DISCLAIMER: You all know the drill - Paramount is God. All hail Paramount. They own everything in the Star Trek Universe - I'm just
using my overactive imagination to take their characters where they refuse to go. All in the name of fun, not profit (I wish).
RATING: PG-13 Nothing my momma couldn't read.
When the dizziness and the bright light passed, Captain Janeway opened her eyes to find herself back in her quarters at Starfleet with Admiral Blackwell and his companions nearby, working at a computer terminal. Still slightly disoriented, she leaned her head on the back of the chair and tried to ignore the sharp pain in her temple as she listened to their conversation.
"I don't understand why it didn't work," said Lieutenant Statler. "Why didn't she cooperate with them?"
"We have no way of knowing exactly what happened during the original incident," said Blackwell. "We know she doesn't take well to threats�perhaps our approach was too direct. They were already allies with the Borg, so a direct confrontation is probably unlikely."
Statler nodded and worked at the computer terminal. "I'll readjust the parameters and we can try it again."
The pain in Kathryn's temple got worse. She could feel something warm on her face, and when she touched her fingers to the skin beneath her nose, she saw when she pulled her hand away that her fingers had blood on them and she gasped softly.
Looking up at her companions, she saw Lieutenant Statler glance up at her and do a double-take. He frowned when he saw the blood trickling from her nose. "What the�?"
He walked over to her and knelt down beside her, taking her chin in his hand and roughly twisting her head towards him. Her headache was almost unbearable now, and she didn't resist as he examined her.
"What now?" said Blackwell brusquely.
"I think we should get her to the infirmary," said Statler over his shoulder without taking his eyes off Janeway.
Blackwell sighed in frustration. "Are you sure that's necessary?"
Statler stood up and turned around. "Yes, sir. I've seen this problem before�although I thought we had rectified it. That's why I recommended against using the device."
"Fine," said Blackwell. "But make it quick."
Statler nodded and helped the Captain to her feet. The blinding pain in her forehead was making her dizzy, and she swayed on her feet for a moment before she moved towards the door. As she regained her balance, she roughly shook off Statler's hand from her elbow. The doors opened, and Statler motioned for the two security guards to follow him as he escorted her down the hall.
They entered a turbolift at the end of the corridor.
"Level 4," ordered Statler.
Clearance code required, insisted the computer.
"Statler gamma four five one."
The computer accepted his authorization and began moving. Despite the pulsing pain in her head, Captain Janeway was trying to remember every detail. If she was going to get out of here, every piece of information she could gather would be useful.
The lift stopped, and Janeway followed one of the guards out the doors and down the corridor. Before they had made it very far down the hallway, her vision began to blur and everything swam. She stumbled against the wall, and put her hand to her head to try and make the pain go away. She felt one of the guards grab her by her elbow, and an arm went around her waist. They half dragged her for a little ways before she sensed that they turned left. After a few more steps, she heard a set of doors open, and the lighting was brighter. Her guards helped her over to a bed, where she sat down and put her head in her hands.
"What have we got here?" asked an unfamiliar voice.
"Admiral Blackwell was using the synaptic interface on her," explained Statler. "When we ended the simulation, she was like this."
"I thought we fixed that," said the first voice, annoyed and accusatory.
"So did I," returned Statler.
Somebody lifted Kathryn's head from her hands and she could hear a tricorder scanning her.
"Same as before," said the voice, presumably the doctor. "Ruptured capillaries in the parietal and frontal lobes. More serious than the others, too."
"Will we be able to use the interface again?"
"I wouldn't recommend it, but I suppose that's not what the Admiral will want to hear."
Kathryn felt the hiss of a hypospray against her neck, and the pain in her head began to dissipate immediately. Opening her eyes, she could see that she was in the infirmary, and the man examining her was most definitely a doctor. There were no other patients in the infirmary � just her, Statler, and her two security guards.
The doctor was waving some kind of instrument over her head, and after a few minutes he put it down and picked up the medical tricorder again. "That ought to do it," he pronounced. "Better?"
Kathryn nodded and pushed herself off the bed.
"We should probably run another series of tests on that confounded thing," the doctor told Statler. "I don't want to have to explain another bunch of brain-dead patients to the Director."
Statler looked at Janeway. "Well, I don't think Admiral Blackwell will be done with the Captain here anytime soon, so feel free to consider her your test case."
