While exploring the Nekrit Expanse in a shuttle, Chakotay responds to a distress call which recognizes their Federation signature, but when he goes to the surface to investigate he runs into a firefight between rival factions. Meanwhile, Voyager runs into an abandoned Borg cube adrift in space. It turns out that the people on the planet were once a part of the Borg collective, but the link was severed about five years previously and they fell into anarchy. A small group of the castaways tries to enlist Chakotay's help to bring some order to the society, but the Voyager crew is concerned that this action would re-awaken the Borg ship.
