Betrayals

by Alex8

Love and loss for Janeway during her first real encounter with the Borg. Kind of J/C story set shortly before 'Scorpion I & II'

BETRAYALS

By Alex

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Paramount owns the copyright and all the characters. I make no profit, just enjoy writing about them.

Acknowledgements:

Includes a reference to Jeri Taylor's 'Mosaic'. The story takes place towards the end of season three shortly before the episodes 'Scorpion I&II'.

" We should do that more often." Commander Chakotay smiled at Captain Kathryn Janeway as they left the holodeck together and headed for the turbolift. Both were clothed in light, casual dress more suited to a tropical beach than a starship.

"Maybe." Janeway's doubt was quite apparent. As if realising her reply was not exactly tactful when Chakotay had obviously gone to considerable trouble to organise an exotic picnic in Harry Kim's latest tropical holoprogramme, she put a hand on his arm and smiled. "It was a lovely picnic, Chakotay; and I enjoyed every minute."

"But not something you'd want to do regularly."

Janeway shrugged lightly  "You know me: I never was much use at lying around on a beach when I could be doing something more active."

"Maybe it would be good for you to take things more easily; allow you to forget the strains of command sometimes."

Janeway turned in surprise and studied his face. He was wearing what she thought of as his 'Inscrutable Indian' expression that usually meant a profound and stubborn disagreement with her views.

"If you're trying to tell me something, perhaps you should say what's on your mind." Her voice was sharper than she intended and she regretted the words the moment they were spoken.

"Turbolift, stop." Chakotay ordered the computer and turned to face Janeway. "This is a prime example of what I mean, Kathryn. Maybe being out here in the Delta quadrant alone for so long is affecting all of us in some ways. I just think you should take more time to relax and stop thinking about the ship sometimes. Maybe then you wouldn't take offence so quickly when somebody offers some friendly advice."

"When I want advice, Commander, you'll be the first to know. Computer, Deck three." Janeway turned to face the doors, a red flush of anger beginning to show on her cheeks. Chakotay's jaw clenched, but he realised that any words would only inflame the situation and they continued to ride the lift in a strained silence.

They were in the corridor outside Janeway's quarters when Voyager lurched suddenly, the lights dimmed and the red alert sounded shockingly loud.

"Janeway to bridge, report!" Janeway slammed her comm badge and raced back to the turbolift.

"We're reading an overload in one of the warp core discharge conduits, Captain." Lieutenant Tom Paris' voice was strained. "The core has almost reached critical."

Janeway exchanged an alarmed look with Chakotay, but before either of them could respond, Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres' exited voice sounded over the comm link.

"Torres to Janeway. It's alright Captain; I've vented the plasma through an auxiliary conduit. The warp core is stabilising. Standing down to yellow alert."

"It is not alright, Lieutenant." Janeway's voice was tight with anger. "I want a full report, in my ready room, as soon as you have warp power restored to normal."

"Aye, Captain." Torres' voice was subdued.

Half an hour later, Torres stood awkwardly at attention in Janeway's ready room.

"So, tell me how Voyager managed to reach red alert through an overload that shouldn't happen." Janeway, now in full uniform stood beside Chakotay with arms folded across her chest.

Torres moved her shoulders uneasily as though suppressing an embryonic shrug. "There was a malfunction in one of the warning circuits and the backup system was undergoing a diagnostic check when the overload showed up."

"Why wasn't the overload spotted by whoever was doing the diagnostics?" asked Janeway.

"I don't know, Captain." Torres' eyes slid away from Janeway, who instantly sensed there was more to the affair than a simple combination of equipment failure and bad luck.

"Who was running the diagnostics?"

"It was my responsibility, Captain. I should have kept a closer watch on the systems."

"I didn't ask who was responsible, Lieutenant. I asked who was running the check?"

"It was Ensign Lutkar." Torres answered reluctantly.

"You were right when you said it was your responsibility. I want you to see to it that nothing like this can happen again."

"Aye, Captain."

"And send Ensign Lutkar here to see me." Janeway nodded a dismissal. For a moment She thought Torres was going to argue with her, but the half Klingon engineer turned and marched stiffly out onto the bridge.  

Janeway turned to Chakotay with a frown.

"Didn't you tell me Lutkar is spending a lot of time with one of the Betazoid crewmen on maintenance?"

"That's right. She and crewman Pelant seem to be quite serious about one another. There have even been rumours about a possible wedding." Chakotay frowned thoughtfully. "Ensign Lutkar is a very diligent officer; quiet and unassuming, but normally most competent and trustworthy. It's not like her to make this kind of error." 

Lutkar entered the ready room hesitantly and stood to attention, staring blankly at the window behind Janeway's left shoulder. Her face was pale and set and Chakotay felt a wave of sympathy for the young officer.

"So, what went wrong, Ensign?" Janeway's manner was not unsympathetic, but she was determined to find out exactly what circumstances had endangered her ship.

"I failed to see the warning codes when I ran the diagnostics, Captain." Lutkar's voice was strained and the words came from between clenched jaws.

Janeway studied her in silence and then asked in a neutral tone:

"Were you away from your console at all while the computer was running the diagnostics?"

Lutkar flashed a startled glance at her and then swallowed audibly before replying:

"Yes, Captain." In a tone so low it was barely audible. A long silence followed this revelation, and Lutkar's nerve broke. "One of the warning circuits had been causing trouble and Lieutenant Torres sent for a maintenance crew. Pelant was working on the gel packs. He needed some help, so I ran the checks for him."

"And left your own post in the process."

"It was only for a few minutes, and I thought the computer would pick up on any problems. I'm sorry." She ended lamely.

"You realise the consequences of your actions, Ensign? If it hadn't been for Lieutenant Torres' quick reactions Voyager could have been totally destroyed by a warp core breach." Janeway spoke firmly, but without anger. She was trying to impress the seriousness of the incident without being unduly censorious but she saw with sudden alarm, the tears that began to flow in an uncontrollable flood down Lutkar's face. She put out a hand towards Lutkar. "Ensign...." but the young officer turned and ran sobbing from the room.

Janeway turned in exasperation and caught that same expression on Chakotay's face that had so irritated her in the turbolift. She opened her mouth to speak, but Chakotay forestalled her.

"Excuse me, Captain." He moved quickly past her to the door, and before she could think of a way to stop him without making matters even worse between them, he was gone. Janeway sat at her desk and put her head in her hands, miserably wondering how things could suddenly have gone so sour for her.

***

Janeway was on the bridge later that afternoon, seated in the command chair, ostensibly going through the morning's scan results on her computer screen. In fact, her mind was much closer than the distant star system displayed on the screen. Chakotay had been avoiding her all afternoon, constantly finding problems that needed his attention away from the bridge.

 Although Janeway tried to concentrate on the screen, she found her mind wandering, trying to work out just where she had gone wrong and how to recover that precious close friendship with Chakotay. Recently, it was becoming something more than friendship, she had to admit. Maybe that was the problem. Working so closely with a subordinate friend, however close was one thing, but a lover? That was a different situation altogether. Perhaps it wasn't possible in their circumstances, stranded so far from home, when she had to bear the sole responsibility for nearly one hundred and fifty lives. She sighed and scrolled back the results to start reading them again.

"Captain, scanners are picking up quantities of debris off our starboard bow." Lieutenant Tuvok's voice interrupted her troubled thoughts.

