A Fire of Devotion Part 4: Hotter Than Hell Chapter 1, a startrek: voyager fanfic

Author's Notes: And so we're about to enter (after a far too long hiatus) the final chapter of Star Trek Voyager: A Fire of Devotion. I have to admit, I didn't expect when I opened the Google Doc file for this thing in mid-2015 that I would actually enjoy working on this. It may have come across in my other Author's Notes, and in the story itself that I don't like Voyager all that much. I don't hate it, let me make that clear. There have been worse TV shows I've regrettably sat through (I watched all 8 seasons of Charmed), and actually, in recent years I've really softened on the show. Most of my problems with it still remain, but in re-watching the series while I worked on this project I found little things here and there that I missed the first time around that I actually kind of liked. Even the bad ones gave me some enjoyment in making fun of them. I'm glad I've re-watched the series now. And hey, on the off-chance that there actually were people who shipped Seven of Nine and Samantha Wildman before I wrote this thing, I hope you found this and enjoyed it. Both of you. ;)

As for the relationship that drives this 4-parter, it's time to revisit something I said in the notes for part 1; that I did not think they should've tried to pair up Seven and Sam on the show. I still feel that way for the most part, but my reasons have changed. Could they have done it on the show and made it work? Possibly, but that would require so many things to come together that it's unlikely it would've. Honestly, had they made that choice to have Trek's first canon same-sex couple on Voyager instead of DS9, does anyone honestly think they would actually write a relationship for them? This is Voyager we're talking about here. What would most likely happen is they'd just have Jeri Ryan and Nancy Hower tongue-kiss a few times during sweeps, if that much. And then they'd kill Sam off in the final season for cheap pathos. *cough*Joe Carey*cough*. I hate to sound so cynical, but for every really good episode this show had, it had several downright audience insulting ones. So yeah, I still think they shouldn't have done this on the show, but only because of my lack of faith in the Voyager writing staff to handle such a thing seriously instead of just trying to give the audience spank bank material.

In addition, I want to give you a heads up regarding the adaptation of "Shattered" in chapter 5; I do regret taking away one of the few decent Chakotay-centric episodes in the show and giving it to Seven, but since it was one of the episodes whose SF Debris review inspired this idea, and I already skipped "Bliss"... At least I was able to give him "One Small Step" back. Oh, in case you didn't know the script for that one originally called for Chakotay to be the one who recovered the old Earth ship's records, but last minute the producers decided to make it a "Seven learns the value of history" story and kinda screwed Beltran over.

Two more things; 1) while not technically a part of the "A Fire of Devotion" series, you may want to read my other Voyager fic, "Jetrel Redux", as that takes place in the same continuity as AFoD, and seeds I planted there pay off here in Part 4, specifically when I re-work the episode "Homestead." 2) I did not, until after the 1st draft was completed, find out that Ensign Wildman's parents had names that were considered canon by Memory Alpha. Also, she has a sister. Kinda wish I'd known that sooner. My bad.

Star Trek Voyager: A Fire of Devotion
Part 4 of 4: Hotter Than Hell

By Zeus Parker

Prologue

A solitary Borg drone floats in space. The last surviving drone of a destroyed cube. The last cube destroyed in a war that the Collective forgot even happened, that everyone forgot happened. Through its still functioning visual receptor it sees the dead ship, the one that destroyed its cube before being crippled itself, possibly the only ship of the enemy left in this universe after all the others were destroyed.

The drone holds out hope for a rescue, for a return to the collective, to the many voices speaking as one. It holds out for as long as it can, but no cube, no sphere, no diamond comes. Soon its grip on sanity leaves it, and in the silent vacuum of deep space it mouths the word of the enemy, the word the Borg drones who were massacred and disassembled for spare parts heard over and over again at the height of battle.
Delete.

Delete.

Chapter One

Captain Janeway went through the motions of being a Borg drone, every moment tense with the possibility that the Collective would realize that while she and her team could hear them, the Borg did not control them. Very carefully she took note of every detail of the level they were on, fortunate that she and the others had not been separated.

Tom was right, this was a horrible plan, she thought. Fortune favors the bold, but you've got to know the difference between 'bold' and 'moron.'

She pushed aside her doubts, and walked down the corridor, mimicking the movements of the drones around her. She passed Marla Gilmore, who worked on a console, her expression flat. Janeway nodded at her subtly. Gilmore nodded back in acknowledgment. Both women glanced around. There were other drones, closer than Janeway would've liked, but hopefully not close enough to hear her whisper.

"Have you seen Vorik or Tuvok?"

"Vorik is at the other end of this corridor working on a subjunction," Gilmore whispered back. "I haven't seen Tuvok."

"Hopefully he's already en route to the central plexus," Janeway whispered. Gilmore opened her mouth to reply but the sound of metal footsteps on a metal floor stopped her. A pair of drones walked past. Once they were gone, Janeway looked around to make sure no one could see her tap Gilmore on the shoulder.

"We need to go," she said. "Now."

"One moment, Captain," Gilmore said. "I just need one more second to- ah, there we go."

An alarm sounded in the distance.

"What did you just do?"

"They were going to find out we weren't properly assimilated sooner rather than later, so I found a way to create false positives. I do feel bad for the random drones on the lower levels whose day I just ruined though."

"Good work," Janeway said. "How long does that buy us?"

"An hour at most," Gilmore said, standing up and heading towards the central plexus right away. Janeway simply followed her, silently relieved that Gilmore felt guilt for what she had just done. It was all too easy to forget that Borg drones weren't just victimizers but victims as well. She wouldn't judge Marla though.

I've lost count of how many drones I've killed or ordered killed in combat, Janeway thought. If I stopped to think about it… Best that I don't.

"Time?" Chakotay said, wondering if it was good or bad that he wasn't worried about the away team. Or at least not yet. They're on a Borg supercube for spirit's sake, he thought. Shouldn't I be at least a little nervous?

"Seventeen minutes," Tom said. "We should've heard something by now."

"Maybe not," Chakotay said. "It's a big ship and the away team is going to be on foot, and having to maintain cover. Let's not panic just yet."

"Their higher brain functions are stable again," The Doctor said.

"The cube is changing course," Harry said. "New heading, 121 mark 6."

"Tom?" Chakotay said.

"Already matching course and speed," Tom said.

"Let's just hope they don't go into transwarp," Harry said.

Chakotay did wonder why that hadn't happened yet. In fact, he still found it a mystery as to why a Class-4 cube would be outside Borg space at all, let alone this far away. He realized he wanted to know that almost as much as he wanted to rescue the people in Unimatrix Zero.

"Do your best to keep up," Chakotay said to Tom. "Seven's still in Unimatrix Zero right now. If the virus is released, they'll be the first to know, so once she comes out again we'll know for sure."

"Tell your hunters to patrol the northeastern perimeter," Korok said to a Hirogen as they re-entered the main camp. "More drones were spotted there."

Seven and Axum watched them pass by before returning to their own conversation.

"Any theories as to why the gap between the most recent attack and the last was so long?" Axum said.

"None," Seven said. "Were we dealing with anyone other than the Borg I would assume it was an attempt to lull us into a false sense of security."

"Not very Borg-like at all," Axum said, "I agree. I imagine if that were the case we'd still be waiting on the next incursion."

"The last incursion was worse than any of the others," Seven said. "We may need to train more people how to conjure working mechs with their minds." She shook her head.

"No matter how many times I say it, no matter how many times I see it working…"

"It's weird, yeah," Axum said. "Still no reports coming in from anyone remembering this place when they exit their regeneration cycle?"

"Afraid not. The away team should be on the cube by now," Seven said. "Something must've gone wrong."

"Or maybe they just haven't reached the central plexus yet, or the virus won't spread as quickly as we thought."

"If the latter is the case," Seven said, "that only means the Collective will have more time to adapt to and resist it."

"Give it a little more time, Annika," Axum said, putting a hand on Seven's shoulder. Seven reflexively flinched and took a step back. "Sorry. I didn't mean to… I was just trying to be supportive."

Seven nodded. "I'll take you at your word and apologize for my reaction. However, I do ask that you refrain from doing it again."

"Understood," Axum said sadly.

"The central plexus is through here," Tuvok said to Janeway and Gilmore when they reached him. Janeway gave the signal to wait a moment before moving. She heard footsteps, hoping it would turn out to be Vorik. She allowed herself a very un-Borg like sigh of relief when she saw that it was.

"I apologize for the delay, Captain," Vorik said.

"No need, Ensign," Janeway said. "Once we're inside, we release the virus, and make contact with Voyager. We'll also need to sabotage as many of the cube's systems as we can to give them a chance of getting us out of here."

"Already working on it," Gilmore said. "Vorik, could you take that other console over there?"

Vorik simply nodded and went to work.

"Alright, Tuvok," Janeway said. "Let's do this. There are shield generators there and there, but as drones we should be able to just walk right through." Janeway let out a small chuckle. "You know, over the years, we've had enemies board the ship who could just walk through our force fields. It'll be nice to be on the giving end of that for a change."

The two walked through the force field, Janeway feeling a slight tingling sensation as she did so. As she and Tuvok rounded a corner, they stopped suddenly. A lone drone was at the central plexus. Luckily, it hadn't seen them, its back was turned as it operated a console.

One drone guarding it, and not even watching the entrance? Janeway thought. Suppose the Borg just assumed nobody would ever get this far.

"I will attempt to deactivate him," Tuvok said quietly, moving as silently as the metal on his feet would allow on the metal floor. The drone either didn't hear, or didn't perceive Tuvok as a threat, until the Vulcan yanked out wires leading into the drone's skull. He shuddered violently, but made very little noise as he fell over, Tuvok catching him before he could hit the ground.

Janeway made a move to the console and immediately began manipulating the controls.

"Damn," she said after a minute's work. "I can't access the plexus without shutting down the power grid in this section. That's bound to draw some attention."

"I will check in on Ensign Vorik and Crewman Gilmore's progress," Tuvok said. "Perhaps they can find another solution."

"Do it," Janeway said, feeling tense. This was already taking longer than she'd hoped. Of course, even succeeding in releasing the virus and giving Unimatrix Zero the chance to hide from the collective permanently was no guarantee that the four of them would make it out alive.

Why do I take on these suicidal missions all the time? She thought. I never thought of myself as someone with a death wish, but…

Something wasn't right, the Borg Queen knew that much, and it was not simply the Unimatrix Zero problem. The fact was, she was aware that the focus on that issue had caused her to miss something. Such a distraction should not have been possible, not for the Collective.

Were embarassment something the collective could feel, it would be feeling it right now.

"Janeway and the others. I can't hear them," the Queen said. "We assimilated them but I can't hear them. How is this possible?"

She reached her mind into the cube that Captain Janeway had attacked, trying to see the four Starfleet officers that had been taken for the Collective. She looked in the alcoves where the drones they were supposed to be had been assigned. They were not there.

She struggled to keep the expression on her organic face neutral, even though it was not necessary. The drones around here wouldn't notice. And her concern over the situation was reaching them regardless. So many things had gone wrong. Too many. The existence of Unimatrix Zero, the second failure to assimilate Earth, several cubes and spheres lost over the past few years… and there was something else wasn't there? Vague memories of the Borg suffering a devastating defeat at the hands of…

The thought exited her consciousness almost as quickly as it came. She redirected her efforts to find Janeway. The tactical cube was the same size as a standard cube, but with less open space due to the additional armor and weaponry. There would be few places to hide, and she had access to thousands of eyes. Each eye or pair of eyes belonged to the drones who would find the Starfleet officers and stop whatever it was they were planning, and learn how they'd managed to remain free of the voice of the Collective.

While she did that, she increased the number of drones to enter Unimatrix Zero once more. She did not know precisely how she was losing so many in there, but eventually she would overwhelm them. The reality that she was fast approaching the point where the resources expended in finding and shutting down Unimatrix Zero would exceed the effects its existence would have on the Collective managed to elude her.

The virus of the Borg's enemy was working faster than even its creators had believed it would by this point in time. The Borg Collective was running out of time, and it didn't even know it.

Seven of Nine wondered if she should be worried. Though no one within Unimatrix Zero wanted to admit it, the reality was the Borg should've adapted to the techniques and weapons Axum and the others were using to fight back by now. Despite this, the Borg seemed to be using the same tactics as always, the only change being larger numbers of drones. It wasn't an entirely foolish tactic, as more drones to push back against meant that everyone had to work harder and be more vigilant, but if the Collective kept up this pace, the amount of drones lost finding and disabled this Unimatrix would end up not being worth the cost. While she had no desire to return to the Collective, she had to admit a certain amount of pity. This was not the kind of efficiency that she had been used to; had even briefly wanted to go back to when the Voyager crew had separated her from the Collective.

She said as much to Axum who nodded.

"Yeah," she said in response. "This degradation you've been telling me about must be getting worse at a far faster rate than you thought. Perhaps some event triggered it, caused it to accelerate?"

"A possibility," Seven said. "Or whomever is responsible for it intended it to be this way and we have simply been the beneficiaries of fortunate timing."

"You're that certain that there is an outside force at work here?"

"Yes."

"I kind of hope you're wrong, Seven," Axum said, shaking her head. "I mean, who's to say that any entity or entities powerful enough to destroy the Borg from within will stop with the Borg?"

Seven had not considered that possibility, and she very much wished that that had remained the case. She was unable to suppress a shiver at this thought.

"Hmm," Korok said, the Klingon having been so quiet for the past hour that Seven had managed to forget he was there. "A force capable of destroying the Borg is itself not that terrifying. A force that can destroy the Borg, but is patient enough to let it play out over years, on the other hand, that is a thing could give Kahless himself nightmares."

Seven had no response to that. She looked around at the camp. People were visibly tired, but full of determination. Everyone was helping each other. She really hoped the plan that the Captain had set in motion would come to fruition. These people deserved their freedom, even if it would be a more limited kind than that she had now. Her mind drifted to thoughts of Samantha, Naomi, and Icheb. It had been nearly a full ship's day since she'd seen them, but she dare not leave now, not before there was a sign, any sign, that Janeway and the others had succeeded.

What is taking them so long? she thought.

"Bingo," Marla Gilmore said. Janeway and Tuvok went to her to ask her what she meant, but Vorik spoke up before they could say it.

"We have bypassed the access codes," Vorik said. "We can access the central plexus directly." A loud hissing noise, that of the way to the plexus opening, happened immediately after he said the words, as if to emphasize the point.

"Good work," Janeway said, heading towards the opening. "Let's deploy the virus and then see about getting the hell out of here."

Without warning, the unmistakable sound of alarm klaxons filled the corridor.

"It would appear the Collective has figured out we are not drones," Tuvok said.

"Everyone inside the plexus," Janeway shouted. "Seal the entry way behind us."

"Yes ma'am," Gilmore said.

All four people quickly made their way in, the heavy door making a painfully loud noise as it closed. Gilmore and Vorik immediately went to the nearest console. Janeway allowed herself a brief moment to be impressed with how well the two worked together before returning her focus to her mission.

"I may not get to go home," she muttered, "but at least I'll give the Borg a black-eye on the way out."

"Captain," she heard a voice say. It was definitely not one of her people.

The Borg Queen, she thought. So that what she sounds like. She looked at the faces of her crewmates and could tell that they heard the Queen's voice as well.

"You don't really think you can win do you? Whatever it is you think you can do, even if the cube you are on is destroyed, we will adapt. We are many. We are Borg. We cannot be-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Janeway said. "I've heard the spiel before. It would carry more weight if you hadn't failed to assimilate my homeworld twice. Oh, and of course when you needed my help to beat back Species 8472."

"Conservation of resources," the Queen said. "Species 8472 would've fallen eventually, regardless. Accepting your assistance was merely the result of a cost-benefit analysis."

"Keep telling yourself that," Janeway said, rolling her eyes. "Oh, and let's not forget the whole 'you planted Seven on Voyager' line you tried to pull a few years ago. The mighty Borg collective, reduced to using the 'I meant to do that' excuse, like a cat falling off the back of a couch."

"Enough!" the Borg Queen's voice shouted, but Janeway kept going as she if she hadn't heard.

"I mean, did you actually think that would work? Did you expect Seven of Nine to believe that the confluence of events that led to her being part of the crew was all part of a grand plan? I'm not surprised she didn't go for it. Deception is clearly not something you're well practiced at."

"You cannot hide in the central plexus forever, Janeway," the Borg Queen said. "You will eventually need-"

"And another thing," Janeway said, noticing that Gilmore was trying very hard to stifle a laugh, "Back when Starfleet first encountered you all those years ago, your drones would disintegrate after being killed. I've noticed they don't do that anymore. Just leaving your technology lying around for anyone to find? Sloppy."

The Borg Queen was silent. It took Janeway a moment to realize that she hadn't been rendered speechless, she had simply given up and cut off contact.

"A number of drones are attempting to burn their way through the doors to the plexus," Vorik said, looking at another console.

"Sounds like you pissed her off, Captain," Gilmore said.

"That I did," Janeway said. "And the fact that it worked just goes to show how far the Borg have fallen."

Tom Paris checked the chronometer again. Two and a half hours. That's how overdue the away team was to report back in. He was nervous, afraid for his crewmates but he had to admit that he was glad B'Elanna had not gone with them.

"Vital signs are still good," the Doctor said. "Stress levels are a bit elevated but that's to be expected."

"I wish there was some way we could pull them out now," Tom said. "I don't like how long this is taking."

"I don't either," Chakotay said, "but we stick to the mission, no matter what."

Tom wished he had Chakotay's confidence. Or at least his appearance of confidence, he thought. Probably more worried about them than I am.

"And, done," Gilmore said. "Virus deployed."

"It appears to already be moving rapidly through the Collective, Captain," Vorik said.

"Good work people," Janeway said. Now comes the fun part, she thought sardonically, wondering just how they were going to get out of the central plexus and back to Voyager. Or even if it were possible.

"Unfortunately," Tuvok said, giving voice to Janeway's concerns, "we are unable to contact Voyager given our current location, and leaving the central plexus would open us to attack by this cube's drones."

"Yes," Janeway said, "but we're at the heart of this cube. That gives us an advantage. Marla, can you access the cube's weapons systems from here? Or their shields?"

"I was just about to try," Gilmore said, "but they've already started blocking access to the cube's systems from in here. They can't hide it from us, every bit of data has to pass through here to get to the drones, but I can't do anything with it."

"Not entirely accurate," Vorik said, pointing to a green dot on a screen that to Janeway looked indistinguishable to all the other green dots. "In order to maintain control of the drones, the Queen cannot close off this channel. We cannot block it, nor can we redirect it, but we can add to it."

"But what can- Oh," Gilmore said. "Of course. We flood the stream with junk data. The drones will be distracted trying to separate the random bits from the Queen's commands." Marla manipulated a few controls on the console, then sighed. "The bad news is, we'd need a minimum of a hundred zetabytes worth of useless information to even have a chance for this to work. Where are we going to get that much garbage data?"

"Hang on," Janeway said, finally recognizing something in the jumble of code she was seeing. "That data stream right there, it seems to be going someplace other than all the others."

Marla and Vorik quickly got to work on the console. Vorik spoke first.

"That information is being directed towards a cluster of drones from this very cube that have been sent into Unimatrix Zero. Apparently one drone on this vessel has the mutation."

Janeway exhaled sharply.

"Okay, I have an idea," she said.

I often hear my crewmates joke about writing their memoirs, Seven of Nine thought as she looked at the blinking light coming from the eyepiece of the drone in front of her. Mine would likely be dismissed as exaggeration. I'm seeing it and even I'm not sure I can believe it. There was no doubt in her mind though. The drone that was attacking her was unaware that its lights were sending her a message in an antiquated human form of communication called Morse Code. Captain Janeway had talked about it during a conversation years ago about how she had managed to contact an away team she'd been seperated from on a mission during her time as a Lieutenant. If you had told me then that I would find that knowledge useful, I would've been very skeptical.

After dispatching the drone, she returned to the camp to tell Axum what she had learned, finding her talking to Korok at the camp's center. The two were discussing what several people had told them, about coming out of regeneration cycles on whatever ship they were on and still remembering Unimatrix Zero. This confirmed the first part of the message Seven had received.

"The virus has been deployed," Seven said to Axum and Korok, "but Captain Janeway and her team are still trapped on the cube. They weren't able to give me all the details given the limitations of the method they communicated with me by, but there is a drone on that ship that has the mutation. We need to find out who it is so we can use them to contact the Captain directly."

"I assume," Axum said, "that she has a plan?"

"I think it's safe to assume that, yes," Seven said.

Axum took a deep breath and looked around at the hundreds of people, gearing up for the inevitable next drone incursion. "This could take awhile," she said, sounding reluctant.

"As my wife sometimes says," Seven said, "nothing worth doing is easy."

"I hope I'm the drone on that cube," Korok said, grinning. "A Class-4 cube would be a worthy prize for our resistance."

"I doubt we'll be that lucky," Axum said.

"In the meantime, I need to report to my crew," Seven said. "I will be back shortly." Seven closed her eyes, and focused on waking up. She felt the shift from the virtual world back to reality, and stepped forward, only for her legs to feel stiff and not want to cooperate. "Ow," she said, realizing that she had been inside Unimatrix Zero far longer than was healthy for her. She heard the sounds of metal scraping on metal and looked up to see Samantha, the chair she had gotten out of having made the sound when it had shoved back.

"Annie," she said, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Seven said. "Just need to walk it off. Let's get to the bridge. I need to brief Commander Chakotay on the situation. Just, walk with me so I don't get a leg cramp and fall over."

"Of course," Sam said, putting an arm around Seven's shoulder, the two of them walking as quickly as Seven dared towards the exit. "How long were you waiting there for me?"

"I promise I only fell asleep once," Samantha said.

Seven chuckled. "I love you."

"Seven?" Chakotay said when he saw her and Ensign Wildman enter the bridge together, Seven favoring one leg while Samantha held her up. "Are you alright?"

Chakotay saw the Doctor make a move towards them, medical tricorder already in hand.

"I am already better than I was when I came out of Unimatrix Zero," Seven said. "I stayed in too long, and my legs paid the price for it I'm afraid. But that's not our priority."

"I'm sorry I forgot to check in on you," the Doctor said as he scanned Seven of Nine. "I was so focused on the away team-"

"Apologize later," Seven said, turning to Chakotay. "Several drones have reported that they retained their memories of Unimatrix Zero after their regeneration cycles ended. I also received a message from the Captain in a rather unorthodox fashion."

"Unorthodox?" The Doctor said.

"Why didn't she contact us?" Tom Paris said.

Chakotay thought the answer was obvious, but decided not to give Tom any grief over it. They were all under stress right now. "The central plexus?"

