Kes' telepathic powers gradually became dramatically enhanced by telekinesis, experienced in [#26 Cold Fire] and from the end of 2373. In 2372, in [#26 Cold Fire], the Voyager crew encountered an Ocampa colony aboard a spaceborne Array which was apparently identical in appearance and technology as the Caretaker's Array. Suspiria, the Caretaker's mate, resided in Exosia, her domain in subspace. She had left the Ocampa homeworld, according to the Caretaker, in search of more interesting places, and taken some 2,000 Ocampa with her. By 2372 she has helped them and their descendants to develop their mental abilities. When Kes meets Tanis, one of their number, she learns that Suspiria's Ocampa enjoy longer lifespans; Tanis is over 14 years old and his father lived to be 20. Tanis tutors Kes and with his help she exhibits spectacular psychokinetic powers although this goes disastrously wrong when she is unable to control her newfound power and starts to boil Tuvok's blood, almost killing him. It turns out, however, that Suspiria harbours malevolent intent toward Voyager, blaming the crew for killing its mate.

Tanis with Kes who has collapsed after a tutoring session [#26 Cold Fire]

Tuvok's blood boils [#26 Cold Fire]

Tanis and Kes in mental struggle [#26 Cold Fire]

In 2373, in [#52 Warlord], the Voyager crew rescued three Ilari including Tieran, a former Autarch of the Ilari species. He apparently died in sickbay but actually, before his body died, upon physical contact with Kes he transferred his neural pattern into Kes' mind. Although she resisted him, against her will he used her body to stage a bloody coup, killing the reigning Autarch and reclaiming the title. However, Kes put up strong mental resistance and the Voyager crew managed to force Tieran from her mind and, unable to find and remain in another mind elsewhere, Tieran finally died. Tieran's occupation of her mind and Kes' mental resistance had the side-effect of transferring elements of Kes' being to Tieran, such as a love for gardening and learning.

Tieran/Kes kills the Autarch's representative then escapes Voyager [#52 Warlord]

Tieran/Kes kills the Autarch [#52 Warlord]

Tieran/Kes usurps and makes himself Autarch [#52 Warlord]

[#52 Warlord]

During Tieran's occupation of Kes' mind and body, an element of Kes' and Tuvok's relationship, so far tacit, was briefly aired, namely that Tuvok has a very high regard for Kes which Tieran interprets or misinterprets as romantic feelings. When Tieran captured Tuvok, he, through Kes, tried to exploit these feelings, despite Kes' resistance. Tieran's despicable behaviour results in Kes kissing Tuvok.

Tieran/Kes enjoys flowers and gives one to his wife [#52 Warlord]

Tieran and Kes mentally battle for control of Kes' mind [#52 Warlord]

Tieran's being is forced from Kes' mind [#52 Warlord]

In 2373, in [#57 Coda], after being taken for dead Janeway was pleased when Kes sensed her presence and tried, though unsuccessfully, to make contact through a mind-meld with Tuvok. However, those events did not actually occur, but formed part of a hallucination forced on Janeway by an alien parasite which had invaded in her cerebral cortex while she lay severely injured after a shuttlecraft crash.

At the end of 2373 and into early 2374, in [#68 and #69 Scorpion], Kes has a disturbing vision. "I saw Borg, there were bodies, dozens of them, dead." Shortly afterwards her vision is found to be essentially true when a Voyager away team discovers numerous devastated Borg cubes, full of the bodies of dead Borg drones, destroyed by Species 8472. Kes experienced telepathically the malevolence of Species 8472, voicing their desire to "purge the galaxy". One of the reasons why Janeway decided to forge an alliance with the Borg against Species 8472, their enemy, was because she believed the Borg Collective was the lesser evil, although at the time the alliance commenced she was unaware that the Borg had started the war against Species 8472.

Kes' vision is of a pile of Borg bodies [#68 and #69 Scorpion]

Kes senses danger threatening her in Sickbay [#68 and #69 Scorpion]

Kes 'sees' a member of Species 8472 threatening her in Sickbay [#68 and #69 Scorpion]

Kes, in telepathic
contact with Species 8472
[#68 and #69 Scorpion]

In early 2374, in [#70 The Gift], Kes' discovers ever-evolving mental powers.

Janeway decides the Doctor should proceed further with removing the rest of the Borg hardware from Seven of Nine's body (he eventually manages to remove 82 per cent). The Doctor says he wants to start his work with the microtubule network embedded in the oesophagal tract.

But Seven of Nine's body convulses in shock. The Doctor tells Kes to use a neuro-sequencer to stabilise her motor cortex, but Kes says that she can "see" the problem in her mind: Seven of Nine is in neural shock as a Borg implant is pressing against her trochlear nerve. Using her mental abilities Kes removes the Borg implant, and Seven of Nine comes out of shock. Afterwards Kes says that she feels exhilarated. Tuvok proposes that Kes go through a series of guided meditations with him in order to explore her abilities further and in a controlled manner.

Tuvok's meditation lamp [#70 The Gift]

Kes in meditation tutored by Tuvok [#70 The Gift]

In Tuvok's quarters, Tuvok guides Kes through a series of meditations designed to help her explore and control her new-found mental abilities. Using the power of her mind Kes makes the flame grow and then diminish. She also changes the molecular structure of the lamp before leaving it as it was. She says she can manipulate the lamp's flame at the sub-atomic level. Next she can see beyond the sub-atomic level into a new level of reality which she describes as "beautiful".

Seven of Nine knocks Kim flying out of the Jefferies tube. She erects a forcefield and tries to contact the Borg using Voyager's subspace transmitter. Kes becomes aware of what Seven is doing.

Using her mental powers she de-stabilises the Jefferies tube at the molecular level, generating an overload or energy stream which throws Seven of Nine backward with its force and stuns her. This stops Seven from sending a complete message to the Borg.

Ultimately, however, Kes' ever-evolving mental powers meant that she started unintentionally to damage the ship's structural integrity. For the protection of ship and crew, she opted to leave Voyager to develop her abilities elsewhere. Janeway provided her with a shuttlecraft. As a parting gift, Kes threw Voyager beyond the then boundary of Borg space.

Kes in the messhall [#70 The Gift]

Janeway helps Kes to the shuttlecraft [#70 The Gift]

Kes evolves further on leaving Voyager [#70 The Gift]

But after leaving Voyager Kes found she could not control her mental gifts: "I couldn't control it. It scared me. I had nowhere to go. I thought of returning home to Ocampa, but I'd changed too much. I knew they'd be frightened of me, I knew they wouldn't accept me..." :Kes to Janeway in [#143 Fury] Embittered, she returned to Voyager bent on revenge, but after travelling back in time to 2371 to the time shortly after Voyager arrived in the Delta Quadrant, and intent on delivering Voyager to the Vidiians, she was killed by Janeway who then persuaded the Kes of that time to help prevent the incident happening again. When the later Kes returned to Voyager bent on revenge, a hologram message by the younger Kes together with Janeway's talk, reminded the vengeful Kes of who she really was. She said farewell to Janeway and Kes and left Voyager, this time forever, and set out for her home on the Ocampa planet.

[#143 Fury].