . Joleg teases Iko about his hunger , saying it is the first time he could not steal Egrid ' s meal . When Iko throws his bowl at the force field , the guards show up . Joleg says Iko did not get enough to eat , and Yediq threatens that if Iko causes another disturbance , he will not be fed the rest of this journey . He does pull - ups on the top of his cage , and implicitly threatens Yediq ' s children . Yediq has one of his guards beat him . The Starfleet security officers immediately rush over , and put a stop to it . Act Two . After disarming the guards the Starfleet officers take Yediq straight to the captain . Janeway considers his action unjustified ; in her mind , there is no cause for beating a defenseless man , no matter what he has done . Yediq simply replies that violence is all he understands ; he has spent his entire life hurting people . She does not call that an excuse , and denies them further access to the cargo bay over his objections of Tuvok ' s competence . In sickbay , The Doctor asks Seven to assist in repairing the damage to Iko . Since his parietal lobe has been badly damaged , he asks for some of her nanoprobe s to repair it . She agrees to give them , but does not see what the point is in saving the life of someone who will be executed . He says that what happens to them in the end is irrelevant ; he will not let them die aboard " Voyager " . When Neelix serves the prisoners their next meal – which comes far sooner than they expected – Joleg gets Neelix to ask why Joleg is there , and then tells Neelix why . Joleg says it is because he is Benkaran ; they are all criminals , and when he was found at the scene of a murder , he was arrested . What he says does not matter . In sickbay , Iko wakes up , and is surprised to hear it was Seven ' s nanoprobes which saved his life . He also adds that he is glad to see she is not afraid of him , and was not even afraid of him when he held the scalpel to her throat . In the mess hall , Neelix has been postponing dinner as he reads about the Nygean criminal justice system . He is rather disturbed by what he finds ( which he relates to B ' Elanna Torres and Tom Paris , who have been waiting for fifteen minutes ) . Benkarans are ten times more likely to be executed for their crimes , and fill 80 % of prisons , despite the fact they live in 10 % of all Nygean space . In fact , Joleg ' s trial records indicate he was convicted on circumstantial evidence . Paris is skeptical , thinking Neelix is " " the softest touch in the Delta Quadrant " . " Paris also adds that when he was at the Federation Penal Settlement , " everybody had a story . " Neelix , however , points out that no one was sentenced to die . In sickbay , The Doctor and Iko are getting along . When Seven of Nine asks , The Doctor explains that now Iko is a model patient , much different than he was when he had his run - in with her . She suggests he has an unstable personality , making his changes in behavior expected ; The Doctor should be wary of attempts to manipulate him . All of a sudden , he starts complaining of pain in his stomach . The Doctor ' s scans detect nothing , but he insists on telling The Doctor about the man he killed . The Doctor concludes it is guilt . He blames them , saying we never felt guilty until they used the nanoprobes on him . Despite the fact he could die , he tells them to remove the nanoprobes . Act Three . Confiding with Seven , The Doctor believes it is in fact the Borg technology . His latest scan shows new neural pathway s throughout his cortex , instead of just bypassing the edema . However , he cannot be sure it is abnormal without accessing information from the Nygean government . Iko then asks Seven of Nine to stay with him ; he is scared . He talks about his childhood , how he named constellations . She takes interest . Meanwhile , in the prison cell , Neelix plays a game of kadis - kot with Joleg under the watchful eye of the Federation guards . He asks about the statistics he read . Joleg tells him there is nothing that can be done . Once you are convicted of murder , the family of the victim sentences you . Sometimes there is no punishment at all in the case of forgiveness , or if a negotiated settlement can be reached . Favoring the victims in this manner is the basis of the Nygean legal system . Neelix suggests he can get the Captain to compensate the victims , but Joleg says he does not want that on his conscience . He simply asks for a letter to be sent to his brother to tell them what happened , which Neelix gladly agrees to do . In sickbay , Seven of Nine gives the recovering Iko an astrometrics log , consistent with his interest in the stars . He just calls them numbers , so she offers to bring a star chart after her next shift . He also says that he deserves to die , since he just hurts people . Later , The Doctor shows the captain and Seven of Nine the results of his research on Iko ' s brain . The Doctor explains he has identified a node like the Human pineal gland , and has discovered that Iko ' s node was detached due to a birth defect . When he used the nanoprobes to repair the injuries , they reattached it as well , making his violent impulses controllable and effectively awakening his conscience . Since he has shown great guilt , and the idea of violence makes him ill , in his medical opinion , he is safe . Act Four . They take this information to Yediq , and suggest based on this new medical evidence Iko ' s case be re - examined . Yediq says none of