Janeway glared at him furiously but he ignored her. While Statler conferred further with the doctor, she looked carefully around the infirmary to see if there was anything she could use to escape. Her eyes fell on a hypospray that was sitting on a nearby cart. She glanced nonchalantly at the two security guards.
The larger guard, McCarthy, was looking at Statler and the Doctor, but Ensign Phillips was watching Kathryn intently. She cursed to herself under her breath and tried to think of a way to grab the hypospray without him noticing. Before she came up with anything, Statler finished with the doctor.
"Let's go," he ordered, and Ensign Phillips moved towards her. He stepped forward to grab her arm, and she instantly saw her chance. She stepped backwards out of his reach, closer to the cart. He moved closer, again trying to grab her. She took another step back, within reach of the cart, but he had long arms and he managed to grab her by the elbow.
"Get your hands off me," she growled, trying to wrench her arm free. Statler and McCarthy stopped and looked at them. With a strong yank, she freed her arm and pretended to lose her balance, stumbling backwards into the cart. Kathryn, the cart, and all its contents hit the floor with a loud clang. Statler and the guards were too stunned to move for a moment, and she took advantage of their surprise to feel around on the ground for a hypospray. Her fingers came into contact with one, and, hoping that it contained a sedative and not some kind of stimulant, she deftly slipped it into the waistband of her pants behind her back, quickly pulling her jacket over it to conceal it.
Statler stepped forward and yanked her to her feet before turning to the guard.
"That's unnecessary, Ensign," warned Statler. "If she comes quietly there's no need for force."
"Yes sir," replied Phillips dutifully.
Statler motioned for the Captain to lead the way. She glared at him again, but stepped around him after a few seconds and headed for the door to the infirmary. She had hoped that they would be ahead of her so she would have a chance to use the hypospray, but she could always save it for later. She was outnumbered three to one, after all, and the men were all much bigger that she was.
When she reached a junction in the corridor, she paused. She was almost certain that they had come from the corridor to the right, but she didn't want Statler to be aware that she knew her way around.
"Turn right," he said.
She smiled to herself. She obviously did know her way around.
As they moved down the hallway, a large set of doors on her right opened, and a pair of people came out. They turned away from her and started down the hallway. They were in the middle of a conversation, and she caught the words 'cortical implant' from one of them. Instantly alert, she stopped in her tracks and looked toward the door, but it was already closing. Just before it did, she caught a glimpse inside.
It seemed to be a large research lab, with technicians in lab coats moving around everywhere. A large diagnostic table of some sort was visible through the doorway. Less than a second after the doors closed, they opened again as another researcher came out. This time, she got a better look inside, paying particular attention to the diagnostic table, which seemed to be the focus of the lab. There seemed to be a person on the table, and she had a sinking feeling that she knew who it was.
Her suspicions were confirmed when one of the technicians moved aside and she saw a head of blond hair at one end of the table. She could almost make out the ocular implant above the eyebrow, but she didn't need to see the face to know who it was.
"Seven," she whispered, horrified.
That got Statler's attention, and he followed her gaze through the doors.
"Damn," he cursed under his breath. "Come on, get her out of here,"
Kathryn turned on him as he moved towards her. "What are you doing to her?"
"Let's go," he insisted, and motioned to the guards to grab her.
Ensign McCarthy moved towards her, and she waited until he was within reach before she turned on him. Reaching behind her, she grabbed the hypospray from her waistband and applied it quickly to his neck. His eyes widened in surprise before his legs gave out and he fell to the floor. As he went down, she reached to his waist and pulled out his phaser. Setting it for stun, she turned around and shot Ensign Phillips and then Lieutenant Statler. They both dropped to the floor unconscious with their surprised expressions still on their faces.
Looking around, she was relieved to find that nobody had noticed. There was another doorway immediately across from the research lab, and she crossed the hallway and opened it. Looking in, she discovered that it was some kind of science lab, and there was nobody in it. Moving back to her unconscious companions, she dragged them one by one into the research lab. When she was finished, she quickly opened the other doors and moved into the research lab. Keeping her phaser at the ready, she darted over to one of the dividing walls and backed along it before slowly peeking around the corner.
The woman on the table was most definitely Seven of Nine. She was wearing a Starfleet-issue medical gown, and there were research technicians swarming all around her. Pulling back her head, Kathryn looked around quickly to try and come up with a plan. The doors to the lab opened suddenly, and she ducked behind a nearby console as a technician walked by.
