Jetrel ( episode ) The scientist who developed a weapon that killed 300 , 000 of Neelix ' s people in a war fifteen years ago boards " Voyager " , claiming that Neelix is terminally ill . Summary . Teaser . Neelix and Tuvok are playing pool in the holodeck environment of Chez Sandríne . Tuvok leaves Neelix without a single clear shot . The pool shark and Paris explain to Neelix that he can use a " safety , " by hitting the cue ball where Tuvok can ' t make a shot . Neelix thinks it is cowardly but opts to take their advice . He leaves the cue ball behind two solids then mocks Tuvok to call his shot , saying it is impossible . Tuvok tells him , " " The shot may be difficult , but to say it ' s impossible is an exaggeration . " " Tuvok calls his shot , then scratches – blaming the ship ' s stabilizers . The Hustler says , " " Tom Terrific should have told you the table rolls a little to the east . " " Neelix tells Tuvok that he should have called a safety . Janeway calls Neelix to the bridge . The has received a subspace message from an approaching ship . The vessel ' s occupant is requesting to speak to Neelix , who identifies the ship as an Haakonian shuttle . The Haakonians were at war with Talaxian s for the better part of a decade , and conquered Neelix ' homeworld more than fifteen years ago . He has no idea what they would want with him now . Janeway introduces herself and the man asks to speak with Neelix , who then approaches the viewscreen . The man says it is urgent but prefers to speak with him privately . Neelix ' life may depend on it . Neelix then demands to know his name . The man apologizes and introduces himself as Dr . Ma ' Bor Jetrel . Neelix , showing obvious distress , storms off the bridge into the turbolift . Act One . Janeway catches up to Neelix in his quarters . He angrily tells her that Jetrel is a mass murderer and explains that , when he himself was young , he lived on a beautiful moon called Rinax with his family until the metreon cascade , a weapon of mass destruction devised by Dr . Jetrel . After the attack , Rinax was enveloped by a deadly cloud , and Neelix explains that the lovely days were then turned into one endless frigid night . More than 300 , 000 were killed , instantly . Neelix was on Talax at the time , with defense forces , preparing for an invasion of the planet that never came . When the cascade was unleashed , Talax unconditionally surrendered to the Haakonian Order . When Janeway asks of his family , Neelix breaks down in tears . Dr . Jetrel is beamed aboard , astonished by the transporter . Janeway tells Jetrel that Neelix has declined to speak with him and will speak as his representative . Jetrel is unsurprised at this as he is not very popular among Talaxians . Janeway reminds Jetrel that he said Neelix ' life was in danger . He tells her that Neelix must undergo a medical scan , as he returned to Rinax after the cascade to rescue survivors . He may have contracted a fatal blood disease called metremia – causing the body ' s atom ic structure to undergo fission , and the cells to then disintegrate . Jetrel has specially designed equipment that can detect the disorder – he has examined as many of the rescue team members as possible , in hopes of finding a cure . He pleads to Janeway for her to convince Neelix to see him . Neelix , visibly upset , prepares dinner in the mess hall . Kes asks him about the war . He tells her it is one experience that can ' t be shared , that it is too difficult to describe his feelings to someone who didn ' t see what he saw . Janeway enters and Neelix tries to make light of the situation . She tells him of the disorder and informs him Jetrel is here to screen him for the disease . He tells Janeway to tell him he ' s touched , but he would rather be immersed in a pit of Krallinian eel s than be examined by him . Kes objects , saying that if there ' s something wrong , they should find out . In a fit of rage , Neelix makes it clear he doesn ' t want Jetrel within ten parsecs of him . Janeway tries to convince him to change his mind . Neelix finds it strange that a man who made it his life ' s work to develop a weapon that destroyed so many Talaxians should suddenly be concerned for this Talaxian ' s health . Janeway thinks he might be trying to undo some of the damage he caused – to her Jetrel seems quite sincere . Neelix asks , if the disease is fatal , what ' s the point of knowing ? Kes tells him " Voyager " s Doctor might be able to help find a cure , and she and Janeway encourage Neelix to talk to him . No one will force him to undergo any procedure . Outnumbered and outflanked , Neelix surrenders . In " Voyager " s briefing room , while Jetrel is telling Neelix about the properties of the isotope s , Neelix asks him , " " Why are you doing this ? " " trying to determine his