State of Flux

Plot

While the Voyager crew gathered supplies on a planet, the ship spotted a cloaked Kazon vessel and recalled everyone. Chakotay stayed behind to locate Seska. Upon finding her, two Kazon opened fire, but Chakotay stunned them with his phaser, allowing the pair to flee. Back on Voyager, Seska gave Chakotay mushroom soup, explaining she and other Maquis had stolen the ingredients from Neelix's kitchen. Chakotay was angry and threatened punishment. Seska, who had once been romantically involved with Chakotay, tried to calm him, but he rejected her and she left.

Soon after, Voyager picked up a distress signal from a Kazon ship. Investigating, the crew found that a piece of equipment on board had caused a deadly malfunction, killing everyone except one comatose survivor. The device resembled Starfleet technology, leading the crew to suspect someone on Voyager had given it to the Kazon. Suspicion fell on Seska. To prove her innocence, she beamed to the Kazon ship to retrieve the equipment. While there, she was injured and was later reprimanded by her superiors upon returning.

Captain Janeway realized the comatose Kazon might be the only way to learn how the technology reached the Kazon. Another Kazon ship arrived, commanded by Culluh, who demanded to see his comrade. Culluh and his bodyguard entered sickbay while the Doctor treated the patient. Without warning, the bodyguard killed the patient. Disgusted, Janeway ordered both Kazon off the ship.

Kes discovered Cardassian blood in Seska, who claimed it came from a bone marrow transplant given by a friendly Cardassian woman. Further investigation showed a message had been sent to the Kazon from Engineering. Based on the timing, the two likely suspects were Seska and Lieutenant Carey. The senior officers set a trap to catch the traitor, and Seska walked into it. She explained that the Kazon were a powerful force in this region, and by supplying them with technology, Voyager would gain a strong ally. She then escaped to a Kazon ship using a pre-programmed transport. Janeway ordered pursuit, but additional Kazon ships appeared, forcing Voyager to withdraw.

Later, Chakotay asked Tuvok if he had been naive to be deceived by Seska. Tuvok admitted he had been fooled as well, offering Chakotay some reassurance.

Reception

Aired in April 1995, "State of Flux" drew a Nielsen rating of 6.5. The episode is cited in the book Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star Trek, Religion, and American Culture as a shocking example of a character acting against Starfleet. Among the 15 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager's first season broadcast in spring 1995, only "Eye of the Needle" and the two-part "Caretaker" scored higher on TV.com as of 2018, each with an 8.7 rating. "State of Flux" itself held an 8.5 rating on that site, surpassing "Faces" and "Time and Again," which both rated 8.3. In 2020, io9 included it among seven "must-watch" episodes from Voyager's first season. Also in 2020, The Digital Fix praised the episode for having some of the season's "most ambitious storytelling," alongside "Prime Factors."