"What kind of debris, Mr. Tuvok?" Janeway rapidly replaced the old scan results on her screen with those current on Tuvok's tactical station.

"Large quantities of technologically advanced alloys and polymers, also traces of anti-matter residue and organic compounds."

"The remains of spaceships and their crews." Janeway said harshly, looking at the myriad dots and jagged particles on her screen.

"It would appear so, Captain." Tuvok increased the magnification and Janeway transferred the resulting image to the main bridge screen. She heard the combined indrawn breath of the entire bridge crew as they tried to comprehend the sheer magnitude of the disaster that must have caused what they were seeing. The doors to the bridge hissed open and Chakotay stepped through and stood transfixed by the image on the screen.

The entire screen was filled with pieces of debris ranging from tiny, almost invisible fragments to huge shapes of unfamiliar design and function. As far as the eye could see, in every direction, the dark vacuum of space was littered with the remains of ships.

 "How many?" Janeway asked quietly.

"Impossible to say, Captain. Sensors indicate the remains are too badly damaged and dispersed to estimate." Tuvok entered some data into his console. "However, it would seem we are seeing the remains of a battle fleet. All indications show that the ships are the product of a single technology, and were heavily armed when they were destroyed."

"How long have they been out there?" Janeway looked up as Chakotay's reassuring bulk appeared at her shoulder.

"The anti-matter residue would only persist for a maximum of three days." Tuvok replied.

"What do you think, Chakotay?"

"I think maybe the Borg have been having a busy time." 

"I think you're probably right. Mr. Tuvok, Yellow Alert. Increase scanner range to maximum. If the Borg are in this area, we don't want to be caught napping. Have some debris transported to Engineering for analysis. Traces of weapons' fire should confirm or deny whether the Borg are responsible."

"Captain, I am detecting life signs inside a piece of the debris." Tuvok frowned as he tried to pinpoint his findings. "Very faint, but definitely humanoid."

"Can you get a transporter lock on them?"

"Affirmative. It is one life form, probably severely injured."

"Beam it directly to sickbay. I'll inform the Doctor while I'm on my way. Chakotay, you're with me."

By the time Janeway and her First Officer reached the sickbay, the injured alien was already receiving intensive treatment. Most of his body was hidden by a combination of treatment machines and burnt clothing. The small visible area of his face was a mask of blood. The only definite impression Janeway gained was that he was male and a little taller than the average human.

"How is he, Doctor?" She asked.

"His condition is serious, Captain. The injuries themselves are life-threatening and the delay in receiving treatment has exacerbated his problems. However," he added brightly, "I am cautiously optimistic."

"How long before he's able to answer questions?"

"I have given him a sedative, so he will be unconscious for some time. I will contact you when he is fit to be questioned."

Reluctantly Janeway left the sickbay for Engineering, where B'Elanna Torres was conducting her analysis of the debris she had transported on board.

"Definitely the work of the Borg, Captain. Weapons signatures are typical of their technology."

Janeway looked at the charred wreckage around her.

"What about the people who crewed these ships, have you been able to learn anything about them?

"A little. From the composition of their ships, I'd say they are of a similar technology to our own, maybe a little more advanced. They had an impressive amount of weapons power at their disposal."

"It didn't seem to make much of an impression on the Borg." Janeway poked absently at a twisted piece of what looked remarkably like plasteel.

"A lot of their weaponry was discharged before the ships were destroyed." Torres said.

"But sensors have found no debris from the Borg craft?"

"None at all, Captain."

Janeway returned to the bridge and spent the evening trying to trace the Borg's energy trail with Tuvok and Harry Kim. There were faint traces, but they were elusive and beginning to disperse over a wide area. Kim programmed the computer to analyse a probable course, but the results were too vague to be of much use.

"At least the Borg seem to be heading away from our own course." Chakotay studied the results on a padd in the Captain's ready room.

"That is the only good news I've had today." Janeway sighed and sat back in her chair. "The destruction of that battle fleet worries me. It makes me wonder, how many Borg cubes are in this sector of the Delta Quadrant?"

"We don't know what happened to cause the battle. It's possible the fleet was taken by surprise, or led by an inexperienced commander. One or two cubes can cause a lot of damage in those circumstances." Chakotay said.

"That's why we must talk to the injured alien. We'll learn a lot more from him than the sensors can tell us."

A short time later, Janeway and Chakotay entered the sickbay, their earlier differences forgotten in the current emergency.

"Ah, Captain, Commander." The Doctor spoke quietly with a satisfied smile. "The alien has recovered consciousness and is well enough to answer some questions. However, he is still weak, so I must ask you to be brief."

Janeway nodded and approached the alien's couch with a strong curiosity. She always enjoyed meeting new species, no matter how strange their appearance. When she reached the couch, she stopped abruptly and stared in surprise at the calm grey eyes that met hers. The man was almost indistinguishable from a human. His forehead was maybe a little higher than the average human, his features more regular for a man whose dark, waving hair was greying at the temples, but there was no denying his close genetic relationship.

"I'm Kathryn Janeway, Captain of the Federation Starship Voyager." She spoke gently, her eyes held by the man's intense gaze. She felt an impression of wisdom and pain mixed with a great sadness and wondered for a brief moment if the man was a telepath, and then he spoke.

"My name is Bandar Hakron. Squadron Commander with the Phectran battle fleet." His voice was rich and melodious, the tone cultured though strained by pain.

"We found you in the wreckage of your ship; our doctor has been treating your injuries. Can you tell us what happened to your fleet?"

There was a long silence before Hakron replied:

"Our long range scout ships discovered the presence of the Borg within range of our star system. We'd heard terrible rumours from refugees in other systems who'd fled ahead of them. Our leaders decided to send a great fleet out to meet them; try to stop them long before they came within range of Phectra." His voice weakened and he closed his eyes for a moment before continuing.

Janeway felt the Doctor stir beside her. "Just a little longer, Doctor. We have to know what happened."

"Twenty five squadrons of Eagle scouts and eighteen great Battle Cruisers went to meet the Borg. All were destroyed in less than an hour. My ship was one of the last to survive. When I realised our weapons were powerless to stop them, I tried to ram one of the cubes." He gave a bitter smile. "We didn't even get close before our ship disintegrated around us."

"How many cubes were there?" Janeway asked hurriedly before the Doctor could interrupt.

"I don't know. They moved so fast our sensors were unable to track them for long. More than ten I believe, but beyond that...."

"Captain, I must insist that my patient be allowed to rest." The Doctor fixed Janeway with his sternest frown and she lifted an acknowledging hand.

"Alright Doctor, just one more question. Where do you think the Borg went after they destroyed your fleet?"

"Isn't it obvious, Captain? Where else would they find a completely defenceless planet, but Phectra?" Hakron closed his eyes, a sheen of sweat gleaming on his forehead.

"That's enough Captain. I absolutely forbid any more questions." The Doctor pushed himself between Janeway and Hakron's bio bed and faced her with a defiant glare. It was obvious Hakron was in no fit state to talk anyway and Janeway nodded abruptly before striding out to head for the bridge.

Once on the bridge, she summoned Neelix to consult his knowledge of the Delta Quadrant.

"Phectra? Why yes, I have heard of the planet." Neelix wrinkled his brows and paced theatrically up and down in front of Janeway and Chakotay. "I haven't actually met any Phectrans, but I do know they have a reputation for being courteous and hospitable to travellers. They are feared in some quarters for their fierce defence of their territory. I have heard they make very bad enemies. They do not make friends easily, but are renowned for those they do chose. Some of my fellow Talaxians have traded with them over the years and found they can be a little arrogant. That's about all I can tell you, Captain."

