Year of Hell ( episode ) Obsessed with restoring the Krenim Imperium , no matter the cost , a Krenim military temporal scientist creates changes in history that all but destroy " Voyager " . A perfect day on a class M planet . An advanced civilization lives here , evidenced by a sprawling and technologically advanced metropolis . Suddenly , in the sky above , a tremendously large weapon appears . It fires a beam of energy at the city . The beam spreads out over the city and beyond . Every trace of civilization vanishes , replaced by virgin land , as if the planet had never been populated . Summary . Teaser . Aboard the ship that fired the beam , a young officer checks computer displays and reports to the ship ' s commander that the temporal incursion is complete and all organisms on the planet have been eradicated . The commander asks if their target event has been achieved . Frustrated , the officer reports that it has not been achieved . The commander speculates that more definitive action is necessary and orders a course laid in for the homeworld of the Zahl . The entire species , he decides , must be erased from time . Act One . Aboard the , the senior staff is gathered together in the new astrometrics lab to celebrate its completion . Seven of Nine is placed in charge of the lab . She and the co - designer of the lab , Ensign Harry Kim , demonstrate its abilities by showing them a projection of a new course to Earth they have plotted that by Seven ' s estimate will trim five years from their decades - long journey . Lieutenant jg B ' Elanna Torres observes that they are entering a region of space with many class M planets . Seven informs that the territory is claimed by the Zahl , a species the Borg have assigned a low resistance quotient . The Doctor then begins a long , drawn - out speech he has prepared , much to the chagrin of those assembled . As it becomes obvious that his speech will not be brief , he is interrupted when the bridge hail s Captain Kathryn Janeway , informing her of an incoming hail from an approaching ship . The crew , glad to be spared the speech , quickly disperse and ignore The Doctor ' s invitation to meet up later . The hailing ship is now firing on " Voyager " but causing no damage . On the bridge , Lieutenant Commander Tuvok scans the vessel and reports that it is no threat as it is small , its weapons limited , and its warp capacity low . Janeway orders an on - screen answer to the hail . It is a Krenim vessel . The hailer , a Krenim commandant , appears . Furious , he informs Janeway that they are trespassing in Krenim space and orders her to reverse course or face destruction , though his vessel is completely unable to harm " Voyager " . Janeway responds with a smirk and dismisses his threat with a disparaging comment about the " size " of what is in his " torpedo tubes " . The commandant angrily closes the channel . Janeway orders " Voyager " s course maintained but also orders yellow alert , just in case . " Voyager " has entered Zahl space . The ship is stationary with two large , Zahl ships nearby . In the briefing room , a friendly and engaging Zahl official assures Janeway that there is nothing to fear from the Krenim , who were defeated by the Zahl over a generation ago despite their formidable temporal weapons . Their ships , he tells her , still wander Zahl territory claiming the space as their own but are no more than a nuisance . Janeway acknowledges this appraisal with a smile . However , as the ambassador begins inquiring about their lengthy journey , Kim hails Janeway from the bridge and informs her the vessel has returned . Janeway and the Zahl enter the bridge . The vessel hails and Janeway orders an on - screen answer . It is the same Krenim commandant who , upon noticing the Zahl official , accuses Janeway of consorting with their enemy . The Zahl angrily warns the commandant to disengage , threating to seize his ship and ship him home in a cargo container . As Janeway interjects , Kim reports a huge spatial distortion heading for them , five light year s across and expanding . Tuvok scans it and , to the Zahl ' s shock , reports it to be a space - time distortion originating from a vessel near the Zahl homeworld . Flight controller Tom Paris tries to take the ship to warp speed in an attempt to get away from the distortion , but the wave destabilizes the warp field , making escape impossible . The wave overtakes all the vessels and everything quickly changes . The Zahl ships vanish . The modest Krenim vessel is transformed into a Krenim warship . On " Voyager " s bridge , the Zahl official vanishes . The bridge goes from pristine to red alert condition with significant damaged , appearing to have been caused over the last several days . Lights flicker and gases leak . Janeway and the other officers go from being relaxed but alert to being tense and disheveled . A crewmember lies dead on the floor . None of the crew are aware that any kind of change occurred . The ship shudders from the warship ' s fire . Tuvok reports their shields are at seventeen percent . Before the wave , they were at full strength . The Krenim vessel hails . The Krenim commandant appears , but instead of being impotently angry , he is deadly confident . He offers to forgo the execution of Janeway ' s crew if she will surrender her ship . When she coldly refuses , he warns her to prepare to be boarded and closes the channel . Janeway orders battle stations , remarking to Chakotay that " " this is turning into the week of hell " . " Act Two . " Voyager " is pummeled by the Krenim warship , its torpedo es easily penetrating the ship ' s deflector shield s . Chakotay cannot understand why , but Tuvok answers that the torpedoes are not photon ic but chroniton ic ; They are getting through their shields because they are in temporal flux , slightly out of phase with space - time , simultaneously there and yet not there . Her ship defenseless , Janeway gives the order to flee at warp speed . Once out of immediate danger , she orders a 24 - hour tactical alert and orders Tuvok to find a way to modify the shields against the Krenim torpedoes . The ship that caused the change in the timeline is a Krenim temporal weapon ship . The Krenim weapon revised the timeline so that the Zahl never existed , hence the Krenim were never defeated , and the entire region has again become Krenim - controlled space . The commander , Annorax , is in his chambers aboard his ship . He holds a sealed glass pyramid containing a small lock of red hair . He gazes at it with evident grief . The young officer previously on the bridge , named Obrist , enters and with dignified excitement reports that the erasure of the Zahl from history has restored the Krenim Imperium to 98 % of the power it once had ; 849 worlds over 5 , 000 parsec s . However , Annorax asks him whether or not a certain colony at Kyana Prime was restored . Obrist tells him that in this timeline , the Imperium ' s territory does not extend far enough to encompass Kyana Prime . He does so in a voice that shows he has been asked this question before and has always had the same answer . Disappointed by this news , Annorax responds that they have failed and orders Obrist to start calculations for another temporal incursion . Frustrated , Obrist hangs his head and shakes it . He earnestly pleads that , in two hundred years of attempts , they have never ever achieved this level of restoration and that even a minor incursion could jeopardize this unprecedented success . Clearly having no interest in entertaining his officer ' s objections , Annorax sternly orders him to obey his order . Resigned , Obrist acknowledges and leaves . " Voyager " is chased by a Krenim warship . A torpedo slams into the junction between the saucer section and the stardrive . The bridge looks in worse condition than before as " Voyager " has been suffering constant Krenim attacks . Tuvok ' s attempts to modify the shields against the Krenim chroniton torpedoes have failed . However , Chakotay notices the warship ' s aft shields are down but " Voyager " s own weapons are non - functional . Meanwhile , The Doctor hails from sickbay and informs them that a power overload is occurring there . Kim tries to stop it but his attempts fail , and the power overload quickly spreads throughout Deck 5 . Chakotay immediately orders a complete evacuation of the deck . Janeway orders Tuvok to arm four of their eleven remaining photon torpedo es and deploy them like mine s . He does and her tactic works : the Krenim warship runs into the free - floating torpedoes and is destroyed . Janeway ' s attention immediately returns to the impending destruction of Deck 5 . There , The Doctor quickly shepherds his patients and other crewmembers into a Jefferies tube , where they will be safe from the impending explosion . But as he is about to seal himself and the others in the tube he sees two crewmembers , Emmanuel and , running desperately toward the hatch . He waits for them until the computer counts the last second before the deck blows . Seeing that , though close , they cannot make it to the Jefferies tube in time , he seals the hatch . Much of the deck explodes outward in a huge line of flame and debris along the top of the saucer section . The ship is so violently shaken by the explosion that all officers on the bridge are knocked off their feet or out of their seats . Kim reports the almost complete destruction of Deck 5 . Tuvok gives a casualty report , which includes the deaths of the two crewmembers who did not make it to the Jefferies tube . Janeway ends the red alert and looks around at the damage on the bridge . Most of the lights are out , console displays flicker and debris is strewn everywhere . She leaves Chakotay with the bridge and goes to her ready room . Janeway ' s ready room is in even worse condition than the bridge . All lights are out and debris covers almost the entire floor and her desk . Her desktop monitor is completely destroyed . Chakotay enters , and advises her that the crew should abandon ship as their strategy of trying to modify the shields is not working and the ship is being decimated . Janeway staunchly disagrees stating that if they separate , they will be unable to pool their talents and will be even more vulnerable to the Krenim ; They will stay on the ship as long as the ship remains in one piece . Chakotay accepts this as Paris hails them from the bridge and informs them of yet another attack . Kim and an