She breathed a sigh of relief when her presence went unnoticed. Moving around the console she was hiding behind, she looked at the readouts and smiled. It was monitoring Seven's implants as they were being studied. Kathryn examined the readouts for a few seconds before she entered a series of commands. An alarm immediately went off in the main area.
"What the hell?" said one of the researchers that was standing over Seven, dashing to a nearby console.
"What's going on?" asked another.
"We've triggered her dormant nanoprobes!" yelled one of the younger workers in a panic. "She's becoming a drone!"
"That's impossible," insisted the first man, still checking the console.
"Look at the readouts," insisted a woman as she came up beside him. "Her dormant nanoprobes are reactivating. Code Green - everybody out!" she ordered. "Now! Come on!"
The Captain watched from the shadows as all the researchers ran out one of the back doors. The woman and the man who had been at the console were the last ones to leave, and they moved towards where the Captain was now concealed. She moved deeper into the shadows, but they had more important concerns than looking for uninvited guests.
"Activate the containment field," ordered the woman.
"If her Borg shields become active, that won't do much good," insisted the man as he worked.
"That's security's problem."
The entrance to the main area flashed as a forcefield was activated.
"Let's go," ordered the woman, and they left the research area.
Kathryn waited a few seconds to make sure nobody would re-enter before she stood up and walked over to the console where the two researchers had just been working. In their haste, they had neglected to activate any kind of security codes, and she deactivated the containment field with the push of a button.
She grabbed a stimulant off a nearby table and ran to Seven. She applied the hypospray to the ex-drone's neck and waited for her to regain consciousness. After a few seconds, her eyes slowly fluttered open and her gaze fell on Kathryn.
"Captain," she said, the relief apparent in her voice.
She helped her sit up. "We have to get you out of here. Do you think you can walk?"
"I�believe so," said Seven, but she didn't sound too sure. She was about to stand up when she looked up at the Captain suddenly. "Icheb?"
"Do you know where he is?"
"There," said Seven, pointing to an adjoining room.
Kathryn patted her on the arm and started to move away, but she stopped when Seven called after her.
"Captain�thank you." The emotion in her voice was apparent, and Kathryn's heart broke, wondering what she had been going through.
"Anytime," she replied with an affectionate smile before she moved quickly to the door that Seven had indicated.
She tried to open it, but it was locked. She pounded the controls with her fist in frustration. Taking a step back, she raised her phaser and fired at the panel. It exploded in a shower of sparks. Grabbing the manual release, she slowly forced the door open until the crack was wide enough to see through. It was a small room, but it looked deserted.
"Icheb?" she called.
He stepped out from beside the door. "Captain?"
"Help me get this door open."
They had just about got it far enough open for Icheb to squeeze his narrow frame through when Kathryn heard the main doors open.
"Stop right there!" bellowed a voice.
Captain Janeway reached for her phaser and turned around to see a dozen security guards at the entrance to the main part of the lab. She managed to take out three of them before one of their shots hit home. A phaser beam struck her in the chest and she sank to the ground unconscious.
* * *
Walking down the crowded street in Paris, Tom glanced around before stepping into the small caf� beside him. He had only been here once, years ago, but it had been easy enough to find the place using Chakotay's directions. When his eyes adjusted to the darker atmosphere of the caf�, he looked around and walked towards the bar. He ordered a glass of wine, and as he waited for it he looked surreptitiously around the restaurant. In a dark corner, he spotted Chakotay and B'Elanna talking quietly at a table. B'Elanna's back was to him, but Chakotay spotted him over her shoulder and gave him a small nod. Tom acknowledged him and took his glass of wine from the waiter before nonchalantly moving over to their table.
"No sign of him?" he asked as he sat down.
"No," said B'Elanna. "Did you find out anything?"
"I talked to Commander Walker," Tom told them. "He's been trying to track Seven down but he hasn't had any more luck than the rest of us. Nobody's seen her since she and the Captain went to headquarters."
Chakotay shook his head � this was not looking good. "Anything else?"
"Yeah � she blew off Naomi Wildman. I talked to Sam � apparently Naomi and Seven had made arrangements to see some of the local tourist attractions since this is their first time on Earth. Seven never showed, and she didn't call either."
"That's not like her," said B'Elanna. "Something's going on."
"There's more," said Chakotay. "I got a message yesterday from Caitlin Bennet � she hasn't been able to find Icheb."
"Where was he supposed to be staying?" asked Tom.
