20. Think Tank

Voyager is sought after by the Hazari, unyielding bounty hunters of the Delta Quadrant, within a sector of space. Every escape route devised by the crew leads to dangerous battles with the Hazari. At their wit's end, they are suddenly visited by Kurros (Jason Alexander), the speaker for a small group of highly intelligent aliens that Captain Kathryn Janeway dubs the "Think Tank". Their vessel, safely hidden from the Hazari in sub-space, includes a telepathic module that allows Kurros and his group to quickly communicate and to solve complex problems.

As Janeway and Seven of Nine are brought aboard, and Seven given a brief opportunity to experience their telepathic communication, the Think Tank offers their services to Voyager - a means of escaping the Hazari in exchange for a selection of Voyager ' s technology and "unique" items. Janeway seems pleased with the solution, until she is informed by Kurros that they would also like Seven as part of their payment. Both Janeway and Seven refuse this payment, but Kurros keeps the offer on the table and offers a free bit of advice for dealing with the Hazari as a good-faith sign of their cooperation.

Voyager is able to capture a sole Hazari ship, beaming its crew aboard. In their records, they find out who placed the bounty on Voyager; seemingly, it was the Malon. The crew recognizes oddities in the information as stored on the computer, as well as the atypical motivation of the Malon, and investigate further. They discover that it was really Kurros who hired the Hazari. The Think Tank has been playing both sides of the conflict to force Janeway into handing over Seven and to get what they want. Explaining the situation to the Hazari, the combined crews begin to work out a way to outsmart the Think Tank.

Janeway and the Hazari orchestrate a scenario in which Voyager appears to be falling under the Hazari attack, and Seven leaves in a shuttle, supposedly giving in to the Think Tank's demands. The shuttle disappears into sub-space with the Think Tank's ship. Aboard, Kurros welcomes Seven, but is suspicious of their capitulation and links her to the telepathic matrix to probe her mind. The waiting Voyager crew sees this and send a signal through Seven's cybernetic implants, causing the telepathic matrix to shut down, incapacitating the Think Tank. Their ship falls out of sub-space and soon is attacked from all sides by the Hazari, now seeking revenge on them. Voyager rescues Seven and leaves the Think Tank to potentially be destroyed at the hands of the Hazari.