A problem-solving alien comes to Voyager’s rescue, but his help has a steep price.
As Voyager approaches a strange planetoid, the ship is rocked by its explosion and enveloped in a cloud of methion gas. Suddenly, a Hazari vessel is upon them, and Seven explains they are bounty hunters hired to capture alien crafts. When Janeway eludes the ship and it doesn’t follow, she soon learns why -- there are many reinforcements throughout the sector waiting to overtake Voyager. Late at night, a strange alien pays a visit to Janeway and introduces himself as the answer to her problem.
Kuros explains he is part of a small group that seeks out problems to be solved. His think tank believes Voyager’s challenge with the Hazari can be handled without weapons. When Janeway and Seven visit Kuros on his ship, they see his incredibly advanced technology and meet the other strange lifeforms, each with an intellectual specialty. Once Janeway agrees to do business with him, Kuros reveals Seven is one of the items from Voyager that he wants as payment.
When Seven hears the offer from the think tank, she talks to Kuros herself. He appeals to her quest for perfection, but she declines to join his group. Soon, the Hazari attack Voyager again, but Kuros gives Janeway some tactical advice that forces them to retreat. When he tries to use that favor as leverage to convince Seven to change her mind, Janeway realizes she now has two enemies on her hands.
Once the crew lures a Hazari vessel into Voyager’s tractor beam, they download information from the database and discover Kuros hired the bounty hunters. Janeway explains to the Hazari alien that they are both being manipulated by Kuros and convinces him to work with her in tricking the think tank. The crew devises a plan to lure Kuros out of hiding by pretending Seven has decided to join his group. She will then link with their internal communications array, disrupting their systems and preventing them from functioning. After the ruse is in place, the Hazari contact Kuros and persuade him to increase their bounty to bring in Voyager.
Janeway tricks him into believing Seven has left Voyager to join his think tank, but Kuros soon senses a trap has been laid. When he forces Seven to link with his telepathic technology so he can read her mind and discover Janeway’s plan, a carrier wave is transmitted via her cortical implant. This creates interference and blocks his entire communications system. Once the think tank is decloaked, the Hazari converge on it as Seven is beamed back and Voyager leaves at warp speed.
CAST
CAPTAIN KATHRYN JANEWAY
KATE MULGREW
CHAKOTAY
ROBERT BELTRAN
B'ELANNA TORRES
ROXANN DAWSON
TOM PARIS
ROBERT DUNCAN MCNEILL
NEELIX
ETHAN PHILLIPS
THE DOCTOR
ROBERT PICARDO
TUVOK
TIM RUSS
SEVEN OF NINE
JERI RYAN
HARRY KIM
GARRETT WANG
SPECIAL GUEST STAR
KUROS
JASON ALEXANDER
GUEST STARS
CHRISTOPHER DARGA
CHRISTOPHER SHEA
Teleplay by: MICHAEL TAYLOR
Story by: RICK BERMAN &
BRANNON BRAGA
Directed by: TERRENCE O’HARA
HIGHLIGHT LISTING
STAR TREK: VOYAGER: “Think Tank” -- A problem-solving alien comes to Voyager’s rescue, but his help has a steep price.