"He arranged for some quarters at Starfleet Academy, even though he hasn't been accepted yet. Caitlin hasn't heard from him in over a week, and when she checked his quarters she said they looked like they hadn't been lived in."
"This is too weird," said B'Elanna.
They were silent for a few moments until Chakotay noticed something across the caf�. "Tom," he said, indicating the newcomer with his head. Tom turned around and saw his father near the entrance to the caf�. Admiral Paris spotted them after a few moments and came over to join them. He was in civilian attire so as not to attract attention, and he pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Anything, Admiral?" asked Chakotay.
Owen shook his head. "Nobody that I've talked to at Starfleet Command has seen or heard from Captain Janeway since she supposedly started her debriefing."
"What about the transmission she received asking her to relocate?"
"I tried tracing it, but it was encrypted. It was supposedly from Admiral Hayes, but he denies sending it. If somebody at Headquarters is talking to her, it's top secret."
"What about Seven?" asked Tom.
"Nothing," said Owen. "Nobody seems to have any idea where she is. It appears your suspicions were correct, Commander."
Chakotay sighed. "I was hoping they weren't."
"Nobody knows the Captain like you do, Chakotay," said B'Elanna. "If you say she's in trouble I'd believe you whether there was evidence or not."
"I've come across something else that's rather disturbing," said Admiral Paris. "My aide, Lieutenant Statler, has disappeared."
"Do you think he's being held with the Captain and Seven?" asked Tom.
Owen sighed. "I wish I did. I'm inclined to believe it's something much more devious."
Chakotay stiffened. "You think he's responsible?"
Admiral Paris shook his head. "Not exactly. I have reason to believe he may be linked to Section 31. They may be the ones responsible for the disappearances of Captain Janeway and Seven of Nine."
"Section 31?"
"An extremist group within Starfleet Intelligence. They're not sanctioned by Starfleet Command, and officially they don't exist, but they were heavily involved in the Dominion War. I wouldn't be surprised if they're behind this, too."
"What would they want with Captain Janeway?" asked B'Elanna.
Owen shrugged. "Who knows? Their professed mission is to eliminate threats to the Federation, but I don't see how � "
"The Borg," interrupted Chakotay.
The others turned and looked at him, waiting form him to continue.
"When the Captain got the message that they wanted to debrief her further, she said it was about the Borg. That's why they wanted to talk to Seven as well. Or so they claimed."
Owen nodded. "If they're worried about the Borg they might want to talk to her. Not to mention an ex-drone."
"So what? If that's the case, why would she refuse to cooperate?" asked B'Elanna. "She could just tell them about our encounters with the Borg."
"From what I've heard of Section 31, they may have their own ideas about what she should tell them."
"No," said Chakotay as realization dawned. "She's tied up with research."
"What?" said B'Elanna.
"That's what the Captain said about Seven � 'She's tied up with research'. What if Section 31 is performing experiments on Seven and Icheb?"
Tom caught on. "The Captain might clam up until they stopped. That could be why she wanted you to know there was trouble � they're treating Seven and Icheb like lab rats."
"I wouldn't put it past them," said Owen.
"So where do we go from here?" asked B'Elanna.
"I haven't been able to find out the location of Section 31's facilities," said Admiral Paris. "I'm beginning to suspect that they've got allies in Starfleet Command. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to hide this easily."
Something else occurred to Chakotay. "What about Admiral Blackwell? Kathryn always said he gave her the creeps. He was the one responsible for trying to keep us from using the wormhole."
"It's possible," conceded Admiral Paris.
Chakotay nodded. "I'll let you handle things from that end, Admiral. Tom, you contact the rest of the crew, but try not to tell them too much until you see them face to face. There's no telling who might be listening in. B'Elanna, you and I will start working on a way to locate them."
* * *
"You wanted to see me, Admiral?"
Blackwell looked up from his desk at Lieutenant Statler. "Come in, lieutenant. I trust you've recovered from your unfortunate�indisposal."
Statler shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, sir."
"Did you find out what happened?"
"I think so. Doctor Pierce later found a hypospray missing from the cart that Captain Janeway knocked over when she was in the infirmary. We believe she managed to hide it on her person, and she later used it on Ensign McCarthy."
Blackwell nodded. "See that it doesn't happen again."
"Yes, sir." He waited for a moment. "Will that be all, Admiral?"
"No. I've come across something rather interesting in Janeway's logs from during their encounter with the Borg and Species 8472." He handed a PADD to Statler. "To keep information away from the Borg until their alliance was finalized, Janeway kept all relevant information in their EMH's matrix."