injured Torres are trapped in a dark , debris - strewn turbolift car . Already stuck there for six hours , they continue passing the time by playing guessing games . Despite her increasing pain , Torres stubbornly tries to think of the answer to Kim ' s latest puzzle when Seven of Nine pries the door open and frees them . Seven answers Kim ' s final question about the name of Zefram Cochrane ' s ship – the " Phoenix " – and tells them the Borg were present during . When she informs them that the latest attack disabled the entire turbolift system , Torres wants to go to the Jefferies tubes on Deck 11 to try to repair the EPS relay s but Kim insists that she go to Sick Bay . She realizes he ' s right and Seven goes to Deck 11 instead . Act Three . Meanwhile on the bridge , in front of the flickering master systems display , Janeway , Chakotay , and Paris discuss an a plan conceived by Paris : using transverse bulkhead s to seal off sections of the ship in the event of a breach , an increasingly - likely possibility given the ship ' s current state and the persistent Krenim attacks . Inspired by a similar technology on the " Titanic " ( which the Captain points out ultimately sank ) , Paris ' plan is approved by Janeway . The Doctor hails Paris from the mess hall ( " Voyager " s new medical facility due to sickbay ' s destruction ) asking for his assistance in his capacity as medic . On Deck 11 , Seven opens a Jefferies tube hatch but just as she is about to climb in , she sees an object lodged in the tube ' s wall . She climbs in , moves close to it and scans it with a tricorder . It is an undetonated Krenim chroniton torpedo with the warhead still armed and ready to go off . She urgently hails Tuvok and informs him of her discovery . He orders her to hold position and not attempt disarming it . When Tuvok arrives , he decides that the safest option is to cordon off the tube with a level 10 force field in order to contain the imminent explosion of the destabilizing warhead . But Seven wants to complete this unique opportunity to scan one of the torpedoes and ascertain its exact temporal variance , which can be used to correctly modify the deflector shields . Tuvok objects and attempts to drag her toward the hatch . Struggling against him to finish , Seven finally succeeds in finding the variance – 1 . 47 microseconds – but the torpedo detonates before they reach the hatch . Tuvok shields her and the explosion catches him in the face . Act Four . " Voyager " is in a terrible state . Janeway records in her log that the replicator system was severely damaged in the latest attack , forcing the crew to survive on emergency ration s . Environmental controls are failing and seven decks are now uninhabitable . The weary crew , having relocated from their quarters and sleeping in bunks , are struggling on . The bridge is now totally wrecked as Janeway attempts to repair the science station . Chakotay , reminding her of the date — her birthday — offers her a gift : a silver pocket watch he replicated for her months earlier . But in their current condition , non - essentials are a luxury they cannot afford and she tells him to recycle it . Tuvok , now completely blind from the chroniton torpedo blast in the Deck 11 Jefferies tube , shaves with a straight - edge razor in the remains of his quarters . Seven of Nine enters and says that she is " reporting for duty " to lead him on his morning rounds . She has devoted herself to helping Tuvok after sacrificing his sight to shield her from harm . She shows irritation that he has cut himself shaving , having previously offered to help him with personal grooming . Tuvok rejects the notion , clearly not for the first time . Before they leave his quarters , she informs him of an idea she has developed on how to modify the deflector shields to defend against the Krenim torpedoes , using the temporal variance she measured from the torpedo . He decides that they should forgo his rounds and proceed to deflector control . As they make their way along the darkened , debris - strewn corridors , the two bemoan Human personal habits after Seven crosses paths with her new bunk mate . Chakotay ' s voice comes through the com system , warning of another incoming attack and ordering all hands to battle stations . Tuvok orders Seven to go to deflector control and bring the modified shields on - line , essentially testing them in battle , while he attempts to make his way to the bridge , feeling along the walls to get there . Upon arriving at the bridge , Tuvok goes to his tactical station . Blind , he cannot see his station ' s visual interface and has the computer initiate a tactile interface , allowing him to operate the controls and read the displays by touch . Janeway orders an on - screen view of the approaching Krenim warship . Ordering evasive maneuvers , Chakotay and she pester Seven to engage the newly - modified shields . Once Seven succeeds in bringing them on - line , the warship fires on them once more . The first torpedo misses due to Paris ' piloting skills , but the second hits . This time the torpedo causes no damage ; Seven ' s modifications work perfectly . Janeway orders Tuvok to hail the warship . She advises them to stand down , as " Voyager " is