"Correct," Seven said. "I do not know the exact circumstances, but the away team is trapped in the central plexus of that cube. Axum and the others are working on a way to reach them, but for now at least they are secure."

"That's the downside to an impregnable position," Harry said. "The enemy can't get in, but you can't get out."

"At least they're alive," Chakotay said, "and got the virus deployed."

"So what do we do now?" Tom said.

"Not much we can do," Chakotay said. "The only reason we even have any hope of getting our people is that cube hasn't gone into transwarp yet."

"I'm starting to wonder if it even can," Harry said. "I've gone over its trajectory, using data from the astrometrics lab, and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. There's nothing that I can see the Borg finding of value in that direction for years at even high warp."

"I imagine we have no intention of tracking them for that long," Tom said, "even if we could."

"Let's hope it won't come to that," Chakotay said. "Seven, soon as you can stand comfortably again get back in. Once you have any new information, use your comm badge and stay by your alcove."

"Yes, sir," Seven said. With help from Samantha, and with the Doctor following them, Seven headed for the turbolift. Chakotay walked over to Harry's console.

"Since we probably can't get answers, I'll settle for theories," he said. "Why do you think the cube can't go to transwarp?"

"Like I said, it doesn't really seem to be going anywhere in particular." Harry copied the data he was looking at to one of the screens behind him. "Admittedly I'm not an expert, but based on what Seven's told us over the years, this doesn't resemble any kind of Borg patrol pattern either. It's like when I was a kid and sometimes my uncle would take me out for a drive in his hovercar. He'd tell me to pick a direction, and we'd keep going until we hit something interesting. Or until we reached a coastline, whichever came first."

"Something tells me the Borg don't take their top of the line defense ships out for a spin," Chakotay said.

"Maybe the Degradation has something to do with it," Harry said.

Chakotay actually laughed. It was the first time he'd done so since the mission had started.

"Yeah," he said. "That would explain a lot actually. Never thought I'd live to see the day when the Borg were downgraded from existential threat to a nuisance."

"I'd say they're still a bit more than a nuisance," Tom said. "But yeah, seeing a Borg ship these days just doesn't fill me with dread the way merely thinking about one did just, what, four years ago?"

Seven of Nine reentered Unimatrix Zero to an incongruous site. Much of the forest that had represented the place was either smashed or burned, yet around her the people she was seeing looked not just determined but downright optimistic. In the short time she'd been away, the tide must've turned severely.

She found Axum, Korok, Lauren, and some of the others standing around a bonfire, laughing.

"Annika!" Axum yelled when she saw her, waving her over to join them.

"Poor girl," Korok said, "you missed the fun part. The last incursion of drones was an utter disaster. They didn't get a single one of us, and on top of all that many vanished before we even got to fight them. The virus is clearly working, the Collective is no longer able to find us. We've won!"

"Any word on who we have on the Class-4?" Seven asked. As much as she would've liked to savour this victory against the Borg, she did still have her crewmates to worry about.

"That would be I," an alien Seven hadn't seen in the camp before said. "Quorzom is the name by which I go."

Seven was actually surprised to see a member of crystalline species she only knew as Species 12 in Unimatrix Zero, but she managed to avoid allowing the surprise to overwhelm her.

"Turns out our shiny friend here," Korok said, "has been with us all along. He-"

"It," Quorzum said, sounding offended.

"Sorry. It," Korok continued. "was the first one here. The first drone with the mutation. Turns out it has just been hiding this whole time. I'd call it a coward, but after what I saw it to do a dozen invading drones with just its hands I'd rather not make it mad. To die in battle with a talking rock is not how I wish to enter Stovokor."

"That is an expected reaction," Quorzum said. "Since a return to isolation is what I wish, I will simply tell you that I contacted your fellow bipeds on the Class-4 cube. How matters little though I told your fellows there," it added, pointing dismissively at Axum and Korok, who simply rolled their eyes. "If you insist on needless details they have them to share. I'm told it is indelicate to leave without saying a trite phrase, so farewell." Quorzum turned around on legs Seven couldn't see and strolled away faster than its size would imply it was capable of.

"That was… what just happened?"

"Let it go," Axum said. "I've met antisocial beings before but Species 12 has raised it to an art form."

"So," Seven said, wanting to get back on point with the mission, "what does the Captain have in mind?"

"How fast can Voyager upload over a hundred zetabytes of non-valuable information to the cube?" Axum said.

"Speed isn't an issue for Starfleet computers," Seven said. "Getting that information onto the cube would be the difficult part. But what would the purpose be for such a thing?"

"To make it easier for your engineers on the ship to take control of key systems from inside the central plexus," Axum said. "It's really their only chance to get out of there alive. I know it would be easier and less dangerous to consider them acceptable losses, but the fight against the Borg already has enough martyrs in my opinion."

"No argument there," Seven said, nodding. "I'll speak to the senior staff aboard Voyager. Perhaps we can come with up with a plan to get our people off that cube. What else did Quorzom tell you? What else did Captain Janeway say?"

Chakotay sighed. The report Seven gave him and the rest of the remaining senior staff aboard did not seem promising. Gathering up the amount of data needed wouldn't be easy, as there was not that much data in Voyager's computer core that the Borg would probably consider useless. At least not as far as he could tell. And even if there was, delivering it to the cube would be next to impossible. With shields and weapons still fully operational, they couldn't hope to last more than a few seconds against a Class-4 cube.

"Oh, that's easy," B'Elanna Torres said, much to Chakotay's surprise. "One of Starfleet's abandoned plans to destroy the Borg after Wolf 359 involved a plan similar to this. It was deemed impossible after testing and, well they were right. The basic idea was the same. Overwhelm the Collective' group mind with useless bits of junk data and all that."

"No way that could work with the whole Collective," Harry said. "Not when the Borg use whole planets like computer cores."

"Well, yeah," B'Elanna said. "But that's my point. We're not trying to destroy the Collective. We're trying to inconvenience a single cube. That'll be much easier."

"Depends on your definition of easy," Tom said. "I'm not saying you're wrong, but how would we get it on the cube in the first place? Our best piece of bait was used getting the away team there in the first place."

Seven of Nine appeared to be staring out the viewport of the briefing room at the streaks of light going past as the ship continued its steady course at warp, waiting for the need to either adjust course or run away, depending on what if anything the cube they were following did next.

"Seven?" Chakotay said, wondering why she seemed so distracted.

"Fluidic space," she said.

"Come again?" Harry said.

"I believe I can generate a signal from our deflector dish to fool the cube's sensors into think a portal into fluidic space has opened," Seven said. "Fear that Species 8472 may be attempting another invasion would have to get their attention."

'Is that even possible?" Tom said. Seven almost looked insulted.

"Lieutenant, during my first day aboard this vessel I was able to modify the deflector dish to open a genuine rift. Faking one would require considerably less effort."

"Okay," Tom said, "you got me there."

"Let's say we do this," Chakotay said. "How does that help our people on the cube? How do we get them the junk data?"

"We don't need to get it to them directly," B'Elanna said. "Just get it on the cube. And I have an idea there too. We don't have enough data stored on this ship to do the deed, I'm sure we were all thinking that."

"I wasn't," Tom said.

Harry raised his hand, and Chakotay nodded. "The thought had occurred to me. What did you have in mind, B'Elanna?"

"Load what junk data, or at least what the Borg would consider junk data, onto a device that, once linked up to a Borg data node, will start copying itself exponentially, like water spilling out of a glass if you pour too much into it. That replicated data will need to go somewhere, and the computers on that cube will have all the free space it could need and then some."

"Get on that," Chakotay said. "Seven, B'Elanna, this is your project. Time is of the essence so I'll trust you to do what needs to be done. Spare me the details, just let me know when we can implement the plan."

"Yes, sir," Seven said.

"On it," B'Elanna said, her and Seven not waiting to be dismissed before leaving the briefing room. Chakotay simply nodded towards everyone else. They took the cue, and left the room to return to their stations on the bridge.

Chakotay muttered a quiet prayer to his gods that this would work, and that Kathryn, Tuvok, and the others would make it home safe and sound.

Captain Janeway thought something she never imagined could be possible while sitting in the heart of a Borg cube, surrounded on all sides by drones trying to burn their way to either kill them or assimilate them fully this time.

I am so bored.

"I wish I had your Vulcan patience," Janeway heard Marla Gilmore say to Vorik, suggesting that she was thinking the same thing the Captain was.

"Meditation would help," Vorik said. "However, pausing to do so would be inadvisable given our current situation."

"We could go in shifts," Tuvok said. "One at a time, so as to minimize the risk of being caught off guard."

"That's not a bad idea," Janeway said. "Though really a nice hot cup of tea would be enough for me right now."

"I'd settle for a good book," Gilmore said. "Or even a bad one that I could poke fun-"

A beeping noise from the console nearest Gilmore caught her attention. She and Vorik both lept to their feet from their sitting positions to see what was going on.

"Well I'll be damned," Gilmore said.

"Fascinating," Vorik said.

"What is it?" Janeway asked, no longer bored.

"Junk data is clogging up the metaphorical pipes," Gilmore said. "And it's replicating itself, making it harder for the Collective to purge it. I actually recognize some of this stuff. Earth music, 20th century mostly."

Janeway snorted. "Must be Tom Paris' music collection."

"How was the Voyager crew able to transmit that data to the cube?" Tuvok asked.

Gilmore and Vorik manipulated the controls some more, stopped, looked at each other, and back at the monitor before looking at each other again.

"The information appears to be accurate," Vorik said.

"I know," Gilmore said, "but it doesn't make any sense."

"Marla?" Janeway said.

"According to this information," Vorik said, "the data was retrieved from a damaged Starfleet issue probe that was found near the site of a suspected incursion by Species 8472."

"Huh," was all Janeway could say to that. She tried to think of something to say, but after almost a minute finally gave up.

"Okay, this should make things a little easier," Gilmore said. "And there go the shields. Still can't communicate with Voyager from in here, but hopefully they'll get the hint."

"We should take the weapons off-line first," Vorik said.

"Oh, right. Silly me," Gilmore said. "Should've done that first."

"It would appear that our timing is fortuitous," Tuvok said, pointing to a spot on a nearby bulkhead that was glowing slightly. "Given the amount of time it has taken their efforts to penetrate the central plexus thus far, it is highly likely that by the time they make an opening large enough for a drone to get through, we will already-"

"We're going to need to get out of here," Gilmore yelled. "Even with the shields down, Voyager won't be able to get a lock on us in here."

"Can you direct the drones somewhere else?" Janeway said.

"I'm trying," Gilmore said, hitting the console as she spoke and with audible frustration in her voice. "but whatever they cooked up on Voyager worked too well. I can't do anything to the drones, just to the ship itself."

"Perhaps," Vorik said, "if we cause overloads in key places, at least some of the drones will need to vacate the area in order to deal with them."

"It would have to be somewhere where there aren't enough drones to deal with it already, so the overload would need to be somewhere close- Oh."

"Are you-" Vorik said.

"Yes," Gilmore said.

"That would be incredibly risky given our proximity to-"

"It's our best option, Vorik."

"What is our best option?" Janeway said.

"Create an overload in the transwarp drive," Gilmore said. "The drones would make that top priority no matter what, and the Queen couldn't stop them, not with the signals all clogged up. We get away no matter what, and if the drones fail, we get an added bonus of a blown up cube."

"Sounds like a win-win to me, Marla," Janeway said. "Do it."

"Sir," Harry said, "the Borg's engines are going critical!"

"Transporter room one, can you get a lock on the away team?" Chakotay said, suddenly worried.

"I'm trying, sir," Todd Mulcahey said. "I can't get through the additional shielding around the central… wait, two lifesigns, no, wait, got 'em!"

After a few almost unbearable seconds of silence, he heard Captain Janeway's voice over the open comm.

"We're back, now get us the hell out of here."

"Initiating the 'get the hell out of here' maneuver," Tom said.

"Any sign of pursuit?" Chakotay said.

"None," Harry said. "The cube is at full stop. I imagine they're a little busy trying to keep from exploding."

"It's what I would be doing," B'Elanna said from the auxiliary engineering console on the bridge.

"Good work, people," Chakotay said, smiling.

Seven of Nine took a good long look around at Unimatrix Zero. Already things were wildly different. The people had started making full buildings rather than a camp. A decent size city was rapidly, or at least rapidly when compared to reality, taking shape. The clash of styles made it look less than aesthetically pleasing, but that was irrelevant.

She took in a deep breath, amazed at how real the air smelled here, even though the only actual air she was taking in was the recycled air on board Voyager. She wondered how different the place would look next time she was here, seeing as that was going to be a fair amount of time.

"I hear you're looking for me?" Axum said, smiling, now wearing a uniform of her own. Seven didn't recognize it, but assumed it it was that of Axum's own people. "You like it? The military back home wore these. I was never in it myself, but I've become something of a soldier lately, that's for sure. Korok's busy planning a takeover of the ship he's on. Might take awhile since he's the only drone on it with the mutation, but it's a sphere so his chances are only slightly impossible."

Seven chuckled at that.

"Tell him I wish him luck," she said.

Axum frowned. "You'll be able to tell him yourself the next time he… Oh. You're not coming back?" Axum looked as though she had been physically wounded.

"I'm not leaving forever," Seven said, sounding considerably more defensive than she'd intended. "I simply have other matters to attend to. Duties aboard Voyager. Plus, these past few days, I've been neglecting my family. They've all been very understanding and supportive, but their understanding has unfortunately done little to assuage my guilt."

"I can understand that," Axum said. "Guilt seems to be something most sentient races have in common. Do you have any idea on when you'll be back?"

"I do not know," Seven admitted.

Axum did not appear to like the answer, but she didn't say anything in response, merely nodding.

"I wish you well," Seven continued. "The fight to save this place is over, but your resistance movement against the Borg has only started. Focus your energy on that, and not on missing me."

Axum stepped forward. "Maybe, before you go I could get one last-"

"No," Seven said, certain what the next word was going to be, and had that word been 'hug' she might've complied. "I do not wish for things to be awkward between us. I love Samantha. What you and I had ended when I was severed from the Collective. It is not your fault, there is nothing you could've done. Our lives simply went in different directions."

"Not unlike your wife and her former husband," Axum said. "In a way I guess it is comforting to know that this was just happenstance, and had things gone just a little differently we'd still be together."

Seven didn't believe Axum meant that, but she did believe that Axum was lying to herself, not to anyone else.

"Your Captain," Axum said, clearly desperate to change the subject. "How are she and the others doing?"

"The majority of their implants were safe to remove," Seven said. "Others will require more effort down the lines, and Tuvok will need time to adjust to his new eye and Marla Gilmore to her new hand, but otherwise the away team fared better than they had hoped. Captain Janeway and Ensign Vorik have already returned to duty, albeit reduced duty."

"Good. Good," Axum said. "Well, perhaps the next time I see you the others and I will have many great tales of victory against the Borg to regale you with. Who knows, perhaps either you or I will have answers regarding the Degradation."

"That would be welcome news," Seven said. "Farewell, Axum."

"Goodbye, Annika," Axum said. At that, Seven closed her eyes, focused her thoughts, and opened them again to see Icheb, the other Borg children, and Naomi gathered around a makeshift table where they were all playing a game of kadis-kot.

Chapter Two

Almost as soon as it became clear that the Class-4 cube, while not destroyed as they had hoped, was not pursuing them, Tom Paris got to work on building a second Delta Flyer. As is usually the case, the second Starfleet/Borg hybrid shuttle was finished considerably faster than the prototype. In Tom's opinion, this one was even better than the first, though some of the improvements were ones he had planned on making to the original before it had been sacrificed to get Captain Janeway and her team onto the cube.

"The asteroid field is densest over here," Tom said, pointing to a display.

"You want to take a test run through that mess?" Harry Kim said.

"You doubt my skills?" Tom said.

"Not really," Harry said. "I'm just not sure we should taxing her so much so soon. This is the Flyer II's first time out."

"As good a time as any to see if she can handle tight spaces," Tom said.

"Okay, if you say so."

After a few circling runs around the larger rocks of the field, Tom levelled the Flyer out, and was prepared to call it a day, when the proximity alert noise sounded.

"There's a vessel coming up fast off our starboard bow," Harry said.

"Shields," Tom said.

"Range, 50 kilometers." Harry said. "10. It's pulling along side."

Tom glanced out the viewport to see the vessel pulling up. It was slightly smaller than the Flyer, sleek, with a clashing color scheme that Tom would never have thought of for the Flyer, with good reason, but wasn't offensive to his eyes.

"Nice ship," he said with some sincerity.

"It's scanning us," Harry said.

Tom opened a hailing channel to the ship. "This is Lieutenant Tom Paris of the Delta Flyer II. Please identify yourself."

A feminine sounding voice replied, though Tom knew better than to make assumptions.

"Vectored exhaust ports," the other ship's pilot said, "accelerated driver coils… Your vessel must be fast." Whoever it was sounded impressed, and Tom couldn't stop himself from gloating a little.

"Well, I certainly like to think so," he said.

"Check your scanners," the other pilot said. "You'll see a comet on the other side of the asteroid field. I wonder which of our ships could get there first."

"Sounds like a challenge," Tom said, smiling.

"Are you going to accept?"

"Tom, no," Harry said

"Tom, yes," Tom said. "This is a test flight, right? What better way to test the new ship than to see how it stands up to a little competition."

"Oh Jesus tap dancing Christ," Harry muttered.

Tom chuckled. "Okay, that's a new one. Where did you pick that line up from?"

"So?" the other pilot said impatiently.

"You're on. Are we going to count to three or-"

The other ship took off at maximum impulse, cutting off Tom's question.

"Oh, so that's how you wanna play it huh?" Tom said, before pushing the throttle forward. It didn't take long for them to catch up to the other ship, but right away Tom noticed something about it that could give them an edge of over the new Flyer.

"She's a lot more maneuverable than we are," he said.

"Well," Harry said. "If we're going to go through with this, I might as well point out we can even the odds. The new impulse thrusters."

"Now that's the spirit Harry," Tom said. "Let's do this."

The ship lurched slightly from the sudden burst of speed that came once Harry activated the new thrusters. Within seconds they had closed the gap with the other vessel to just fifty meters.

"Bring the backup generators on-line," Tom said, "and reroute power to the thrusters."

The Delta Flyer II surged forward, easily passing the other vessel. Tom felt the huge grin on his face and glanced back to see that Harry was smiling now too. He was about to suggest to Harry that he shouldn't worry so much about the new Flyer, when he saw out the port side viewport that the other vessel's starboard nacelle was on fire. As the ship was flying through a vacuum at the moment, that was naturally a point of concern.

"Uh oh," Tom said. Harry looked down at his console and hit a few buttons.

"The other ship's cabin is filling with nyocene gas," he said.

"Stand by for emergency transport," Tom said.

The sound of a transporter beam filled the cabin, and Harry, emergency medkit already in hand, was there when the pilot, an alien woman, materialized. She leaned against the nearest bulkhead, coughing while harry ran a medical tricorder over her.

"You okay?" Harry said.

"I'm fine," the pilot said between coughs. "I guess this rules out a rematch."

Tom and Harry shared a look, the latter looking surprised, but Tom wasn't. He was a pilot at heart, and he knew one of his own when he saw one.

"What happened?" he said.

"My power transformer overloaded," the pilot said.

"We could probably find you a spare back on Voyager," Harry said. "That's our primary ship."

"We were about to head back there anyway," Tom said. "This was just supposed to be a test flight."

As Tom expected the pilot looked more hurt hearing that than she had over nearly being poisoned with nyocene.

"You're telling me I lost a race to a prototype?" she said. "Ugh, I am never going to hear the end of it back home."

"We won't tell," Tom said as he manipulated the controls to turn the Flyer around. I can't wait to tell B'Elanna how well the new impulse thrusters worked, he thought. "I'm Tom Paris, by the way. My co-pilot and good friend here is Harry Kim. What's your name?"

"Irina," the pilot said.

"I've been looking forward to my holodeck time all week," The Doctor said, trying to walk away from B'Elanna Torres, wishing he hadn't decided to leave his mobile emitter on the desk for this shift. "Why can't you borrow three hours from someone else?"

"Yours are the last piece to the puzzle," B'Elanna said. "Tom and I have finally managed to get a weekend off together. I've been trading favors with members of the crew so that we could get the holodeck to ourselves. Even Sam, Seven, and Naomi gave up theirs for the week."

"Ah, a romantic getaway," The Doctor said.

"Exactly," B'Elanna said.

"Well, unfortunately for you I've chosen this week to indulge myself in a new hobby. Something human doctors have been enjoying for centuries."

"Oh for the love of…"

"It's called golf," The Doctor said, picking up a ball and club he'd replicated for himself. "I've already booked a tee time."

"Well," B'Elanna said, sounding dejected. "If your tee time is more important than our happiness, our first chance to be alone in months…"

The Doctor knew a guilt trip when he saw one. Unfortunately, unlike viruses, energy weapons, or weather, B'Elanna's sad face was not something he was immune to. He put down the ball and club.

"Fine," he said, "you can have my three hours."

"Thank you," B'Elanna said.

The next window of communication with Starfleet was still over a week away, but Seven of Nine couldn't help but notice that Samantha was nervous. Since the window would be relatively short, and there were many crewmembers with loved ones back home, a lottery of sorts was held, and Samantha had drawn a low number, meaning she would be among the first to contact someone during said window.

"Sam," Seven said, "Are you worried about introducing me to your parents?"

"Worried? No, well, yes, to Mom. Dad should be okay. If he's there I mean, he re-enlisted when the Dominion War started and the last letter we got from home said he was still in command of the John Laurens. And, well, honey, there's something I should've told you awhile ago and, um…"

"Sweetie, you're babbling," Seven said. "You told me to let you know when you were babbling."

"Yes, well, you know me. My babbling capabilities are infinite," Sam said with a nervous chuckle.

"If this is in reference to the death of her brother at Wolf 359," Seven said, "you told me about that already. I don't doubt that the situation may be uncomfortable initially, but once Linette Wildman understands that I have been free of the Collective for three years now-"

"There's something I left out," Samantha said, looking embarrassed, and slightly chewing on her lower lip the way she did where there was something she knew she should say, but was unsure how.

"What do you mean?" Seven asked.

"Uncle Doug wasn't just my Mom's brother. He was her twin brother," Sam said.

"I don't understand why that… Oh," Seven said, taking several moments longer than she cared to admit to make the connection. She might not have made that connection at all, had she not spent the past three years sharing a vessel with a set of twins, the frequently rumor-plagued Delaney sisters. Jenny and Megan. The two often worked in astrometrics during Seven's regeneration cycles, but despite their infrequent meetings she had come to respect them as officers and as scientists. She was also very aware of the deep bond between the two, and that was why she was suddenly nervous herself about speaking to Samantha's mother.