Realization crossed Statler's face and he looked up from the PADD. "You think that she might have used the same strategy again?"
Blackwell leaned back in his chair. "It's worth a try. Track him down and bring him here. We'll have our engineers go through his matrix and see what they can come up with."
"He might also be able to help us with the drones, sir. He's become quite an expert on Borg technology."
"Hm," grunted Blackwell. "Maybe so, but somehow I doubt that he'll see fit to cooperate."
"I think we can make him see things from our perspective."
"Something you want to share, lieutenant?"
"The Equinox encounter, sir. If you remember, Captain Ransom deleted the ethical subroutines of both his own and Voyager's EMH. Ransom had no problem convincing him to operate on Seven of Nine once those subroutines were deleted. It's likely they installed security protocols after the incident, but I'm sure it's nothing our engineers can't handle."
Blackwell nodded. "Agreed. Get him."
"Yes, Admiral."
"I'm going to try another simulation on Janeway at 1800 hours."
"Understood."
"Dismissed, Lieutenant."
* * *
"Come in."
Captain Janeway looked up as the doors to her ready room opened to admit her First Officer. Walking over to her desk, he handed her a PADD.
"Seven's found something useful in her parents' field notes � bio-dampening fields. They should give us extra time without alerting the Borg."
She nodded and studied the PADD. "This is ingenious. Let's just hope it works."
"It could cut years off our journey. It's worth the risk."
She gave him an odd look.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"No�I guess I just expected an objection of some sort. You usually don't go along with my plans this readily � especially something this risky."
He shrugged. "We've got to do whatever it takes to get this crew home."
She scrutinized him carefully. Something seemed off, but she couldn't put her finger on it. His expressions, his stance, the way he was interacting with her, all seemed a little bit off. After staring at him for a few moments, she had a sudden flash of him standing in front of a large window overlooking San Francisco Bay. It seemed to be in a large apartment, and he was dressed casually. The morning sun was filtering in through the windows, and he had a cup of coffee in his hands. She couldn't place the memory, and although it seemed very familiar she was at a loss to explain it.
"Captain?" he said, interrupting the vision, or memory, whatever it was.
She smiled and waved him off. "It's nothing." She got up from her desk and followed him over to the couch near the windows, and as she walked she tried to figure out where that flash of memory had come from. It couldn't really be a memory, she reasoned, because she had never known Chakotay in San Francisco. What was it, then? An alternate reality? Some kind of premonition? A psychic projection? Or the over active imagination of a stressed Captain, she chastened herself.
Bringing herself back to their plan, they started to go over it one more time together in preparation for the heist. They were interrupted before they got very far by the chime of her ready room.
"Yes," she called in the direction of the door. Seven of Nine entered, looking perturbed.
As Captain Janeway watched her approach, she had a sudden vision of Seven standing in her ready room, but wearing a Starfleet uniform. It was just as vivid as the previous vision, but before she had a chance to reason through it Seven caught her attention when she spoke.
"I have been contacted by the Borg," she announced.
"What?" said Chakotay, stiffening on the couch.
"They are aware of our planned heist of the transwarp coil."
The Captain looked at Seven and then at Chakotay as this news sank in. "Damn," she muttered. She leaned back on the couch and massaged her forehead with her hand. "I guess that's it for Operation Fort Knox."
"Not necessarily," said Seven. "The Borg are willing to assist us by equipping Voyager with a transwarp coil."
The Captain sat up straight. "In exchange for what?" she said incredulously, glancing at Chakotay.
"They want our assistance in developing an assimilation virus to use on Earth."
Her shoulders sank in disappointment and she tilted her head down, pinching the bridge of her nose. "So much for a transwarp coil."
Seven shifted on her feet. "Captain, I believe we should accept their proposal."
Her head snapped back up. "I'm sorry?"
"Your goal is to reach the Alpha quadrant."
"Yes."
"With the Borg's assistance you will be able to achieve that goal."
"That's not the point, Seven. I want to get the crew home, but not at the price of billions of lives."
"You have previously allied with the Borg to achieve your goal. You assisted us in developing a method of assimilating species 8472."
"Only because we believed that species 8472 was a threat to the entire galaxy. We were allied with the Borg, yes, but helping them in assimilating Earth? It's not even worth mentioning."
Seven raised an eyebrow. "You would turn down an opportunity of reaching the Alpha quadrant?"
