It transpires that Neelix 's lungs have already been transplanted into one of the aliens .
Captain Kathryn Janeway 's ethical obligations force her to let them go rather than condemn the alien to death by retrieving the lungs .
It transpires that Neelix 's lungs have already been transplanted into one of the aliens , and Captain Kathryn Janeway 's ethical obligations force her to let them go rather than condemn the alien to death by retrieving the lungs .