motivations . Jetrel says he did what had to be done . " " It was necessary to kill thousands of people and leave the rest to die of Metreon poisoning ? " " Neelix sceptically asks . Jetrel didn ' t think there would be any radiation poisoning . Unfortunately , he was wrong . He developed the weapon but it was the Haakonian government and military leaders who decided to use it , not him . " " I would rather die than help you with your experiments , " " Neelix maintains . " " Find yourself another laboratory rat . " " Jetrel knows that he cannot alleviate Neelix ' pain but he can help him and other members of his race . In sickbay , Jetrel prepares his equipment to scan Neelix . Neelix asks The Doctor , " " Isn ' t there any way you could do this ? " " The Doctor replies , " " Your newfound confidence in me is flattering but Dr . Jetrel has specialized training to deal with Talaxian physiology . " " While Jetrel is scanning him , Neelix tells Kes a story about a nasty vermin found on Rinax . When he was a boy , he created a foolproof Talchok trap . He set it in the garden and , the next day , he found one of the beasts , pinned at the neck , screaming in agony . Suddenly , it didn ' t look like a beast , anymore ; it looked like a poor innocent animal . He became so fascinated with his trap that he didn ' t think of how that poor creature would suffer . Jetrel says , " " Are you finished ? " " and Neelix replies , " " For now . " " Jetrel completes his scans and regretfully informs Neelix that he does indeed have incipient metremia . Act Two . As Neelix lies in his quarters , Kes comes to visit . He tells her this is not the first time he has faced death . He tells her another story about facing down an entire battery of Haakonian artillery . Kes cuts him off , stating , " " You ' re protecting me , again . " " She understands why he doesn ' t want to talk about Rinax , but she ' s there with him now . She wants to face it with him . When he first met Kes , he didn ' t know that she would only live for nine years . He didn ' t know how he would live without her . Now that he ' s going to die first , he doesn ' t have to worry about it . Before she met him , she had no idea that anyone could live over nine years and that lifespan seemed like an eternity . Now , it doesn ' t seem like enough . The important thing to them both is to cherish the time they have together , whether it be a day or a decade . Janeway stands in her ready room looking out the room ' s viewport s when Jetrel enters . She asks him to sit down . He raves that her ship is simply astounding . He has been studying the transporter system . She thinks he would be more concerned with Mr . Neelix . That is actually the reason for his visit . He believes that , with some minor modifications to the transporter , he could retrieve a sample of the metreon cloud surrounding Rinax . If he can isolate the isotope that causes metremia , it could be used to synthesize an antibody . Now excited , she joins in , stating that the victim ' s own immune system could destroy the disease . The transporter makes it all possible . Containment fields would have to be erected and The Doctor could assist in making the antibody . Janeway calls the bridge , orders Jetrel ' s shuttlecraft tractored into the shuttlebay , and sets a course for the Talaxian system . Chakotay objects , stating that it is a significant detour . Janeway argues that it may mean saving Neelix ' s life . Janeway will send a request to transport materials from the cloud . Torres can help with the transporter modifications . Jetrel thanks Janeway . When walking to exit , Jetrel stumbles in pain . He claims he is merely overexcited about the prospects of finding a cure . " " All that sparring with Mr . Neelix does take its toll , " " he says . Janeway suggests a trip to sickbay . However , he declines her suggestion , eager to get started on the transporter modifications right away . In sickbay , The Doctor asks Jetrel if he will require his assistance . Jetrel states that he will not need help , until they have the isotope . He then asks Neelix if there ' s anything he can do for him . With having nothing to do , The Doctor takes advantage of his new ability to end his own program . Jetrel thinks that a hologram which can terminate itself is fascinating . Neelix asks him if there ' s anything besides science that makes his heart beat faster . " " Not anymore , " " he says , before asking Neelix to take a seat . Neelix tells Jetrel that , if he were in charge of the Cascade , he would have chosen a military target or deployed it on an uninhabited planet – not target innocent civilians . Jetrel alleges that the military strategists didn ' t believe that a demonstration would work . They wanted to show the power of the cascade in all its horror . In