Voyager receives a distress call from a damaged ship. They respond, and come across a race who only has impulse drive technology. They are, similar to Voyager, stranded far from home, and have several centuries (at impulse) to reach home. Janeway feels for the aliens, and since their ship is severely damaged, she invites them to travel with Voyager. At warp, the journed will take about a month, and is only slightly out of their way. Several hours after transporting them, strange things begin to happen on the ship. Minor power fluctuations in the warp core, problems with the computer's nerual gel network, etc., and Kes seems to become very ill. These anomolies go on for several hours, then suddenly stop. The crew can't seem to find a cause, though they think it is more than a coincidence that it started after the aliens came on board. The next day, Janeway notices that the leader of the aliens seems a bit tired and ragged. Shortly after the leader retires that night, the power/computer anomolies and Kes' medical problems begin again, and this time Kes is a bit worse. The crew still can find no cause, though they still suspect the aliens, and a few hours later, the problems cease once more. This plays out several times, with Kes becoming much worse each time. They finally find a clue - a minute discrepancy in some readings - that is a link to the aliens. When queried, however, the aliens know nothing, and seem particular about their privacy. Are they possibly hiding something? The next day, the anomolies occur once more, this time nearing fatal levels for Kes. This time, they positively trace the anomolous readings to the aliens and confront them. They are greeted by one of the aliens who appears to be keeping a vigil over his dead leader. When asked about the anomolies and the dead leader, the alien explains - the leader is near the end of his life, and to enter the next plane of existance permanently, one of their race must die and enter this plane for a few hours at a time to get their "being" accustomed to the new existance. So, for a few hours each day, aging members of this race must die temporarily. Something TECH about moving into this plane is what is causing Kes' illness. When asked about this, the alien refuses to help them - he cannot bring the leader back to life until he is ready, or he will die, never to reach the next plane. Doc contacts Janeway - Kes is near death and won't survive another hour. Janeway pleads with the alien, but to no avail. Isn't there anything we can do? The alien recalls a situation where two people in the other plane conversed once - maybe Janeway can talk to him in that plane and convince him to waken now. So, Janeway, with the alien and Doc's help, DIES and enters the other plane - she instantly finds an inner peace and euphoria that makes it hard for her to concentrate on the task at hand - and time is running short. She finally manages to convince (or threaten) the alien, though with great difficulty because of the alien's euphoria in this plane, to waken. The alien finally agrees and Kes is saved. The aliens, never meaning to harm anyone, agree to be left (stranded) on a nearby planet. They will live there until they can find another way home. This pains Janeway tremendously to do this, and she must resign herself to knowing there was nothing else she could do. Voyager warps off on its journey home.
Michael's comments: Like Ron Moore before him (see below), Michael didn't think there was much mystery or suspense in the story.