A lot of work, but the payoff is nice, as our crew finally has some hope. Sourpuss to convince that ship's new and improved (debatable) EMH to stage an insurrection and retake the ship so that they can alert Starfleet so that the Doc can get home so that Voyager can know that Starfleet knows they're still alive. The Doctor then appears in the pristine sickbay of a brand new Starfleet ship, only to find that some dirty, stinking Romulans have already stolen it and are headed back to Romulus, no doubt to stir up some trouble in years to come.
When that doesn't work, they send The Doctor, because why not? It makes perfect sense - a simple sound file can't get through thousands of light years without degradation, but one of the most complex computer files in existence works like a charm. It seems that some aliens built a bunch of cell towers in space and Voyager tries to use them to send a voicemail home. Deep, deep, deep space for Voyager, as it's in the Alpha Quadrant. Seven of Nine, apparently with plenty of time on her hands to turn knobs and push buttons in astrometrics, has found a Starfleet vessel in deep space. Now that we're in Season 4, the crew of Voyager can make a little progress on their trip home instead of the constant disappointment they've grown so used to.