anger , Neelix tells him that he should have tried to stop them . Jetrel argues that , if he hadn ' t discovered the cascade , someone else would have and the outcome would still be the same . He did it for his planet and for science . One must be willing to test the reaches of science and then be willing to live with the consequences . When Jetrel arrived home after the Cascade , his wife refused to be with him . In her eyes , he had become a monster . Shortly thereafter , she took his three children and left him , never to be seen again . Neelix then tells his own story . " " After the cascade , a man returns to what used to be his home to look for survivors . The impact of the blast had set off hundreds of fires . There ' s just smoldering ruins and the stench of seared flesh . In the distance , in the middle of the emptiness , from a cloud of dust , he can see bodies moving , whimpering , coming toward him . They ' re monsters , their flesh horribly charred . One comes toward him , mangled arms outstretched . He turns away , frightened . Then the thing speaks . He knows , by the sound of her voice , that she ' s not a monster but a child ; a little girl . Her name was Palaxia . He brought her back to Talax with the other survivors . For the next few weeks , I stayed at her bedside and watched her wither away . Those are consequences , Dr . Jetrel . " " " " There is no way I could ever apologize to you , Mr . Neelix . That ' s why I have not tried . " " Neelix asks him if he has ever thought his wife was right , that he has become a monster . " " Yes , " " Jetrel tearfully admits . The day he tested the Cascade and saw that blinding light , he knew he had become a monster . Neelix wishes that Jetrel will have to live with that for a very long time . Tragically , Neelix will not get his wish ; Jetrel has advanced metremia and will be dead in only a matter of days . Act Three . In a nightmare , Neelix is playing pool with Jetrel . There ' s no open shot . Jetrel suggests he use a safety , like always . As Jetrel rounds the table , knocking in all the balls , he refers to Neelix as a coward . Janeway appears , asking , " " Why did you leave us ? " " Neelix remembers , " " I did what I thought was right . " " Paris appears , commenting , " " You were afraid . " " Palaxia enters . " " Why weren ' t you here to help us ? " " she wonders . Neelix approaches Jetrel , pinning him on the pool table and calling him a butcher . He rolls him over to see himself . He awakens when Janeway calls him on the comm . She tells him they are approaching Rinax . Neelix enters the bridge to see the charred remains of his home , still hiding under the metreon cloud . He tells the bridge crew of a bright flash cutting across the sky – people threw themselves to the ground . Everything stopped . They looked up to see the sky oddly empty , realizing that Rinax was gone . Neelix asks to be excused . Torres calls Janeway from engineering to tell her they are ready to start the transporter . Janeway appears sad as Neelix walks off the bridge . In engineering , Jetrel prepares to gather the sample from the metreon cloud surrounding Rinax . He asks for a larger sample container . Torres tells him that the one they already have is big enough but he thinks otherwise . The isotope accounts for only a minuscule amount of the cloud . She advises him to relax and assures him that she will obtain the sample . Torres begins the transport . She gets the sample aboard , then wishes Jetrel good luck . Kes enters a dark mess hall , looking for Neelix . She finds him sitting on the floor in the kitchen , having removed his combadge ; he wanted to be alone . He tells her she doesn ' t know everything – she believes that he was on Talax , fighting with the defense forces , the night Rinax was destroyed . He " was " on Talax , but not with the defense forces . Instead , he was hiding from them . He wasn ' t a hero , he claims , since he never reported for duty . He thought the war was unjust , but he didn ' t report , because he was a coward . Punishment for refusing military service , during wartime , was death . Kes says he put his life on the line for something he believed in , replying that he is not a coward . Neelix states that instead that makes him a liar . All these years , he ' s lied about it to everyone , not because he ' s dishonest , but because he ' s ashamed . That is why he feels so angry toward Jetrel , not only because he killed his family , but because Neelix did nothing to stop him . Act Four . Jetrel is in sickbay . The Doctor is ready to assist but Jetrel , having remembered the override command The Doctor used earlier , deactivates his program . Jetrel begins running a test – the test cylinder of dust turns into an organic form . At the same time , Neelix nervously walks through a