that matters , and still believes he should be put to death . Janeway points out that none of their opinions matter ; it is the law that counts . Tuvok then asks if Iko has any means of appeal , and Yediq says that he does : Iko may attempt to appeal to the sentencing family . The captain orders Yediq to help Tuvok draft an appeal . Iko , however , does not want that . He wants to die . He cannot stop thinking about what he did , and he wants to get what he deserves . Seven of Nine asks if she is terrible ; she was compelled to do horrible things by the Borg , unable to control her actions . He also has control now that the nanoprobes have given it to him . He demands she take him back to his cell , pressing his hand on the force field again . Once there , he refuses Neelix ' s dinner , instead saying it should be given to Egrid . Meanwhile , in the captain ' s ready room , Seven of Nine enters to find Janeway talking to Yediq . She informs Seven that the family refuses to look at the medical evidence . Seven is angry , saying that Iko should be granted asylum . Unfortunately , Janeway is bound by their prior agreement , and agrees to stick to it . After having Yediq leave , Seven of Nine argues her position , and the captain uncovers the real reason for it – Seven wants his atonement so she can have hers . However , an alien vessel opens fire on them just then . During the battle , power to the cargo bay fails . All of the prisoners – except Iko – overpower the few guards on duty and escape . Act Five . The alien ship attempts to beam out the prisoners , but Chakotay disables their transporter array and they leave . Tuvok , meanwhile , takes down two of the prisoners , but before he can find the rest of them near the shuttle bay , they have Yediq as a hostage . " Voyager " has no transporters , so they cannot save him before Joleg takes him back to the cargo bay . As Joleg is about to execute Yediq for all the pain he has caused him , Iko tells him he wants to do it . When Joleg hands Iko the phaser , he hands it to Yediq , and the two other prisoners are quickly shot down . Yediq is surprised that Iko does not resist . Iko explains to the family , over " Voyager " s comm , that he is a different person . He will not beg for his life , and he is still willing to die to relieve their pain . But Joleg is a different story . Neelix refuses to have anything more to do with Joleg , because Joleg tricked him . The ship that attacked found where " Voyager " was when the note was transmitted . Joleg then tries to convince Neelix that he is sick , and needs the same treatment Iko had . Neelix does not believe him , and simply leaves . In astrometrics , Iko is gazing at the stars with Seven of Nine . Unfortunately , the news comes in that the family has not reconsidered . He says goodbye , after asking Seven of Nine to look at him without fear one last time . After the prisoners are transferred , Seven tells Janeway it is not fair that Iko was executed for killing one person , while she killed thousands as a drone and has never been punished . Janeway tells Seven that losing 20 years of her life to the Borg is punishment enough . Memorable quotes . " " It ' s unfair . " " " " I think so too , Seven , but we have to try not to judge their system . " " " " That ' s not what I meant . Iko was executed for taking a single life . As a drone I took thousands , but I was never punished . " " " " You lost twenty years of your life to the Borg . I ' d say that ' s punishment enough . " " " " Some of the crew may not be comfortable helping to deliver eight men to their deaths . " " < br > " " I can ' t say I like it either , but we have a Prime Directive to follow . " " " " You ' re not afraid of me . " " < br > " " There ' s no reason to fear someone in your condition . " " < br > " " You were never afraid of me , not even when I tried to kill you . It ' s nice to look into someone ' s eyes and not see fear . " " " " You have to be a criminal to get something to eat around here ? " " < br > " " Sorry . Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes . " " < br > ( B ' Elanna opens the shutter ) " " You said that 15 minutes ago . " " " " I ' m a hologram . I can ' t be harmed . " " " " I think you proved my point . " " " " It doesn ' t feel right . " " " " You may experience unusual sensations while your matrix realigns . " " " " I was referring to the arrangement the captain made with the Nygeans . No matter how terrible the crimes these men committed , it seems wrong to hand them over to be executed . This is a Federation starship , not the Barge of the Dead . " " " " Would you prefer the captain released them ? " " " " Of course not . They are dangerous men . " " " " Execution ensures they won ' t pose a threat to anyone again . " " " " So would life sentences , the operative word being " life " . " " " Killing is wrong . No matter who ' s doing it . " " Links and references . References . analgesic ; appeal ; Barge of the Dead ; Benkaran ; Benkaran shuttle ; birth defect ; Boche ; conscience ; Delta Quadrant ; edema ; escape pod ; evasive maneuvers ; Federation ; Gezid ; Joleg ' s brother ; kadis - kot ; Ledara ; nanoprobe ; Nygean ; Nygean Detention Force ; Nygean homeworld ; Nygean Penal Code ; Nygean prison ship ; leola rice pilaf ; neurotransmitter ; New Zealand Penal Settlement ; occipital implant ; Onella ; Paedos ; parietal lobe ; pineal gland ; plasma radiation ; statistics ; Talaxian spice stew ; tritanium ; " Vekto Valek K ' Vadim "