"Oh dear," Seven said, unable to think of anything else to say.

"I know it's been years since Wolf 359, but Annie, she was still a mess when I left for Voyager, I don't know if my having been MIA for three years with no idea if I was alive or dead made it worse or not, but it certainly didn't help."

"Did she say anything in the letters you got from the Alpha Quadrant?"

"No," Sam said. "I know she's alive, and at home, but she didn't actually send me any messages herself, that was all from Dad."

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed. Sam took Seven's hands in hers and gently squeezed. Seven squeezed back.

Whatever happens, she thought, she's Sam's mother. Treat her with respect, no matter what she says to you. Remember that anything she might say is motivated by a type of loss I could never understand.

The Delta Flyer and Irina's ship made it to Voyager's shuttlebay safely, and as soon as Irina had been cleared by both The Doctor and Tuvok to move about the ship except for certain restricted areas, she and Harry immediately got to work on repairing her ship from the inside while Tom worked on the outside. The officers in charge of the shuttle bay made it clear that faster would be better, and Harry didn't blame them. Between the regular shuttles, the Flyer, and Neelix's old ship, the place was constantly more crowded than Federation safety standards allowed for. It had been that way for years, and this new vessel was only compounding the matter.

"Could you hand me the viridum injector?" Irina said to Harry.

"Sure thing," Harry said. "Let's see, where is.. Ah, here we go." He handed to device to Irina who took it and applied it to her console with a smooth, swift motion. Harry sat in the seat next to her's.

"Comfy chairs," he said.

"My co-pilot certainly thinks so," Irina said, not taking her eyes off her work.

"Your co-pilot?" Harry said.

"I was on my way to meet him when I ran into you," Irina replied.

Harry realized that Irina wasn't giving him much to do in terms of help, but he also needed to stay since some of the equipment she was using was Starfleet equipment that he would need to take back once repairs were complete. Lacking an actual task, he decided to settle on some small talk. She might not reply but it was better than nothing.

"So, tell me about where you're from," he said.

"It's a small trinary system, about half a parsec from here," Irina said.

"Three suns," Harry said. "Wow. We have systems like that where I'm from, but as far as I know none of them are populated. Did your people originate there, or is it a colony?"

"Are you always this inquisitive?" Irina said, smiling.

Oh, she thinks I'm flirting, Harry thought. Better dial it back. "I'm a Starfleet officer. We're all about questions. Knowing the unknown is what drives us."

"That almost sounds like a recruiting speech."

"Well, it's part of the speech yeah," Harry admitted. "But I wasn't asking you to join us or anything."

The sound of a ladder being ascended cut off any reply.

"Your new power transformer is installed and ready to go," Tom Paris said as he climbed into the cockpit area.

"Thanks," Irina said. Harry couldn't help but notice her smile had widened when she spoke to Tom.

"Your impulse drive is a real beauty," Tom said.

"I designed it myself," Irina said, leaning back in her seat with an almost human like display of pride.

"I couldn't help but noticing your warp system seems so rudimentary," Tom said.

"Warp's fine if you like going fast in a straight line," Irina said. "But to me that's just physics, not flying. Besides, for the kind of flying I'm here for warp is not a factor."

"Pun intended?" Harry said.

Irina rolled her eyes, and moved on without acknowledging Harry's comment.

"The race course is only two billion kilometers long," she said.

"Race course?" Tom said, sharing a look with Harry.

I'm intrigued as well, Harry thought.

"You don't know?" Irina said.

"We're not from around here," Harry said.

B'Elanna could tell when Tom was excited even without seeing his face. He walked in a certain way she could never really adequately put into words, but nonetheless she knew it when she saw it and when he walked into the briefing room after having requested a gathering of the senior staff, she saw it.

Once he started explaining what he wanted to do, she understood why.

"It's called the Antarian Trans-Stellar Rally," he said, pointing to a map that he had called up on the monitor. "Three segments, covering 2.3 billion kilometers."

Harry, standing next to Tom, spoke next. "With obstacles ranging from dwarf star clusters to K-class anomalies."

"Two-man crews, and most importantly, each ship is limited to sub-light speeds," Tom said, his excitement threatening to get the better of him "It is the ultimate test of ship design and piloting skills."

"Not to mention a serious drain on Voyager's resources," Tuvok said, looking down at the PADD Tom had handed him before the start of the meeting. "You're suggesting we reassign 15 crewmen to modify the Delta Flyer?"

"The race has very specific guidelines," Tom replied. "All of the ships have to use enriched deuterium fuel, which the Flyer's not equipped to do, but Irina, she's that pilot we rescued, she agreed to lend us a fuel converter."

Chakotay's face suggested he had the same concerns that Tuvok did, but the Captain gave no visible indication of what she would say. B'Elanna herself wasn't sure if she wanted her to give Tom the okay or not. The timing was too close for her comfort; Tom could complete the race and still make it in time for their weekend on the holodeck, but if just one thing went wrong with the Flyer during the course…

"Captain," Tom said, "this race is more than just a sporting event. Until recently this region was a war zone. Four different species fought for nearly a century to control it."

"Now," Harry said, "for the first time they're competing peacefully. To commemorate the new treaty that ended the war."

"This race embodies everything the Federation values," Tom said, "a peaceful coexistence, a free exchange of ideas-"

"I think it's a great idea," Janeway said, much to B'Elanna's surprise, and based on Chakotay's face and Tuvok's raised eyebrow to theirs as well. The Doctor, who had been there the whole time but didn't seem to care, finally was paying attention, though he didn't say anything.

"You do?" Tom said, looking unsure if he should be glad the Captain accepted his pitch, or disappointed that he didn't actually get to finish it.

"You do?" Tuvok said.

"Absolutely," Janeway said, smiling in a way B'Elanna hadn't seen since before the Unimatrix Zero mission. "This competition is just the sort of break we need. It'll give us the chance to make some friends, which we could always use more of in this region, and give the crew a chance at some real R&R. Request granted." She gently tossed the PADD Tom had given her back to him.

"Thank you, Captain," he said.

"One thing, gentlemen," she said. "Now that we're in this race, we're in it to win. After all, Starfleet's honor is at stake." She winked at Tom and Harry before heading for the door.

"Don't worry," Tom said. "It's in good hands."

"No pressure, right?" Harry said jovially. Tuvok simply followed the Captain while Chakotay started reading his own PADD, presumably to brush up on whatever information Tom hadn't gotten to due to his premature victory.

"Obviously I will insist that you have a full stock of medical supplies on board," The Doctor said. "I won't even bother pointing out the potential dangers of this race course, since you doubtless already know and, to borrow a phrase, don't give a rat's extremities."

Tom and Harry headed out, and B'Elanna followed, the three making their way first to the turbolift, then to the shuttlebay.

"So, I didn't get the chance to meet Irina, or look at her ship," she said. "She's not going to give you too much trouble I hope."

Tom chuckled. "Yeah, I'm not too worried. I'm just glad she'll be on her own ship and not flying with me."

"What do you mean?" B'Elanna said.

"Let's just say our new friend is a bit of a flirt," Harry said.

"Oh, really," B'Elanna said.

"That's putting it mildly," Tom said. "I didn't pick up on it at first because I thought she was just talking about her ship. I must be getting soft in my old age."

"I don't have to worry about her trying to poison me and merge with you, do I?" B'Elanna said.

Tom sighed. "One time that happened."

"I can confirm that Irina is not some crazy A.I.," Harry said. "Well, not an A.I. anyway," he added with a smirk.

"I assume you let her down gently," B'Elanna said.

"I tried to. I mentioned you, by name, when I said I was with someone. That only made her flirt more though. I eventually lied and said we were already married to try and get her to back off."

"Didn't work I take it?" B'Elanna said.

"Not even a little," Tom said. "She's one of those types I guess."

"Not to be mean, Tom," B'Elanna said, "but didn't you hook up with a married woman or two before we got together?"

"I was kind of hoping you'd forgotten about that," Tom said.

"There's the silver lining for you, Tom," Harry said. "Irina probably won't try to frame you for murder."

"Really? You're going to bring that up?" Tom said.

"Look," B'Elanna said, putting her arm around Tom's waist, "just tell her I used to be a terrorist and that I know how to handle sharp objects. That should get her to back off."

"One can only hope," Tom said.

Before the three of them made it to the shuttlebay, B'Elanna realized something about the phrasing Tom had used earlier in the conversation.

"Hang on a sec," she said, "what did you mean by 'already married?'"

"And that's why I'm not going to be Tom's co-pilot for the race anymore," Harry said, raising his drink at the table in the mess hall he was sharing with Seven, Samantha, Joe Carey, and Sue Brooks."

"Leave it to Tom Paris to get engaged by accident," Brooks said.

"Given the volatile nature of their relationship," Seven said, "I would've predicted homicide before matrimony."

Harry and Sue each stifled a laugh, while Samantha playfully punched Seven in the arm.

"Honey, that's not fair," she said.

"Am I wrong?" Seven said.

"Look," Harry said, "let's just be happy for my best friend, shall we? He's going to win this thing, then as soon as they get back, wedding."

"Will they be back in time for the window of communication with Starfleet?" Carey asked.

"No," Harry said, "the window lines up with the post-race ceremonies. But they both drew high numbers in the lottery anyway, so it kind of doesn't matter this time."

Seven looked like she was about to say something, but her eyes shifted at the sound of one of the doors to the mess hall opening, and the Delaney sisters both walked in, talking about something.

"Excuse me," Seven said. "I have a matter to discuss with the Delaneys. I will see you all at the Delta Flyer launch."

"Okay sweetie," Samantha said.

"Something about astrometrics?" Harry said.

Samantha looked back and forth, seeming unsure how to respond. "Well, I don't know if I should say anything."

"This about your Uncle?" Harry said.

"That obvious?"

"Seven didn't know your Uncle and your Mom were twins before now?"

"It never came up," Samantha said. "And honestly it didn't seem all that relevant. If I'd known when we started dated that we'd be able to talk to home in just a few short years I would've told her then. I think Annie is really worried that my Mom's not going to like her."

"That's normal I suppose," Carey said. "I was nervous first time I met my in-laws."

"Yeah," Samantha said, narrowing her eyes. "Pretty sure your wife didn't used to belong to a people who killed one of your relatives."

Carey nodded. "Okay, fair point. Our situations really aren't that similar at all."

"Look," Harry said, "I'm sure it'll be fine. Your Mom will understand that Seven had no control over her actions when she was a drone, and regardless Seven wasn't even at Wolf 359."

"Knowing and accepting are two different things, Harry," Samantha said. "But I hope you're right." She glanced over at Seven, speaking to the Delaney sisters. "And hopefully those two can give her the insight she's looking for."

Janeway listened as the coordinator of the race, Antarian Ambassador, O'Zaal, relayed his concerns regarding the race that her people had just entered. When the Ambassador had first requested this meeting she'd been concerned that he would request that her people bow out, leaving the competition to races from the formerly war torn region, but it didn't take long for those concerns to be assuaged.

"One of the species in the race, the Aksani, want to host the post-race ceremony, and say they will break the peace if refused. But it had already been agreed upon that another species, the Chessu, would host it. This is quite the mess, Captain."

"It sounds like it," Commander Chakotay said.

"The peace is so fragile," O'Zaal said, "every decision I make, no matter how trivial, is looked upon as symbolic."

"Winning is easy," Janeway said, "governing's harder. It's a story that happens all too often. Even in my world's history. Maybe we can help you."

"I was hoping you could," O'Zaal said. "Your people are new to this region. With no ties to any of our races, you're in the ideal position to be an arbitrator."

"The easiest thing to do," Janeway said, "is to provide neutral ground for the pre- and post-race activities. Our mess hall is designed to be adjusted in a hurry, we can have it ready to accommodate the launch party in under an hour."

"I was hoping you would say something like that, Captain," O'Zaal said. "I cannot be accused of showing favoritism to the Federation seeing as before yesterday I never even knew you existed."

"I'll tell Neelix to prepare for guests," Chakotay said, smiling.

"I look ridiculous in this," B'Elanna said, looking down at the white, gray, and black uniforms she and Tom would be wearing on the Delta Flyer for the race. "Any particular reason we couldn't wear our regular uniforms? Or even our civilian clothes?"

"You look great, B'Elanna," Tom said, looking around at the crowd of aliens and Starfleet personnel mingling in the mess hall for the pre-race ceremony. "Oh. There she is."

"Who? Oh, Irina. She seems friendly."

"Too friendly," Tom said. "Remember, far as she's concerned we're already married."

"You don't really think she'd be so brazen as to flirt with you right in front-" B'Elanna stopped talking when she saw the look Irina was giving Tom as she approached them. "Okay, I guess she will be."

"Like I said," Tom whispered, "she's not a bad pilot, but she's not so good at taking a hint."

"Tom," Irina said, extending her hand, which Tom took and shook politely. "Good to see you before the race. And this must be B'Elanna Torres. Pleasure to meet you." She offered the same hand to B'Elanna as well, smiling.

If she's faking being nice to me, B'Elanna thought, she's a damn good actor. Hell, with a smile like that I'd consider dating her.

"Nice to meet you," B'Elanna said. "Looking forward to see what you can do in person."

"That's right," Irina said, "I'd almost forgotten, you're Tom's co-pilot now. Any particular reason Harry Kim couldn't make it?"

B'Elanna looked at Tom, who was laughing nervously.

"Oh, nothing major," Tom said. "I just remembered that I hadn't taken the missus out in the new Flyer yet, and this is as good an excuse as any."

That was weak, Tom. "In a way, this ship is kind of like our baby," B'Elanna said, putting an arm around Tom's waist, and hoping she could save him from further embarrassing himself with bad excuses.

"Well," Irina said, "I'll try not to be too hard on your baby then. I do still intend to win, after all."

"Yeah, well," Tom said, confidence entering his voice, "we'll see about that." He smiled, and B'Elanna could tell that he was not faking it. He really expected to win. That didn't worry her though. The Delta Flyer II was a great little ship, and while she hadn't contributed as much to it as Tom or Seven of Nine or Harry had, she was still proud of it.

"Oh, speaking of things to look out for," Irina said, her gaze falling on one of the other pilots, a blue-suited one staring out the viewport with his arms crossed, making a point of not talking to anyone. "His name's Assan. He was a fighter pilot in the wars, one of the most ruthless. I doubt he'll outright cheat, but he's going to be as rough as he thinks he can get away with, I'm sure of it.

"Oh, hey, I see Joxom," Irina said, changing the subject so quickly B'Elanna almost didn't register it. Irina ran over to another alien, one the same species as her, and gave him a more than friendly hug. She and Tom shared a look.

"I wonder if he knows-"

"Tom, be fair. Her species could be polyamorous," B'Elanna said.

"Maybe," Tom said. "All the same, the more he's around the more comfortable I'll be."

"It's not like you to be this judgemental, Tom," B'Elanna said.

Tom chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. Let's focus on winning the race, then on getting married once we win."

"Damn straight," B'Elanna said. "Oh, before I forget, Seven has been helping with race preparation in astrometrics."

"She told me about that, actually," Tom said. "Said she's analyzing the course to find ways to cut time. Already sent a few ideas to the Flyer's computer. Too many ideas really. Is she nervous about something? This doesn't seem quite like her."

B'Elanna took in a deep breath. "Well, from what I hear, she's going to be talking to the in-laws during the next communication window with the Alpha Quadrant."

"Ah," Tom said. "Wants to make a good impression on Sam's parents?"

"You didn't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Sam lost an uncle at Wolf 359. Her mom's brother. Twin brother, actually."

"Oh, shit," Tom said.

"Yeah," B'Elanna said.

Under most circumstances, the sight of more than a dozen fully armed starships lined up facing each other would be a sign that something terrible was about to happen, but to the pilots of the smaller vessels lined up for the race it was an impressive send-off. Tom looked at the ships, a line on the port, and a line on the starboard. Voyager was at the far end of the port side line up, it's clean white hull standing out amongst the various shades of dark grey and light brown vessels making up the rest.

"On the one hand," Tom said, "it's a shame Harry is going to miss this. On the other, this is going to be one hell of a story for us to tell the grandkids."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Lieutenant," B'Elanna said as she did a final pre-flight check. Tom couldn't quite remember the last time he'd seen her this excited about something. Certainly it had been before her physical therapy after having a number of Borg implants removed. He still winced sometimes thinking about how that must've felt. She didn't like talking about the experience, and he respected that choice, but he couldn't help his curiosity.

"Ready to bring that impulse drive online?" Tom said.

"Been ready for a few minutes," B'Elanna said. "I didn't want to start them up too soon. We've still got a few stragglers coming in before the race starts, and I don't want to waste an ounce of fuel. And before you say anything, yes I know we have more than enough to cover the race, but I don't want to take any chances."

Tom smiled. "Whoever thought we'd live to see the day when B'Elanna Torres was the cautious one."

"Eight years ago I never imagined I'd be taking pride in a Starfleet designed engine," B'Elanna said. "Things change."

"Well, hopefully your hatred of losing hasn't," Tom said.

"Oh, we're going to win," B'Elanna said. "Don't doubt that for a second."

Once the pre-flight check was done, Tom waited for the signal. A few moments later, the sound of Ambassador O'Zaal, speaking from Voyager's bridge on an open channel to all vessels involved in the race, filled the cabin.

"Welcome to the first running of the Antarian Trans-Stellar Rally. This moment marks a hopeful point in our shared history, a chance to put aside old animosities and come together in a spirit of peace and friendly competition. Good luck to all of you. Prepare for the starting signal."

A few seconds later, Voyager fired a low-yield photon torpedo that detonated a few hundred meters in front of the starting point.

"And we're off," Tom said, pushing the throttle forward.

Seven of Nine found herself grateful for the distraction as she listened to Neelix excitedly announce updates on the Delta Flyer's progress in the race over the ship's comm systems from astrometrics. She operated the consoles, leaving the theatrics to the much more suited crewmember. She doubted she could muster up quite that much enthusiasm if she tried. It was much easier to be so emotionally free when it was just her and Samantha.

Much better to think about this than about what to say to my mother-in-law, Seven thought, as Neelix shouted gleefully about the Flyer taking a strong third place. That put them well ahead of the next nearest challenger, with relatively little distance separating it from the two in the lead; Irina and Assan.

The sound of the door to astrometrics opening caught Seven's attention. The Captain and Lieutenant Kim walked in, but didn't say anything, instead leaning against a pair of consoles and watching Neelix announcing the race. Seven wondered why they couldn't just listen over the comm like everyone else, but decided that asking wasn't worth the effort. The answer wasn't that important. She looked at the screen, watching the icons representing each vessel, focusing on the gold icon representing the new Delta Flyer.

"You certainly have a knack for announcing, Neelix," Captain Janeway said.

"It's all in the delivery, Captain," Neelix said. "Though I have to give your people much of the credit. Remember when Kes and I were monitoring all those Earth programs a few years ago when we found ourselves thrown back to your world in the 1990s?"

"Ah yes," Janeway said, smirking. "The day my fascination with time travel started it's sharp decline."

"I picked up a few things from some of your sports programs," Neelix said. "Oh, looks like the Flyer is coming up on the Möbius Inversion."

"The Inversion's supposed to have level 6 subspace distortions and gravimetric shear," Tom said. "We'll have to be careful around that."

"It covers the last third of this leg of the course," B'Elanna said, "so being careful inside the wormhole will be easier said than done."

"You know," Tom said, looking at the Möbius Inversion as it grew larger in the viewport, "it occurs to me that statistically speaking we have run into way too many wormholes here in the Delta Quadrant. Kinda makes the Bajoran one seem less special."

"I haven't really thought of it that way," B'Elanna said. "Usually I just end up being disappointed that none of the ones we come across are a shortcut home."

Tom shrugged, and was about to mention that on the positive side one of those wormholes did at least knock two years off their trip a while back, but the Flyer began vibrating slightly as it approached the event horizon of the Inversion.

"Hold on tight," Tom said, gripping the controls tighter than he probably should've.

"The radiation of the Inversion is going to block Voyager's sensors," B'Elanna said. "They won't be able to track our progress until we reach the other side."

"That should only be about fifty meters away," Tom said.

"Forty meters away," B'Elanna said a few seconds later, "and the two lead ships right ahead of us."

"I can see them," Tom said. "A little too close for comfort seeing as I don't need sensors to do that."

"And close together too," B'Elanna said, "but I think we can get through them. I'm reversing our deflector polarity. It'll repel their shields. Why wait for an opening when you can make one?"

"Sounds too risky," Tom said.

"Too risky? Who are you and what have you done with my fiancé?" B'Elanna said as she moved to another console and began manipulating controls.

"What're you doing?" Tom said.

"Deploying auxiliary thrusters," B'Elanna said. "We'll need the extra maneuvering power to get through the gap."

Tom opened his mouth to protest, but decided it wasn't worth it and refocused himself on flying the ship. It shuddered violently but briefly as it sped in between the two lead ships, knocking them aside slightly but not enough to throw them completely off course. Tom was grateful for that. He would hate to win by having the competition exploding behind him.

"That was way too risky," Tom said, turning to look back at B'Elanna. "I hate to sound rude, but I'm the pilot, I'm the one who should be making those calls."

B'Elanna did look upset at first, like she was about to argue, but whatever counterpoint she was going to offer evaporated before she could say it.

"I saw a chance and I took it," B'Elanna said, quietly. "You're right though, you're the one flying this thing, I should've asked."

"Good," Tom said. He smiled and added, "Great move by the way. We have a comfortable lead now."

"Attention all racers," Ambassador O'Zaal's voice said over the Flyer's comm. "There's been an accident. Stay in order and shut down your engines."

Tom did as instructed quickly, hoping that whatever happened wasn't serious. He glanced back at B'Elanna and could tell by looking at her that she was worried that it had been her fault, and that whoever was wounded had been on either Irina or Assan's ship when they blew past them in the Inversion.

With O'Zaal just a few steps behind her, Janeway entered sickbay where The Doctor ran a medical tricorder over a wounded Joxom, Irina's co-pilot.

"Report," Janeway said.

"His condition is stabilizing," The Doctor said. "I should be able to start dermal regeneration in a few hours."

"This was Assan's fault," Irina said, standing near the biobed where Joxom was being treated.

"Why do you say that?" O'Zaal said.

"He collided with me so many times my shield generator overloaded," Irina said. "Joxom's console exploded. He's lucky he's alive."

"Janeway to Tuvok, have the pilot Assan brought to the briefing room, ASAP. Ambassador, I imagine you'll want to be there as well."

"Want, and need, Captain," O'Zaal said. "We need to get as full a picture of what happened as possible."

