An apparently friendly alien called Arturis comes aboard and, skilled at languages, manages to decode Starfleet's message. As directed by the message, Voyager travels to designated co-ordinates, there to find a Starfleet vessel! A test-flight in the USS Dauntless is undertaken using its apparently revolutionary quantum slipstream drive, and Voyager travels to rendezvous with it. The The rest of Starfleet's message, as decoded by Arturis, says the Dauntless has been sent to bring the crew home. Janeway orders them to modify Voyager with the slipstream technology so they can bring Voyager, but she also senses something is not right and asks Tuvok to keep an eye on Arturis. Janeway manages to reconstruct a new segment of the data block from Starfleet, in which she discovers that they did not send the Dauntless. Meanwhile, in the Dauntless's engineering section, Kim discovers alien technology behind one of the bulkheads, confirming that Arturis manufactured the ship. On being confronted with his deception, Arturis takes command of the ship, converting its bridge back into its true form - his vessel, not Starfleet's. Kim is able to transport Tuvok and his security team back to Voyager but Janeway and Seven are taken hostage as the Dauntless goes into slipstream - with a course set for Borg space. Meanwhile the Voyager crew installed adapted slipstream technology and give chase, disabling the Dauntless' shields and beaming back Janeway and Seven, leaving Arturis to travel into Borg space alone.

warp core modified for quantum slipstream drive

Voyager chases "USS Dauntless" in the quantum slipstream, firing torpedoes

Later Voyager travels for a short time in a quantum slipstream after their attempt to create the slipstream drive is successful, although at first they have trouble breaking through the quantum barrier. Torres diverts auxiliary power to the deflector, bringing it to maximum power so that Tuvok can focus the quantum field. Once at slipstream velocity, the ship's structural integrity is down by 9 percent and there is less than an hour before the hull starts to buckle.

Although the slipstream drive is not compatible with Voyager's systems, Seven plans to continue working on the technology so that it can be used to get the crew home.

Voyager manages to travel 300 light-years towards the Alpha Quadrant before the quantum slipstream gives out.

Paris and Neelix return from a trading colony, presumably to obtain supplies. Neelix conducted trade negotiations with a xenon based lifeform at the trading colony. While he was in the midst of those negotiations, his universal translator malfunctioned and Arturis helped out.

Once at slipstream velocity, Voyager's structural integrity is down by 9 percent and there is less than an hour before the hull starts to buckle. This means they have to leave the quantum slipstream.

Janeway has tried over fifty decryption algorithms on the message from Starfleet in the five months since they received it in [#83 Hunters]. The true recovered message is from Admiral Hayes, admitting that Starfleet has failed to find a wormhole or an advanced propulsion system to help get the crew home. The admiral does, however, send them all the information Starfleet possesses on the Delta Quadrant in the hope that it will shave a few years off the journey.

the true message from Admiral Hayes