Voyager's sensors pick up a space battle going on nearby. There is no distress call, so Janeway decides to avoid the conflict. However, Kim notes that some of the weapons seem to have Starfleet signatures, so Janeway decides to investigate after all. They find an older Starfleet vessel, which they identify as the U.S.S. Antares, which is badly scarred and has lots of obviously alien parts visible. It is battling a large alien ship. Before Voyager can assist, the Antares manages to disable the alien vessel. Janeway makes contact, and the Captain, Franklin, is very surprised, but greets them warmly. He says they were attacked by the alien vessel for trespassing into their sector and thanks Janeway for coming to their rescue. The two captains get together, and Franklin tells their story - the Antares was patrolling near the Badlands 15 years ago and was brought to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker. They managed to escape, and they've spent the last 15 years trying to get back home, just like Voyager has. When asked about the ships alien components, Franklin says they've been in lots of battles and have had to salvage many parts. For some reason, Janeway is a little wary of Franklin's story, but she accepts it for now. The two Captains eventually decide to make the trip home together. Doing some checking, Tuvok informs Janeway that the Antares was indeed lost 15 years ago, but under a different Captain -- Franklin was the second officer. When questioned, Franklin says the original captain and first officer were killed in battles with the Kazon and the Hirogen. The two crews mingle and get along well, and everyone makes new friends, and perhaps an older crew member (Tuvok or Janeway) meets an old Academy colleague, but it seems to our crew that the Antares crew is hiding something. The truth is revealed when the two ships encounter an alien transport ship, and the Antares attacks without provocation. Janeway manages to stop the attack, but we now find out that many of the Antares crew mutinied under Franklin's leadership because they were tired of the captain's sticking to the Prime Directive and taking forever to get home (much as Janeway seems to be doing). They made a decision to get home as soon as possible and to hell with the Prime Directive and Starfleet and have been stealing alien technology at every opportunity. So, what does Janeway do? These are fellow Starfleet officers, but she can't let Franklin continue to do what he's doing. How does she deal with him? It also causes her to question her own methods somewhat - should she be stopping to investigate every unusual scientific phenomenon they encounter? Would they be better off taking a get-home-ASAP approach? It also causes her to maybe wonder about her own crew - are some of them starting to feel this way too? Franklin tries to convince Janeway to join him, but she's adamant - they must abide by Starfleet regulations. Upon hearing this, the Antares attacks Voyager, both from the outside and from within - some carefully placed crew members attempt to take control of Voyager's main systems and the bridge command codes. Captain Franklin wants to take the faster, meaner Voyager home rather than his own patchwork, antiquated ship. This forces Janeway to fight her own Starfleet comrades, and in the ensuing battle, she tries to negotiate, but they leave her no choice but to continue fighting, and eventually Voyager destroys the older, weaker Antares. This weighs heavily on all their consciences, but they are more convinced that they are following the right methods. However, they are left to wonder one thing - will they still feel the same way ten or fifteen years from now???
Bryan's comments: He liked the idea, but said because of a story line they will probably be developing sometime during the 5th season, they didn't want any stories with references to the Alpha Quadrant.