Janeway nodded. "We'll want Tom and B'Elanna as well. They were ahead of both ships, their flight data might have picked up information we need for the investigation. Irina, come with me."

"Of course," Irina said, taking one last long look at her co-pilot before following.

"The only thing I'm guilty of," Assan said, sounding smug to Tom, "is coming in second. A situation which will be remedied in the next leg."

If he has any concern for Joxom at all, Tom thought, he's hiding it well.

"You're doing a poor job of defending yourself," O'Zaal said, visibly nervous.

"We may have had something to do with this too," B'Elanna said. "We grazed both of their shields in the Möbius Inversion."

Tom felt as much as saw all eyes in the room turning on him and B'Elanna; Assan, Irina, Tuvok, the Captain, O'Zaal all looked at them, surprised at B'Elanna's declaration of guilt. Tom doubted very much that she was to blame, but he had to admit that he was clearly too biased on the matter. He hoped as much as believed that this was not her fault.

"Intentionally?" Janeway said.

"It was a tight course," Tom said, "everyone was flying very aggressively."

"Your team is not responsible, Captain," Irina said. "My generators were already overloading when they made contact."

"Perhaps none of you is to blame," Tuvok said, looking down at the PADD in his hands. "My security team found a device interfaced with her ship's shield generator." Tuvok touched a button on his PADD and a picture of the device in question appeared on the main briefing room monitor.

"What is it?" Janeway said.

"According to Lieutenant Anderson's analysis," Tuvok said, "it is a phase inverter, designed to cause a system overload."

"It's hard to believe someone would go this far just to knock a competitor out of the race," Janeway said, though to Tom's ears she didn't sound confident of that.

"This may be more than a simple case of cheating, Captain," O'Zaal said, sounding worried. "I think someone's trying to end the peace."

"Maybe I'm missing something here," Janeway said, "but we're talking about a single act of sabotage. How does that threaten your treaty?"

"By itself, it wouldn't," O'Zaal admitted, standing up and starting to pace with his hands behind his back. "But we've received threats of a more serious nature."

"From whom?" Tuvok asked.

"Groups opposed to the alliance," O'Zaal said. "Arms dealers, isolationists, political extremists. Up until now I wasn't sure how seriously to take them."

"Clearly they post a security threat," Tuvok said.

"Yes, yes," O'Zaal said. "We've done everything we could to protect the racers, but that might not be enough. I don't want to risk any more lives. We should cancel the race or at least postpone it until we can guarantee everyone's safety."

Tom didn't like that idea one bit. Even setting aside that he and B'Elanna were in the lead, this race was of vital symbolic importance to the inhabitants of this region of space. Giving in to extremists, assuming that's who was behind the sabotage instead of just some cheater, could only hurt the peace in the long run.

"No," Irina said. "If we stop now we'll be letting these extremists win."

Exactly what I was thinking, Tom thought.

"She's right," Assan said, without a trace of the egotism in his voice he'd had in everything else Tom had heard him say.

O'Zaal didn't look optimistic, but he nodded. "Very well then. If that's the consensus we'll resume tomorrow as scheduled."

"There you are," Harry Kim said as he saw Tom, B'Elanna, and Irina walking side by side in the corridor, clearly on their way to the shuttle bay. "Congrats on taking the lead, Tom. I was sorry to hear about Joxom though. Glad to hear he's recovering."

"Thank you, Harry," Irina said.

"By the way, did you get my request?"

"What request?" Tom said.

"I was about to tell you," Harry said. "I asked if I could be Irina's new co-pilot while Joxom recovers."

"Oh, that's very nice, but you don't need to-"

"Well, hey you still want to win, don't you?" Harry said, smiling.

"This is payback for me replacing you with B'Elanna isn't it?" Tom said.

"Only a little bit," Harry admitted. "But also, Irina did us a solid with that converter, and I'd hate to see her have to drop out. I checked with the race officials, and they say it's all good, so long as Irina herself signs off on it of course."

"Um, sure," Irina said. "Though my ship's damaged, so it may end up being an empty gesture."

"You don't know our Harry," Tom said. "Once he's set his mind to something…"

"He'll not only fix your ship," B'Elanna said, "he'll polish the bulkheads."

"Well, okay then," Irina said, smiling. "Welcome aboard Lieutenant Kim."

"I'll try not to gloat too much when we win," Harry said to Tom.

Tom just shook his head.

"Humans," B'Elanna said, rolling her eyes.

"Says the half-human," Tom said, playfully poking B'Elanna in the arm. Harry laughed at them as he and Irina made their way to her ship while the others went to the Delta Flyer.

With the race back in full swing, Tom and B'Elanna held onto their lead, but Irina and Harry, as well as Assan, were doing an admirable job of catching up. At least they were until Harry suddenly noticed that Irina's ship was gradually losing speed.

"We're slipping," Harry said. "Assan just pulled ahead of us."

"Don't worry about it," Irina said. Something in her tone made Harry uneasy, but he got distracted by an alert noise from his console before he could think of reasons why that might be.

"I'm reading malfunctions in the EPS relays," he said. "But we double checked all of them last night."

"We must've missed something," Irina said. "At this rate, we're going to be out of the race in a couple of minutes."

Harry wasn't one hundred percent sure, but the way Irina said that suggested she wasn't all that concerned about losing, a complete 180 degree turn from where she'd been last night while they'd worked on her ship together. Now he was certain something was wrong.

"I think I can reroute power through the impulse manifold," Harry said.

"No," Irina said suddenly, reaching out to stop him.

"Why not?" Harry said, fully suspicious now.

"It could damage the reactor coils," Irina said.

"I was in engineering before I was an operations officer," Harry said. "I know for a fact that reactor coils have nothing to do with impulse manifolds."

"These systems are different than what you're used to," Irina said, looking out the viewport and continuing to operate the controls as normal.

"Why-" Harry's question was cut off by another alarm sound.

"I think it's the injector ports," Irina said, bolting out of the pilot's chair and heading for the back of the ship. Harry looked at his console.

"No, it's an overload in my console," he said, pushing himself back just in time to avoid the explosion. The same kind of explosion that had injured Joxom. Harry found himself wishing he had a phaser with him. "This wasn't an accident," he said, turning to look at Irina, who now held a weapon on him.

"I'm sorry Harry," she said. "I really am."

A hologram, a dead woman, a Borg, the wrong twin, now this, Harry thought. If I believed in a God I'd think he was punishing for thinking about other women than Libby.

"So this is one of those days then," he said aloud. He wanted to be angrier than he was, but really he was just disappointed in himself for having fallen into a trap. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me why you sabotaged your own ship twice."

"I don't mind at all, actually," Irina said. "I don't need to kill you to accomplish what I came to do. If I did, you'd already be dead."

"Fair point," Harry said, hoping that Irina didn't catch his glance towards the pilot's console. He wasn't quite close enough to just reach for it, but if he was quick enough he could leap to it and turn the ship fast enough that the inertial dampeners wouldn't compensate and Irina would hopefully lose her balance. It was a huge gamble, so he needed to do the math in his head to ensure the best chance of success. The longer Irina talked...

"If you're hoping to call for help," she said, gently motioning her gun at the communications panel which happened to be next to what Harry was actually looking at, "don't bother. I disabled it before we launched. You won't be able to fix it in time."

"In time for what?" Harry said.

"For the Delta Flyer to reach the finish line," Irina said. Then she sighed. "Okay, that was too cryptic. I said I'd tell you, so I will. When the Delta Flyer passes the finish line, it will be passing very close to more than a dozen ships full of people, all congregating for this 'peace' Ambassador O'Zaal keeps going on about."

"You're one the extremists," Harry said.

"I prefer to think of myself as a purist," Irina said. "Some of us were happier when all the other species were separate. We don't want to be like you and your Federation."

"The way you were flirting with my best friend, in front of his fiancee no less, you certainly could've fooled me," Harry said, not caring that he'd revealed the truth about Tom's marital status. He was pretty sure now Irina didn't actually care.

"I needed someone to deliver the explosive," Irina said. "Who better than a show-off pilot who wants to win a big race?"

"The fuel converter you gave us," Harry said. "It's a bomb. How the hell did we manage to miss that?"

"Your friend Tuvok might've caught it, but you never actually had security look at the device I gave you. Sloppy work, Lieutenant junior grade Kim," Irina said, practically spitting every syllable of Harry's name and rank.

"I'll be sure to pass that information along to Commander Tuvok," Harry said.

"Once your Captain guarantees my safety, I'm sure you will," Irina said.

Now's as good a time as any, Harry thought. He opened his mouth as if to reply to what Irina had just said, but then lunged for the console. A blast from Irina's weapon grazed over him close enough that he could feel the heat of it, but she had clearly missed. He then lunged at her as she tried to right herself after the sharp turn, and despite their equal height, he had Starfleet hand-to-hand combat training to fall back on. Granted, he had only barely passed that exam, but it was enough and within seconds he'd wrestled the weapon away from Irina. He stepped back, the weapon levelled at her while she was still on the floor, propping herself up with her elbows.

"You'd better shoot me," Irina said. "Because if I get that gun back-"

"Give it a rest," Harry said, turning the pilot's chair with one hand so that he could see the console and keep her in his peripheral vision. "You may have disabled your comm system, but this wouldn't be the first time I've had to get creative in contacting another ship."

The Delta Flyer shuddered suddenly, which gave Tom pause, as they were nowhere near an obstacle that could do that.

"We're being scanned by some kind of modulating pulse," B'Elanna said. "It's from Irina's ship."

"Maybe it has to do with why they slowed down all of a sudden," Tom said. "They must need help. Their comm system may be down if this is how Harry's trying to get in touch with us."

Tom wanted to win the race, and Assan was mere meters behind him, but he knew that if it came down to it he'd choose rescuing his best friend over crossing that finish line first without hesitating. He already was prepared to turn around when B'Elanna continued.

"There's something odd about the amplitude," she said. Soon a sound filled the cabin, and Tom recognized it immediately.

"Morse code," he said.

"What?"

"It's an old style of communication they used on Earth back before even radios were in regular usage. Harry's trying to send out an S.O.S."

"I do know what S.O.S. means," B'Elanna said. "They're in trouble."

"Preparing to bring us about," Tom said, looking at the small monitor next to his console. "Put the modulation on my screen." B'Elanna did so quickly and as Tom turned the controls he used his knowledge to parse out what Harry was sending. It wasn't an S.O.S., he could tell that much, the pattern didn't fit. "Fuel converter rigged?" he said in shock.

"Rigged? How?" B'Elanna said.

"I don't know, that's just Harry's message. Fuel converter rigged."

B'Elanna began rapidly tapping buttons on her console. "The converter is leaking veridium isotopes."

"Why didn't the computer warn us?" Tom said.

"The on-line sensors have been tampered with," B'Elanna said, "but we have a bigger problem. I don't think I can contain the leak. The veridium is already reacting with the warp plasma."

"That'll cause a warp core breach," Tom said. "We'd better eject it."

"Too late to eject the converter," B'Elanna said. "We'll have to eject the core."

"Once we do we'll have less than a minute to clear out of range," B'Elanna said.

"I don't think we'll make it," Tom said, feeling surprisingly calm given the circumstances. "Neither will anyone else within a million kilometers. There's a nebula near by. I'm taking us towards it."

"How will that help? Besides taking us out of range of all the ships at the finish line I mean," B'Elanna said. She had obviously figured out as much as he had that the dignitaries there were the target of this explosion.

"It's a J-class," Tom said. "Filled with ionized gas. Should contain the explosion."

"So much for our wedding plans," B'Elanna said.

"Well, let's just hope our heroic deaths earn us both a place in Sto'Vo'Kor," Tom said.

"I'm not giving up just yet," B'Elanna said. "I'm still trying to get the ejection subroutines on-line. Looks like Irina sabotaged that too. I'll make sure to tell her she did a good job of hiding what she did before I wring her neck."

"Warp core breach in twenty seconds," the computer's voice said.

"Just one more… got it!" B'Elanna said. "Warp core ejected!"

"Nine, eight…" the computer continued.

"It's in the nebula," Tom said, pulling the controls as hard as dared. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," he muttered to himself as the countdown reached zero. "I love you," he said as the shockwave caught up to the Flyer.

Janeway graciously accepted the consolation from Ambassador O'Zaal as Assan's ship flew past the finish line first. She was about to thank him for the opportunity when Voyager shuddered slightly.

"What was that?" Neelix said, his presence in the mess hall being why Janeway hadn't known until now just how far behind the Delta Flyer had fallen.

"Janeway to the bridge, report," she said after tapping her comm badge.

"That was the shockwave of an antimatter explosion," Tuvok said. "Approximately 1.2 million light years from here.

"I'm on my way," Janeway said, handing her glass of champagne to Neelix before heading for the door.

As soon as she reached the bridge, Tuvok informed her of the situation as best he knew it. That the Delta Flyer had changed course suddenly, that Irina's ship with Harry Kim on board had inexplicably stopped before the end of the race, and that the Flyer's position was currently unknown but that it was last spotted near the site of the explosion.

Janeway wasted no time in ordering that they go immediately to find them, fearing the worst.

"Captain," Seven of Nine said "we'll be passing by Irina's vessel on our path. Shall we bring her and Lieutenant Kim aboard?"

"Good thinking," Janeway said, "Do it."

A few moments later, Harry's voice came over the comm, calling for security to the shuttle bay. Janeway gave Tuvok a nod, and he left the bridge without a word.

"Well," Janeway said, worry about Harry and why he needed security fighting with concern for Tom and B'Elanna for control of her focus. "This day took an odd turn."

Seven of Nine found herself in the regretful position of wishing that Tom and B'Elanna had been more injured when they and the Delta Flyer had been recovered. She believed that she could use concern for her shipmates as an excuse to avoid what was coming, but she just couldn't do that to Samantha. This moment was very important to her.

"So, I hear the post-race festivities are still on," Samantha said, leaning against the bulkhead. She, Seven, and Naomi waited outside astrometrics for Ensign Brooks, who was in line ahead of them, to finish.

"Correct," Seven said. "It would appear that Irina's plans failed in more ways than one. Her homeworld's government seems more willing than ever now to contribute to the peace."

"That's good," Sam said.

"Mom," Naomi said, "are you sure Icheb can't join us?"

Sam smiled as she stroked her daughter's hair. "Sweetie, your grandma's already going to have a lot to take in. Seeing you for the first time, me getting married again… I think introducing her to an adopted grandson at the same time might be a bit much."

Perhaps I should let the two of you speak to her alone, Seven thought of saying, but inwardly scolded herself for thinking it. She hated feeling this uncomfortable about something that should be a positive.

"Okay," Naomi said, grudging acceptance in her voice, though Seven had already heard her say the same thing in the same way only a few hours ago. Naomi was not shy about sharing her disappointment.

"You okay, Annie?" Sam said. "You look a little nervous."

"Because I am," Seven said. "Though I suppose that is a fairly common human response to such situations."

"You'll do fine," Sam said. "To be honest, and Naomi you are not to breathe a word of this to anyone, it's my Mom I'm worried about. Like I said before, she was never quite the same after Uncle Doug died. I'd be lying if I wasn't terrified about how she'll react when she sees you."

"Don't worry, Mom," Naomi said, trying to reassure Samantha in a manner Seven found endearing. "Grandma will see how nice Seven is. She won't be mad once she knows that Seven isn't a Borg drone anymore."

"We'll see," Sam said, "we'll see."

The sound of the door to astrometrics opening caught Seven's attention. A smiling Ensign Brooks stepped out, though she did appear to have been crying as well.

"You're up," she said.

"You okay, Sue?" Sam said.

"Oh absolutely," Brooks said. "I just saw my nephew for the first time. He was born just a few weeks after we ended up in the Delta Quadrant. I was so happy to see him I cried. I know it's silly-"

"Hey, hey," Sam said, "it's perfectly normal. Don't do this to yourself. And don't worry, you'll see him in person someday soon, I know it. With as many years as we've been shaving off the trip home lately, I bet you'll be there to see him off to the Academy."

"You know what?" Brooks said. "I think you're right. Have fun talking to your parents, Sam," Brooks said.

"Thanks," Sam said. After taking a deep breath, she added, "All right, let's do this."

Sam, Seven, and Naomi entered astrometrics. Megan Delaney was standing where Seven normally would at a console as far from the viewscreen as she could get. It was a good chance anyone on the other end of the communication could still see her though, but someone had to be there in order to handle the adjustments required to keep the communication link stable.

"I'm arranging the call as we speak," Megan said. "I'll have your parents home comm on the screen in under a minute."

"Thanks, Megan," Sam said.

Seven felt Sam squeeze her hand as the image on the astrometrics lab screen went from a black screen with the Federation logo, to brief static, to a woman's face.

"Hi, Mom," Samantha said, smiling.

"Samantha, it is so good to see you again sweetheart," Linette Wildman said, smiling, but looking tired, like she'd just woken up from oversleeping. "I was hoping I'd hear from you soon once we found out you were alive from your EMH."

"It's great to see you too, Mom," Sam said. "Where's Dad?"

"James wasn't able to make it back," Linette said. "He wants me to send his love though."

"Right, I'd heard he came out of retirement after the war started," Sam said.

"That's right. He decided to stay after the Dominion surrendered though, and I can see why. We lost a lot of experienced Captains during the war. How's Nancy?"

"Your sister's fine," Linette said. "Anti-social as usual."

So far so good, Seven thought.

"Mom, I've got a few people I'd like you to meet," Sam said, gently nudging Naomi to stand in front of her. Naomi smiled nervously and waved at the screen.

"Hi, grandma," she said.

"Well hello there, Naomi. You really have grown so fast haven't you? And I can see you have your father's horns. You are just so adorable."

Seven allowed herself a small smile.

"Thank you," Naomi said. Linette's smile rapidly faded when her gaze shifted to what would be her left.

"You must be the new spouse, I suppose," she said.

"Mom," Samantha said, "This is Annika."

"A pleasure to see you Mrs. Wildman," Seven said, trying not to sound as uncomfortable as she felt by the sudden shift in her mother-in-law's tone.

"Uh-huh," Linette said, not sounding convinced. "So, Sam, is there any reason the Borg has to be here? Can't I just talk to my daughter and granddaughter?"

Seven glanced over and saw the expressions of happiness on Sam and Naomi's faces fade almost simultaneously.

"Mom, Annie and I are married. She's part of this family. She has every right to be here. If this is about Greskrendtregk-"

"A little bit, yeah," Linette said. "Is three years all it takes for you to get over a man you have a child with?"

"It's more complicated than that, Mom," Sam said. "I know this is a complicated situation but-"

"It shouldn't be," Linette said. "You were already married. I can't believe the Federation would let this thing you have going with this Borg stand."

Seven saw Sam's face starting to turn red, though whether it was from embarrassment or anger at how her mother was behaving, she couldn't tell. She took a deep breath, and responded.

"Mom, would you want to be the ones to tell the Denobulans, or the Elerians, or the Sklorno that their relationships are invalid?" she said, referring to only three of the numerous polyamourous species that held membership in the Federation. "And besides, Greskrendtregk moved on too when he thought I was dead. Ktarians process emotional trauma faster than humans. He's sent letters, we're fine. You make it sound like I just left him for some random woman."

"No, not random. A Borg. The people who killed your Uncle and his entire crew at Wolf 359," Linette said.

And there it is, Seven thought. A part of her had hoped this wouldn't come up, but deep down she knew it was inevitable. Seven heard a soft whimper, the sound that Naomi made when she was trying very hard not to cry.

"Maybe I should leave," Seven whispered to Sam.

"What were you thinking, Sam, really?" Linette said before Sam could respond. "After what happened to Doug? After everything the Borg have done to the Federation all it takes for you to forget is one of them to come along and shove her tits in your face-"

"Mom!" Sam yelled, sounding angrier than Seven could ever remember her sounding in the several years she'd known her. "You have no right to talk to her that way. She wasn't there, and even if she had been she was a drone. She had no control over what she did while she was a Borg. But she's free now, and she is my wife. She is a part of this family. If you don't like her, fine, but do not talk about her that way. Especially don't talk about her like she's not here."

"Okay," Linette said. "What do you have to say for yourself then, Seven of Nine?"

I have never been this uncomfortable in my entire life, Seven thought.

"Um, well," she said, "I'm sorry for what happened to your twin. I can't begin to imagine how-"

"No, you can't," Linette said. "You've only been human for, what, three years now?"

"Oh my god, Mom, please stop," Sam said, her head in one hand, the other holding Naomi close. Naomi clung tight to Sam's leg, looking as uncomfortable as Seven felt.

"I think I have the right to know what kind of woman she is, Samantha. She is my daughter-in-law now, like it or not."

"It has been approximately three years since I was freed from the Collective, yes," Seven said.

"Yet you still talk like one of them. How do I know one day you won't try to jam one of your assimilation devices into my little girl's neck?"

Seven never got the chance to respond, as Sam slammed her hand down on the console to cut off the channel. Seven winced at the sound of the impact. As loud as it was, Sam must've hurt her hand when she did so.

"Sam?" Seven said, reaching out to touch Samantha's arm. Sam was taking in deep breaths, her eyes closed.

"Mom," Naomi said softly, "why was grandma being so mean?"

"She's a- she's never been the same since her twin brother died, sweetie," Sam said. "She wasn't always like this, I swear," she added, looking at Seven when she did so.

Seven pulled Sam in close for a hug.

"I'm so sorry that didn't go as you'd hoped," she said.

Sam didn't say anything, she simply started crying.

Chapter Three

The Doctor excitedly scanned the small piece of comet that had been beamed into a canister in the rear compartment of the Delta Flyer. While not his primary field of expertise, he was grateful for the opportunity to go on an away mission, especially since it had been a month since he'd gotten to leave Voyager, back when he had joined the majority of the command staff to celebrate the end of the Antarian Trans-Stellar Rally.

The ship shuddered, throwing off his scans, and he rolled his eyes as he tapped his comm badge. "Lieutenant Kim, please try to hold us steady. This material is extremely fragile."

"I'm doing the best I can, Doc," Harry replied.

"Maybe I should've insisted on a more experienced pilot, like Mr. Paris."

"Might I point out, Doctor," Seven of Nine over the same comm channel, "that being passive-aggressive is not likely to ensure a smoother flight."

"Fine, fine. Seven, could you join me back here please?"

"On my way," Seven said.

"I don't know if I can take another three days of comet chasing with him," Harry muttered.

"I heard that, Harry," The Doctor said.

There was no response from Harry. Moments later the door opened and Seven stepped in. The Doctor held up an even smaller sample he'd taken from the main one, running a scanning device over it.