"To protect billions of innocent people? In a heartbeat."
"And does the crew share this opinion?" asked Seven maliciously.
"Of course," she snapped.
Chakotay, who had been observing them in silence, finally interjected. "Captain�"
She turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow.
"This could cut 20 years off our journey," he said.
"Perhaps more," added Seven. "The Borg have assured me that if our collaboration is successful they will supply us with multiple coils. This vessel could reach the Alpha quadrant."
"Captain, we could get home," pressed Chakotay.
"You're serious?" she said, horrified. She rose from the couch and walked over to her desk, putting her hands on it and leaning forward. After a few seconds, she turned around and faced them. "What good is getting home going to be if we've helped to assimilate the entire Federation?"
Neither of them had an answer to that.
"I can't believe we're even having this conversation," she said in frustration. "I might have expected having to explain myself to you, Seven, but Chakotay � how could you of all people even consider this?"
"I thought getting home was our first priority," he retorted.
She stared at him incoherently. This wasn't the man that she had been working with side by side for the past seven years.
When that thought crossed her mind, she stopped suddenly and corrected herself. Not seven years � five years. After another moment, though, she paused. What had caused her to make that mistake? She turned back around to her desk and noticed that things looked out of place. There seemed to be something missing, but she couldn't place it. She reached over and ran her fingers along an empty spot on her desk.
Something belongs here, she thought to herself.
Moving her gaze around the desk, she noticed a holo-image of the senior staff that had been taken a few months ago. She reached over and picked it up, examining it carefully. As she stared at it, the picture seemed to change. There were a few faces she didn't recognize � a dark-haired man, apparently human, and a woman who appeared to be Trill. The Maquis officers, she noted with surprise, were wearing traditional Starfleet pips, and Seven was in a Starfleet uniform like Kathryn had envisioned her wearing a few minutes earlier. She also noticed Tom and B'Elanna � they were standing next to each other, and B'Elanna was holding a baby in her arms.
Miral Kathryn Paris.
Captain Janeway had no idea where the name had come from, but she knew instinctively that it was the name of Tom and B'Elanna's daughter.
But they didn't have a daughter.
"Captain?"
Chakotay's voice pulled Kathryn out of her reverie, and when she blinked and looked back at the picture it had returned to it's original state. She replaced it on her desk and turned back around to face them.
"We are not making a deal with the Borg," she said icily. "Chakotay, alter course away from the Borg cube and go to yellow alert. Keep an eye out for any sign of other Borg activity."
"Captain � " he began, but she cut him off.
"That's an order, Commander," she said sharply. "Dismissed."
Seven and Chakotay filed out of her ready room, and she sighed and sat back down behind her desk.
"You shouldn't have done that."
She whirled around in her chair to see a Borg woman standing behind her. She didn't have any facial implants above her shoulders, although she had an unusually shaped skull, and her smile certainly didn't look Borg.
"Janeway to Security � intruder alert," she snapped, jumping out of her chair and backing away from her desk.
"It won't work."
"Who are you? What do you want?" she asked, reaching slowly for the phaser she kept tucked under the top of her desk.
"I am the Borg."
Just as the Captain got her hands around the phaser, the Borg Queen reached out and grabbed her wrist, squeezing until she dropped the weapon.
"Is that any way to treat a guest, Captain?"
"An uninvited guest."
"Come now, Captain. We can help each other. I trust Seven of Nine has informed you of my proposal?"
"If you want to call it that," she snorted. "It's out of the question."
The Queen cocked her head. "You were hardly opposed to our previous alliance. As I recall, you instigated it."
"Not one of my best ideas."
"You assisted us to repel species 8472," continued the Queen. "In return, we gave you Seven of Nine."
"Gave us Seven? She hardly came willingly."
"She would not have remained had she not been willing. You also prevented species 6339 from infecting us with a virus they had created."
"Only because it put Seven at risk. I'm sorry to hear they didn't eventually succeed."
Ignoring the Captain, the Borg Queen continued. "I wish to continue our alliance. You get a transwarp coil�" She stopped and looked carefully at the Captain. "We assimilate Earth."
"You don't actually expect me to accept that offer, do you?"
"Your ship is your collective. Others are irrelevant."
"Not to me. I'll stay here in the Delta quadrant if it protects Earth from the likes of you."
The Queen glared. "Perhaps others on your crew would be more�cooperative."
