Juggernaut ( episode ) " Voyager " finds a damaged Malon freighter that is about to explode and contaminate an entire sector with deadly radiation . Summary . Teaser . A large Malon export vessel streams through space , spewing waste as it goes . A Malon crewmember wanders the ship , playing with a toy , a small replica ship . He makes it crash into his commander , Fesek . It turns out that the toy is a gift for Fesek ' s children . All of a sudden , the ship jolts . The first crewmember , Pelk , reports that there is a fluctuation in tank four . Alarms sound throughout the ship . Emergency systems are off - line , and there is a full - scale rupture in tank four . Fesek orders the tank to be ejected . The ejection systems aren ' t responding , and tank six begins to rupture . Fesek orders one of his engineers to go into the core and seal the tanks manually . Act One . Aboard , Tuvok is patiently attempting to teach a skeptical B ' Elanna Torres a meditation technique . Apparently , Torres lost her temper at The Doctor and destroyed his holo - camera . Torres is now undergoing Vulcan therapy to control her emotions , as per Commander Chakotay ' s orders . As Tuvok begins to bring Torres back to her childhood , she begins to laugh , explaining that she pictured the Vulcan as a child . Finally going along with it , Torres tells Tuvok of her earliest memory of anger . She talks about a boy she knew as a child , Daniel Byrd , who often tormented her about being half - Klingon by calling her " Ms . Turtlehead . " On one occasion she attacked him while he was on the gyro - swing . She sabotaged the machine , and then yanked him from the contraption and beat his face in . Their teacher , Miss , separated them . Tuvok analyzes Torres ' anger , " " Your anger was a source of strength , it protected you , gave you courage . " " He demonstrates how easily provoked Torres is by calling her the name that the boy called her . She gets up and says she has had enough for one day . On the bridge , her boyfriend Tom Paris asks Tuvok how the meditation went . Tuvok declines to give specifics because of confidentiality concerns , but when pressed finally admits " " it will be a challenge for both of us . " " Next , " Voyager " picks up an automated distress call . Captain Janeway orders a response and the ship moves to intercept . When the " Voyager " crew responds , they find 37 escape pod s , all contaminated with theta radiation . Only two people are still alive . They are transported aboard and treated by The Doctor . Both are Malon , and one identifies himself as controller Fesek , the other as Pelk . Fesek tells Captain Janeway that their vessel was damaged when cargo container s 4 and 6 ruptured . Every system failed aboard the ship . Sixty crewmen died in minutes . They aren ' t out of danger yet , however ; there are are about four trillion isoton s of antimatter waste on board , and if that waste ignites , everything within a three light year radius will be destroyed . Janeway orders Paris to back " Voyager " off five light years ; however , " Voyager " can ' t generate a stable warp field because of the high concentration of theta radiation , so what had been only a Malon problem is now also a " Voyager " problem as well . Act Two . On the bridge , the crew and the Malon discuss their options . Fesek is in favor of hiding " Voyager " in a nebula where it will be safe . However , Janeway states that she will not abandon the other three ships in the sector to save herself . They decide that they must send an away team . The control room is contaminated , so they must enter the ship in an uncontaminated area and vent the radiation on the other deck s . Before they enact the plan , Pelk feels compelled to tell the captain about Vihaar . Fesek says it is only myth , but many Malon believe in the monster that lives in the theta storage tanks on Malon vessels . Pelk says that during the evacuation , crewmen saw unknown forms aboard the ship . Fesek counters this by saying that hallucinations are one of the first symptoms of theta radiation poisoning . During the briefing in main engineering , Neelix demonstrates his knowledge of waste management , citing his experience with a Talaxian garbage scow . Torres continues to antagonize the Malon survivors ; almost every comment of hers is directed against them and their race . Chakotay pulls her aside to talk about it , and orders her to keep her temper in check . In the mess hall , Chakotay enters as Neelix gags on some sort of liquid . He says it is not strong enough . Chakotay assures him that the crew will be able to feed themselves , but Neelix insists that he has already prepared lunch , dinner , breakfast , and a midnight snack . He is currently working on a Talaxian theta radiation remedy , just in case The Doctor ' s inoculation fails . He also thanks Chakotay for selecting him for the important mission . Chakotay , Torres , Neelix , and both Malon survivors beam aboard the Malon ship and attempt to decompress all decks and contain the explosion risk . The corridor that they enter is full of highly - charged metagenic particles ; Torres predicts that there will be an electrostatic cascade . At the last minute , she realizes that the tricorder s are causing the cascade . An electrical explosion floods the corridor while everyone takes cover . Afterward , the Malon discover that they must manually open the airlock s . Chakotay sends Fesek and Torres to the injector port , while Pelk stays with the away team . Fesek and Torres activate the actuators , but the airlock mechanism is jammed . Pelk goes onto the contaminated deck to unlock a manual coupling . He instantly becomes aware of an alien presence aboard . A moment later Chakotay and Neelix hear screams and find Pelk with severe injuries . Pelk claims he saw the " creature " before he loses consciousness and dies . He is beamed to sickbay for an autopsy . Act Three . The away team