"What about Phectra itself; do you know where it is?" Janeway exchanged glances with Chakotay, whom frowned at the question.

"Well it's in a large star system a few light years from here. I'm not sure exactly, but I can show you the general area on a star chart."

Chakotay interrupted. "Surely, you're not thinking of going after the Borg, Captain?"

"We picked up the sole survivor of a huge fleet, Chakotay. His home planet is less than a day's journey from here. We can't just go on and leave the area without at least attempting to get him home. For all we know, the Borg may have bypassed Phectra altogether."

"You don't really believe that?"

"No." She admitted. "But he survived that battle, and I think he deserves the chance to get home."

***

The next morning, Voyager was still on yellow alert and nearing the star system where, Neelix informed Janeway, Phectra was the seventh planet from a moderately young and vigorous sun. Hakron, the Phectran survivor had been discharged from the sickbay by a reluctant Doctor and was on Voyager's bridge as Janeway's guest. His face was pale and gaunt and he sat beside her in what was normally Chakotay's seat. He wore a hurriedly replicated Starfleet uniform without insignia of rank. Chakotay was standing with Tuvok, watching the sensors for the slightest hint of a Borg presence.

The Phectran star system grew larger on the view screen, and Hakron leaned forward expectantly, his knuckles showing white where he gripped the arm of his chair.

"Sensors are having difficulty penetrating the system." Tuvok tried to clear the interference, with no effect. "I am unable to detect readings from the seventh planet. There seems to be a large asteroid belt in the region, which is inhibiting sensors."

Hakron stood up and walked slowly towards the screen as though drawn by an invisible thread.

"There is no asteroid belt in our system." His voice was low, but audible to everyone on the bridge in the sudden silence.

Tuvok looked towards Janeway, about to speak, but remained silent in response to the shake of her head. After several seconds of complete silence, Janeway went to Hakron's side and put a hand on his arm.

"I'm so sorry, Squadron commander."

"There were more than a billion people on Phectra and the two neighbouring colonist planets." Hakron continued to stare at the view screen. Janeway looked up at Tuvok who entered some data into his console.

"Sensor analysis shows the asteroid belt consists of three distinct origins. There are now only nine planets in the system, compared to the twelve recorded by Stellar Cartography.   

Janeway looked at the asteroid belt on the screen, glittering with a terrible beauty in the bright light of the system's sun. She swallowed the painful constriction in her throat and turned to Harry Kim.

"Is there any sign of survivors? They may have got some ships off the ground before the Borg arrived. Scan the subspace frequencies for distress signals."

Kim shook his head.

"I've been scanning ever since we we've been on yellow alert, Captain. There's nothing on the usual distress frequencies."

"Then scan all the unusual ones as well." She said harshly.

"You're wasting your time, Captain." Hakron still stared at the screen, unable to tear his eyes away. "There will be no survivors."

"We have to try, Hakron."

"The Borg may still be in the vicinity. You are endangering your own ship by remaining here." He turned at last and looked at her. "Please, Captain. You've done enough. Get your own people to safety."

Janeway looked one last time at the screen and then nodded to Tom Paris who watched her expectantly from his seat at the conn.

"Put us back on our original course, Mr. Paris. Warp seven point five."

"Yes, ma'am!" Paris acknowledged gratefully and busied himself with an immediate course change.

"Keep monitoring those distress frequencies, Mr. Kim. We still might pick something up before we move out of the area." Janeway turned to Hakron who was now staring blindly at the blank view screen. "I'll walk with you to your quarters." Normally, she would have assigned the duty to the most junior officer on the bridge, but in the circumstances she felt it would be unfair to both Hakron and the escort.

Janeway led the way to the guest quarters in silence. Once there, she explained how to work the replicator and sonic shower.

"If there is anything you need to know, ask the computer, or call any officer on the comm link." She showed him how to activate his badge.

"You're very kind, Captain. I'm sure I have everything I need."

Janeway nodded. "I know this is going to be a very painful and difficult time of adjustment for you. You probably feel completely alone right now. I want you to understand that you're not alone as long as you are aboard this ship. In a way, we're all in a similar position. We too have lost contact with our own people. We're stranded, far from home and our loved ones must believe we're long dead. But we still have hopes of finding our way home, just as you must not lose hope of finding some of your own people. Somewhere out there, there must be other Phectrans: traders, diplomats, simple travellers who weren't caught in the disaster. You have to believe you will find them, just as we believe we will get home."

"Maybe." Hakron smiled sadly and turned to look at the streaking stars beyond the window. "Somewhere, out there must be my destiny."

His words echoed eerily in Janeway's mind when she made her way back to the bridge.

***

When Janeway arrived on the bridge the following morning, the atmosphere was more relaxed. Long range scanners had found no trace of the Borg and Voyager had left the scenes of the Phectran disasters far behind. She stood down the yellow alert and returned the crew to normal duties. She was in her ready room, catching up on the previous day's reports when Chakotay entered to tell her that Hakron was asking to see her.

"Send him in." Janeway was surprised at the request so early in the day. She'd expected the Phectran to take some time to convalesce after his spell in the sickbay. She stood up to welcome him and was further surprised by the obvious strength in his movements. Phectrans seemingly recovered fast from serious injury.

"Good morning, Squadron Commander." She greeted him.

Hakron shook his head. "No longer, Captain. There is no squadron to command. I would like to be known simply as Hakron on your ship."

"As you wish." Janeway sat on one of the couches and gestured Hakron to join her. He sat with a graceful, fluid movement and she felt the aura of power that emanated from him. She was momentarily unsettled by the knowledge and spoke with uncharacteristic nervousness.

"What can I do for you?"

"I wish to repay some of the kindness you and your crew have shown me. I'm not used to being a passenger. I want to work my passage to wherever I am going."

"You can go wherever you like, Hakron. You are welcome to stay on board Voyager until we come to a planet that appeals to you."

"Thank you. But I would still like to work. I need to keep busy. Can you understand that?"

"I understand very well. I just don't know about your area of expertise. You might have difficulty understanding some of Voyager's technology."

"I doubt it."

Janeway recalled Neelix' statement about the arrogance of Phectrans, but Hakron's eyes were grave and steady, with no hint of superiority in his expression. She decided he was simply stating what he believed.

"B'Elanna Torres is usually in need of an extra pair of hands in Engineering. Maybe you could help out there for a day or two." And B'Elanna would soon discover how much he knew about propulsion systems, thought Janeway.

It turned out that Hakron knew rather more about Voyager's warp drive than Torres, as Janeway discovered when she listened to her chief engineer's report of the Phectran's first day in Engineering.

"It was incredible, Captain. I really didn't believe the modifications he suggested could possibly work, but the simulations showed a fifteen per cent increase in engine efficiency. If we initiate the changes, we will have a similar increase in power to the shields or weapons arrays.

Janeway was always inclined to caution where Torres' enthusiasm for advanced alien technology was concerned. Voyager had been endangered on more than one occasion when her curiosity and desire to get home had resulted in unforeseen problems.

"I'll come down to Engineering tomorrow, and you can run the simulations again. We have to be very sure of all possible effects of any modifications to the warp drive." Janeway said firmly.