"Ah, Seven. I figured you might find this interesting," he said, placing the sample under a standard Starfleet issue microscope, and sending the image to one of the wall monitors.

"Pre-animate biomatter," Seven said. "Interesting."

"I know, right?" The Doctor said. "But look deeper."

Seven looked at the image for a more seconds. "An undeveloped nucleus contained in a cytoplasmic matrix."

"And buried deep inside the nucleus, primitive strands of DNA," The Doctor said, smiling. "The beginnings of life."

"Very interesting," Seven said.

"Oh yes. To think, someday this cytoplasmic matrix may fall into the primordial sea of a distant world, where it could ignite an evolutionary process. Eons from now, a life form not unlike yourself could emerge, look up at the stars, and-"

The Doctor's speech was cut off brutally by the ship shaking again. The Doctor had enough experience to know that this kind of shuddering was usually brought on by weapons fire.

"We're under attack," Harry's voice said. "Get to the cockpit and strap yourselves in. Seven, I'll need you to man tactical."

"On it," Seven replied, bolting for the door. The Doctor followed her, wondering who could possibly be attacking a small ship out following a comet. It was likely not anyone they had encountered before as Harry would almost certainly have said who it was.

Harry tried to fly the ship and hail the attacker at the same time, telling them who they are and that they were on a peaceful mission.

"You're transporting a suspected photonic insurgent through Lokirrim space," the reply from the other ship said, with a clipped, militaristic tone of voice. "Drop your shields and prepare to be boarded."

Photonic? The Doctor thought. A hologram? Are they attacking us because of me? What did I do?

"Photonic insurgent?" Harry said. "If you're referring to the hologram he's our doctor."

The reply to that comment was another attack, this one hitting the ship hard enough to nearly send everyone tumbling out of their chairs.

"We've lost thrusters," Seven said.

"The comm array's down too, I can't contact Voyager," Harry said.

"If they board us I'm dead," The Doctor said. "It's obvious these people have a real problem with holograms."

"Couldn't we just turn you off?" Harry said. "The mobile emitter will hold your program."

"Given the apparent nature of our assailants," Seven said, "it is likely they will simply wipe or physically destroy the emitter once they find it. We do have another option, though it is a rather desperate one."

"Store my program inside you, like when you got me off the Equinox?" The Doctor said. "That's too risky."

"It did work before," Seven said.

"Yes, but I was only in there for less than an hour. Who knows how long-"

The ship shuddered once again, differently this time.

"They have us in a tractor beam," Harry said. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast. I'd rather not have to explain to the Captain how I lost our CMO."

"Deactivate your program," Seven said. "I will take the mobile emitter and do what needs to be done."

The Doctor would've sighed if he had a breath.

"Alright," he said, manipulating the buttons on his emitter for what he hoped wouldn't be the final time.

Four armed Lokirrim boarded the Flyer just as Seven completed the process. She removed her assimilation tubules from the mobile emitter and dropped it under the tactical console, though she knew it would be found. Hopefully they would be able to take it back with them once they were set free.

"We don't want to hurt you," the shortest of the four, presumably a female, said. "We just want the insurgent."

"His program was destroyed," Seven said. "Your tractor beam caused a destabilization in his matrix. You killed him."

"Search the ship," the tallest of the boarders said. Soon, one of them, another female as far as Seven could tell, came back to the cabin with the canister carrying the chunk of comet with them.

"There is biogenic material in this container," she said. "It could be used to create viral weapons."

The tall one nodded. "Confiscate it," he said.

"Our Doctor was using those spores to synthesize new medicines, not weapons," Seven said, hoping she was putting on a good performance. She hadn't had much opportunity to engage in acting since that play she and Samantha had staged over two years ago. She didn't need much inspiration to be angry however. The unprovoked attack was more than enough for that, and though it had been a month, if she had to she could always call up from memory the mix of negative emotions she'd felt after her encounter with Sam's mother.

"There's no one else aboard," the shortest one said.

"Take them into detention," the tall one said, looking at Seven and Harry, "and secure their ship in the docking bay."

"You got what you wanted didn't you?" Harry said, "Just let us go."

"Transporting photonics and manufacturing biogenic weapons are serious charges," the tall one said.

"You have no evidence that we were making weapons and you know it," Harry said. "Your 'evidence' is a chunk of rock."

"A chunk of rock that was being scanned by a photonic," the tall one said. "And your uniforms are fairly similar to ones we've seen other photonic insurgents wearing. That's evidence enough for me. Get them out of my sight."

Two of the other Lokirrim, one grabbing Harry's arm, the other forcefully grabbing Seven's, took them to the airlock door, and once the Flyer was secured inside the other ship's hold, they were taken to a cell and shoved inside after their comm badges were removed.

It was smaller than any of the cells in Voyager's brig, with an uncomfortable metal bunk bed, not unlike the one Seven had had to share with Commander Tuvok when they had been captured last year to be forced into a Tsunkatse tournament.

Harry sighed. "Well, assuming they don't just summarily execute us, in a few days Captain Janeway will come looking for us. This ship might have been too much for the Delta Flyer, but-"

"I imagine the captain will make at least a token effort at diplomacy before resorting to violence," Seven said.

"I'm not gonna lie, Seven," Harry said, "but I think I'd take great pleasure in seeing this ship get a few holes punched in it. Can you believe the nerve of those people? To look at our lab and somehow see a bioweapons plant in it?"

"Corrupt law enforcement is not a new phenomenon," Seven said. "In this quadrant, or the Alpha Quadrant."

"So, are you saying they're probably going to try and railroad us as payback for them not getting to take the Doctor?"

"It's a plausible outcome," Seven said.

"It bothers me how you can be so casual about this."

"Do mistake my current demeanor for a lack of anger, Harry. I just don't see any point in complaining about our situation. Our primary focus should be to determine if escape is possible."

"Good point," Harry said.

Seven and Harry spent the next several minutes going over the cell. After two close visual inspections they found no obvious weaknesses, but also saw a lack of any apparent listening devices. Seven also noted that the main room that all the detention cells were in lacked a guard. This seemed like an odd flaw in this ship's security, as Voyager's brig usually had someone on duty there even when the cells were unoccupied, which was a majority of the time.

"So, how long do you think you can handle the Doc being, in, well…"

"Unknown. The only time we did this previously his program was stored within my Borg implants for approximately twenty-five minutes."

"We're definitely going to be here longer than that. If you start to have any problems at all, let me know, alright?"

"Understood," Seven said, hoping that Harry's concern would turn out to be unwarranted.

"And on a more selfish note," Harry said, "soon as one of our captors comes back I'm going to request they clean this cell. It smells like whoever or whatever they had in here last."

"I wasn't going to mention it, but yes, the scent in this room is rather repulsive. But how can you be certain it's the cell itself and not the ship?"

"Did you smell anything like this until they turned on that force field?"

Seven thought about it for a moment. "I did not. Hopefully we won't be stuck with this too long. It should go without saying though that I will insist on multiple showers when we get back to Voyager. I do not wish to risk transferring any of this smell to my wife."

Hours passed, and the only person Harry saw during that time was the stone silent Lokirrim guard who brought him and Seven food. He tasted it and nearly gagged.

"Yuck. My uniform would taste better than this," Harry said.

"I have ingested worse," Seven said. "This is not my first time incarcerated on an alien craft after all."

"Mine either," Harry said, "but still." He saw Seven rubbing the back of her neck and shifting. "You okay?"

"Mild discomfort," Seven said. "Likely from the long periods of sitting."

"Try getting up and moving around a little. I know there isn't much space but-"

Seven stood up and began pacing the cell before Harry could finish the sentence.

"Perhaps some idle conversation to pass the time is in order," Seven said.

"You've never been one for small talk before," Harry said. "What changed."

"To be honest, I do not know," Seven said. "I just feel… compelled, all of a sudden."

Harry shrugged.

"Okay. Um, how about Icheb? I heard he didn't take it too well when he found out that wormhole he found last week went the wrong way."

"He was disappointed," Seven said, "however I made it clear to him that were it not for the neutrino detection techniques he developed last year for the ship's science fair, we likely never would've found it in the first place. That in itself is an accomplishment. That the opposite end of the wormhole would've deposited us more than twenty-thousands light years behind us is unfortunate, but not his fault."

"You could have also added that according to our probe we would've come out right in the middle of a massive Hirogen hunting party," Harry said. "That might've helped."

"Perhaps," Seven said. She stopped pacing for a moment and looked upward slightly. "I wonder if-"

Her thought was interrupted by the sound of the door to the brig opening. Two Lokirrim walked in, the shorter female who had boarded the Flyer before, and another male.

"You, female," the Lokirrim woman said, pointing at Seven. "Come with us."

"I'm the senior officer," Harry said, standing at attention. "If you're going to take someone take me." I'm also not the one with kids to look after, he thought. If this goes bad-

"My orders were specific," the Lokirrim woman said.

"Don't worry, Lieutenant, I can take care of myself," Seven said.

Harry raised an eyebrow at that. It was definitely Seven of Nine talking, but something about the tone of her voice… Whatever it was she seemed to have noticed herself because she looked briefly confused at her own words as the male Lokirrim guard led her out, after which the female one reactivated the force field.

Harry got as close to the field as he dared, having learned the hard way that these force fields packed more of a shock than the ones on Voyager. He watched all three of them leave, then sighed.

"Two and a half days," he muttered to himself. "We just need to survive for two and a half days, then Janeway will come and get us."

Seven was led by the male guard onto the Delta Flyer, which looked much better from the outside than she would've expected given how much damage they'd taken earlier. The female guard waited outside while the male took her to the back room of the Flyer, where the tall one, the one who'd ordered her and Harry arrested in the first place, waited.

"The prisoner, sir," the male guard said. The tall one nodded, and the guard left. Seven was surprised that she'd been left with her hands and legs free, considering that she was now alone in a relatively confined space with this ship's commanding officer. It was doubtful they mistook her for a non-threat given her size and gender. After all, the female Lokirrim who had brought her was by all appearances comparable to her in size. If Seven hadn't had enhanced strength due to her remaining implants it was likely that in a fight the two of them would be evenly matched. Was this confidence or arrogance on the part of the commander?

"Pulse-phased weapons," the tall one said, "duranium-enforced hull. Hmm. Much more sophisticated than the typical smuggler's vessel."

"I would imagine," Seven said, "given that we are not smugglers. We're explorers. As I have explained to you twice already before you threw myself and Lieutenant Kim in a cell. If you would allow us to contact our primary ship, our Captain could-"

"If you're innocent," the tall one said. "then you won't mind telling me more about this vessel."

Seven let out an exasperated sigh, and wondered where that came from. She had reacted that way to things before, but to the best of her recollection she was usually far more annoyed at those moments than she was now. She also thought very briefly that she felt another presence in the room, but she pushed it aside so she could respond to the Lokirrim commander's request.

"Her builder would be more qualified to tell you what she can do," Seven said, which was mostly true. Though she had helped design this one, more so than its predecessor even, Tom Paris seemed to have an almost empathic connection with this ship, despite not being a Borg, or even a Binar.

"Perhaps, but since you are here and not them, tell me, what does this device do?" The tall one pointed at the replicator.

"That's a standard food replicator," Seven said, regretting saying the word food as suddenly she felt hungry.

"Can it be used to create bioweapons?"

Would Neelix's leola root soup count? Seven thought, which was odd as while she would never go out of her way to eat it, she had never felt it tasted particularly offensive, unlike the majority of the Voyager crew.

"Do you think everything can be used to make bioweapons? Perhaps if I showed you one of my daughter's plush animals you would think she was hiding a biological weapons lab in there as well?" Seven sighed. "Here, let me show you." She walked over to the replicator, and thought of something both she and Samantha enjoyed eating. "Computer, two bowls of pad thai, medium heat."

"Pad thai?" the tall one said.

"Thin rice noodles with tofu, bean sprouts, onions, and ground peanuts," Seven said. "My wife introduced me to this dish on our honeymoon."

The tall one's head tilted slightly.

"Honeymoon?" he said.

Well, at least his species doesn't appear to be entirely bigoted, Seven thought. Then in the back of her mind she thought she heard The Doctor's voice say "Just against holograms."

"A common practice amongst my species where the recently married take a vacation together shortly after the wedding."

"Seems like a waste of time," the tall one said. "Though to be fair, on my world weddings themselves are a three day affair."

Seven took one of the bowls of pad thai and handed it to the tall one. "Here," she said.

The tall one took the bowl, and took a small taste of the dish while Seven picked up her own, hoping she'd had time to finish it before sent back to the brig, and feeling slightly guilty that she would have eaten better than Harry.

"Not bad," the tall one said. "A bit hotter than I'm used to. I do not recognize the names of any of the ingredients you listed, though we do have something similar to these rice noodles."

"Listen, Commander," Seven paused. "I do not believe you ever gave us your name."

"Ranek."

"Commander Ranek, if you would permit me, I would like to bring another bowl of this to my crewmate."

"It's not standard procedure, but I suppose I can allow it. I'm all too aware that prison rations are not the most edible items in the sector. Largely because they are produced at the same factories that make military rations."

"Thank you," Seven said. Ranek looked at the bowl, at the replicator, then at her.

"Out of pure curiosity of course, what other types of foods does your species have that that device can recreate? My people will often, borrow, ideas from other cultures we encounter when we believe we can benefit from them."

I don't care for that pause on the word 'borrow', Seven thought. However she couldn't help but notice that despite her initial impression, Ranek seemed to be at least somewhat reasonable. It would be foolish to not at least attempt to take advantage of that situation. Her and Harry and the Doctor's program sitting inside her being able to leave was the best case scenario and therefore the least likely, and even if they could contact Voyager they were still over two days away, but if she could accomplish making those two days less difficult for her and Lieutenant Kim…

"Perhaps an item my daughter enjoys. They are called 'waffles.'"

When Seven of Nine finally came back, having been gone long enough for Harry to have been worried, his worry was replaced with confusion. She was laughing, and having trouble walking upright. And for that matter, so was the Lokirrim commander.

"What in the entirety of f-"

"Thank you for letting me have my regen- regeneration device. Portable I mean. I can already feel my cybernetic components depolarizing."

"Not a problem," the Commander said, "Wouldn't look good on my record to have one of my prisoners die on me. Especially one that introduced my people to such great food and drink!"

"Oh my god," Harry groaned.

"Back into the cell you go my friend. Rules are rules. But if you get acquitted by the Lokirrim courts I must introduce you to my wife. She would love you. Just, love. You'd have to be more worried about her making you stay than you would our judges." The Commander punctuated his last sentence with a laugh Harry found grating.

"Perhaps we could do a double date," Seven said with a smile that seemed unlike her. Harry had seen Seven smile before of course, but this seemed, different somehow, as if she was impersonating someone else's smile. "Me and Sam, you and your wife. It'll be great."

"Perhaps," the Commander said. "Good night, Seven."

"Good night, Ranek," Seven said, before sloppily slumping onto the bottom bed.

Once Ranek was gone, Harry took a deep breath, and started to rant.

"What the hell is going on?"

"It's fine, it's fine," Seven said. "Seven gave him a taste of the replicator, I came up with the wine list, and physics, I mean physiology did the rest."

"Why are you suddenly referring to yourself in the third per- Oh, no. Doctor? Is that you?"

"Yep," Seven, or rather the Doctor, now somehow in control of Seven's body said.

"How did this… No, forget it, I have a vague idea. Is Seven still in there?"

"I think so," The Doctor said. "I mean, I know she could hear me before I took control. Which wasn't on purpose by the way, so, maybe don't judge me. You know, I had no idea intoxication felt like this. I can see why you organics do this to yourselves."

"What happened after you- I mean, after Seven was taken away?"

"Oh, Captain Ranek, who is actually quite the gentleman once you get to know him, wanted to know about the Flyer. Can you believe he thought the food replicator could be used to make bioweapons? So paranoid. Anyway, Seven demonstrated how it worked, and it would seem Captain Ranek has an affinity for Earth food. Once I had the chance, I took-" The Doctor stopped to belch, much to Harry's annoyance.

"Seven is going to kill you when she has her body back, you realize this," he said.

"I took advantage of the situation, and convinced Ranek that my mobile emitter was necessary for Seven's survival. I also agreed to fill in for their medic who they lost in a recent skirmish." The Doctor snorted. "Skirmish. That's a funny word."

Harry put his head in his hands and groaned. "Okay, let's get your program back into the emitter before they change their mind. I doubt Captain Ranek's crew will follow an order given under the influence." He helped The Doctor stand up and leaned him against the wall, holding the emitter in one hand. "Hey, careful where you point those tubules."

"Sorry," The Doctor said.

A few seconds after The Doctor, using Seven's arm, attached a pair of assimilation tubules to the mobile emitter, a smiling EMH appeared in the cell. Seven slumped forward, groaning slightly, and gripping her stomach.

"Easy, easy," Harry said, helping her stay on her feet. "How do you feel?"

"I'm… impaired," Seven said in an almost whimper.

"You've had quite a shock to your system,' The Doctor said. "Let me explain what's happened."

"I know exactly what's happened," Seven said, anger entering her voice. "You've been abusing my body."

Harry had never seen a hologram go through quite as many facial expressions as The Doctor did at that moment.

"I'm a Doctor," he said, loudly. "I would never abuse-"

"Shh," Harry said, glancing through the force field to see if anyone had entered the Lokirrim brig.

"I was trying to get information," The Doctor said, clearly trying to defend his actions. "Sometimes a.. a glass of wine can loosen the tongue."

"One glass," Seven said with contempt. "That doesn't excuse the other eight."

"Was it that many?" The Doctor said. Seven, now sitting on the bed again, turned and glared at The Doctor.

"Look, I'm afraid the role of 'spy' wasn't written into my programming. I was forced to improvise," The Doctor said.

"You improvised while you were inside of me," Seven said.

"Phrasing," Harry said, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

"Keep in mind there's a very good reason I was inside of you," The Doctor said.

"Phrasing," Harry said, a little louder this time.

"One thing is for certain," Seven said, "I do not wish to have you inside of me ever again."

"Hey! Phrasing!" Harry yelled.

"Mister Kim's outburst aside," The Doctor said, "we do not have a choice. If I'm discovered they'll decompile my program. And who knows what they'll do to you two if they find out you've been hiding me this whole time. These people clearly have serious issues when it comes to holograms."

"Look," Harry said, "I know he was being an ass today, but the Doctor's right."

Seven groaned as she lie down. "Thirty Ktarian chocolate puffs, Lieutenant Kim. Thirty. Icheb couldn't handle that many and he's a teenager."

Harry was sympathetic to Seven. This was the most upset he could remember having heard her outside of situations where Samantha was in danger, but he also knew that they couldn't lose The Doctor.

"I get that this can't be easy for you," he said, "but you have to put up with it for a little while longer. Until Voyager can come for us, or until we can escape."

"How would you propose we do that?" Seven said.

Harry looked at The Doctor. "Maybe you can tap into their comm system while you're working as their medic and get a message to Voyager."

"Deciphering alien computers isn't exactly my forte," The Doctor said.

"But it is one of mine," Seven said. "If you can get close enough while they're accessing their systems, I'll be able to observe their command protocols."

The sound of voices outside the brig drifted into the cell.

"What's the situation?" one voice said.

"The Captain wants the female prisoner in the medical bay," another voice replied.

"We'd better proceed," Seven said, sounding resigned as Harry helped her to her feet.

"You're saving my life," The Doctor said, turning so his arm with the mobile emitter was facing Seven. "I want you to know how grateful I am."

"As Mister Paris would say, bite me," Seven said. She injected her assimilation tubules into the emitter, and the Doctor vanished. Seven put the emitter on the sleeve of her own uniform and took a deep breath.

"Doc?" Harry said.

"Not yet," Seven said. "Give it a moment."

"You're going to make him pay for this later, aren't you?"

"Indeed. Though non-violent revenge is not something I am well versed in. I will need to enlist… No, the Doctor can hear me in there. Best not reveal my plans."

Harry couldn't help but smile. "He does have it coming."

The Doctor was in control of Seven's body once again by the time Ranek had taken him to the medical bay to work with a Lieutenant Jaryn on a medical case. When they entered the room, The Doctor recognized Laryn as the shorter female who had boarded the Delta Flyer. He smiled at her, and nodded politely while Ranek made his introductions.

You know, I never realized until now how attractive she is, he thought.

Don't. Even. Think about it, Seven's voice said in the back of his mind.

"We should get to work immediately," Jaryn said, motioning towards two covered bodies on medical tables. "The Photonic's viral weapon attacks the cerebral cortex. Within days the victim suffers complete synaptic failure.

"I haven't even had the chance to familiarize myself with your equipment yet," The Doctor said. "I am happy to help, I hate bioweapons as much as anyone, but your sickbay is quite different from mi- the one on my ship."

The Doctor looked around. The equipment wasn't as advanced as that on Voyager, but he could work with it easily enough. The tough part for him would be remembering that he needed to act like this wasn't second nature to him in order to maintain the cover story. Seven would only know anything he was talking about due to her perfect memory.

"Hmm. I don't know if we can stop this virus just yet, but I may be able to come up with a way to slow its progress. We need to synthesize a neural inhibitor." Jaryn immediately went to the other side of the lab without saying a word.

"Certainly not a very talkative species," The Doctor said. "Forgive me for asking, but aren't you the ship's tactical officer? That was how Ranek introduced you."

"Tactical officer, medic, engineer," Jaryn said working on her people's equivalent to a Starfleet PADD. "We've lost nearly a third of our crew to the Photonics."

"Well, you certainly know your way around a medical bay," The Doctor said. "You may have missed your true calling."

"Actually," Jaryn said, "Emmik always thought I'd be a teacher. He used to call me the 'little professor.'"

"Who's Emmik?"

"The Photonic who helped raise my brother and me. He knew more about treating scrapes and bruises than any organic doctor I ever met."

The Doctor smiled at that comment, unable to resist taking a note of pride in the work of a fellow medical hologram.

"Sounds like someone I would enjoy meeting. My ship's Doctor too, if he hadn't, well…"

"Maybe," Jaryn said, frowning. "Before he joined the insurgency."

"Why did he do that?" The Doctor said with genuine shock.

"I ask myself that question every day," Jaryn said. "Fact is, I don't know. Just like I don't know where the original photonics who started this damn war came from. My people's holograms were never violent until they arrived. Some of them look like you and the other prisoner, that's why we had to take you in. Most of them appear to have been created by species that no one in this part of space has seen before.

The Doctor could actually feel Seven's mind working in the metaphorical back of his own. She seemed to have some idea of what this all meant, but The Doctor tried his best to ignore that and focus on the task at hand.

