Good Shepherd ( episode ) When three crewmen are shown to be hampering efficiency , Captain Janeway decides to give them some special attention by taking them on an away mission . Summary . Teaser . Captain Janeway looks out her ready room window into space as her door chirps . Chakotay enters and informs her that Seven of Nine wants to present her ship - wide efficiency report to the senior staff . Janeway says to put her on the schedule . Chakotay also reminds her that they ' ll be passing through a class - T cluster in the next couple of days , not important enough to alter course , but Janeway thinks it is at least important enough to send out the " Delta Flyer " and to get a full range of scans . Chakotay nods , and leaves . On the bridge , Chakotay relays the captain ' s orders . He tells Tom Paris to prepare the " Delta Flyer " for the mission , and Harry Kim to do a level 3 analysis of the cluster . Kim contacts Seven , asking her to increase metagenic resolution in the long - range sensor s . In astrometrics , Seven and Crewman Tal Celes , a young Bajoran woman , are working on the sensors . Seven types some data into a PADD and hands it to Tal , telling her to take it to Lieutenant Torres . Tal exits , and walks down the corridors to a turbolift . " Deck 11 " , Tal tells the computer as the turbolift begins whirring . The turbolift doors into engineering open , and Tal exits . She hands the PADD to Torres , who opines that they ' re going to need to transfer another five terawatt s to the sensor array . Torres then hands another PADD to an engineering crewman , who goes into the same turbolift , " Deck 15 " , the bottom deck of the ship . On Deck 15 , a section characterized by cramped , dimly lit corridors , where even the doors are thinner , the crewman exits , and nods hello to another officer on his way down the hall . He enters a small plasma relay room and interrupts Crewman Mortimer Harren ' s attempt to disprove Schlezholt ' s Theory of Multiple Big Bangs . Harren tells him to hold on , that he ' s standing in the way of cosmological history . The crewman sarcastically replies , " " The cosmos is sixteen billion years old , it can wait another few minutes . " " He hands Harren the power transfer requisition , who just types in a quick couple commands into a panel , and he leaves . Harren looks out of a small porthole , which is on the ventral section of the ship . Act One . In Tal Celes ' quarters , her roommate is sleeping and she ' s contacting her friend William " Billy " Telfer via combadge . She tries waking him up , and he finally answers . He tells her it is late and to go to sleep . She is under her covers with PADDs and an SIMs beacon , working on a level 3 sensor analysis . Telfer breaks down , and asks what the problem is . She says she ' s having trouble interpreting the subspace infrared from the cluster . Telfer says that it is too complicated to explain over the com , and to either meet in the mess hall or do it tomorrow . Tal replies she doesn ' t want to get dressed , and that she has to have it in tomorrow . " " Your only options " " , he says sleepy - eyed . The next morning in the briefing room , Seven is explaining a ship - wide efficiency analysis . Operations receives a 76 out of 100 ; Seven says that the officers left on the night watch rarely have anything to do once the course is set in . Torres complains about her grade and her " failure to utilize expertise " . Seven explains Crewman Harren ' s background and that Torres has assigned him to the plasma relay room on deck 15 , a fairly lowly task . Torres complains that she ' s tried to give him more to do but when she does , he doesn ' t do it . So she ' s left him alone down there , like he wants to be . Security receives a near - perfect grade ; however , Seven believes the phaser rifle s could use reorganization , making them more accessible in an emergency . The Doctor then complains how Billy ruined his score by visiting sickbay once a week , and always complaining of one illness or another , but one is never found . The Doctor explains that Telfer is a hypochondria c , saying that he ' s afraid of medication and that he ' s also afraid of counselling . Harry Kim brings up Seven ' s score , which she reluctantly explains . The problem is Tal Celes , a sensor analyst , whose work must always be double - checked for errors . Seven thinks maybe reassigning her to engineering would help improve her work . Captain Janeway , thinking of a plan , dismisses the room . Chakotay stays behind and asks what she ' s planning . " " They ' ve never been on an away mission " " Janeway comments , and Chakotay explains ( although they get off the ship whenever there ' s general leave ) that Harren