"That's what Hakron said." Torres smiled, "He's just as cautious as you are, Captain; insisted we run the simulation within parameters that are way beyond anything Voyager might encounter. He wants to spend tomorrow on diagnostics, to be sure the systems are all at one hundred per cent efficiency before we can think of implementing his recommendations." Torres was walking up and down the room, her eyes alight with the fervour of new ideas.

"I take it from your enthusiasm, that Hakron meets with your approval, B'Elanna?" Janeway smiled.

"If his idea works, he will have made one of the most important contributions to the whole mission. And that on his first day with us!"

The following morning, Janeway arrived in engineering accompanied by Chakotay and Tuvok to watch the simulations of Hakron's modification. The Phectran bowed gravely to Janeway and glanced apologetically towards Torres.

"I had hoped to complete all the necessary tests before presenting the idea to you, Captain. However, Lieutenant Torres can explain the process while I prepare the simulations we ran yesterday."

As explained by Torres, the idea seemed so simple that Janeway wondered why no one had thought of it before. In her experience, most of the best ideas were just like that and the thought added to her optimism. They watched the simulations and even Tuvok gave a grudging nod of assent when the final programmes had run.

"It would seem to be a valid improvement, Captain. I can see no flaws in the logic or the mechanics of the modifications suggested."

Janeway turned to Chakotay with an enquiring look.

"On the evidence we have seen, I would have to agree with Tuvok."

Janeway nodded and smiled at Hakron. "If this works, you will have paid for your passage many times over on your first day on board Voyager. B'Elanna, continue with those diagnostics, plus any more fiendish emergencies you can dream up for simulation. Bring me a full report when tests are complete."

"Aye, Captain." Torres grinned triumphantly at Hakron, who nodded gravely to Janeway.

While Chakotay and Tuvok returned to the bridge and Torres began her computer checks, Janeway took Hakron aside.

"Do you have everything you need in your quarters?"

"The guest quarters on your ship are palatial compared to the captain's cabin of a Phectran Eagle. Our ships are ...were built mainly for travel within our own solar system rather than the vast distances you cover in Voyager. The accommodation was Spartan to say the least."

"I wonder, would you dine with me this evening?" Janeway wanted to learn something about the history of her newest recruit and knew from experience that the best way to break through alien reserve, was a quiet dinner for two and a large tray of Neelix' best delicacies.

Hakron inclined his head in acceptance. "I would be honoured, Captain."

***

That evening, Janeway and Neelix were arranging dishes of food on the table in her quarters when Hakron arrived. He gave his customary formal bow to each of them in turn and accepted a glass of synthehol.

"Neelix, will you join us for a glass of wine before we eat?"

Janeway had already asked the Talaxian to remain for a while after her guest arrived, partly to allow Neelix to observe and form an opinion about Hakron, but also to help dispel any impression of an 'interview' with Voyager's captain.

Neelix accepted his drink and immediately began to talk to Hakron about possible mutual acquaintances amongst his trading friends. The Phectran responded with courteous but negative replies. Janeway knew that Neelix was doing his diplomatic best to avoid mentioning anything that could relate to the destruction of Phectra. She also knew the subject was going to cast a censorious shadow over the whole evening unless she did something about it.

When Neelix excused himself after several minutes of polite, but meaningless chatter, Janeway gestured to Hakron to be seated at the table and determined to tackle the problem head-on.

"Neelix has prepared some of his best dishes for you." She lifted the lid of a savoury smelling dish and smiled, "I happen to know this is the last of his precious hoard of Milonian tree spice."

"It smells delicious, Captain. You are fortunate to have a Talaxian on board. In your situation, I am sure you find him very useful indeed."

"Neelix is a most valued member of our crew." Janeway spooned some of the spiced vegetables onto Hakron's plate. "Our lives would be a lot duller in this quadrant without him as the morale officer."

"I've noticed you have a very cosmopolitan crew. It seems to be made up of many different humanoid races. You would probably call us insular, but only Phectrans served in our space fleet."

"Starfleet is made up of many different cultures from numerous planets. No race is barred from serving on a starship, but some are better qualified for entry than others. There are some that choose to keep apart from the rest of us: there are very few Klingons for instance, who serve on Starfleet ships and they would be most unlikely to accept a non-Klingon into their own fleet. B'Elanna Torres is an exception, but she is only half Klingon and she didn't exactly volunteer to serve on Voyager."

"B'Elanna told me how she came to be here." Hakron smiled.

"What did she tell you, exactly?" Janeway was curious how Torres now saw her enforced stay in the Delta Quadrant after almost three years.

"That you made arbitrary decisions that changed her entire outlook on life." His eyes became serious. "You appear to have had that effect on most crewmembers I have encountered."

Janeway shook her head. "I can't claim that all my decisions have been right. I just hope the major ones weren't wrong."

"From what I have observed during my brief stay, I think you may rest assured that they weren't."

"It hasn't been easy here in the Delta Quadrant. We've made a few friends, but having to rely on our own resources in often-hostile areas has taxed us all. We've made mistakes, but we've emerged stronger and more united from each dangerous situation. Voyager has a fine crew; I'm proud of them all."

"You have reason to be." Hakron stood up and looked out of the window at the distant stars. "I too was proud of my squadron. My crews were hand picked, and we were the elite of the battle fleet. We believed we were the best; unbeatable." His face twisted in wry pain. "It took less than an hour for the Borg to prove us wrong. Maybe our arrogant belief in our own invincibility was our downfall."

"The Borg are a terrible enemy, Hakron. They've swept through the galaxy, destroying everything in their path. Your battle fleet was simply an irritating inconvenience to them, like a swarm of insects to be swatted without a second thought. They have never been defeated in battle. You didn't stand a chance against them."

"You're saying they are invincible?" He turned to face her and Janeway could almost feel his pain.

"No, Voyager has had some experience of them. I don't say we escaped unscathed, but although we couldn't beat them in battle, we did manage to get away more or less in one piece. But we are just one ship, able to run and hide. You couldn't hide whole planets and civilisations from them. Your leaders knew that and they chose to try and defend your worlds, as would almost any government. That's not arrogance, its pragmatism. When there are no options, you do the only possible thing."

"Do I detect the voice of experience in that statement?" Hakron gave a twisted smile.

"There have been times ...." Janeway thought bitterly of some of the seemingly hopeless situations she had encountered in the Delta Quadrant. The several occasions when she had initiated Voyager's self-destruct programme in a last desperate attempt to avert an even greater disaster. She looked up at Hakron and felt a confusing mix of sympathy, understanding and loss emanating from his eyes. There was something else too; something indefinable and unsettling, as though his thoughts were almost fused with hers. "Are you a telepath?" She asked quietly.

"Not in the way you imagine. Some Phectrans have the ability to transmit emotions and receive a heightened perception of the feelings of others. But in the sense of being able to read minds or send thoughts; no, we do not have that ability."

Janeway looked at the assortment of untouched dishes on the table.

"Maybe we should continue our meal. Neelix would be offended to see this."

Hakron sat down and began to eat.

"Tell me about your home planet, Captain."

"About Earth?" Janeway smiled. "I may be prejudiced, but Earth is the most beautiful planet in the galaxy. It has everything anyone could possibly want: snow-capped mountains, lush pasturelands, the bluest of oceans, forests, prairies and desert landscapes ..." She stopped suddenly, aware of Hakron's eyes on her. "I'm describing Phectra, aren't I?" Her voice was almost a whisper.