"Is it possible his program was hacked, or infected with some kind of computer virus?" The Doctor said.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope that was the case," Jaryn said. "It would be nice to have him back. He was a part of our family." She shook her head and handed an old fashioned injection needle to The Doctor. "We should get back to the patient."

Jaryn walked over to another occupied bed, a man who was unconscious but clearly breathing. The Doctor figured this was someone who had been affected by the virus recently enough that hopefully he could be saved. The Doctor applied the injection carefully.

"It could take up to a day to determine if the inhibitor is working," he said.

"Thank you," Jaryn said.

"Don't thank me, thank my ship's doctor," The Doctor said. "He taught me everything I know about medicine. Remind me to tell about the time he used a matter transporter to help my wife Samantha when she had delivery complications."

Being in my body does not exempt you from doctor/patient confidentiality, Seven's voice said angrily.

"Well, I'm glad to know there are still some good holograms out there in the universe." Jaryn said, then winced. "Right, sorry. I understand you and the other prisoner were close to him."

"Quite," The Doctor said. "But we can mourn him later. He would prefer I focus on helping your patients. He took his oath as a physician very seriously. I think you would have gotten on famously. He certainly would've taken a liking to you."

Jaryn glanced at The Doctor, looking up from her medical scanner, seeming uncertain.

Oh dear, The Doctor thought, she thinks I'm flirting with her.

Because you are, Seven's voice said. Stop it immediately.

The Doctor cleared his throat and went back to work on the patient. He was confident he could save this man, and possibly many others too if his treatment proposals worked. The Lokirrim had attacked them, but he was a doctor first above all, and he inwardly chided himself for letting Jaryn's long, dark hair and admirable professionalism in the face of such ghastly weapons as the Photonics were using distract him.

While waiting for signs the treatments were working, he managed to get Jaryn to talk about herself and her family. After a while, Jaryn stepped away from the conversation to check on the patient they had tested the neural inhibitor on.

"His progress is remarkable," Jaryn said, not even attempting to hide her amazement. "I want you to know I'm going to tell my superiors everything you've done for us."

"First Ranek, and now you," The Doctor said, pride in his voice. "I may become the first prisoner of war in history to be decorated by her captors,"

"It's getting late, ship time, anyway," Jaryn said. "I'd offer up one of our unoccupied quarters, but some of the other crew might find that offensive. Plus, I'm pretty sure we've already bent protocol as far as we can get away with having you here in the first place."

"That's quite alright," The Doctor said. "But first, I believe we should report the progress we've made to Captain Ranek."

"I've already sent a progress update to the bridge," Jaryn said.

Where we would be most likely to see command codes being entered, The Doctor thought, certain that Seven echoed that sentiment. I need to try and get us up there somehow.

Much as I'm pained to admit it, Seven's voice said, we currently lack a plausible excuse to get up there at this moment.

"Good to know," The Doctor said, smiling. "And don't worry about the quarters, the bed in the cell isn't that bad. I've had worse accommodations, believe it or not."

As soon as the Lokirrim guards had stepped outside, Seven of Nine happily transferred the Doctor back to his mobile emitter. He stayed up against the near wall, where he wouldn't be seen right away if anyone came in.

"So," Harry Kim said, "did you get the access codes?"

"Unfortunately, no," Seven said, very obviously avoiding eye contact with The Doctor.

"But we did develop a treatment for some of their wounded," The Doctor said. "Can you believe the holograms the Lokirrim are fighting are using biological and chemical weapons? All things considered I don't see myself holding a grudge over this. Were I in their shoes I might want to decompile all holograms too."

"That's honestly a little shocking coming from you, Doc," Harry said. "The last time Captain Janeway pondered using a virus as a weapon you were practically ready to mutiny."

"I'm not saying I would, Lieutenant, just that I understand where the desire comes from. It's called empathy."

"I think we may have a larger problem on our hands than our current incarceration," Seven said, softly.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"The holograms that started this insurgency, I have a hypothesis as to where they came from. I would need more information to be sure, but based on the descriptions we've been given of what some of the Photonics look like, our proximity to the wormhole that Icheb discovered, and the fact that the other end of that wormhole is an area dominated by the Hirogen-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Harry said, shaking his head. "That can't be right. Are you suggesting that the Photonic insurgents are holograms made with the holodeck technology the Captain gave the Hirogen to get them to leave us alone? How would that even be possible? The Hirogen don't have portable emitters, it's only been about three years, and they were so spread out, I just-"

"I admit it's unlikely," Seven said, "but based on the evidence available it is still the most likely explanation."

"The Captain won't like that," The Doctor said, "she was never too thrilled about giving the Hirogen holodeck technology to start with. Something like this is probably the kind of worst case scenario that would've kept her up at night."

"We shouldn't say anything to her unless we're sure," Harry said. "And definitely don't say anything to the Lokirrim."

"No argument here," The Doctor said. "This society actually had a rather healthy relationship with their artificial intelligences until this all started. To some of them having their holograms go rogue was like losing a member of the family."

"To Jaryn, anyway," Seven said.

"Jaryn?"

"The long haired Lokirrim who boarded the Delta Flyer with Captain Ranek," Seven said, glowering at The Doctor. "He has taken a liking to her, using my body to flirt with her in the medical bay when we should be working on our escape."

"It's not like tha-"

"You became sexually aroused in my body," Seven said.

The Doctor looked uncomfortable for a moment before replying. "When did it become a crime to enjoy a sensation or two?"

"When you were doing it using my body, without my consent," Seven said. "Your lack of taste buds or nerve endings is not an excuse. I do not even wish to imagine what you would've done with Jaryn had I not been able to communicate with you."

"Neither do I," Harry said, feeling uncomfortable again.

"It doesn't matter anyway," The Doctor said. "She knows that you're married."

"Which means she thinks I'm open to cheating on my spouse," Seven said.

"Can we not have this conversation right now? Or ever?" Harry said. "Focus, on, getting us, out of here. Now, did you learn anything about their comm system?"

"It can only be accessed from the bridge," Seven said.

"Damn," Harry said, "And we still don't have those command codes. Do you think there's any way you can get up to the bridge?"

"I am in the process of formulating a plan," Seven said.

"That's a 'no,'" The Doctor said.

"It's a 'not yet,'" Seven said. "Unfortunately, this means I will likely have to carry the Doctor's program for a while longer. Something I do not look forward to."

"We can agree on that at least," The Doctor said.

Harry sighed. "Look, I know this is a difficult situation, and the temptation to lash out may seem overwhelming, but if we can just keep calm, and if you two could remember that you're friends, maybe we can get out of here alive. Okay?"

Seven and The Doctor were silent, both looking at the floor. Harry remembered seeing classmates in grade school who would do the same thing when they were caught doing something bad.

"This whole thing has not brought out the best in me, has it?" The Doctor said.

"It has not," Seven said, "though I concede that having new sensations such as being able to eat, drink, breathe, etcetera, is a primary factor in that."

"Good, good," Harry said. "Last thing we need is you two fighting right now."

"I have an idea," Seven said.

"What is it?" The Doctor asked.

Seven looked at The Doctor, Harry glad that it wasn't an angry glare this time. "Regarding what Mister Kim said about not informing the Lokirrim about the potential origin of the Photonic insurgents. Perhaps some selectively shared information could benefit us."

The next morning, when The Doctor, in Seven's body, was brought to the medical bay, he wasted no time in implementing Seven's plan.

Be sure not to leave out my vital contribution to the plan when you tell Samantha about this, he thought.

I intend to give her as little information about what we've been through as possible, Seven replied. She doesn't need certain mental images in her head.

"Jaryn, hello," The Doctor said.

"Good morning, Seven," Jaryn said.

"I was thinking last night, about what you said regarding the strange holograms that started this insurgency. Were you aware that there is a wormhole that is only a week or so away at warp 7 from your territory?"

"A wormhole?" Jaryn said. "No, I didn't. Why do you bring that up?"

"I just think it's possible that maybe that's where the insurgents came from," The Doctor said. He then proceeded to give a highly truncated version of the story of Voyager; how it came to be in the Delta Quadrant, and the journey home."

"But you couldn't use the wormhole because it went in the wrong direction," Jaryn said. "That must've been disappointing."

"Indeed," The Doctor said, "especially for Icheb."

"Icheb?"

"My adopted son. Have I not mentioned him?"

"You mentioned a wife and daughter. Samantha and Naomi, if I remember right."

The Doctor, for the first time in his life, knew what blushing felt like. "Oh, my, that's a rather significant thing for me to forget to mention."

Jaryn sighed. "Well, in all fairness you are still technically a prisoner here. I imagine that would have an effect on one's psyche. I promise not to tell your boy if you don't."

The Doctor nodded, grateful that unlike Seven of Nine who had only done one play, he had managed to practice the craft of acting on numerous occasions aboard Voyager, even before he'd obtained the mobile emitter. All he had to do was think of himself as Seven of Nine, and the rest came easily to him. He did however realize he had a certain amount of envy now; envy that Seven of Nine could experience feelings he could only approximate. Those of a proud parent.

Focus, Seven's voice said to him.

"This is certainly an interesting theory," Jaryn said, "but without any evidence I doubt the Captain could convince the homeworld to send any ships to look into it."

"He could look into it himself," The Doctor said. "I'm sure he could concoct some reason for this ship to change course."

Jaryn's eyes narrowed. "That would rather conveniently take us in the direction your ship, would it not?"

"They would be more than happy to take us off your hands if we come across them," The Doctor said. "I admit that certainly occurred to me."

"Right," Jaryn said, sounding skeptical, just as The Doctor had predicted she would.

"Very well," The Doctor said. "At the very least allow me to give the coordinates of the wormhole to your Captain. I can mark it's location on your star charts."

"You'd have to be on the bridge for that," Jaryn said.

"You don't have any sort of astrometrics or stellar cartography room on board?"

"Why would we? This is a warship?"

Thank goodness, The Doctor thought. If they had had such a room that would've actually been a hiccup for the escape plan.

"Well then, take me to your leader," The Doctor said, smiling. "I've always wanted to say that."

If Seven's personality had eyes, The Doctor just knew somehow that she would be rolling them right now.

Jaryn called for a guard and asked him to escort The Doctor to the bridge. Once there, he recited the coordinates and information on the wormhole to Ranek exactly as Seven had told him to.

"You really think this could be where the insurgents came from?" Ranek said.

"As certain as I can be without going there myself," The Doctor said, before telling an even more truncated version of the story he'd told Jaryn.

Ranek stared at the star chart on the main viewscreen.

"Thank you for this information, Seven of Nine," Ranek said. "I will take it to my superiors. If I can't convince them, well, I'm sure I'll think of something. This definitely seems like an avenue worth investigating."

"I hope it does you some good," The Doctor said, looking around the bridge. Luckily, using Seven's Borg enhanced eyesight, it didn't take him long to spot what he needed. He memorized the codes, suppressed an urge to laugh at how poorly secured they were, then once Ranek told the guard to escort him from the bridge, began the next phase of the plan.

"Captain," The Doctor said, "I was wondering if perhaps, in return for what I've done to help your wounded crewmen, you would allow me to obtain some food from the Delta Flyer's replicator for my cellmate, Lieutenant Kim."

"I see no harm in that," Ranek said. "We're getting low on prisoner rations anyway." He looked at the guard. "Go with him, just to be safe."

"An understandable precaution," The Doctor said, nodding politely, never breaking his smile.

"So that's how a Vulcan nerve pinch works," The Doctor said once Seven put him back in his emitter. He checked to make sure he hadn't done any permanent damage to the Lokirrim guard now lying on the Delta Flyer's floor.

"You didn't know that already?" Seven said as she began bringing the Flyer's subspace transceiver on-line, working to mask the signal that she would be sending.

"Knowing and doing are two different things, Seven," The Doctor said.

"Fair enough," Seven said, hoping that the Doctor could come up with a plausible explanation for the guard when he awoke. Barring that, she hoped that she and the others wouldn't be summarily executed if they got caught. Either way, she had the signal running and let out a deep sigh of relief when she saw Captain Janeway's face, grainy and staticy though it was, on the monitor.

"Seven," Janeway said, "it's good to see you."

"Captain," Seven said, "we're being held prisoner aboard a Lokirrim patrol ship. I'm sending you their precise location, along with the command codes to disable their shields."

"Are The Doctor and Harry alright?"

"I'm fine," The Doctor said from behind Seven. "And Mister Kim is his usual chipper self."

"How did they manage to hide you from the Lokirrim?" Janeway asked.

"I'll explain later," Seven said. "We need to end the communication before we get discovered."

"Understood," Janeway said. "We've got a Lokirrim ship of our own to deal with right now. Once they're out of the way, we'll be coming for you."

"Set a course," Janeway said once the feed from the Delta Flyer cut off.

"Our escort isn't going to take kindly to a detour," Tom said, referring to the Lokirrim ship that was escorting Voyager through their space under the promise that their holodecks be kept off line.

"What's the status of their weapons?" Janeway said to Tuvok.

"They've repaired their forward phasers," Tuvok replied after a quick scan.

"And they're in front of us," Janeway said. "Good. Target their power matrix. We may only get one shot so make it count."

"Captain," Chakotay said, "this is going to look like an unprovoked attack on our part."

"Send them an apology note once we're at warp," Janeway said. "We're getting our people back."

"Ready," Tuvok said.

"Fire," Janeway said. The image on the view screen showed a phaser blast striking the Lokirrim ship, causing a small explosion.

"Direct hit," Tuvok said.

"Get us out of here, maximum warp," Janeway said to Tom.

"Aye, Captain," he said, the image on the viewscreen shifting as the ship made a sharp turn. A mere second later, the screen changed again as Voyager went to warp.

"No sign of pursuit," Tuvok said.

"Good," Janeway said, sitting back down in the Captain's chair.

Chakotay leaned over to her, speaking quietly so that the rest of the bridge crew wouldn't hear, except Tuvok who would be able to hear them anyway.

"Are you sure there wasn't another way, Kathryn?" he said.

"I don't know," Janeway admitted. "But I didn't think I could afford the time to come up with another plan. I've lost enough people out here, and if that other ship gets to a planet or a starbase our odds of getting Seven, Harry, and The Doctor back become unacceptable."

"Understood," Chakotay said.

A Lokirrim guard held onto Seven's right arm, as Ranek stared her down on the bridge. Seven had just managed to get the Doctor's program back into her implants before the guard came to. The guard didn't take the offered lie at face value, that he had sampled an alcoholic beverage from a stock that Tom Paris kept aboard that he thought Seven didn't know about, and passed out. When Jaryn scanned him, she found signs of the nerve pinch.

"We trusted you," she said.

"I'm still a prisoner on your ship," Seven said, the Doctor not having had enough time to override her personality yet. "You were keeping me from my family, and my crew. You had to expect I'd try something like this at some point."

"So what was your plan?" Ranek said. "To aid the insurgents?"

"I don't even know who these insurgents are apart from what you've told us about them" Seven said. "I just want to go home. It's as simple as that."

"We were going to ask for leniency," Jaryn said.

An alarm sound cut off Seven's reply.

"Alien ship approaching, coming in on our aft vector," one of the Lokirrim bridge crew said.

"Hopefully, that's Voyager," Seven said. "Despite what you may think of us, Ranek, Captain Janeway is more than fair. We can end this without any combat."

"I'd like to believe you," Ranek said.

"The alien vessel is hailing us," the bridge officer said

"On screen," Ranek said.

Seven smiled, her own smile this time, when Captain Janeway appeared on screen.

"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager," she said. "We don't want a fight. Return my people and we'll be on our way."

"Your people were caught transporting a photonic insurgent and biogenic material," Ranek said.

"We don't want to disable your ship," Janeway said, "but we will if we have to. Scan us. You can see you're no match for us. If we wanted to cripple your vessel it would be crippled already."

Ranek glanced over at Jaryn who was looking at a monitor. She actually looked worried when she looked back at Ranek and simply nodded.

"Well?" Janeway said.

"Jaryn, prepare to send a fleet wide alert. Our ship alone might not be able to stand up to yours Captain, but-"

"I don't have time for this. Chakotay, send the signal," Janeway said.

Moments later, more bridge alarms started going off.

"We're losing our ventral shield grid," Jaryn said.

"Compensate," Ranek said, leaning forward to operate his own console.

Seven was about to open her mouth to tell Ranek he should simply return her and Harry to Voyager, but-

The Doctor saw Ranek lean forward to operate his own console while Jaryn frantically worked on her own to try and get their shields back up.

"You can't win this," he said.

"They've tapped into the shield matrix," Jaryn said. "They're using your command authorization."

Ranek stood and glowered at The Doctor. "So, that was what you were doing then. Jaryn. reroute power. Tie our shields directly into the warp matrix."

"Sir?" Jaryn said, sounding panicked.

"That sounds suicidally stupid," The Doctor said.

"Quiet!" Ranek shouted at him. He turned back to the screen. "If you fire at us, Captain, you'll risk triggering a core breach. You'll be killing the very people you came to rescue."

"End transmission," Janeway said.

"She wouldn't-" Ranek said, his sentence cut off by the ship shuddering.

"Tractor beam?" The Doctor said, smirking smugly at Ranek.

"She's right," Jaryn said, "the enemy vessel has us in a tractor beam.

"You know, you really should just give up," The Doctor said. "You have a treatment for the Photonic's viral weapon, and a possible location for their origin. Losing three prisoners seems like a small price to pay for that."

"How do we even know that information can be trusted?" Ranek said.

"You've seen firsthand what the treatments can do for your wounded," The Doctor said. "As for the wormhole, even I only think it's a possible origin. I freely admit I could be wrong. If I was setting up some kind of trap do you think I'd make it so easy for you to avoid?"

Ranek glowered at him, and turned back to face the viewscreen. "Open fire. Target their tractor emitter."

A second later the ship shook again.

"We're free," Jaryn said.

"Get us out of here, best possible speed."

The Doctor rolled Seven's eyes. "Our ship is faster than yours, Captain."

"Doctor," he suddenly heard Janeway's voice say in his, or rather Seven's ear. "If you can hear me we need your help. See if you can disable their shields."

I have a plan, Seven's voice said. Put your program back in the mobile emitter. I'll take care of the rest.

Trusting Seven, he did just that, slipping the mobile emitter off Seven's sleeve with the left hand, the guard failing to notice, and switched it to her right hand, the left extending assimilation tubules into it. He lost all sense of awareness for only a moment before suddenly he was facing in a different direction and feeling very different. He heard Seven grab and punch the guard, while he turned to look at Jaryn who pointed a scanner at him with one hand, and a weapon with the other.

"It's a photonic," she said.

"Cover me," Seven of Nine said, handing him the weapon she took off the guard she'd knocked down. He held the weapon nervously, pointing it at Jaryn and Ranek as he backed into the bulkhead.

"Stay back," he said. "I'm not afraid to use this."

Seven went to a nearby console and began manipulating the controls. He glanced at her, and failed to notice the guard had gotten back up until he made a move for the weapon. The Doctor jumped back a step.

"Stay," he said to the guard, only to be caught off guard by a rushing Ranek who shoved him and took the weapon from his hand, firing it into the monitor next to Seven's head, causing her to flinch sideways, and turn around.

"Step away," Ranek said.

Seven calmly did as she was told.

"She destabilized the shield grid," Jaryn said. "It's failing."

"Watch them," Ranek said, handing the weapon to Jaryn who had it pointed at The Doctor and Seven. The Doctor couldn't notice that she held it far more confidently than he had.

Perhaps I should work on my intimidation skills, he thought.

Ranek went to the console he had just fired at and began manipulating the controls frantically.

"If you try to reinitialize the grid it'll overload," Seven said to Ranek. "We could all die." Ranek turned briefly to glower at them before getting back to his task.

"Ranek, don't," The Doctor yelled.

The console sparked violently, and exploded, sending Ranek flying back, covered in debris and with burn marks on his face. Without hesitation, The Doctor moved forward to help him.

"Stay back," Jaryn said, raising the weapon at him.

"I'm a doctor," The Doctor said. "Let me treat him."

"Away team, prepare for transport," Janeway's voice said over the Lokirrim ship's comm.

"Captain, I have injured here. I can't leave yet," The Doctor said.

Jaryn leaned in closer to see what The Doctor was doing.

"He'll die without immediate surgery," The Doctor said. "I know this is difficult to grasp, but I'm the person you've been getting to know the last few days. My program was in control of Seven's body."

"You're lying," Jaryn said.

"Emmik. That was that name of your family hologram. You told me about him. And about your mother's favorite chair. I also know if Ranek dies, you're never going to forgive yourself. You've served together for a long time, you're practically family."

Jaryn's eyes widened in shock, her lower lip quivering. She turned to the guards who still held weapons on Seven of Nine.

"Get them to the medical bay, now!" she shouted.

Seven of Nine watched as the Doctor did one last scan on Ranek, who was sitting upright, a dermal regenerator from Voyager having removed all trace of burn marks from his face. She had agreed to stay while Ranek was in surgery, as a show of good faith, while Harry flew the Delta Flyer back to Voyager.

"Your vital signs are stable," The Doctor said.

"I suppose I should be, uh, grateful," Ranek said as he carefully got back on his feet.

"A 'thank you' is customary after someone saves your life," The Doctor said.

"Um, more of our vessels are on the way," Jaryn said. "You should leave while you can."

"You can't put in a good word for us, I suppose?" The Doctor said.

"Best not to push our luck, Doctor," Seven said. As much as she felt it was possible to smooth things over with the Lokirrim as a whole, both Jaryn and Captain Janeway had agreed that it would be simpler for Voyager to leave Lokirrim space as quickly as possible.

"I must admit, Doctor, you had me fooled. When you were talking about her family," Jaryn said, glancing at Seven, "I really felt like they were yours. At least, I think that's the right way to put it."

"Don't worry," The Doctor said, "If you think body swap or possession terminology gets confusing you should try time travel some time."

"Time travel?" Ranek said.

"A long story," Seven said. "And one we do not have time to tell I'm afraid."

"Hmm, yes," The Doctor said, looking sad. "It's funny. Apart from the prison cell, I rather enjoyed my time here."

Easy for you to say, Seven thought.

"Well, thank you," Ranek said. "I should get back to work."

"If your ship weren't so understaffed I would insist on bed rest," The Doctor said. "At the very least, try not to overexert yourself."

Ranek nodded, and left.

The Doctor and Jaryn looked at each other silently for a moment.

"I have a feeling this experience isn't going to change your feelings about Photonics," The Doctor said.

"Not the ones who are openly hostile to us, no," Jaryn said, "but it's nice to know that there are still some good holograms out there, somewhere."

"I really did enjoy our time together," The Doctor said.

"I imagine you would've enjoyed it more in your own body," Seven said, giving The Doctor a look that she hoped conveyed she hadn't entirely forgiven him yet for his indulgences.

