USS Equinox The USS " Equinox " ( NCC - 72381 ) was a 24th century Federation starship operated by Starfleet . Command crew . " ( As of 2376 ) " Early history . This science vessel was constructed at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards and launched in early 2370 , approximately stardate 47007 . 1 . By 2371 , Captain Rudolph Ransom assumed command of the vessel . The " Equinox " was a limited role starship , designed for short - term planetary research and boasted a top speed of only warp 8 ; however , it was one of the first vessels to be equipped with an Emergency Medical Hologram . As a " Nova " - class science vessel , it was much smaller and thus not as well armed or provisioned as larger starships , such as the had been , while Captain Ransom himself was primarily a scientist , and with arguably little command experience ; he showed tendencies towards misdirection and overall avoidance of direct combat . In early 2371 , the " Equinox " was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the entity known as the . During the vessel ' s first week in the region , 39 crew members – roughly half the crew – were killed in a conflict with the Krowtonan Guard . The Krowtonan Guard claimed that the " Equinox " had violated their borders , but Captain Ransom gave the order to continue through their space . The decision would haunt Ransom for the rest of his life . As years passed struggling to survive in the Delta Quadrant , the crew of the " Equinox " , believed that the principles of the Federation and the regulations of Starfleet would not be effective in their situation ( in a direct contrast to the similar situation of and Kathryn Janeway who insistently clung to the rules ) . The few members of the now small crew came close together often neglecting protocol . Addressing each other by first name was an example of this . On their way back to the Alpha Quadrant , the ship made first contact with several hostile species , and few friendly ones , such as the Ponea and the Ankari . Ransom also mentioned a wormhole that shortened their trip home . ( ) The " Spirits of Good Fortune " . At some point , the " Equinox " limped to an M - class planet . The vessel was severely damaged and the crew had not eaten in days . They were fortunate to find that the natives were friendly , and after providing the crew with some food and medical assistance , the Ankari had their " Spirits of Good Fortune " bless their journey . The " Equinox " crew was intrigued with these " spirits , " who turned out to be nucleogenic lifeform s . After acquiring one of the summoning devices , the crew accidentally killed one of the lifeforms . An analysis revealed that the aliens ' remains could be used to enhance the " Equinox " s warp drive . The results were dramatic for the " Equinox " crew ; the aliens ' remains had allowed the vessel to travel over 10 , 000 light year s in only two weeks . The crew believed they had found their salvation , and they decided to continue killing the aliens to shorten their journey towards home . Unfortunately for the " Equinox " crew , the aliens were not willing to stand by and allow themselves to be murdered . They began viciously attacking the " Equinox " crew in retaliation , killing or injuring several crew members during their brief assaults . The aliens also managed to inflict a substantial amount of damage to the " Equinox " herself , the constant attacks making repairs nearly impossible . ( ) A call for help . After an alien attack in early 2375 , Captain Ransom managed to send a distress call . The message was picked up by none other than the , another Federation starship stranded in the Delta Quadrant . " Voyager " managed to extend its shields around the heavily - damaged " Equinox " and send damage control and medical teams to the vessel to assess the situation and secure the crippled starship . Captain Ransom immediately began lying to Captain Kathryn Janeway about the " Equinox " s predicament , claiming he had no idea as to the aliens ' identity nor their reasons for attacking both his ship and crew , and that he was unable to communicate with them . Additionally , the crew had flooded their science lab with radiation to prevent any " Voyager " personnel from learning of the experiments . It was this sabotage that attracted the attention of Lieutenant Commander Tuvok , " Voyager " s security chief . Not wanting to expose her suspicions , Janeway sent her doctor , a hologram immune to radiation poisoning , over to investigate . The Doctor ' s findings exposed the truth behind the alien attacks . All " Equinox " personnel were confined to quarters on " Voyager " while Janeway began looking for a way to communicate with the aliens and find a peaceful resolution to the crisis . Unfortunately , the " Equinox " EMH , operating without its ethical subroutines and posing as The Doctor , managed to free his crew and help them escape to their own vessel . Ransom stole one of " Voyager " s field generator s and left his fellow captain and her crew under attack from the aliens . ( ) The hunt for Ransom . Janeway became infuriated with Ransom ' s betrayal of Starfleet ' s ethics , and although she was officially pursuing the " Equinox " to rescue Seven of Nine , who had been kidnapped during the " Equinox " crew ' s escape , her real interest was bringing Ransom to justice , by any means necessary . Commander Chakotay understood Janeway ' s true motivations and this led to a buildup of tensions between the captain and first officer , with Chakotay eventually being relieved of duty , and subsequently considering mutiny against the captain . The " Equinox " continued to flee from " Voyager " , eventually finding a planet where the crew could resupply the ship . The vessel ' s damage had limited her top speed to only warp 6 , allowing " Voyager " to easily catch up and capture two crew members . An interrogation of Crewman Noah Lessing allowed the " Voyager " crew to locate a group of Ankari , who agreed to communicate with their " Spirits of Good Fortune " and arrange a cease fire in exchange for Janeway ' s deliverance of the " Equinox " and her crew to them . Final moments . By the time " Voyager " again located the " Equinox " , Ransom was already considering surrendering to Janeway . Disgruntled with this course of action , first officer Maxwell Burke mutinied against his captain and fired on " Voyager " . The " Equinox " was outgunned and quickly disabled , however . Ensign Marla Gilmore , who had been ordered to escort Ransom to the brig , instead brought him to engineering and pledged her support to him . Ransom and Gilmore managed to gain control of the " Equinox " and beam five crew members to " Voyager " ( including Gilmore herself ) , along with Seven of Nine . The Doctor was also transferred back to " Voyager " , after which he deleted the " Equinox " EMH that had taken his place . Burke and the remaining bridge crew tried to make their way to the shuttlebay to escape , but were killed en route . During the final battle with " Voyager " , Ransom and Gilmore allowed the aliens access to the " Equinox " s vital systems , including the ship ' s warp core . With a breach only seconds away , Ransom piloted the doomed " Equinox " to a safe distance away from " Voyager " . After receiving Janeway ' s word that she would get the two crews home , the " Equinox " exploded , ending her disastrous five - year stay in the Delta Quadrant . Satisfied with the " Equinox " s destruction , the aliens ceased their attacks on " Voyager " . The five surviving " Equinox " crew members , Marla Gilmore , Noah Lessing , James Morrow , Angelo Tassoni , and Brian Sofin , were stripped of rank and ordered to serve as crewmen on " Voyager " , with extensive supervision and limited privileges . ( ) Appendices . Background information . In a documentary included in the DVD release of s fifth season , Rick Sternbach revealed how the " Equinox " was designed : " " I was searching through piles of drawings for little ships just to get some inspiration and I came across a sketch that I had done for the " " of the original design for the before . . . [ it ] was given all of its armor and upgraded weapons , what we call the " Pathfinder " vehicle . . . and I thought , ' Well , we haven ' t seen this one yet , so maybe this design could turn into the " Equinox " and the drawing was approved and we fleshed out the " Equinox " for the two - parter . " " The designation " " Nova " class " was mentioned in the " " as being a new class of ship under design by Starfleet . There was consideration of the " Enterprise " - E being built as a member of this class . The " Nova " - class mentioned in the technical manual was to be a long - range scout / tactical vessel ( much like the " Enterprise " - D or the USS " Voyager " ) , and not a planetary research vessel , of which type the " Equinox " was a member . Apart from a minor appearance on an astrometrics display in , the " Equinox " and the issues presented in its two - parter were never revisited in any later episode . A refitted " Nova " - class , however , appeared in as the , under the command of a future version of Harry Kim .