"Our physiology is so similar, our worlds are almost certain to be alike. We had to have evolved in a similar environment." He smiled bitterly.

Janeway looked down at the plate of half eaten food in front of her and pushed it aside. "Would it be too painful for you to tell me about your life on Phectra?"

 Hakron considered before his answer.

"No. I want to remember. The memories will fade with time, I know; talking will help to keep them alive in my mind. I came from a privileged background you see; a long line of administrators and soldiers. My father was on the council of leaders until he died when I was in my first year of battle fleet training. My three sisters and I had a happy childhood on our estates in the southern mountains of Phectra's smallest continent. As the eldest, a lot was expected of me. I wish my father had lived to see me receive my commission."

"Did you have a family of your own?" Janeway tried to imagine what it must be like to be in Hakron's position, but the enormity of the disaster was just too much for her to consider.

"My wife died some years ago in one of the hurricanes that sometimes occurred in the coastal regions. She was expecting our first child."  He absently pushed a spoon on the table as he spoke, his long fingers twisting the handle. He looked up and held Janeway's gaze. "At the time, I thought it was the most terrible thing that could ever happen; now I know that wasn't so."

At his words, Janeway's thoughts instantly took her back to her own private tragedy: those last desperate minutes when she tried to save the lives of her father and Justin, the man she was going to marry. For a moment, she relived the final horror of her failure, when the injured men sank beneath the icy waters of a planet in the Tau Ceti system. She felt Hakron's concern as almost tangible.

"I'm sorry." He studied her face while she struggled to banish the memory back to the recesses of her mind.

"It was along time ago." She gave a tight smile, uncomfortably aware that it was impossible to hide her emotions from the Phectran. Her normal control and strength of will were totally transparent to his ultra perceptive mind. "And it seems we have a lot in common."

***

For several days after Janeway's dinner invitation, Hakron continued to work on the modifications to the warp drive, before presenting her with the final successful trials results.

"This is excellent news, Hakron." Janeway studied the padd and looked up with a smile.

"The modifications have led to some interesting possibilities, Captain. With the increased power available, I believe the tactical systems can be improved to decrease response times in the phaser banks."

"Have you discussed this with Tuvok?"

"Only briefly. He expressed cautious interest in the idea."

Janeway suppressed a smile and hailed Tuvok over the comm link.

"Mr. Tuvok, would you come to my ready room?"

She listened in silence while Hakron explained his ideas in detail to the Vulcan. Tuvok occasionally interjected with a question, but gave no hint of his opinion until Hakron had finished. "Well, Tuvok?" Janeway asked neutrally, her face as inscrutable as Tuvok's.

"Hakron's theory has possibilities, Captain. However, I would need more information before reaching a conclusion."

"Well, why don't the two of you work together on this? See if you can reach a 'conclusion' together?" Janeway followed them onto the bridge and took her seat in the Command Chair. She smiled to herself with quiet satisfaction at the way Hakron seemed to be fitting in with the crew. First making such a successful partnership with the volatile B'Elanna Torres and now working with the very different and enigmatic Vulcan. She worked for a while at her computer console, vaguely aware that Tuvok had left the bridge, when the turbolift doors opened and Chakotay's voice cut abrasively into her thoughts.

"Hakron, what are you doing with that panel?"

Hakron looked up in surprise from behind an open panel on the tactical station.

"I'm checking some of the phaser bank circuits."

"Do you have security clearance to work on the weapons systems?"

Hakron stood up slowly and looked calmly at Voyager's First Officer. "I was unaware that it was necessary."

"Well, now you are aware." Chakotay's voice was hard.

"I apologise, Commander." Hakron spoke mildly and bowed.

Janeway stood up, her jaw clenched in anger. "Commander, you're with me. Mr. Paris, you have the bridge." Without a glance to either side, she strode rapidly through the sudden silence to her ready room.

Chakotay faced her at attention, his face an expressionless mask. Janeway made a conscious effort not to be irritated by it, but her anger was too great to be completely suppressed.

"What was that all about?" How dare you speak to a visitor like that?"

"Because that's what he is Captain: just a visitor, with no security clearance. We know practically nothing about his history, yet he seems to have complete freedom of the ship."

"He has told me quite a lot about himself, Chakotay. And even you must be aware of his heightened sensibilities. You can't seriously suspect his motives in wanting to improve Voyager?"

"Maybe I'm not so susceptible to his 'heightened sensibilities' as you and B'Elanna." Chakotay suggested quietly.

Janeway felt the involuntary rise of colour in her face. "Exactly what are you implying?"

"Look, Kathryn; I just think maybe you're taking too much on trust. Perhaps you're right; maybe he is the best thing for Voyager since gel packs were invented. But what if you're wrong about him? What if he has some hidden agenda? The way you're letting him run around altering the ship's systems could land us in serious trouble if he's not quite the good guy you seem to think."

"Hakron has done nothing on this ship without my permission. If you disagree with my decisions, then you are free to discuss them with me, but you do not treat him like a child caught with its hand in the cookie jar. And most certainly not on the bridge in front of the crew. Do I make myself clear?"

"Quite clear, Captain." Chakotay stared woodenly at the bulkhead behind her right shoulder.

Janeway felt her anger dissipate, leaving a feeling of regret for something gone beyond her grasp. "Chakotay, why do we seem to disagree on just about everything these days?"

"I couldn't say, Captain." His tone was expressionless, but at least his eyes were now on her rather than the bulkhead.

"We used to be such a good team, running the ship together. But just recently, I feel as though we're pulling in opposite directions all the time."

"Maybe it took one of us to stand back a little and see that everything wasn't quite as smooth as we thought. You always used to say that you valued my opinion, but in recent weeks you've overruled just about all my recommendations. You can't have it both ways: I won't keep silent just to avoid a confrontation with you."

"Just as you can't expect me always to agree with your point of view." Janeway was suddenly aware that they were even arguing about arguing. The whole thing was too ridiculous. She gave a wry laugh. "Can't we agree to call a truce? I'll listen to your recommendations and you won't question every decision I make."

"Does that mean you won't let Hakron modify any more of the ship's systems?"

"I thought we'd already settled that?" Janeway tried to stifle her exasperation.

"It seems you have, Captain."

"What have you got against him, Chakotay? What has he done to give you cause to suspect his motives? Just give me one solid reason to mistrust him, and I will accept your recommendations."

"I have no hard evidence." He admitted without meeting her gaze. "I just don't trust him."

"A hunch?" She mused. "I can't act on that. But if it makes you feel any better, I will ask Tuvok to keep a close watch while Hakron is working with him. Even you can't believe a Vulcan is susceptible to Phectran charm?"

Chakotay nodded a silent agreement and Janeway dismissed him with a sigh of dissatisfaction. She'd done all she could to repair the bridges between them, but she knew instinctively it was not enough. She sat on the couch and gazed out at the streaking stars beyond the window, consciously trying to ignore the aching void within her.

When Janeway returned to the bridge, Chakotay was off duty and Tuvok was alone at the tactical station.

"Where's Hakron?" Janeway asked him.

"He has returned to his quarters, Captain."

Janeway paused outside Hakron's quarters before pressing the entry chime. She squared her shoulders and entered briskly in response to his invitation.

"Captain Janeway." He bowed politely and she found herself looking and feeling for any hint of how he had been affected by Chakotay's actions. She was surprised by a powerful sense of concern directed at her, but nothing else.