never volunteers , Tefler always gets himself excused for medical reasons and Tal can never meet the minimum proficiency requirements . He reminds her that there ' s always a few officers who aren ' t suited to life on a starship and maybe they should be relieved of duty to pursue their own interests . Janeway doesn ' t want to " just deactivate them " , like Borg drones , so she decides to put them on the " Delta Flyer " mission . In the mess hall , Telfer explains to Tal the aspects of the subspace infrared algorithm , to better analyze the data . He suggests breaking them down to four small algorithms , when Captain Janeway walks in and overhears their conversation . Celes asks what the sequence is , and Captain Janeway comes in and states " Zero - G Is Fun " . They both jump to attention , but Janeway puts them At Ease and explains . " " Zeta particle derivation . Gamma wave frequency . Ion distribution . Flow rate of positrons . " " Captain Janeway sits down , handing each of them a PADD , and tells them that the briefing will be in astrometrics that afternoon . As the captain walks away , the two officers stare at the PADDs in awe . Janeway enters a turbolift , and heads for Deck 15 . She exits the lift and can ' t seem to find her way around . She starts walking down a corridor when a crewman notices her , and shouts " Captain on the deck ! " , and the near - by officers stand at attention . Janeway replies " at ease " , and asks where junction room 16 is . Crewman Mitchell points her in the right direction , and she takes a moment to ask him how he ' s been . He replies " " Never better ma ' am , yourself ? " " She smiles , and heads for the plasma relay room , " " Not bad , not bad at all . " " As she heads down the corridor , at the first junction she takes a wrong turn , and Mitchell points her in the right direction again . She enters , looks around , and finds Harren in an obscure corner . He turns , surprised to see her , and asks if she ' s lost . She smirks and says " " I was , for a minute " . " She hands him the PADD on the mission , and he says there must be a mistake . She assures him that there ' s no mistake , but he insists that he wants to stay there . She tells him that Ensign Culhane will cover for him and orders him to report to astrometrics for the briefing . He tells her as she ' s about to leave that he ' s about to disprove Shlezholt ' s Theory , but she reminds him that Wang ' s Second Postulate " has more lives than a cat " , which is what ' s been giving him problems and she leaves . Act Two . In astrometrics , Janeway explains the details of the mission with a diagram of the cluster on the screen . Tal is assigned to run an ongoing sensor analysis to provide information for the rest of the crew . Harren is going to monitor subspace particle decay for anything new that they can learn on star formation , and Crewman Telfer will look for signs of life , even if it is unlikely in the environment . Telfer asks if they ' ll land on any planet s , if they find any . Harren says that any planets in the cluster would be gas giant s , and Captain Janeway reassures him that the " Delta Flyer " is fully equipped for medical emergencies . The Captain reminds them to be in shuttlebay 1 at 0600 hours and dismisses them . Seven reminds the Captain that she ' ll have to constantly monitor Tal ' s work for errors and that the mission could be better served with a more experienced crew . Janeway tells her that the mission isn ' t only to explore the T - cluster , but also to " rescue " the three crewmen . She tells Seven the story of the Good Shepherd , that if even one sheep of the flock went astray , the shepherd would leave the safety of the flock and retrieve it . In the mess hall , Neelix sits down with Torres and Paris , who are watching Crewman Harren drinking coffee and working on a PADD alone in the corner . Paris feels sorry for him , rotting away on deck 15 , and jokes that " " it ' s a shame he doesn ' t have a superior officer who cares " " . Torres says it ' s not her job to keep everyone happy . Neelix doesn ' t think they ' ve even said two words to him , but Paris replies that he ' s said two words exactly : " " Excuse me " " , during a Borg attack . Since they were at red alert , he considered it quite courteous . Torres suggests he go over there and offer encouragement , so he does . Paris asks Harren what he ' s doing and he shows him a PADD ( Com Analysis 007 - 31 ) with an exceptionally complex equation on it . Harren can see that he doesn ' t understand , and jokingly asks what he finds most interesting about it . Paris simply replies " " your creative use of the minus sign " " . Paris returns to the table , having failed in his attempt to befriend Harren . Tal is sleeping in her quarters when Telfer contacts her on her com badge . She knows what he ' s going to say , and says " " You ' re not sick . . . " " He claims that he is , as he scans himself with a medical tricorder . She decides to ignore him and goes back to sleep . Telfer goes to sickbay in robe and slippers and The Doctor scans him , showing that he has a minor 0 . 