no longer defenseless against them . They do not answer . She orders Paris to maintain course through Krenim space . Elsewhere , the temporal weapon ship approaches another planet , home to a race called the Garenor . Annorax orders the ship taken into orbit and the weapon to be fully powered and fired . It has the same effect as seen on the Zahl colony : every trace of civilization vanishes , as if it never existed , and the space - time shock wave created radiates outward away from the planet . Back on " Voyager " , the Krenim warship is still in pursuit but has ceased firing , unsure how to respond to the recent development ; This newfound advantage over the warship is " Voyager " s first in months . Kim soon reports the approach of the most recent temporal wave . Even before this timeline the ship could not outrun it , so it has absolutely no chance in its dilapidated state . The wave hits . But the new shields protect the ship from the wave ' s temporal changes for the same reasons they protected against the Krenim ' s temporal torpedoes . However , the Krenim warship has no such protection . The shocked bridge crew watch as it is reduced from a mighty warship to a once again modest ship with limited armaments that would pose no threat to an undamaged " Voyager " . A baffled Kim reports that the ship is definitely Krenim but it is no longer the warship they were just facing . Chakotay scans the region from the command console and reports that the region has suddenly changed : before the wave , the area was filled with Krenim colonies and warships , but now there are no colonies and only a few small ships . History appears to have been changed so that the Kremim Imperium never existed . Janeway orders Kim to route any data about the wave to astrometrics where she is headed , commenting that their troubles might suddenly be over . Aboard the temporal weapon ship , Obrist notes the erasure of the Krenim Imperium with great consternation . He reports to Annorax that the incursion has gone terribly wrong . Annorax cannot believe it , insisting that their calculations were perfect . Obrist pores over the sensor data and finds the explanation : as a previously " inert " component , they had failed to account for " Voyager " s new temporal shields in their calculations . Annorax orders a course be set to go to " Voyager " . Astrometrics is as ruined as the rest of the ship but Seven manages to activate its sensors , finding the database intact . Janeway orders her to call up a previous scan of the area . It shows how the region was : under the boot of the Krenim Imperium , full of Krenim colonies . A new scan confirms what Chakotay found , that the Imperium does not currently exist ; History has been changed by the wave . On Janeway ' s order , Seven tracks its source and finds that it originated near the Garenor homeworld . She further notes with confusion that the sensors show that the Garenor do not exist anymore , also erased from history by the wave . She theorizes that , because of their temporal weapons , the Krenim may also be responsible for the temporal wave . This makes no sense to Janeway , as the change has undermined their own species . She speculates that there is a " big piece of the puzzle still missing , " and in the midst of ordering another scan , the ship is suddenly shaken . Act Five . Annorax ' s ship arrives . Aboard , Obrist confirms that " Voyager " is generating a temporal field . Annorax orders two of her crew collected as samples , along with a small piece of the hull . He also orders preparations for another temporal incursion , this time against " Voyager " . He cannot have this anomalous temporal component disrupting his calculations and intends to eliminate it . On " Voyager " , Kim reports with surprise that the entire Krenim vessel is in temporal flux and like the torpedoes , the ship actually exists outside of space - time . Chakotay rises and walks toward the viewscreen , studying the vessel . He stops at the conn console , beside Paris . Suddenly , both men vanish , transported away . Janeway immediately orders efforts to retrieve them . Kim tries but fails . A hail comes from the weapon ship . Janeway orders it answered on - screen . Annorax appears , calmly but sternly telling Janeway to identify herself and her ship , which she does . He reciprocates and observes that " Voyager " is not from the Delta Quadrant . Janeway confirms , but when she asks about the change in history — emphasizing the erasure of the Krenim Imperium — he curtly responds that it is none of her business . When he tells her that she has diverted him from his mission , she realizes that he is responsible for the change in the timeline . Without denying this , he assures her it is nothing personal but that " Voyager " must be erased as well , informing her that this will " restore the lives of countless millions . " With a curt apology , he closes the channel . The ship fires its temporal weapon on " Voyager " . So great is its power that the temporal shields are quickly degraded . Kim reports tensely that the beam is pushing " Voyager " out of the space - time continuum ; they are being erased from history . However , Seven scans the weapon ship and reports that its mass prevents it from achieving speeds in excess of warp 6 . " Voyager " , whose normal top warp speed is in excess of warp 9 . 