"Hakron, I've come to apologise for what happened on the bridge. I should have told Commander Chakotay you would be working on the weapons systems."

Hakron nodded silently and studied her eyes. Janeway felt again the surge of emotional power that surrounded him like an aura and then he turned away to look through the window, out to space.

"I have been thinking about my future, as you suggested, Captain. After careful consideration, I have decided to ask you to take me to any nearby inhabited planet."

"Because of Chakotay?" His words were not exactly a surprise, but Janeway suddenly felt as though a tight band was being pulled around her ribs, crushing her lungs.

"No, because of me." He turned to face her. "I have become a disruptive influence on your ship. The good I can do by improving the ship's systems is being undermined by the harm I am causing to your command."

"You're not doing any harm. Chakotay is just one man who has taken a dislike to you for no reason. Even he can't say why. You can't leave because of one man's prejudice."

"But he's not simply one man, is he? He's your First Officer and more, a lot more than just a colleague. There are two things Voyager needs above all: a strong Captain and a united crew. You had both before I came aboard, but if I stay, the crew are bound to take sides, undermining your authority even more."

Janeway shook her head. "There are no 'sides', Hakron. Chakotay's irrational behaviour won't attract any support. He'll come around in the end, when he sees the good you've done for the ship."

"You think he's irrational?" Hakron smiled wryly. "I have always considered jealousy to be one of the most rational of all emotions."

"Jealousy? What could he possibly be jealous about?" Janeway looked up at him and felt the breath catch in her throat. She tried to look away, but was held by the power of his gaze that seemed to look deep into her very soul. Her heightened senses felt all the sorrow and loss of his world, combined with an attraction and need that threatened to overwhelm her. She felt the strength drain from her legs and put out a hand to steady herself against the table, when he abruptly turned away and broke the contact. Janeway leaned weakly against the table and tried to steady her erratic breathing.

"I'm sorry." Hakron's voice was low and strained. "I had no right to do that. But you see now why I must leave Voyager."

"Chakotay and I were at odds before you came aboard. I think we had both realised it wasn't going to work. Your presence didn't cause a rift between us. We were already so far apart, there was little chance of a reconciliation." She straightened and spoke towards his averted shoulders. "Don't leave, Hakron. Voyager needs you."

He turned slowly and looked at her, but without using his emotional power. "And what of you, Captain Kathryn Janeway?"

There was a long silence before her quiet response.

"I need you too." She looked up, stripped of all her emotional defences. Hakron's face blotted out the light and his lips gently fused with hers.

***

Janeway was in her ready room the following morning, going through Tuvok's latest progress report on Hakron's proposals, when Chakotay entered with another padd for her scrutiny. She took it from him with a nod of thanks and looked up enquiringly when he remained silently beside her desk.

"Was there something else?"

Chakotay moved awkwardly and seemed reluctant to meet her eyes. "I think I owe you an apology, Captain."

Janeway waited in silence

"It was wrong of me to chew out Hakron on the bridge yesterday."

Janeway stood up and faced him across the desk. "I think you should be saying this to him, rather than to me."

Chakotay's eyes flashed defiance for a moment and then softened with a slight smile. "You're right. I'll go see him now. He's on the bridge again with Tuvok." He turned to leave, then looked back at her. "This doesn't mean I trust him: I don't like him any more today than I did yesterday."

"I don't ask you to like him, Chakotay; just treat him with the same respect you'd show any officer on this ship."

Chakotay frowned and turned back to her desk. "Does that mean you're going to invite him to join the crew?"

"I'd have to consult with the other senior officers, but I'd guess you would be the only one with objections to the idea. Do you think you could put your personal feelings aside and work with him as a permanent member of the crew?"

"I don't know." He hesitated. "I've managed to survive a couple of years with Tom Paris, so maybe if Hakron proved himself trustworthy, I could learn to live with his presence."

Janeway walked around the desk, consciously removing the physical barrier between them. "This situation is rather more complicated than the mutual dislike between you and Tom during your early days on Voyager."

For a moment, Chakotay looked puzzled and then, when Janeway's gaze faltered, he drew a deep breath. "I see. You must do as you think fit, Captain."

She put a hand on his arm. "Chakotay, I ..." but he interrupted her.

"I won't oppose you in this, but don't ask for my approval."

"I don't want to lose your friendship, Chakotay."

"I know you don't." His voice softened. "But some things come in a package."

They looked at one another in silence, aware there was simply nothing more to be said. Chakotay turned to leave and was almost at the door, when Tuvok's urgent voice came over the communicator at the same moment as the lights dimmed and the klaxon sounded 'red alert'.

"Tuvok to Janeway! Captain to the bridge, immediately!"

"Acknowledged!" Janeway was already running for the door when she replied.

The tension on the bridge was almost tangible. Except for Tuvok, all faces turned expectantly towards Janeway when she and Chakotay stepped out from her ready room.

"What is it, Mr. Tuvok?"

"Long range sensors are picking up indications of a space vessel, Captain."

"Do you know what kind of a vessel?"

Tuvok straightened up to face her. "The emissions signature indicates it is a Borg cube." 

Janeway gripped the rail in front of her with whitened knuckles, but her voice was calm as she turned to the conn. "Mr. Paris, lay in an immediate course change to take us directly away from that cube. Maximum warp speed."

"Yes, ma'am!" Paris rapidly adjusted the controls and there was almost total silence for several seconds before Tuvok spoke again.

"Sensors indicate the cube has altered course. It is still converging with Voyager at a speed in excess of our own."

"We can't outrun it, Captain." Paris looked up at her hopefully.

Janeway stared back at him. How many times had she seen that expression, on how many faces over the past two years? Such faith; they'd come to expect miracles from her. She felt tired. Too many miracles, too many seemingly hopeless situations had left her vulnerable to the strain of her own personal problems. Wearily, she turned back to Tuvok.

"How long before we're in weapons range?"

"Approximately seventeen minutes and twelve seconds."

"On screen." Janeway looked up at the dreaded shape on the view screen. "I'll take any suggestions." She looked around the strained and hopeful faces in silence. Hakron returned her gaze with sympathetic eyes, but she felt no heightened emotional contact from him.

"You've met the Borg in battle, Hakron. Did you discover anything we might be able to use against them?"

"Their only vulnerability seemed to be in their power matrix. Unfortunately, it is located in the very centre of the cube and our weapons were not powerful enough to penetrate that far. We were only able to inflict minor damage before our ships were destroyed."

"Tuvok, could our phasers reach the core of a cube?"

"Unlikely, Captain. From what Hakron has told me, the Phectran weapons were more powerful than ours. It is not likely we could inflict more damage than they were able to do."

Janeway watched the advancing cube grow ever larger on the view screen.

"If we concentrated all our fire on one spot in the centre of one face of the cube, it would be the shortest route to the core. Would we have any chance of penetrating that far?"

"Given enough time, theoretically, we do have the power." Tuvok admitted. "However the Borg are unlikely to give us that time."

"Then we'll just have to make it for ourselves. Aim all phaser banks at one central point and be ready to fire at my mark."

"Acknowledged, Captain." Tuvok entered data in the tactical console. "All phaser banks aligned and ready to fire. The cube will be within phaser range in twenty three seconds." 

All eyes watched the view screen, except for Tuvok who continued his tactical observations.

"Cube now within phaser range."

"Wait for my order, Mr. Tuvok." Janeway continued to stare at the rapidly growing image on the screen.

