Stardate not given: As Voyager approaches a vast region of space known as the Nekrit Expanse, Neelix keeps pestering Tuvok and B'Elanna about a position in security and engineering, respectively. The reason is that Neelix has no knowledge of the region ahead, and wants to remain useful. On a space station at the edge of the Nekrit Expanse Neelix runs into his old buddy Wixiban. Neelix asks Wixiban to help him find a map of the region. Wixiban lets Neelix in on a deal that he is going to make with a colony that needs medical supplies, in the course of which he may as well acquire the desired map. As Wixiban doesn't want to pay the 20 percent commission to Bahrat, the administrator of the station, they use a shuttle to beam down to the meeting place in a cargo bay. The medical supplies, however, turn out to be illegal drugs, and in self-defense Wixiban shoots one of the drug dealers with a Starfleet phaser. Bahrat investigates the case together with the Voyager crew. When he spots Tom and Chakotay talking to the drug dealer on a video recording, he arrests the two. Neelix makes up his mind and urges Wixiban to speak to Bahrat. The two persuade Bahrat to apprehend the Kolaati drug dealers and arrange another deal with them, this time delivering warp plasma, allegedly from Voyager. Neelix removes the safety node of the plasma container and demands that the Koolati surrender, as a weapon blast would ignite the plasma and kill everyone. When Bahrat's people arrive to apprehend them, one of the Koolati shoots nonetheless but kills only himself. Neelix wakes up in sickbay and learns that Wixiban has already left. He is ready to leave the ship but Janeway asks him to stay and wants him to clean exhaust manifolds as a sentence.

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