Jetrel was responsible for developing the Metreon Cascade, a superweapon that killed over 300,000 people on Talax's moon Rinax, including Neelix's family.
Jetrel says he has come forward to examine Talaxians like Neelix who helped evacuate survivors from Rinax, in the process exposing themselves to high concentrations of metreon isotopes that can cause a fatal blood disease, metremia.
Using the ship's transporter systems, Jetrel feels he will be able to develop a cure by retrieving samples of the Metreon cloud still surrounding Rinax.
He angrily condemns Jetrel for the devastation he caused, only to learn that the scientist is also paying the price—his wife left him in the wake of the attack on Rinax, his children refuse to acknowledge him, and he is in the final stages of metremia with only a few days to live.
Reviewers Lance Parkin and Mark Jones complained that Neelix's forgiveness was too hasty but accepted that it was inevitable in the scope of one episode.