9 , can escape . But Tuvok cautions that damage to the ship ' s structural integrity means that warp speed will cause extreme damage . Despite Tuvok ' s concerns and having to leave Chakotay and Paris behind , Janeway feels that right now they have no choice . She orders Paris ' transverse bulkheads be brought online , all hands to get away from the hull ' s outer sections and , taking the helm , engages the warp drive . They escape the temporal beam . But large , jagged pieces of the outer hull peel off and break away . Janeway calls a meeting of surviving crewmembers in the remains of the mess hall . She sadly but sternly informs them of the ship ' s inability to sustain the crew any longer . She is now forced to make the decision Chakotay had suggested weeks before : to abandon ship . The senior staff , she announces , will stay behind with her and attempt to rescue Chakotay and Paris . She gives the departing crew some inspiring words before dismissing them . Escape pod hatches open and the pods , carrying most of the crew , emerge from the remains of the hull and fall away from the ship . TO BE CONTINUED . . . Memorable quotes . " " Who would ' ve thought that this eclectic group of voyagers could actually become a family ? Starfleet , Maquis , Klingon , Talaxian , hologram , Borg . . . even Mr . Paris . " " " " This is turning into the week of hell . " " " " You have the bridge . . . what ' s left of it . " " " " I don ' t respond well to threats . " " " " With all due respect . . . unless you ' ve got something a little bigger in your torpedo tubes , I ' m not turning around . " " " " Sir , you were correct . The Zahl homeworld " was " the focal point . Its erasure has produced a " complete " temporal restoration . " " " " Complete ' ? " " " " Yes , sir . " " " " If I told you to count the stars in the cosmos , would the task ever be complete ? " " " " Sir ? " " " " Our attempts may be sufficient ; they may even be relatively successful , but they will never be complete . Choose your words with more precision . " " " " My apologies . " " " " The " Titanic ? " As I recall , it sank . " " " " Let ' s just say I ' ve made a few improvements . " " " " Happy birthday . " " " " Happy " what " ? " " " " Shaving is hardly a life - threatening activity . " " " " We ' re just about done rebuilding the internal security sensors and we are ready to program the audio signal . Do you want it to say ' Intruder alert ' or should we try something a little more dramatic like ' Warning , intruder alert ' , or ' Intruders among us . Danger ! Danger ! Intruders among us . " ' " " " Intruder alert ' will suffice . " " " " Krenim vessels , this is the captain of " Voyager . " You may have noticed we have a defense against your torpedoes now . I suggest you stand down . " " " " No response . " " " " Their mistake . Bring the ship about . We ' re going through their space whether they like it or not . " " " " He ' s trying to erase us from history . " " " " Each of you has done your best , but determination alone isn ' t going to hold this ship together . It ' s time we faced reality . We ' ve lost nine decks , more than half this ship has been destroyed . Life support is nearly gone ; " Voyager " can no longer sustain its crew . I promised myself that I would never give this order , that I would never break up this family ; but asking you to stay . . . would be asking you to die . " " Links and references . References . 2342 ; 47 ; " all hands " ; Alpha Quadrant ; annexation ; antibody ; astrometric database ; Astrometrics ; battle stations ; birthday ; blindness ; blood ; boot ; Borg ; " brace for impact " ; British Navy ; cargo container ; Cat ' s Eye Nebula ; causality paradox ; chroniton ; chroniton torpedo ; class M ; ; Cray ; crew quarters ; cup ; damage report ; Deflector Control ; Delta Quadrant ; Eagle Nebula ; Earth ; emergency hand actuator ; emergency power ; emergency ration ; environmental control ; EPS manifold ; escape pod ; evasive maneuvers ; Federation ; First Contact ; force field ; ; Garenor ; Garenor homeworld ; gift ; globe ; ; Grid 005 ; harbor ; honeycomb ; hull breach ; inanimate object ; inaprovaline ; initials ; internal bleeding ; ; intruder alert ; Jefferies tube ; ; Klingon ; Krenim ; Krenim Imperium ; Krenim patrol ship ; Krenim weapon ship ; Krenim warship ; Kyana Prime ; laceration ; lung ; Maquis ; mess hall ; meter ; Milky Way Galaxy ; mirror ; Mister Vulcan ; Montana ; parrises squares ; parsec ; " Phoenix " ; plank ; pocket watch ; power grid ; purée ; RADAR ; razor blade ; ; red alert ; referee ; replicator ; resistance quotient ; Rilnar ; Riviera ; sail ; Saturn ; sensor ; shaving ; sickbay ; sink ; spacetime continuum ; star ; Starfleet Academy ; structural integrity field ; subspace ; subspace beacon ; tactile interface ; Talaxian ; temporal disruption ; temporal energy ; temporal incursion ; temporal shield ; temporal science ; ; " To Catch a Thief " ; towel ; trace element ; transverse bulkhead ; triage ; tricorder ; turbolift ; Veil Nebula ; vertebra ; Vulcan ; " Year of Hell " ; yellow alert ; Zahl ; Zahl starship ; Zahl homeworld