 Tom Paris moved uncomfortably in his seat. "Captain, we might be able to penetrate their shields with a surprise attack."

"I won't be the aggressor, Mr. Paris. Not even with the Borg. Mr. Kim, open a hailing frequency."

"They're not responding to our hail, Captain. Shall I ...?" But Kim's question was never completed. Voyager suddenly lurched violently to a massive impact, small explosions burst from the ops station and most of the crew were hurled to the floor. Janeway clung grimly to the rail and called to Tuvok who still remained on his feet at his station.

"Open fire, Tuvok. All phaser banks that will bear."

Voyager lurched again and Janeway lost her grip on the rail. She fell heavily against a console and groaned at the sudden agony of a cracked rib.

"All phasers firing, Captain. Shields are down to thirteen percent." Tuvok was bleeding from a cut on his cheek, but was somehow still on his feet.

Janeway pulled herself painfully up to the rail and briefly hugged her damaged ribs.

"Damage report!" She called, her breathing consciously shallow to lessen the pain of each indrawn breath. Before anyone could respond, Voyager reared in a last violent upheaval, the lighting failed and Janeway crashed to the floor. For a moment, she was convinced she was dying. She lay on her back in the darkness, desperately trying to inhale with lungs that refused to function, hearing the groans and cries of her injured crew. And then, abruptly, the emergency lighting kicked in and her starved lungs suddenly whooped in great gulps of life-giving air. The pain in her ribs was excruciating with each breath she took, but the relief at being able to breathe again made it almost worthwhile. She felt hands take hold of her arms and gently pull her to a sitting position. Hakron squatted beside her, but before he could speak, Tuvok's voice sounded urgently through the smoking gloom.

"Shields and phasers are off-line. Hull breach on deck six, through deck nine. Major damage reported in all sections."

Janeway struggled to her feet with Hakron's help. Blood dripped from a cut on his temple and one of his hands bore the imprint of an electrical circuit burned into the flesh.

"Captain!" Tom Paris called from the conn, "Impulse and warp engines are not responding to controls. Thrusters have minimal power. We're not going anywhere for a while." He added quietly.

Chakotay appeared beside Janeway, cradling an injured shoulder.

"Transporter room two to the bridge!" An exited voice came from the communicator. "Reporting unauthorised use of ..." The voice ceased abruptly with an interrupted scream.

"Humanoid life forms are appearing in the transporter room and cargo bay one. Captain, we are being boarded by the Borg." Harry Kim's voice was unsteady but he worked calmly at his damaged station.

"Mr. Kim, can you initiate force fields around the areas the Borg are using as transporter sites?"

Janeway was slightly hunched, but otherwise trying not to show the extent of her injury.

"Power is unreliable in some areas, but I can try." Kim began entering data in his console.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance in Engineering." Hakron said quietly. "If B'Elanna can get the warp engines on-line, you might get a chance to escape."

Janeway nodded wordlessly and then felt herself being immersed in a sudden wave of emotion that left her reeling helplessly against the rail. She gasped at the intensity of sorrow and regret that engulfed her as she looked up into Hakron's drawn features.

 Abruptly, the emotions ceased as he broke eye contact and turned away. She watched him stride out through the door without looking back.

"Captain?" Chakotay steadied her with his good arm, concern and alarm showing in his dark eyes.

"I'm alright." She gave a shaky smile and leaned back, propped against the supporting rail. "Issue phasers to all hands. We know the Borg don't take prisoners. It looks as though we shall have to go down fighting."

***

Hakron hurried along the corridor outside the bridge and stopped at a security locker. He smashed open the lock and grabbed two phasers, then hurried to the nearby turbolift. Instead of heading for Engineering on deck eleven, he went directly to the transporter room the Borg were using to board Voyager.

 The corridor outside the transporter room was a scene of devastation. Wreckage and bodies were strewn around and three crewmembers were fighting a desperate rear guard action to contain a group of Borg that advanced relentlessly through the phaser fire. The three crewmen looked up in welcome when Hakron appeared behind them. He shot two of them before they realised what was happening. The third tried to defend himself, but fell to Hakron's phaser before his own weapon came to bear.

Hakron put the phaser into his belt and stepped towards the advancing Borg.

"I've come to help you."

The six Borg stopped and stared, their weapons aimed directly at him.

"You want to take this ship with as little damage as possible. I can help you do that. The Captain will destroy it rather than allow you to capture it. I can prevent that, I know the security codes to override her instructions."

"You will be assimilated." One of the Borg intoned and advanced towards Hakron.

"If you assimilate me now, I won't be able to help you until it's too late to save this ship."

The Borg stopped and turned its head fractionally to one side, as though listening to an inaudible voice. It then turned back to Hakron.

"This ship will be assimilated. You will be assimilated."

"Your sensors must show I'm not human. I have no loyalties to these people. They are inferior beings, but they are cunning and resourceful."

"You are species 8539: Phectran. We destroyed your planet. It is improbable that you would help the Borg."

"Listen to me. I'm tired of being on the losing side. The Borg are winners, invincible. You are the future and I want to be a part of that future. I don't want to die here on this ship when the captain destroys it."

The Borg drone listened again to the voice of the collective and then said:

"You will disable the self destruct programme and assist in the assimilation of this ship."

Hakron led the way back to the transporter room.

"We have to transport to the bridge. It will save time instead of having to fight your way there."

The sudden appearance of Hakron and the Borg on the bridge ensured their complete superiority. Without hesitation, Hakron fired at Tuvok who collapsed soundlessly at his station. Paris reached for his phaser, but Hakron fired before he had a chance to aim it. Paris crashed backwards and fell across the conn. Slowed by their injuries, Janeway and Chakotay were faced by a row of unwavering weapons when they stood up from their chairs.

"Drop your weapons." Hakron's voice was cold and commanding.

Janeway slowly removed her phaser from her belt and threw it to the floor, nodding at Chakotay and the remaining crew to do the same. Chakotay's jaw clenched, but he reluctantly followed Janeway's example. One of the drones picked up the discarded weapons and Hakron swung into Janeway's chair and began accessing the computer's security codes. 

"Why, Hakron?" Janeway asked, her voice completely toneless.

"Why? Because I want a future, Captain." He looked up at her and smiled. "The Borg are the future. You and your crew don't have one, I'm afraid." He continued entering data at a bewildering speed into Janeway's console.

"You must know they will assimilate you when you've done what they want."

"I don't think so." Hakron watched streams of data scrolling across the console screen.

Janeway leaned back tiredly against the rail behind her and closed her eyes.

"We helped you, saved your life. How could you betray us like this?"

"I didn't betray you. Your lives were forfeit from the moment the Borg picked you up on their sensors. Like my own people, as you so eloquently told me, you never stood a chance of defeating the Borg. I merely took the expedient way of safeguarding my own future." He stood up with a satisfied smile and looked down at her. "Time to leave you I'm afraid, Captain. Life support is off-line, as are most of your systems now, but you should have enough air in here to last half an hour or so. I do regret not having more time to spend with you, but I have work to do. After all, I have to earn my place with the Borg." He bowed, with an arrogant smile on his lips and strode over to join the row of drones. "I don't want you to think too badly of me, Captain. When I'm gone, for the short time you have left, remember Phectra. Remember Phectra." He repeated with a smiling mock bow as he and the drones dematerialised in a shimmering blue transporter glow.

