Star Trek: 10 Times Voyager Could Have Got Home
7. Prime Factors - Sikaarian Tech
The Prime Directive really can be a bit of a pain in the hoop, can't it? It certainly was never written with Voyager's predicament in mind, so it absolutely would not have a provision for the discovery of technology that could get a stranded crew home, even if some 'light fingers' were required.
Let's put that aside for a moment. Seska and Torres manage to get some Sikaarian technology, despite the race's refusal to share, and bring it aboard Voyager. Having spent next to no time studying the device, they plug it directly into the warp core and flick the switch. Naturally, the device threatens to destroy the ship, as the two technologies are incompatible.
It is then not mentioned again for years. The device should at least have been scanned and studied to within an inch of its life, understood by the officers, and thoroughly tested. The real barrier here, again bar the Prime Directive itself, was the urgency with which everything happened. Perhaps understandable, as Janeway would hardly have permitted the device, but still, food for thought.
As for the Sikaarians themselves, well, at least a group of them must have paid the ultimate price, seeing as the Borg had acquired this technology by the late 24th Century. Hell, maybe if they'd helped, Admiral Janeway might have gone back further in time to warn them. Oh well.