Despite her recent unsettling exchange with Chakotay and Seven, Captain Janeway's faith in her crew was unwavering. "If you want any of us to cooperate, you'll have to assimilate us."
She stared down the Borg Queen, waiting for her to blink.
"It's not working, sir."
This time, the detached voice that seemed to come out of nowhere was a much faster trigger and Kathryn almost instantly recognized the voice of Lieutenant Statler and remembered what was going on.
Her recognition that this was all another simulation was quickly followed by the now familiar flash of bright light and dizziness.
This time as she became aware of her surroundings again, the pain in her head was worse. She gasped and put a hand to her head, unable to concentrate enough even to listen to what Blackwell and Statler were saying.
"Damn," said Statler when he noticed Kathryn's nose bleeding. "It's happened again sir,"
"Fix it," commanded Blackwell icily.
"I'll get her to the infirmary," said Statler as he moved to help the Captain to her feet.
"No," said Blackwell. "I don't want to let her out of this room. Get the EMH."
"Sir?"
"You said you had him?"
"Yes sir. His program is stored in his mobile emitter, up in the engineering lab."
"Well, get him. Why take her to the infirmary when we can treat her here?"
Statler nodded and left.
Captain Janeway was aware of the passage of time, but had no idea if it was seconds or minutes before she heard Statler return. The pain in her head was agonizing, and the wait felt much longer than it probably was.
Statler held up the Doctor's mobile emitter and activated it.
"Please state the nature of�" The Doctor's voice trailed off as he looked around the room. His face became angry when his gaze fell on Lieutenant Statler. "You! You're the one who was trying to deactivate my program!"
Blackwell stood up from the desk and moved towards the Doctor. "I had no idea he was so�lifelike."
"I'll take that as a compliment," returned the EMH. "Now would somebody tell me what I'm doing here? Who are you?"
"Not that it matters, but I'm Admiral Blackwell, and this is Lieutenant Statler."
"Oh yes, the thug," said the Doctor. "We've met. Now what�" He stopped abruptly as his gaze fell on the half-conscious Janeway.
He immediately moved over to the chair where she was seated. "Captain, can you hear me?" She was unresponsive, and the Doctor turned to Statler. "What's wrong with her?"
In response, Statler handed him a medical tricorder. He took it reluctantly and used it to scan the Captain.
"She has dozens of ruptured blood vessels throughout her cerebral cortex," he said, horrified. He yanked the small device off her temple. "What is this?"
Statler took the device from him. "That's none of your business. Now treat her, and make it quick."
The Doctor took the medkit that one of the nearby officers handed to him and turned back to the Captain. He stopped the intercranial bleeding, then applied a hypospray to her neck to wake her up.
She groaned softly before she opened her eyes. "Doctor?" In a much quieter voice, she added, "What are you doing here?"
"It's all right, Captain, you're going to be fine," he said in a normal voice. Whispering, he added, "I was on my way to a medical conference on Vulcan to discuss my innovative treatment of�never mind. Suffice it to say, my program was deactivated en route and I ended up here."
He pretended to continue treating her. "They have Seven and Icheb," she told him quietly.
"I know," he told her. "I spoke with Lieutenant Paris and Commander Chakotay yesterday, and they told me of your predicament. I had no idea I'd be sharing it."
"They know I'm here?" The plaintive relief in her voice was so moving that the Doctor stopped his pretence of treating her and put a hand on her arm.
"They don't know where you are, but they're certainly looking for you. While I was on Vulcan, I was going to inform Commander Tuvok of the situation so he could assist us. Mr. Paris said they've been trying to track down Section 31 ever since you spoke to Commander Chakotay."
"Section 31?"
He looked at her in surprise. "Isn't that who these people are?"
"I don't know who they're working for."
Statler interrupted their conversation, although he didn't seem to be aware that they were having one. "Are you almost done, Doctor?"
"A few more minutes," said the Doctor over his shoulder. "This little device of yours nearly turned her cerebral cortex into swiss cheese."
He turned back to the Captain. "Have you seen Seven and Icheb?"
She nodded. "Level 4, down the hallway, third door on your left. It's a research lab. Lots of people."
"Understood." He folded up the tricorder. "I'll try and find out where we are and get a message to Commander Chakotay."
"Good luck, Doctor."
He stood up. "Same to you, Captain."
Statler stepped forward. "See you soon, Doctor," he said as he deactivated the mobile emitter.