2° fever . Telfer claims he may have a multiphasic prion . The Doctor reassures him several times that he does not have a prion . The Doctor tells him he won ' t give him a medical excuse to avoid going on the away mission and that he ' ll be having so much fun exploring that he won ' t have time for his hypochondria . Several hours later , the " Delta Flyer " drops out of warp and retracts its warp nacelle s . Captain Janeway , at the helm , drops to one - quarter impulse and has Celes start the sensor sweeps . The ship shudders and Harren confirms that it wasn ' t the engines that caused it . Tal scans for any problems but doesn ' t find anything more than simple background noise . Janeway goes to check her work and agrees . Telfer asks over the comm if anyone wants lunch and Tal offers to go back to help him with it . Captain Janeway asks " Mortimer " if he ' d like anything but he just turns and coldly says " " Even my " mother " didn ' t call me that . . . " " Janeway says she ' ll have the pasta soup , under Neelix - 651 . Tal eagerly agrees and says she ' ll have the same thing and goes to the aft compartment . Tal relays the order and Telfer replicates two servings of the pasta soup . Tal sits down , depressed , and says that the Captain is checking every single thing she does . Telfer tries to reassure her it ' s just standard procedure . Tal wishes that she could go back to " Voyager " and Telfer wishes the same thing . They joke that they could always take the escape pod s . Back in the forward section of the " Delta Flyer " , Janeway is trying to start a conversation with Harren , referring to the fact that he grew up on Vico V . But Harren coldly asks if she really believes the environment a child is raised in is more important than genetically - driven behavior patterns and accuses her of filling her attempt at conversation with unspoken assumptions that he doesn ' t agree with . Janeway tries to change the subject , by jokingly asking how his 13th chromosome is and missing a couple base pairs in gene 178 . Harren also decides to change the subject and explains how he only signed on to " Voyager " because the Orion Institute of Cosmology required a single year of hands - on experience , and how he ' d be there right now had " Voyager " not become stranded in the Delta Quadrant . Janeway says that space exploration is unpredictable , but Harren just says that that ' s exactly why he doesn ' t like space exploration . He goes on about not liking space travel , as Janeway just rolls her eyes and wonders if this was such a good idea after all . Harren decides to join the other " misfits " for lunch and heads to the aft compartment . Just after he leaves , the Captain picks up an unknown spatial fluctuation . Then the ship is violently rocked , as a piece of the outer hull is mysteriously sheared off . Janeway orders red alert and tries to contact the aft section , but there ' s no response . Act Three . The " Delta Flyer " is adrift and main propulsion is offline . The three crew personnel hurry into the bridge section returning to their consoles . Janeway brings emergency power online , as Harren reports that 90 % of the antimatter has been drained and one - eighth impulse is the best the engines can do , which means that it could be 10 years before they would reach the rendezvous point . Janeway transmits an emergency distress call and has Tal check sensors . Harren theorizes it was a dark matter proto - comet . Janeway read a paper on it once and Harren says that he ' s the one who wrote it . He believed a tertiary product of stellar consolidation would condense into a comet - like assemblage of dark matter that would be attracted to antimatter and neutralize it on contact . He believes that the warp core should be ejected but Janeway believes it ' s the best way of getting main propulsion online . Tal suggests bringing the hull plate that was pulled off aboard and scanning it for dark matter residue . In the aft compartment , Janeway is scanning the hull plate that was beamed aboard . She hands the tricorder to Tal and has her download it into the computer . Tal feels guilty for not realizing the spatial fluctuations from earlier could be a problem . Janeway reassures her that she doesn ' t have to doubt herself all the time but she assures her that she " does " , because she makes