Voyager picks up a distress call and tracks it to escape pods that are contaminated with radiation. Beaming aboard the two Malon survivors, the crew learn that the radiation is from their crippled and leaking freighter. When the waste explodes, it will ignite and destroy everything within 3 light-years. Before Voyager can leave, the warp drive collapses, so an away team is sent to the freighter to disable it before the explosion.

When the two Malon are rescued to sickbay, bio-hazard containment procedures are implemented.

Voyager sends out a sector wide alert warning other ships away from the potential explosion.

Janeway devises a contingency plan wherein the freighter's explosion would be absorbed within the corona of a nearby star.

Voyager emits a gentle tractor pulse to steer the freighter into the star, but the saboteur (a core labourer) uses maneuvering thrusters to disrupt its course. Torres ultimately has to stop him using violence. At the last moment, Neelix, the Malon Fesek and Torres are beamed to Voyager before the freighter explodes within the star's atmosphere.

Voyager's tricorders cause an electrostatic cascade igniting the methogenic particles on the Malon ship.

The Doctor had planned to do a photo essay on a day in the life of the warp core until Torres got angry and destroyed his holoimager. The holo-imager is presumably replicated or manufactured again because it is seen in later episodes e.g. [#144 Lifelife].

A sonic shower is seen at the end of this episode. Torres steps into her sonic shower, and activates it - pictured below.

See STATUS REPORT.