has vented five out of fifteen decks , but at that rate , the ship will detonate before they can reach the control room . Janeway decides to put together a plan B orders Tuvok to calculate how to tractor the freighter into the path of a star of an O - type star . Torres then begins to show signs of radiation poisoning . Chakotay orders Fesek to take Torres to the Malon infirmary for treatment . They will rendezvous outside of the control room . Once they arrive in the infirmary , they discover a body that was being treated for long - term exposure . Fesek informs her that he was a core laborer . This is an occupation with a high - pay ( making more in a couple of months than most Malon do in a lifetime ) but low survival rate , since they work in close proximity to the core . In astrometrics , Seven of Nine assists Tuvok in the tractor beam plan calculations . She has also created a " plan C " to protect " Voyager " from radiation in the event of a failure . Later , when the remaining four away team members attempt to decompress deck 3 , their own deck is decompressed . They barely make it out , but Commander Chakotay is hit by debris and loses consciousness . He is transported to sickbay . As they argue over whose fault it was , a mysterious figure watches them from hiding without their knowledge . Act Four . Tuvok expresses his concern that Torres is now in command of the away team . He offers to beam over and take command himself . However the captain has confidence in Torres ' ability , and leaves her in charge of the away team . Torres continues to prepare the tractor beam plan . Neelix reports to Torres that they have a clear path to the control room , but she is meditating . Finally Torres , Neelix , and Fesek reach the control room . As they attempt to seal the ruptured tanks , power fails . In the meantime , The Doctor finds that Pelk was attacked by some lifeform that has grown resistant to theta radiation . He relays this to astrometrics , where Seven finds the creature closing in on Torres and Neelix ' position . " Voyager " has no choice now but to alter the freighter ' s trajectory with the tractor beam . However , the away team cannot be beamed out through the dampening field . The " creature " attacks Neelix , but there is too much gas to see the attacker . Suddenly , Neelix stumbles out of the mist with heavy radiation burns . As Fesek tries to pry the hatch open , the " creature " attacks him from behind . Torres grabs a metal pipe to attempt to defend him . Act Five . The " creature " , known in Malon myth as a Vihaar , turns out to be a Malon core laborer named Dremk , who has set out to sabotage the ship in order to show to the Malon that this form of shipping of waste should be banned . Torres tries to reason with him while she wages an inner battle between her anger at the dangerous situation she ' s been placed in and her desire to do the right thing . She tells him she understands his anger and that she is on his side , but he will not give up his cause . Torres knocks him out using a piece of piping , reluctantly realizing that sometimes her Klingon aggressiveness is the only way out of a situation . She , Neelix , and Fesek flee the control room and are beamed out just before the freighter flies into the star and explodes . Later on in sickbay , The Doctor has healed the away team as best he can . The captain has contacted a nearby Malon transport to take Fesek home . He wonders how he can explain the events to his superiors , and Torres suggests he tells the truth about the Vihaar . Then Torres is finally able to take her sonic shower . Memorable quotes . " " Whatever you say , Miss Turtle Head . " " " " Take it from me , getting B ' Elanna to control her temper is like convincing a Ferengi to leave his estate to charity . " " " " Once you get past the , the choking reflex , it ' s really , it ' s really not so bad . " " " " With any luck , we won ' t be needing it . " " " " I didn ' t think Vulcans believed in luck . " " " " As a rule , we don ' t , but serving with Captain Janeway has taught me otherwise . " " " " She does tend to succeed more than random chance would allow . I ' ll factor it into my calculations . " " " " B ' Elanna , I need your expertise on this mission , not your bad mood . " " " " Flame , like emotion is a primitive force . Left unchecked it ' s chaotic , destructive , but if controlled it can be a powerful tool . The lamp controls the flame as you must learn to control your emotions . " " " " He said he was attacked . " " " " Ah yes , the Malon boogeyman . " " Links and references . References . 2368 ; actuator ; analeptic compound ; anesthezine ; antimatter waste ; ascender ; biohazard containment procedures ; ; cc ; centrifugal governor ; chemical burn ; choke ; communications ; core laborer ; corona ; cortical stimulator ; cranial ridge ; creature ; cubic meter ; dampening field ; decontamination bay ; Delta Quadrant ; electrostatic cascade ; emergency containment field ; environmental system ; EV ; Ferengi ; freighter blight ; grammar school ; gyro - swing ; holo - camera ; industrial waste ; infirmary ; inoculation ; isoton ; Katyllian clove ; kilometer ; lightheaded ; logic ; luck ; lung ; Malon ; Malon escape pod ; Malon export vessel ; Malon Prime ; Malon transport ship ; ; maneuvering thruster ; meditation ; meditation lamp ; methogenic particle ; microcellular scan ; Milky Way Galaxy ; model ; monster ; morgue ; myth ; navigation ; nebula ; O - type star ; occupational hazard ; oxide ; paint ; photo essay ; pressurization system ; propulsion ; rama leaf ; recess ; scalding ; sculptor ; shield modulation ; short range scan ; Sivad ; sonic shower ; subdermal injector ; Talaxian ; Talaxian garbage scow ; theta dampening field ; Theta Core ; theta radiation ; theta storage tank ; tractor pulse ; tricorder ; uncoupler ; " vihaar " ; Vulcan ; warp core ; warp field ; warp manifold ; waste controller ; waste management