Chakotay hurried to his chair and began trying to access the computer. Janeway sank wearily beside him and watched while he tried desperately to regain some control of the ship.

"He's overridden all the security codes and installed new ones of his own." Chakotay shook his head. "He's even put an electronic lock on the Jeffries tube hatches and depressurised the system. There's no way out of here, Captain."

"We still have about half an hour's worth of air. We have to keep trying to find a way past his security codes." Janeway was studying her own console.

"Captain, the Borg are copying our data bank to the cube." Chakotay said quietly.

"We can't allow that to happen." Janeway stood up and looked around her devastated bridge. "It will give them unprecedented knowledge of Federation technology and defence systems."

"I don't know how we can stop them." Chakotay sighed.

There was a sudden groan from behind the tactical station and Tuvok's bloodstained face appeared above the controls. Janeway hurried to help him to his feet, ignoring the stab of her own broken rib.

"Tuvok! We thought you were dead."

"Captain, Tom is alive as well!" Harry Kim smiled in disbelief as he helped to prop up Paris' limp body against the conn.

Chakotay helped Janeway take Tuvok to the captain's chair, where he slumped heavily against the padding.

"Hakron must have had his phaser set on minimum power." Chakotay was puzzled. "Why would he do that when he was going to kill us all anyway?" He shrugged. "I guess he forgot to check it. Luckily for Tuvok and Paris."

Janeway shook her head thoughtfully.

"I don't believe Hakron would forget something so basic. Everything he has done has been very carefully planned." She looked at her computer screen. "The warp core is being drained of power. The Borg must be transferring the energy to the cube." She entered some data and looked up at Chakotay. "At this rate of transfer, the core will be completely drained in less than an hour."

"I don't see how that matters, Captain. Unless we can find a way to get life support back on line, we'll have been dead for over forty minutes by then."

The atmosphere on the bridge was already noticeably warmer and Janeway realised her breathing was becoming more laboured than could be accounted for by her injury alone.

"We have to find those security override codes." Janeway looked over to where Kim was helping a very unsteady Tom Paris into his seat. "Harry, can you set the computer to search through all possible permutations of the codes?"

"I can, Captain. But it could take hours, maybe days to come up with the right combination."

"We might just get lucky, Harry. Do it."

"Aye, Captain." Kim knew it was hopeless, but he also knew that Janeway was right to keep trying, fighting right to the end. He began entering the programme, when Voyager suddenly lurched violently, throwing him to the floor. A blinding, searing light erupted from the view screen and he threw up his arms to protect his eyes from its brilliance.

"What was that?" Janeway pulled herself painfully up from the floor yet again to peer through watering eyes at her console screen.

"It would seem the Borg cube has disintegrated, Captain." Tuvok's voice held what sounded almost like the merest hint of surprise.

"Disintegrated? You mean completely destroyed? Janeway was incredulous.

"The cube appears to have atomised. A massive breach of their transwarp power system would seem to be the only explanation for such total destruction."

"Hakron." Janeway whispered almost to herself.

"Captain?" Chakotay looked at her curiously.

"Don't you see, Chakotay? He must have found a way to destroy their power matrix. That explains why Tuvok and Tom are still alive. He never meant to kill any of us."

"If that is the case, he'd better get back here soon. Our air supply is getting pretty low". Chakotay pulled restlessly at his collar.

"Are any of the Borg still on board Voyager?" Janeway asked Kim.

"Yes, Captain. Five drones are still on board, but they seem to be deactivated."

"Hakron could have had trouble getting past them." Janeway mused.

Kim shook his head. "He doesn't have to come to the bridge. He could enter his security codes from any console on the ship."

Then why doesn't he do it? She thought; knowing the answer, yet trying to deny it even to herself. Something had happened to prevent him getting to a console. Something very serious. She looked up at the empty vacuum of space on the view screen and remembered that last sudden surge of emotional power as Hakron had left the bridge, ostensibly for Engineering, but in fact to join the Borg.

"He's dead." She said tonelessly.

"You don't know that, Captain." Chakotay looked up from his console.

"Whatever he did, he knew he wouldn't survive it." Janeway sat on the bridge step, her head heavy and pounding with the lack of oxygen.

"That doesn't make any sense." Chakotay's brain felt as though it was about to explode from his skull. He wasn't even sure that he was making sense. "If he knew he wasn't coming back, why would he leave us without the security codes he'd imposed?"

"Maybe he didn't." Janeway looked up eagerly. "What were his last words to us? 'Remember Phectra' He repeated them; we thought at the time he was trying to give us an excuse for his betrayal, but what if that was the key for the codes?" She turned to Kim. "Harry, discontinue the search and try 'Remember Phectra'."

"Aye, Captain." Kim entered the words and a broad smile spread across his smoke-grimed face. "That's it. He's put all the codes in one file under those passwords." He entered some more data and ginned at Janeway. "Life support is on line, Captain."

Janeway wiped a hand across her forehead and stood up, her expression grim.

"Organise a security team to check those Borg are really deactivated, Harry. They probably can't function without the collective, but we need to be sure." She looked around at the damaged bridge and her injured crew and felt the hollow pain of Hakron's loss. Chakotay rose from his chair and put a hand gently on her shoulder.

"I think maybe we'd better run this ship from the sickbay for a while." He smiled and looked pointedly at the battered Tuvok and Tom Paris leaning weakly against the conn. Paris gave his usual sardonic grin and Janeway held out her hand to help Tuvok to his feet.

"I hope the sickbay is in better shape than the bridge."

***

The following day, Janeway sat in her ready room going through damage reports and working out repair priorities. She was only vaguely aware of the sounds of the repair crews working on the bridge. Chakotay entered and stood awkwardly in front of her desk, holding a padd. She looked up and saw the hesitation in his face.

"What is it, Chakotay?"

He glanced at the padd as though to remind himself of the contents.

"I've been checking the weapons stores. Everything has been accounted for except for one item. A photon detonator."

"I see." She stood up and went over to the window, her back to Chakotay. She'd known it had to be something like that. An exhaustive search of the ship had disclosed no trace of Hakron's body. She imagined how he must have hidden the detonator in his clothing and somehow made his way through the cube to explode the detonator next to the power matrix deep in its centre. She had already guessed that the shooting of Tuvok and Paris as well as other members of the crew and the shut down of life support had been to prevent them being killed by the Borg. Hakron had disabled the officers he knew might try to interfere with his plan.

"Captain, I thought..." Chakotay hesitated. "I thought maybe we could hold a memorial service for Hakron." Janeway turned in surprise, her eyes unnaturally bright. "I didn't get a chance to tell him how wrong I was about him. I'd like to put that right."

Janeway nodded wordlessly.

"I've been wrong about a lot of things recently." Chakotay continued. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry: for a whole lot of things. I realise that now isn't the time to go into all that, but I want you to know I'm sorry about Hakron's death. I know you cared about him and I'm sorry for your loss."

From almost anyone other than Chakotay, it would have sounded false, just hollow words. Janeway did not doubt his sincerity.

"Thank you." It was not easy to retain her composure. "I think you should know that the night before he died, he asked me to take him to an inhabited planet. He felt his presence on Voyager was becoming 'divisive'.

Chakotay remained silent, uncomfortably aware that there was nothing more to be said.

"Will you make the arrangements for the memorial service?" Janeway asked quietly.

Chakotay nodded and left her alone in the room with her thoughts.

END