listen to Koenig's protests that Alpha was not responsible for Voyager. As the ships approach, Queller escapes from sick bay and forces his way into Voyager, taking off and heading towards the Sidon ships. After pleading for mercy, which is dismissed by Aarchon, Queller gets within range of them, activates the Queller drive, and then destroys the ship and the Sidons including Aarchon. Backstory Voyager One was launched in 1985 to investigate far-away regions for signs of intelligent life and habitable solar systems. Its high speed is due to its power plant, the "Queller Drive", an atomic engine that generates fast neutrons which are inimical to many life forms. To quote the episode "(the fast neutrons are) spewed out into space, annihilating everything in their path. You'd survive better standing smack in the middle of a nuclear explosion." Voyager's sister craft, Voyager Two, proved this when an accident with its Queller Drive destroyed a lunar colony. Writing The idea for the story came from a young writer named Joe Gannon, although his idea was far more complicated. Writer Johnny Byrne used only the idea of a space probe from Earth encountering Alpha. He created the character of Ernst Queller, inspired by "father of the hydrogen bomb" Edward Teller and Wernher von Braun, saying "I saw him like one of these haunted Germans who has done things during the war and felt ashamed of them later and tried to atone in some way." Byrne remarked that he thought the story worked well and reflected "misty-eyed notions about mankind sending universal messages of love, hope and peace," as well as being a metaphor for Western civilisations sending missionaries to third-world countries to "civilise" them. Reviews "Voyager's Return" received generally positive reviews especially mentioning the strong acting, with comments such as, "Basically it's a character piece; Queller has to come to terms with his remorse, his assistant Jim Haines has to come to terms with his hatred and the aliens have come for revenge. Some strong acting complements the strong storyline." Jeremy Kemp's performance as Queller received particular praise, such as "Kemp turns in a magnificent performance as the guilt ridden Queller." Additional guest cast Ernst Queller - Jeremy Kemp Jim Haines - Barry Stokes Aarchon - Alex Scott References External links Space: 1999 - "Voyager's Return" - The Catacombs episode guide Space: 1999 - "Voyager's Return" - Moonbase Alpha's Space: 1999 page