4.15 hunters

Two Hirogen are pursuing a very crafty prey – a member of species 8472 (see ‘scorpion’). They capture it and bring it back to their ship. Meanwhile, Voyager encounters their ship – a fight has ensued, killing one Hirogen and injuring another. Janeway takes the injured Hirogen aboard and treats his injuries, offering compassion and hoping to form a friendship and quell hostilities. Meanwhile 8472 breaks into the ship, seemingly in attack mode, but after the alien creates a telepathic link with Tuvok, they discover that it is merely trying to open a quantum singularity and get home – it has been pursued for years by Hirogens. Janeway asks Seven, the singularity expert, to create one – Seven says no, unwilling to help this species and believing that it is tactically incorrect – the Hirogen has asked that it be returned to him in exchange for safety – he will call off the attack. Janeway explains that it is wrong to sacrifice a sentient being for their safety and gives Seven a direct order which Seven refuses – so Janeway confines her to the cargo bay. But as the Hirogen ships attack and force fields are unstable, Janeway asks Seven to go to the location where species 8472 is being contained and bring the one weapon they know can disable it – Borg nanoprobes. Seven complies, and a confrontation occurs when the Hirogen escapes from sick bay, intent on killing 8472. Seven defends 8472, but when the force field breaks down and 8472 and the Hirogen are linked in battle, she defies orders once again and beams both of them to one of the attacking vessels. The Hirogen vessels scatter, and Janeway is forced to discipline Seven even further, removing her access to any primary systems.

Well, it’s about time that this happened – how many direct orders did Seven have to ignore, and how many times did she get to act on her own without getting approval, before she was finally disciplined? Janeway’s discipline is very light. considering that Seven condemned an alien species to death, a species that is deadly, but was merely defending itself, against unprovoked attacks by the Borg and the Hirogen. I’m not sure why Sutter goes into the brig and Seven just gets her security clearances suspended.