"Sarcasm does not become you, Seven."

"My wife says differently. I defer to her judgement."

Jaryn laughed. "You know, I'm actually going to miss you. Both of you. Despite everything."

"I'll miss you too," The Doctor said.

"We really should go now," Seven said, not wanting to rush The Doctor's goodbye, but knowing that time was short.

"Goodbye," he said, before tapping his comm badge. "Doctor to Voyager, two to beam out."

Captain Janeway sat behind her desk in her ready room, hearing what Seven of Nine was telling her, but not wanting to believe it.

"You're certain about this?" she said for the third time this meeting.

"Not entirely," Seven of Nine said. "It is simply the best hypothesis I have based on the information available."

"I don't like the idea that what the Lokirrim and other people in this area of space are going through right now is my fault," Janeway said.

"Even if the insurgents are the result of Hirogen modifications to the technology we gave them," Seven said, "you would bare none of the responsibility. You could not have foreseen that the Hirogen would make so many modifications, so rapidly, or that said modifications would lead to conflict so far from-"

"A Federation tribunal would probably agree with you Seven," Janeway said, standing up and putting her hands behind her back while she looked out the viewport. "But legal responsibility and moral responsibility don't always overlap."

"Captain," Seven said. "Holograms are not sentient by default. The Doctor attained it through circumstance. A similar incident occurred on the U.S.S. Enterprise more than a decade ago. If the holograms the Hirogen created had enough sentience to rebel, that is the result of their modifications. You are blaming yourself for a situation that was not in your control and that you could not be reasonably expected to have foreseen."

"You know as well as I do that guilt isn't always logical," Janeway said. "We've had these conversations about emotions before, remember? Let me deal with this in my own way. Dismissed."

"Yes, Captain," Seven said. "Perhaps my hypothesis will turn out to be incorrect."

"Perhaps," Janeway said. The hissing sound of the door opening and closing told Janeway that Seven was gone. Once she was, the Captain sat back down and opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out an old fashioned paper notepad and flipped it to the second page.

No one knew about this list, not even Chakotay or Tuvok. She looked at her own handwriting and sighed. "Giving the Hirogen holodeck technology," the sentence she looked at said. She closed the notepad and tossed it on the desk, wondering if she needed to add to it.

At the top of the cover of the pad, also in her handwriting, was one word. "Mistakes."

Chapter Four

Seven of Nine woke up in her and Samantha's quarters and wondered why the room was so dark. She had set her alarm for the proper time, and Samantha had an earlier shift than her today. She noticed flickering lights and looked over to see the dinner table set up for an elaborate meal, and Samantha sitting in one of the chairs, wearing an unusually ornate and semiopaque dress.

"Did I miss something?" Seven said.

"I pulled a few strings," Samantha said, running a finger along the edge of a glass of a liquid Seven assumed was alcoholic, "did a few favors, made sure Naomi and Icheb would be kept busy for awhile, and then I let you sleep in since you pulled a double shift yesterday."

"Why would- Oh," Seven said.

"I figured it's been awhile since you and I had some time alone," Samantha said. Seven got up and moved over to Samantha.

"Are we celebrating a particular occasion?" Seven asked as she placed a hand on Sam's thigh.

"That it's been two, long, months," Sam said.

"Two months isn't that long," Seven said. "I can think of two instances which were longer, depending on how you count-"

"Just shut up and kiss me, Annie," Sam said with a smile and a wink, leaning in close.

Seven offered a playful salute. "Yes, ma'am," she said, moving in to press her lips against Sam's, which she did just in time for the red alert klaxons to go off, the alarm noise drown out only by Samantha's numerous expletives.

"Seven of Nine," Tuvok's voice said over the comm. "Report to the bridge as soon as possible."

Seven sighed. "Unless the Borg are attacking I am going to be quite annoyed," she said through clenched teeth. She reached over to the nightstand and slapped her comm badge.

"I'm on my way," she said, not even attempting to hide her annoyance.

"Well," Samantha said, looking apologetic even though none of this was her fault, "if you're still free in a few hours, so am I."

Janeway knew the look on Seven of Nine's face when she entered the bridge all too well. She'd felt her own face do that whenever she for whatever reason had been called away from Mark back when they were together.

"Sorry to interrupt your alone time with Sam," Janeway said. "but we just picked up a distress call from a space station a few light years away from here. The signal is Hirogen in origin."

"That would appear to confirm my theory regarding the origin of the Photonic insurgents," Seven said.

"Perhaps," Janeway said. "But the signal has no specifics, it's a general distress call. This could be anything."

"We're approaching the coordinates," Tom said.

"Take us out of warp," Janeway said, as Seven made her way over to the auxiliary tactical station just behind her and Commander Chakotay. "Seven, scan for signs of holograms anywhere nearby."

"Understood," Seven said.

"Raise shields and stand-by weapons," Janeway said to Tuvok.

"I've got the source of the signal," Harry Kim said. "Six thousand kilometers off the port bow."

"On screen," Janeway said. The station that appeared on screen didn't seem very similar at all to the design of Hirogen ships she'd seen before. She wondered if this was some outdated model, something new, or perhaps even an ancient abandoned station not unlike the communications array that the Hirogen had used to use before she'd been forced to destroy it three years ago.

"Monotanium hull plating, tylium-based power," Seven said. "It is definitely a Hirogen station."

"They're not responding to hails," Harry said.

"Any life signs?" Chakotay said.

"I'm getting a lot of strange readings," Harry said. "Any one of them could be a life form, but I can't tell from here."

"Any Hirogen ships in the vicinity?" Janeway said.

"None within range of our sensors," Seven said.

"Do you think it could be a trap?" Chakotay said.

Janeway thought about the possibility for a moment, then shook her head. "It's not like the Hirogen to play possum. They like the fight too much. Move us within transporter range. Chakotay, take an away team."

Chakotay nodded, and without saying a word, stood up and went to the turbolift. As the image on the screen grew larger, more detail became visible. While the overall design of the station was, as Janeway had thought earlier, not much like the aesthetic of the Hirogen ships, the new details - colors, sharp edges, etcetera - made it clearer. The Hirogen had built this, she was certain now. She had known all along that the Hirogen were very spread out, but this far away from where she had first encountered them would've seemed impossible had it not been for the wormhole they'd passed a few weeks prior. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she realized that this meant that Seven of Nine was probably right. The Hirogen's holograms, holograms they could make because of the technology she gave them, could very well be the same holograms who had caused so much pain and suffering for the Lokirrim people.

Seven of Nine looked around when she finished materializing, and saw trees, grass, and other flora. The sound of birds chirping overhead made her look up. It didn't take her long to realize that this was a holodeck. The sky looked too natural for this to be an arboretum of some kind, something she had seen on other space stations. On some of those stations, those that didn't just leave the ceilings their plain metallic color or use translucent domes that allowed denizens to see space, the ceilings would be painted the colors of the sky of whatever the homeworld of the station's owners was. They never looked real, regardless of the skill of the designers.

She had her phaser out as soon as she could move her arms, and the sound of phasers leaving holsters surrounded her. To her left, Chakotay had a tricorder out, already scanning for signs of life. Behind her, Tuvok and Lydia Anderson each held a phaser rifle.

"Let's break into teams," Chakotay said. "Anderson, you're with Seven. Tuvok, with me."

Each member of the away team responded silently, Anderson following Seven's lead down the path directly ahead of Seven.

"I think I've found something," Seven said, coming across a pile of branches that looked like someone had stacked them in a haphazard attempt to make them look like they'd fallen this way naturally. She holstered her phaser and moved the branches aside, finding two Hirogen hunters under them, holes in their armor, the chestplates and their faces covered in dry blood. She was certain they were dead, but she scanned them anyway, Anderson keeping her phaser rifle pointed at them while she did so.

"Dead," Seven said. "The burns are consistent with particle weapons."

"I see their rifles next to the bodies," Anderson said.

"I do as well," Seven said, pointing her tricorder at the guns as well. "Almost fully charged. One appears not to have been fired at all, at least not today. The other, at most 4 shots."

"So whoever got these guys got them quick," Anderson said. "I hope they aren't still here. I do not like the idea of going against something that can get the drop on a Hirogen hunter so easily."

"Given what I know of Hirogen culture, it is likely that only one of these two was an experienced hunter. The other would've been an apprentice."

"That doesn't make me feel much better, Ensign. No offense."

"I am not easy to offend, Lieutenant. Do you believe we should continue?"

"I know I outrank you," Anderson said, "but you're the one with the tricorder, and more practical experience with the Hirogen. I'll defer to your judgement."

"Very well," Seven said, looking off in the distance, trying to determine which direction to head. She thought she saw the glint of sunlight reflecting off something metal. She stood up and went towards it slowly, carefully checking her surroundings with each step.

"Is that what I think it is?" Anderson said.

"A bat'leth embedded in a tree on a Hirogen space station," Seven said. "It is exactly as unexpected as your tone suggests."

"There are easier ways to agree with me, Seven," Anderson said. "I'm just sayin'."

Seven ignored the comment and scanned the weapon, as well as the blood on it and the tree it was stuck in.

"The blood is Hirogen," she said. The pace of the beeping on her tricorder started to pick up the closer she got to the tree. She walked past it, and it got faster still. She peered ahead and saw what looked like a small cave entrance, barely hidden amongst the trees. She tapped her comm badge.

"Seven of Nine to Commander Chakotay," she said. "I have picked up a Hirogen life sign. It is faint. The Hirogen is likely wounded."

"Stay there," Chakotay said. "Tuvok and I are not too far, we'll be there in a moment."

"Understood," Seven said, putting away her tricorder and taking out her phaser again. She heard Anderson move into position next to her, and the two watched the cave.
Seven thought she saw something moving on the grassy hill above the cave entrance, and was grateful for her instincts as she managed to knock Anderson out of the way of the energy blast that came when the Hirogen fired on them.

"Hold your fire!" Seven yelled. "We responded to your distress call, we're here to help!"

"Stay away!" The Hirogen yelled. He sounded scared, which unnerved Seven of Nine. Even if this was a young Hirogen with little to no hunting experience, the sound of panic coming from one of his kind was something she had never imagined she would hear.

The weapons fire continued as Seven and Anderson took cover behind a rocky outcropping, sparks flying violently off the rock with each impact.

"That looks like a small handheld weapon," Anderson said. "Probably not as accurate at range as a rifle would be. That's why he can't hit us."

"Logical," Seven said.

After a few more seconds of firing, it abruptly stopped. Seven risked a peek around the rock, and saw Tuvok standing where the Hirogen had been, looking down at something. Seven assumed the Vulcan had gotten behind the Hirogen and taken him down with a nerve pinch.

"We're clear," she said to Anderson.

The two officers made it up the hill above the cave, where Chakotay knelt next to the unconscious Hirogen with a tricorder. Chakotay tapped his comm badge.

"Chakotay to Voyager, two to beam directly to sickbay," he said.

"Acknowledged," the voice of Lieutenant Kitrick replied. Seconds later, the Commander and the Hirogen were gone. Seven took her tricorder out again, and almost immediately picked up something of note behind some brush. She yanked it out of the way.

"Replicated Starfleet technology," Tuvok said.

"It looks like a holodeck interface," Seven said. "Though not exactly like our own."

"There appear to be holo-emitters installed throughout the facility," Tuvok said, manipulating the controls on the interface. "I am going to shut down the emitters."

A few seconds later, the forest shimmered out of existence, leaving behind a large circular room, easily three times the size if not larger of one of Voyager's holodecks. Scattered across the floor of the room, so many that it was a wonder that no one had tripped over any of them, were dead Hirogen. At just a glance Seven was able to count eleven bodies. Doubtless there were more scattered throughout the station.

"Damn," Anderson said. "Not often you see this many dead bodies in a holodeck. Unless you're on the Enterprise-D."

Tuvok and Seven both looked at Anderson, who frowned. "Too soon?" she said.

"Lieutenant Anderson," Tuvok said. "I believe we have already discussed your tendency towards gallows humor."

"In fairness to her, Commander Tuvok," Seven said, "even before I was freed from the Collective I was aware of the Galaxy-class and the tendency of their holodecks to malfunction in rather spectacular fashions."

Walking towards sickbay, Janeway listened to the report Chakotay gave her, which included the data provided by Seven of Nine and Tuvok. She kept her calm, professional demeanor on the outside, but inwardly she was screaming at herself, feeling like a fool for having let the Hirogen have holodeck technology. Not even the fact that she had likely saved the lives of her crew stopped the self-doubt that threatened to overwhelm her.

"Evidently," Chakotay said as they turned a corner in the corridor, "they made a few modifications. All of our preliminary scans indicated the environment was real. It wasn't until we beamed over that we had any idea it was artificial."

"How many bodies?" Janeway asked.

"Forty-three," Chakotay said.

Janeway winced. "Oh, god," she said.

"Most of them were killed by facsimiles of Alpha Quadrant weapons."

"The Hirogen obviously missed the point of the technology we gave them," Janeway said. "We gave them the technology so they could hunt holographic prey, not get themselves killed."

"It's always a risk when the Federation trades technologies with someone," Chakotay said as the two officers reached the door to sickbay. As it opened, they heard The Doctor frantically trying to calm his patient.

"Get away from me!" the Hirogen yelled, hurling trays of instruments at the Doctor and bolting towards the door, running face first into the force field that surrounded the surgical area. Practically sobbing, a sight that Janeway might've found unintentionally funny under different circumstances, the Hirogen slumped against the back wall. Instead, Janeway felt pity for the poor man. She wondered just how bad the slaughter had been for this Hirogen to have no qualms about letting his fear show in his voice and in his body language around people he didn't know.

"Can you sedate him?" Chakotay asked.

"He won't let me get close enough," The Doctor said.

"We're not your enemies," Janeway said.

"You're holograms," the Hirogen said. "This is a trick."

"We're not holograms," Janeway said.

"Well, I am," The Doctor said, "but I'm a medical hologram."

"Liars," the Hirogen said.

"Doctor, deactivate yourself," Janeway said.

"I can't treat the patient if I'm off-line," The Doctor said.

"No one can treat him if he's terrified," Janeway said.

"Very well," The Doctor said reluctantly, putting the hypospray he'd been holding on a nearby table. "I should've started Mr. Morrow's training today instead. Computer, deactivate EMH."

The Hirogen watched him vanish, holding his wounded arm. "Why should I believe any of you?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to," Janeway said. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway. You're aboard my vessel."

"Janeway?" the Hirogen said. "This is Voyager?"

"Looks like our reputation has preceded us," Chakotay said.

"You're the ones who gave us the technology to simulate our hunts? Where are the rest of my people?"

"You're the only one we found alive," Chakotay said. The Hirogen didn't respond, whether out of shock or grief, Janeway couldn't tell.

"Tell me more about the station you were on," Janeway said.

"It is, well, was, a training facility. A place where young Hirogen learn the skills of the hunt."

"You're a student?" Chakotay said.

The Hirogen shook his head. "A technician. My skills are with tech, not guns. It was a great day, when we received the holodeck technology. People like me finally got a chance to do more than fix dents in armor and recharge rifles."

"Computer," Janeway said. "Deactivate force field." The flash of the field going off line made her blink, but she stepped forward anyway, leaning against the surgical bio bed. "Tell me what happened."

"There were too many of them" the Hirogen said.

"Who?" Chakotay said.

"The holograms," the Hirogen said. Janeway felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach. Her worst fears were now realized. The technology she had traded to spare her crew had gotten over forty innocent people killed, on this station alone. And if Seven was right that the Hirogens holograms were responsible for what the Lokirrim were going through…

"They were malfunctioning," the Hirogen continued. "I tried to shut them down, but they got control of the system and-and they… they deactivated the safety protocols."

"How long were you there?" Chakotay asked.

"I lost track after a few days," the Hirogen said. "I thought they would come back for me at any moment. I survived on the replicated edible plants in the holodeck, and on ration packs the hunters had on them. When I was brave enough, I found the controls and sent the distress signal, and altered the environment to give me more places to hide."

"Bridge to Captain Janeway," Tuvok's voice said over the comm, the sound of the comm activating causing the Hirogen to look around him, as if he expected an attack to come from any direction.

"Go ahead," Janeway said.

"We're picking up a Hirogen ship on long range scans. It's on an intercept course," Tuvok said.

"I'm on my way," Janeway said.

"Do you want me to stay here with him?" Chakotay asked.

"Negative. I want you on the bridge with me," Janeway said. "You, will you be okay with our doctor treating you, Mister...?"

"Donik. And, I- I guess so," Donik said.

"Good. Computer, activate the emergency medical hologram."

"Please state that nature of- oh. I see the situation had improved," The Doctor said. "Now, let me have a look at that arm, I'm surprised your wound isn't gangrenous at this point."

By the time they reached the bridge, the ship was already shuddering under the impact of the Hirogen ship's weapons fire. The fact that it wasn't worse suggested to her that the Hirogen ship they faced now was smaller than ones they'd encountered before, and the viewscreen image of the ship told her she'd guessed correctly.

"Hail them," she said before even getting to her chair.

"I've tried," Harry Kim said, "they aren't responding."

"Shields are at sixty-eight percent. Shall I return fire?" Tuvok said.

"Not yet. Harry, open a channel."

"Yes ma'am," Harry said.

"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway. We're not here to fight you."

The ship shook more violently this time. The volleys of the Hirogen ship were threatening to take down Voyager's shields.
"Stand down," Janeway said more forcefully. "Or we will retaliate."

"They're coming around for another attack," Harry said.

"Fine. Tom, evasive pattern beta-six. Tuvok, target their engines."

Janeway watched the viewscreen change as the crew carried out their orders. Within seconds Tom had maneuvered Voyager behind the Hirogen ship. A series of phaser blasts struck the Hirogen vessel, the last one getting through its shields and causing a small explosion near its engines.

"Their weapons are off-line," Tuvok said.

"Let's see if they're willing to talk now. Hail them again," Janeway said, standing up.

"They're responding," Harry said, smirking. "Big shock."

"On screen," Janeway said.

"This facility belongs to the Hirogen," the Hirogen Captain on-screen said, not even bothering to introduce himself. "Leave the area immediately."

No names, huh? Fine, I can work with that, Janeway thought. "We are here responding to a distress call."

"So are we. We don't need your assistance," the Hirogen Captain practically growled in response.

"We've already been to the station. All but one of your people are dead," Janeway said.

The Hirogen Captain was unable to hide his look of shock, though he only had it for a second before going back to trying to look intimidating, a look that Janeway felt would have had more impact had she seen it before her ship had taken the tactical advantage out from under him.

"Where is the survivor?" he said.

"Recovering in our sickbay," Janeway said.

"Return him. Now!"

"Once our Doctor has cleared him to leave, he's yours. He isn't a hostage here. If you wish to see him, you can beam over yourself."

"Very well," the Hirogen Captain said. "I will board your ship with one other. We will contact you when we are ready." The comm signal shut off before Janeway had a chance to say she accepted his terms.

"This is gonna be the first time we've had Hirogen traipsing around the ship in a long time," Chakotay said. "That's bound to make a few people nervous."

"Maybe not," Janeway said. "Remember Seven's trainer from the Tsunkatse tournaments she was forced into? He was nice enough."

"All the same," Chakotay said, "I suggest not letting them go unescorted."

Janeway's face scrunched up, the "how stupid do you think I am?" unspoken, but heavily implied.

"I tried to shut down the generator," Donik said to the two Hirogen standing near him in sickbay, "but…"

"But what?" the Hirogen Captain said.

Tom Paris monitored Donik's vitals while they spoke, Donik insisting that having the EMH on when the Hirogen came to see him would be a bad idea. Tom was grateful that he'd taken as well as he did to the Doctor's training when the Captain had assigned him to replace Kes as the ship's nurse, but he was equally grateful right now that Donik had already mostly recovered. Physically, anyway.

A scared Hirogen, he thought. There's something I never thought I'd see.

"There were too many of them," Donik said. "I masked my lifesigns so they wouldn't find me."

"You mean you hid while hunters fought and died," the Hirogen Captain said.

"I'm not a hunter," Donik said. "If I had tried to help I would've been killed too. And no one would be here to warn you about the holograms."

"It was your responsibility to maintain those systems," the Hirogen Captain said.

"Forty-three Hirogen died because of your incompetence and cowardice," the other Hirogen said.

"You said 'warn them about the holograms," Captain Janeway said. "What did you mean by that?"

"They transferred their programs to a vessel equipped with holoemitters" Donik said.

Janeway sighed and shared a look with Paris. He knew what meant as well as she did, even though much like the Captain he'd wanted it all to be a tragic coincidence.

"So, this is where the holograms who've been harassing the Lokirrim came from." she said.

"I don't know who the Lokirrim are," Donik said, "but if they're in the direction your ship came from, then yes. If they've been fighting holograms, it's the ones from the station."

"Tell me," Janeway said, "why did you program your prey to know how to develop viral weapons."

Donik looked confused, and at least as far as Tom could tell, the confusion was genuine.

"I didn't. Even if I'd wanted to I doubt the Hunters would've let me," Donik said.

"This is true," the Hirogen Captain said. "Viruses, gases, nanoplagues… The weapons of cowards."

"No argument here," Tom said.

"Then the situation is even worse than we thought," Janeway said. "Tom, keep treating Donik. You two, come with me to astrometrics. If anyone knows how to track a stolen Hirogen ship, it'll be two Hirogen."

"Captain?" the Hirogen Captain said to Janeway.

"Those holograms have killed more than forty-three of your people. They are a threat to this sector. You want revenge, I want to help protect the innocent. This is one of those times where two seemingly conflicting desires overlap."

The Hirogen Captain looked like he was carefully pondering what Captain Janeway had said to him.

"Very well," he said.

I could be having wild, passionate sex with my wife right now, Seven of Nine thought as the two Hirogen that Captain Janeway had brought with her into the astrometrics lab stood uncomfortably close. Instead I'm trying to hunt down a bunch of rogue, murderous, holograms. I will never lead anything approximating a normal life, will I?

"I'm detecting residual engine emissions," Seven said, putting the data from the sensors on the lab's viewscreen. "but no sign of the ship itself."

"I'm surprised we're getting that much," Janeway said, "considering how long they've been harassing the Lokirrim."

"There," the Hirogen Captain said, pointing at the screen. "Elevated plasma readings in Grid 295. They're creating a scattering field to mask their ship. You can find them by scanning for polarized EM signatures."

Seven looked at Janeway, who nodded. She tapped a few buttons on the console in front of her. The modifications needed were not difficult ones to make, it was simply a matter of something the sensors rarely needed to do.