"Lieutenant," said Blackwell. "Reset the simulation. We'll try again tomorrow. A different time frame, perhaps."
"Unimatrix Zero, sir?"
Blackwell nodded. "Yes, I'd be interested to see her reactions to that."
He and Statler started to gather up their equipment and Statler headed for the door. Blackwell started to follow him.
"I'm curious, Admiral," said Kathryn, and he stopped and turned around.
"About what?"
"My motive." She leaned forward in her chair with her elbows on her knees. "You're convinced that I've been conspiring against the Federation. What I can't figure out is what you think my motivation could be."
He looked at her for a few minutes before he moved towards her. "I've studied your psychological profile extensively, Captain. My belief is that your motive is twofold."
She looked at him in surprise, not having expected such a calm and rational answer from a man whom she was convinced was unbalanced. "Oh?"
"First of all, I believe you'd go to any lengths to get your crew home."
"Almost."
"Secondly, I believe you were motivated by revenge."
"Revenge?"
"You've been known to hold a grudge, Captain. I can see that from your First Officer's accounts of your encounter with Captain Ransom."
She looked at him, confused. "I don't understand. Revenge against whom?"
"Starfleet."
Her confusion increased. "For what?"
He stared at her. "For letting you become stranded in the Delta quadrant."
"What?" she said, her voice dangerously low. It took a minute for her to find her voice among her racing thoughts. "How�?"
He seemed surprised at her confusion. "It seems we may have overestimated you, Captain. I was almost certain you had figured it out. I assumed that was why you refused to cooperate with us."
"Figured what out?"
"Or perhaps you do know," he continued, "But you want to see how much I know." He watched her carefully for a few moments before he seemed to reach a decision.
"Approximately six weeks after you were thrown into the Delta Quadrant, you encountered a wormhole. A very small one, with a temporal distortion. When you tried to communicate through it, you encountered a Romulan scientist."
"Telek," she whispered, realization beginning to dawn.
He nodded as he circled her. "You wanted him to deliver messages to your family. Unfortunately, he died before Voyager was even built."
"He never sent the messages."
"No, he didn't. He didn't forget you, though. One of our agents encountered him in 2365. We interrogated him on an unrelated matter, and we inadvertently stumbled on something else � his encounter with you."
She stared at him in disbelief. "You knew. You knew we would be thrown across the galaxy if we were sent into the badlands."
"Yes," he said candidly. "We couldn't turn down the opportunity of sending a ship into the heart of Borg territory. We wanted you to assess any possible threats to the Federation. Unfortunately, we didn't account for your forming an alliance with the Borg."
"You knew," she repeated, still reeling from the information. Despite all the fond memories she had of her crew, she was overcome by a sudden rush of painful memories. Crewmembers dying. The ship under attack. Feeling isolated. No contact with home. Her head snapped up and she glared at the Admiral.
"Do you know what I went through the past seven years? What my entire crew went through? I lost too many people�and it could have been avoided?"
"It was worth the risk. Finding out what we were up against with the Borg�it was worth the loss of a single ship."
She stared at him, trying to comprehend the enormity of his admission. "You sent us out there to die."
"We didn't send you anywhere. We allowed events to occur in such a way that you would be able to perform surveillance on the Delta quadrant. I'll admit we hardly expected you to return so soon�but we didn't expect you to get help along the way from the Borg."
She sighed, not wanting to get him started on his accusations again.
When she didn't respond, he stopped his pacing and studied her for a few minutes before he grunted and then left her alone.
As soon as the doors closed behind him, Kathryn let out a sob that she had been holding in. She got out of her chair and paced back and forth in the room before she settled in front of the window. She choked back another sob � this was just too much for her to handle. Blackwell and his followers had known what was going to happen to Voyager and yet had done nothing about it. Despite all the good that had come of those seven years � rescuing Seven, Icheb and the others from the Borg, Tom and B'Elanna's marriage, her and Chakotay � she couldn't get all the faces of those who hadn't made it this far out of her mind. Those who hadn't made it to the Delta Quadrant. Her helmsman, Stadi. Her original First Officer, Cavit. Her chief engineer and chief medical officer. Many had been lost along the way. Lieutenant Durst. Crewman Bendera. Ensign Bennet. Lieutenant Hogan. Ensign Kaplan. Ensign Jetal.
A tear rolled down her cheek. She wouldn't give up the past seven years for anything, but�there had been so much suffering. Needless suffering.
>> ON TO PART XXI : FULL CIRCLE
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