corridor and enters sickbay , startling Jetrel . He tries to rush Neelix out of sickbay but Neelix sees the experiment and begins to question it . He says that he is going to the captain , so Jetrel sedates him with a hypospray . Janeway calls sickbay but gets no response . She reactivates the EMH . The Doctor tells Janeway that Jetrel deactivated him . Tuvok locates Jetrel in Transporter Room 1 . He then tells her that Neelix is unconscious . Janeway orders security to Transporter Room 1 , and takes Tuvok along . They enter the transporter room and ask Jetrel to step aside . He asks to be allowed to continue , as lives depend on it . She ' s heard it before . " " Let me bring them back , " " he pleads . Neelix asks , " " Bring who back ? " " Answers Jetrel , " " The victims of Rinax . " " Act Five . Jetrel tells Janeway that he has a way to isolate the individual isotope patterns in the metreon cloud , to bring back his victims . Neelix objects but Janeway silences him . Jetrel claims that the disassembled bio - matter has been kept intact , in suspended animation . He has discovered that reintegration is possible . He can use medical records to isolate a victim ' s genetic code and use the transporter to reassemble the fragmented bio - matter . Tuvok objects , stating that it is too implausible . Janeway agrees . Jetrel pleads with her . He wants to demonstrate to everyone that he ' s not a monster . Janeway ponders if Neelix really has metremia , or if it was just a pretext to get " Voyager " to Rinax . Jetrel explains that Neelix does not have the condition but that he himself does , and only has hours left to live . This is his only chance to try to bring back the victims of the Cascade and prove that he ' s not a monster . Neelix tells Janeway that , if there ' s any possibility of his plan working , she must let him try . She objects , claiming that there are too many variables . " " Please , " " urges Jetrel . Janeway instructs Tuvok to activate the emergency containment field . They re - target scanners and energize . Slowly , a humanoid form begins to reassemble out of the chaos . The figure soon begins to lose cohesion , however . They try to compensate , but are unable to complete the transport . Janeway orders the pad be shut down . Jetrel then collapses . Neelix later enters sickbay , where Jetrel , near death , is lying on a biobed . Neelix approaches him . Jetrel says that he thinks death is a fitting punishment . Neelix suspects the Cascade was punishment for all of them – for their hatred and their brutality . Neelix tells Jetrel that he forgives him . Jetrel closes his eyes . Neelix exits sickbay , pausing to see Jetrel , one last time . Memorable quotes . " " Did you ever think , that maybe your wife was right ? That you had become a monster ? " " " " Yes . The day we tested the cascade . When I saw that blinding light , brighter than a thousand suns , I knew at that moment exactly what I had become . " " " " There is no way I could ever apologize to you , Mr . Neelix . That ' s why I have not tried . " " " " He ' s " a " mass murderer ! " " " " I ' m simply a scientist . Yes , I developed the weapon . But it was the government , and the military leaders , who decided to use it , not I . " " " " That must be a very convenient distinction for you . Does it help you sleep at night ? " " " " It ' s good to know how the world works . It is not possible to be a scientist unless you believe that all the knowledge of the universe and all the power it bestows is of intrinsic value to everyone , and one must share that knowledge and allow it to be applied , and then be willing to live with the consequences . " " " " Outnumbered and outflanked . " " " " Captain , please tell Dr . Jetrel that I am touched by his tender concern for my state of health , but that I ' d rather be immersed in a pit of Krallinian eels than be examined by him . " " " " Don ' t either of you find it the slightest bit strange that a man who has made it his life ' s work to develop a weapon to destroy as many Talaxians as possible should suddenly be concerned with this Talaxian ' s health ? " " Links and references . References . artillery ; ; Battle of the Pyrithian Gorge ; blood ; combadge ; cue ball ; death penalty ; east ; exile ; Federation ; fission ; Haakonian ; Haakonian Order ; Haakonian shuttle ; isotope ; Jetrel ' s children ; Ka ' Ree ; Krallinian eel ; laboratory rodent ; logic ; metreon ; metreon cascade ; metreon cloud ; metremia ; " Mister Vulcan " ; Palaxia ; parsec ; phase transition coil ; pool ; Pyrithian Gorge ; radiation poisoning ; regenerative fusion ; Rinax ; rodent ; ; Sandrine ' s ; shale ; stabilizer ; strategist ; synchronous orbit ; Talax ; Talaxian ; Talaxian Defense Forces ; Talaxian - Haakonian War ; Talaxian system ; talchok ; transporter ; Vulcan