mistakes all the time . On " Voyager " , Seven of Nine doesn ' t let her do anything too critical , but out here , she could get everyone killed . Tal explains how she got through Starfleet Academy , feeling that the conflict on Bajor worked in her favor and that the Federation was so eager to get Bajorans in Starfleet . Janeway says she brought her aboard because she showed signs of unconventional thinking , such as not everyone would have thought to bring the hull plate aboard . Tal says that the computer analysis is like a monster to her and that it chases her in her nightmares . Janeway says that maybe they can find her another post on " Voyager " but she says the only post she ' d be good at would be a waitress in the mess hall . Tal doesn ' t believe she ' s really a part of " < nowiki > Voyager ' < / nowiki > " s crew , she just lives there . In the bridge section , Harren is repairing an EPS relay , as Telfer is distracted by scanning himself with a medical tricorder . Harren orders him to cut the plasma flow but Telfer ' s still distracted . The EPS relay starts venting gas , as Telfer finally hits the console . Harren gets up , angry that he could have been killed . Telfer claims to be sick but again it is written off as hypochondria . Harren would prefer to be on deck 15 , where he ' s his own number one priority . Telfer asks if he ever gets lonely down there but Harren prefers to be in the company of his own thoughts . Telfer asks him to spend some time with him and Tal when they get back , as he might like it , but Harren simply says that he doesn ' t like proving his hypotheses . Janeway briefs the crew on the results of scanning the hull fragment . They found some displaced positron s that could indicate a dark matter impact but could have been caused by something else . This is reason enough for Harren , who again suggests dumping the remaining antimatter . Janeway says it isn ' t proof enough for her and activates a panel , which shows a star chart . There is a class T gas giant within range , surrounded by radiogenic rings which could in theory re - initiate the warp core , so they set a course . They go back to their stations , and Tal picks up another spatial fluctuation . Janeway decides to hail it but there ' s no response . Harren still wants to eject the core but Janeway decides to fire a photon torpedo , since the antimatter in it would draw the anomaly if that ' s what it is . Just as the spatial disruptions are leaving sensor range , a loud murmuring sound fills the " Delta Flyer " . They all scan around with tricorders and converge on Crewman Telfer . He then disappears in an alien transporter beam . Tal scans the area and Janeway concludes he ' s not " anywhere " . Scans of space and subspace come up with nothing , but he rematerializes as suddenly as he disappeared . " " Inside . . . me . . . " " he says , as a creature can be seen moving around under his skin and a cut on the back of his neck . Act Four . They take him to the biobed in the aft section , and try to transport the creature out of him . Transporters aren ' t picking it up , nor are the tricorders . Janeway suggests it could be some kind of " dark matter lifeform " . Harren concludes that it is impossible , as molecules that complex would collapse under their own weight . Telfer says that he was transported to a dark place where he couldn ' t see anything . He tried to talk , but there was no air . Tal offers reassurance saying that if they wanted to kill him they ' d have done it already . Janeway activates a force field around the biobed and leaves Tal to monitor Telfer . Janeway and Harren go to the bridge section . Harren says they never should have left " Voyager " , but Janeway jokes that " < nowiki > Voyager ' < / nowiki > " s no safe haven , either . They ' ve been up against the Borg , the Vidiian s , Species 8472 , and more . Janeway asks if he ever wishes to be a part of the friendships he sees on " Voyager " . He awkwardly responds " " You don ' t know me at all " " and goes back to working at his console . The " Delta Flyer " receives a transmission on a Starfleet frequency . It is their distress call , but modified on the same dispersal pattern as the anomalies . They play the message , which is a distorted version of the distress call . Harren thinks that they ' re taunting them but Janeway thinks that they ' re trying to communicate . Just as they are going to modulate the universal translator , Telfer walks through the doors . " " He walked right through the force field . . . " " Tal says , as the alien now controls Telfer ' s motor functions . Janeway grabs a phaser and stuns Telfer but he just falls over onto the console . The alien rips through the skin on Telfer ' s neck and jumps onto a console . It taps into the environmental systems , as sparks and minor explosions fill the cockpit . Harren grabs a phaser , and Janeway orders him to hold his fire . Harren fires at the alien anyway and vaporizes it . Janeway knocks the phaser out of his hand and yells at him , saying now they ' ve lost their chance for first contact . The " Flyer " shakes as another section of hull is ripped off . Janeway takes the " Flyer " into the rings of the gas giant where they can only survive a few minutes – just long enough to restart the warp core . Act Five . The " Delta Flyer " enters the radiogenic ring , and begins transporting radiogenic particle s directly into the reaction chamber . Janeway goes back to check on Telfer , who is actually feeling " better " than usual . He explains that his hypochondria was like an internal red alert , which always told him he was sick or dying . Janeway relates that as a child , she was afraid of the ocean – she liked to swim in shallow areas but not the ocean where you didn ' t know what was beneath you . During her first year at the Academy , she went through zero - G training in the Coral Sea and overcame her fear . Tal says that the aliens are in pursuit , despite the creatures not being detectable by sensors . They ' ll intercept in half the time needed to start the warp core . Janeway orders the others to the escape pod s with intentions to ignite the ring and escape at full impulse . Tal says that she wants to stay and that on " Voyager " not much of what they do matters but here it is important . Telfer also decides to remain . Harren decides to leave alone and enters escape pod one . Just as they are about to fire , the escape pod changes heading and heads for the dark matter lifeforms . The " Flyer " crew try to beam him aboard but they are out of transporter range . They come very close to hitting the dark matter aliens but beam the escape pod aboard and head out of the rings . They fire aft phasers at a radiogenic rock in the ring and it explodes , causing a chain reaction in the ring . A shock wave approaches the " Delta Flyer " from behind and Tal counts down to impact . The shock wave hits several seconds after Tal predicted . In " Voyager " s sickbay , Chakotay says that they found the " Delta Flyer " adrift over a gas giant , but everyone is all right . Janeway asks , but they didn ' t find any signs of dark matter lifeforms or another ship . He asks her what happened and she says , continuing the metaphor from before , " " The good shepherd went after some lost sheep . . . and ran into a wolf . " " Chakotay asks if she found them , and Janeway smiles , lying on the biobed , " " I think she did . " " Memorable quotes . " " What does our Borg Queen want now ? " " " " Uh , to the left , ma ' am . " " " " Very interesting . " " " " What do you find most interesting about it ? " " " " Your creative use of the minus sign . " " " " That ' s not possible . " " " " I can ' t get a lock , it ' s like something ' s there , but it ' s . . . not there . " " " " Oh , it ' s there . " " " " Unfortunately I have to agree . " " " " Contact in 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . more or less . " " " " Mortimer ? " " " " My mother didn ' t even call me that . " " " " So pay attention to what we ' re doing here . You can check yourself into Sickbay when we get back . " " " " And " you " can go back to Deck 15 . " " " " That ' s right , where I don ' t have to rely on you or your intellectually deficient friend ! " " " " At least I " have " a friend . " " Links and references . References . algorithm ; Alpha Quadrant ; antimatter ; Bajoran ; base pair ; biosignature ; Borg Queen ; carrier wave ; childhood ; chromosome ; class L ; class T cluster ; class T planet ; Coral Sea ; cosmologist ; Culhane ; " Delta Flyer " ; " Delta Flyer " escape pod ; Delta Quadrant ; dark matter ; dark matter proto - comet ; dark matter lifeform ; EPS relay ; Federation ; gas giant ; " " ; head cold ; hull plate ; hypochondria ; insect ; kilometer ; mechanic ; medical tricorder ; motor neuron ; multiphasic prion ; multivariate analysis ; nightmare ; nucleic acid ; ocean ; Orion I ; Orion Institute of Cosmology ; pasta soup ; phaser ; photon torpedo ; plasma relay ; plasma residue ; pond ; pool ; positron ; protostar ; quantum signature ; radiogenic particle ; reaction chamber ; red alert ; Schlezholt ' s Theory of Multiple Big Bangs ; sheep ; shepherd ; spatial fluctuation ; Starfleet Academy ; subspace echo ; subspace frequency ; subspace infrared algorithm ; subspace particle decay ; swimming ; terawatt ; tetrovaline ; theoretical cosmology ; tricorder ; vacuum exposure ; Vico V ; Wang ' s Second Postulate ; warp core ; wolf