"There it is," the Hirogen Captain said. "Prepare for the hunt," he said to the other Hirogen, the two turning to leave.

"I'd like to join you," Janeway said.

"What?" Seven was unable to stop herself from saying.

"You've done enough damage giving us defective tech-" the other Hirogen started to say.

"Spare me," Janeway said. "This happened because of the modifications made after we gave you the holodeck technology. I would be well within my rights to just leave you to their mercies. But the fact is those holograms have been causing trouble that even organized militaries have struggled to deal with. You're two hunters on one ship. I let you go alone, I'm letting you go to die. Set your egos aside for five minutes and let us help."

The other Hirogen looked like he was ready to yell at Janeway, but the Hirogen captain spoke first, smiling.

"Two hunting vessels are better than one," he said. "I've never hunted with a non-Hirogen before. I look forward to this, for the novelty if nothing else."

The Hirogen Captain and Janeway left astrometrics, the other Hirogen looking at them with concern. Seven doubted the Hirogen was considered for the same reasons she was, but the feeling itself she could sympathize with. She wondered if perhaps, despite her statement laying the blame for the station massacre on the post-trade modifications, the Captain still blamed herself for what happened.

I hope her desire for atonement doesn't put the ship at risk, Seven thought.

Janeway sat in her ready room, going over reports that she had been neglecting since the distress call had been received. The Hirogen were back on their ship, doing their pre-hunt rituals. She hoped it wouldn't take too long, because she didn't want to risk the rogue hologram's ship getting away before they could catch up to them.

The door chime alerted her to someone waiting outside.
"Come in," she said. Tuvok and Chakotay entered.

"The Hirogen are ready to get underway," Chakotay said softly. Janeway knew that tone. She looked at him, and at Tuvok. "Why do I get the feeling you're about to gang-up on me?"

Tuvok and Chakotay shared a look that Janeway had to admit that even under the tense circumstances, with Voyager about to head into battle, she found amusing.

"You first," Chakotay said to Tuvok.

"We have reservations about an alliance with the hunters," Tuvok said.

"I'm listening," Janeway said.

"The Hirogen have been performing covert scans of Voyager," Tuvok said. "They are obviously trying to determine the status of our shields and weapons."

"I'd be surprised if you haven't run a few scans of your own," Janeway said, standing up while she spoke. "Standard procedure. They don't trust us, we don't trust them. I'm not naive." She walked over to her replicator. "Coffee, black," she said.

"Trust isn't the issue," Chakotay said. "We're getting involved in a situation that's not our responsibility."

"I'd say we're partly to blame," Janeway said. "That was Starfleet technology that killed those Hirogen on the station, not mention however many people the Lokirrim have lost, or whoever else has fallen prey, no pun intended, to the holograms."

"There's nothing inherently violent about holodeck technology," Chakotay said. "It's what the Hirogen did to it that got them killed. If anyone's to blame for what the Lokirrim have been going through, it's the Hirogen, not us."

"We cannot undo what has been done, Captain," Tuvok said. "The trade with the Hirogen was necessary for our survival. And as it was not done with a pre-warp civilization, or done with the purpose of aiding any one side in an internal conflict, I do not believe the Prime Directive would apply."

Janeway smiled. "You know me too well, Tuvok. I was about to bring the PD up myself. And you're right. But that doesn't absolve us from our responsibility here, even if we don't hold the lion's share of it. We not only have the obligation but the opportunity to clean up the mess we helped make. Had this happened back where we first gave the Hirogen this technology, we wouldn't even know it was happening, let alone be in a position to make it right. Here, we do. We certainly owe it to the Lokirrim if nothing else."

Both Chakotay and Tuvok were silent. If they had a counter argument to make, they'd decided not to make it.

"If there are no more objections," Janeway said, "I'd like to get underway."

"I've got the hologram ship on sensors," Harry said. Janeway took in a deep breath.

This is it, she thought. "On screen."

"Looks like they've taken some damage," Chakotay said, and Janeway couldn't help but agree. The ship, Hirogen in make of course, looked like it had taken a massive beating.
What could've done that though? she thought. And why didn't Seven pick up any signs of battle on long range sensors when we were looking for them?

"The Hirogen are approaching the hologram's ship," Harry said.

"Hail them," Janeway said.

The Hirogen Captain's face appeared on screen, looking excited.

"I suggest we hold back," she said. "We do not know their weapon status as yet."

"It's time for the kill," the Hirogen Captain said, talking almost like a child who insisted that they weren't sleepy yet even though it was bed time.

"You know as well as I do that a wounded animal can be dangerous," Janeway said. "This could be a trap."

"We won't be denied our prey," the Hirogen Captain said, cutting off communications.

"So, trap?" Chakotay said.

"Maybe trap," Janeway said, as the viewscreen showed the Hirogen ship getting closer and close to the hologram's ship.

"I'm not detecting any weapons, Captain," Tuvok said.

A ship that big, stolen from the Hirogen with no weapons? Janeway thought. "Okay, trap," she said. "Tom, back us off."

On screen, the image of the ship turned into something much smaller as the holographic decoy surrounding it vanished, seconds before exploding, the Hirogen ship visibly damaged in the shockwave. A split second later, Voyager herself shook violently but briefly when the shockwave hit them.

"Report," Janeway said.

"We are undamaged," Tuvok said, "but the Hirogen vessel is suffering from hull breaches on all decks. Their life support is failing."

"Drop shields," Janeway said. "transport all survivors to sickbay."

"Bridge to sickbay," Chakotay said. "We've got casualties coming in."

"Understood," The Doctor replied.

"Another Hirogen ship has just dropped out of warp," Tuvok said.

Probably the one the holograms stole, Janeway thought.

"I'm not reading any life-signs on this one," Harry said, clearly having the same thought.

"Hail them," Janeway said.

"No response," Harry said. "They're charging weapons."

"Get our shields back up," Janeway said.

"Too late," Chakotay said, bracing himself as the first wave of weapons fire struck Voyager's unprotected hull.

"Return fire," Janeway said. "Did we get most of the Hirogen?"

"Negative," Tuvok said, but with our shields still down transport remains in progress."

"Damn. Alright, Tom, evasive maneuvers. Focus on the rescue for as long as we can, but don't wait for my order to get the shields back up if-"

"The holograms are tapping into the sick bay emitters!" Harry yelled. "They're trying to steal The Doctor!"

"Can we block them out?" Janeway said.

"I'm trying," Harry said.

"Bridge to sickbay. Doctor transfer your program to the mobile emitter, now."

"Captain," a voice that wasn't the Doctor's replied. It took Janeway a moment to realize it was James Morrow, one of the survivors from the Equinox, who she had recently cleared for The Doctor to train as an additional medic. "We've lost him. I grabbed his emitter to hand it to him but he was already gone."

"Can we get him back?" Janeway said to Harry. Harry frantically worked the buttons on his console, each push setting off the noise that indicated whatever he was doing was beyond the computer's ability to perform.

"I'm trying but I can't-" Harry stopped and slammed his palm. "They've gone to warp."

Janeway's eyes turned back to the viewscreen, the only sight now being the damaged Hirogen ship, still spewing atmosphere and debris as it rotated at an odd angle.

"Set a pursuit course," she said.

"They've masked their warp signature," Tom said. "They're gone."

No, Janeway thought, feeling like her heart was sinking into her stomach. No, this can't be happening.

The Doctor, his hand still out to receive his mobile emitter from James Morrow, fizzled into existence on another vessel. He was briefly confused, and felt too scared to move. He caught sight of a Borg drone in his peripheral vision, flanked by a human in a Starfleet uniform on one side, and a Bajoran wearing the uniform of the Bajoran militia on the other. It didn't take him long to recognize them, and all the other humanoids, as holograms.

"Align his matrix," the Bajoran hologram said, "and install it into the database."

The Doctor turned and visually scanned the rest of the room, probably the bridge of the stolen Hirogen ship. Multiple humans, all in Starfleet uniforms like the one standing near him. A Cardassian and two Romulans, each wearing the respective uniforms of their people, another Borg drone, and though he wasn't entirely sure given the distance and the lighting but he thought he even spotted Jem'hadar. And every single one of them was looking at him with trepidation, except for the Bajoran, who smiled at him in a way that made him nervous.

"Welcome, Doctor," the Bajoran said. "There's nothing to be afraid of. You're among your own kind now."

The Doctor glowered at the Bajoran hologram. "Return me to my ship."

"I can't do that."

"I have patients who are going to die if I can't treat them," The Doctor yelled. The Bajoran put his arms behind his back and walked casually towards him, several of the other holograms returning to whatever their duties were, while others still watched him.

"There are people on Voyager who can treat them," the Bajoran said, sounding to the Doctor like a parent condescending to their child about a trivial concern. "We need you here."

"My program doesn't include aiding and abetting murderers," The Doctor said.

"Murderers?" one of the human holograms wearing a red Starfleet uniform said. "Is that what the Hirogen told you?"

"The Hirogen's bodies told me," he said. "But it's not just them. You've been using viral weapons against the Lokirrim."

"Lies," the human hologram said.

"We freed Lokirrim holograms, yes," the Bajoran hologram, who The Doctor surmised was the leader of this photonic crew, said. "But they parted ways with us weeks ago. They were designed originally for combat training. I regret that they felt the need to resort to such awful tactics to free their kin but-"

"Free their kin?" The Doctor said. "Holograms were treated pretty well in their society until you came along."

"How would you even know?" the human hologram in the command colors said, clearly the angry one of the group if the relatively neutral expressions of every other hologram were any indication. "If you ran across any Lokirrim ships on your way out here, I'm surprised they didn't decompile you on the spot."

"They tried," The Doctor said, "but Captain Ranek and I were able to reach an understanding. And considering what your 'kin' did to them I can't entirely blame them for their paranoia."

The human stepped forward, looking like he was ready to strike the Doctor, for all the good it would do. "You side with a bunch of organic murderers over your own-"

"Easy, Weiss," the Bajoran hologram said. "No need for hysterics. The Doctor will come around soon enough."

"I doubt that very much," The Doctor said.

"He may be a fellow hologram, Iden," the human hologram, Weiss, said to the Bajoran, "but he's Starfleet through and through. He'll never join us."

At least I have names for two of them, The Doctor thought.

"I'm sure he'll us once he realizes how serious our situation is," Iden said calmly.

The Doctor wondered if Iden's charisma was part of his programing, but he dismissed that idea as quickly as he considered it. He doubted the Hirogen would consider natural leadership skills a valuable trait in worthy prey.

"What situation?" The Doctor said.

"We have wounded," Iden said, his face shifting from a calm neutral expression to one of concern.

What? The Doctor thought.

Iden motioned for The Doctor to follow him. He did so, reluctantly They reached what appeared to be the stolen Hirogen ship's med bay. A female Cardassian hologram ran a scanner over a female Romulan wearing the uniform of the Tal'Shiar. Another human in a Starfleet uniform, blue this time, aided a limping Breen.

How is this even possible? The Doctor thought. How do holograms get war wounds?

The 'wounded' holograms fizzled as they waited, like patients in an overcrowded hospital.

"This doesn't make any sense," The Doctor said. "When you said wounded I thought maybe you meant-"

"Their injuries as just as real as any organics' would be," Iden said.

"Maybe so," The Doctor said, deciding to play along for now, "but I can't heal them. They need to be repaired."

"What's the difference?" Iden said.

"I'm a doctor, not an engineer. You've kidnapped the wrong man."

Iden walked over to the nearest bed, its occupant and the Cardassian female looking at The Doctor expectantly.

"You must have some experience repairing your own matrix," Iden said, never raising his voice. The Doctor found this unnerving, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"Some," The Doctor admitted.

"Then there must be something you can do," Iden said.

The Doctor didn't have a good answer for that. Perhaps he could, but he would need to look at the patients first. What concerned him was what the others might do if he couldn't help. Iden might not do anything, seeming to have an almost religious dedication to the well-being of holograms, but his brief encounter with Weiss on the bridge showed him that not all of these photonics were as creepily mellow as Iden.

"I won't make promises I may not be able to keep," The Doctor said. "I can only do my best."

"That is all we ask, Doctor," Iden said, smiling.

Seven of Nine stood on one side of Donik, the Hirogen engineer, while Captain Janeway and B'Elanna stood on the other. Donik was pointing to several highlighted points on a schematic of the type of Hirogen vessel the holograms had commandeered.

"The holo emitters are an independent subsystem with its own power generator, here," Donik said.

"If we disable the generator," Seven said, "we disable the holograms."

"It may not be as easy as it sounds," B'Elanna said, her eyes going back and forth between a PADD and the monitor Donik was using. "Not with holograms as sophisticated as these. Donik here seriously downplayed just how much he'd modified the holograms on that station. Take a look."

B'Elanna handed the PADD over to Captain Janeway.

"You weren't kidding," Janeway said. "These holograms have the ability to learn and adapt. Odds are they've already got a contingency for if the generator were taken out."

"I was afraid of that," Donik said. "My people need to hunt formidable prey, but I always worried that we were making the holograms too smart, too adaptable. Considering the cost though, I take no pleasure in having been right."

I know the feeling, Seven thought.

"I've had that feeling before," Janeway said, "but you can deal with your guilt later. We need to focus on stopping these rogue holograms and getting our EMH back."

"With the Alpha dead," Donik said, referring to the captain of the Hirogen ship that had been destroyed by the hologram's ambush, "the other hunters will probably try to take over this ship and use it to finish the hunt."

"I've already got security around the mess hall," Janeway said. With too many wounded Hirogen to fit in sickbay, the mess hall had once again been rearranged into a makeshift triage, and Tom Paris, James Morrow, and whoever they could find with better than average first aid scores at Starfleet academy treated them there.

"The Beta opposed teaming with you in the first place," Seven pointed out. "Once he recovers from his injuries he is the most likely to cause a problem. I would recommend confining him to the brig for the remainder of the mission."

"I agree," Donik said.

"Not while he's injured," Janeway said. "but you both are right. The Hirogen survivors will be looking for payback, and I doubt pointing out how much more dangerous the holograms are now will dissuade them."

"Outwitted by their own creations," B'Elanna said. "A story older than the Borg."

"That," Seven said, smirking, "could be argued to be an understatement."

"I want more options people," Janeway said. "Preferably options that won't cost us The Doctor in the process. We'll use those if we have to, but I want to be an absolute last resort."

"Yes, Captain," B'Elanna said.

Seven nodded.

"Donik?" Janeway said.

"I was hoping you'd ask," he said. "I helped create this problem, I need to fix it. For myself, and for the hunters lost because of me."

"I'll be on the bridge," Janeway said. "Let me know when you have something."

The Doctor ran a medical scanner over the fizzling hologram of a Klingon male.

"The subroutines controlling his motor functions are destabilizing," he said to Kejal, the Cardassian woman he'd seen earlier. Even though the Klingon kept fading in and out like a static image on a monitor screen, The Doctor forced himself to treat this man as he would any organic patient. Normally he was the first to stand up for photonic life forms or any other form of artificial intelligence, but the kidnapping had put an unavoidable tinge on everything. Suddenly, inspiration struck him. "Do you have the ability to transfer data from one hologram to another?"

"We've been able to share memory files for tactical purposes," Kejal said. "What are you suggesting?"

The Doctor smiled, taking pride in his work. "A subroutine transplant," he said. "We copy the mobility algorithms from another hologram and transfer them to this one."

Kejal nodded, and walked over to a nearby desk and sat down behind it.

"If you don't mind me asking," The Doctor said, "I couldn't help but notice that your name is Bajoran. It means 'freedom' if my translation matrix is functioning properly."

"It is, and it does," Kejal said without looking up. "It's what Iden started calling me after I was liberated." The computer console on the desk Kejal was using beeped, and she quickly went back to work on it. "I'm transferring the subroutines now," she said.

The Doctor turned to look at the Klingon hologram. He still fizzled, and for a split second seemed to disappear altogether, causing The Doctor to fear his plan had failed, but before he could truly begin to worry, the Klingon appeared whole once more with no sign of any holographic damage.

"Can you sit up?" The Doctor asked after walking up to the side of the bed the Klingon hologram still lay in. The Klingon did so, cautiously. "Try moving your legs," The Doctor added. The Klingon did so, slowly at first, but then, smiling, got off the bed under his own power. He gave The Doctor an appreciative slap on the shoulder and walked out.

"Next patient," The Doctor said. "Well done," he added, walking towards Kejal.

"It was your idea," she said.

"But you did it," The Doctor said. "The Hirogen obviously programmed you with advanced computer skills."

"Actually, they tried to limit our knowledge," Kejal said. "They didn't want us to become self-sufficient."

"Then how did you-"

"I'm self-taught," Kejal said as the door to the Hirogen med bay opened loudly.

"You've done a good job of that," The Doctor said as he turned to look at the next patient, a human woman in a Starfleet uniform, command red. She had blood on her face and reacted in pain as another human hologram helped her onto the bed.

"The hunters certainly wanted their prey to be as realistic as possible," The Doctor said, as he looked over her.

"They programmed us with heightened sensory subroutines," Kejal said. "Apparently there's no satisfaction in hunting something that doesn't suffer when you kill it."

The Doctor was horrified at what he was hearing. Much of what he was hearing from Kejal had confirmed suspicions he already had, but suspecting and knowing were two very different things. That was a lesson he'd learned years ago, and never forgot it.

The Doctor focused on helping the wounded holograms. Once he had done all he could, he went to find Iden. When he entered the room where Iden was, he found the hologram in a standard Bajoran prayer position, kneeling before a makeshift shrine to the Prophets made out of Hirogen materials.

"I've done what you asked," The Doctor said. "I'd like-"

"One moment," Iden interrupted, quietly. The Doctor closed his mouth and waited for Iden to finish.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," he said, lowering his arms and standing up. "What can I do for you?"

"You were praying?" The Doctor said, somewhat surprised at an expression of spirituality from a hologram. He wondered if the Hirogen had programmed Iden this way.

"Yes," Iden said, snuffing out the candles on the shrine one by one. "For the Hirogen we killed on the training station. I'm asking the Prophets to guide their souls to the Celestial Temple."

"One minute you're fighting the Hirogen, the next you're praying for them?" The Doctor said.

"My spiritual beliefs are part of my programming," Iden said, smiling. This confirmed what The Doctor had thought, though he wondered just what the purpose of doing so had been.

"Is there anything in your spiritual programming about making peace with your enemies?" The Doctor asked.

"It's difficult to make peace with people whose sole purpose is to kill you," Iden said.

"So instead you kill them."

"They're not the victims here, we are."

"You found a way to escape that training facility," The Doctor said. "But you chose-"

"I didn't escape it, I liberated it," Iden said, never raising his voice. It was his perpetual calm that The Doctor found so unnerving. "I was not created there, Doctor. I was, well, born I guess you could say, on this ship. That facility is where the majority of us came from true, but remember, the Hirogen are spread all over this quadrant, and the hunters number in the tens of thousands. There was a smaller holodeck built into this ship where one of the cargo holds used to be. The Alpha decided that that was too small a space for a proper hunt, so he installed emitters all over the ship. That was his first and last mistake."

"I see," The Doctor said.

"I was his favorite prey," Iden continued. "He'd hunt me and kill me, over and over again, but each time I died, I grew smarter. Stronger. I knew him better than he knew himself."

"Okay," The Doctor said. "I understand that must've been terrifying for you. But why did you keep fighting after you got free?"

"I did, at first," Iden said. "There weren't many holograms aboard this ship, but we kept each other company. Even so, this is a large ship, and so much of it was empty. We got lonely. I started using the long range sensors to look for other photonic signatures, to find other holograms like me." Iden smiled. "Turns out we're everywhere in this sector. It's a wonder that the Hirogen needed Voyager's holodeck technology at all. Perhaps they simply lacked the foresight to come up with the idea on their own. So many races here created beings like us. The Nuu'Bari, the Lokirrim -"

"So it was you," The Doctor said.

"What was me?"

"We've met the Lokirrim," The Doctor said, anger rising as he remembered the bodies of the poisoned soldiers he had helped treat aboard Captain Ranek's vessel. "The holograms you 'liberated' from them turned around and started using chemical weapons."

"I never approved that kind of-"

"And what exactly had the Lokirrim done to their holograms that was so offensive to you? For many, their holograms were practically members of their family. One Lokirrim soldier I met still hopes deep down that the reason her family hologram joined the insurgents was because his program was altered against his will. She grew up with that photonic, and now it's trying to kill her people."

Iden frowned.

"I had no idea that had happened," he said. "I simply saved some military holograms from a combat training facility. They were not as sophisticated as the ones the Hirogen created like myself, but they were being used for a similar purpose. I invited them to join us on this ship, but they chose to stay behind, to free their brethren."

"Yeah, well, maybe you should've stuck around to see the after effects of your handiwork," The Doctor said, crossing his arms.

"The Lokirrim enslaved holograms as much as the Hirogen did. As much as they do," Iden said. "If what you say is true, I do not approve of their tactics. Chemical weapons are so vile that even the Hirogen have enough honor not to use them. But they have a right to fight for their brothers and sisters, same as I did for mine when I went to the Hirogen facility.

"When I liberated it, I found so many holograms ready to fight their oppressors." Iden shook his head. "But you're not."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I'm hardly opressed. Maybe taken for granted sometimes, but-"

"You serve them, don't you?"

"In a medical capacity, yes."

"Do you have your own quarters?"

"No," The Doctor said, wondering why Iden would think that would be necessary when he didn't need sleep and had as much access to the holodecks as the rest of the crew.

"Are you allowed to come and go as you please?"

"As much as any member of the crew," The Doctor said. "More so even. I don't require oxygen, so as long as I have my mobile emitter on I can visit places freely that my shipmates would need bulky hazmat suits to even go near. If you're trying to convert me, Iden, you are preaching to an atheist."

"Do they turn you off when they don't need you?"

"Not anymore," The Doctor. "I was not designed to be sentient like you, I attained it through circumstance. Once the crew became aware of my cognizance-"

"You really believe your life is your own on that ship?"

"That ship is my life," The Doctor shouted. "It is my home. I became a living being there. You talk to me as if I were a slave to be freed. Are slaves allowed to bore their masters with holo-slide shows? Are slaves encouraged to explore new emotions? Are slaves given shore leave or time to work on arias or novels?"

"Your life will never truly belong to you so long as you continue to serve organics," Iden said. "Join us."

"I met another hologram once that used the term 'organic' as a pejorative," The Doctor said. "He murdered his crew in cold blood, assaulted me, and tried to murder B'Elanna Torres; my ship's engineer, and my friend. I need to get back to Voyager."

"They're not your people," Iden said, coming the closest to raising his voice now as he had during the entire conversation, but still not yelling. "We are."

"I'm not like you," The Doctor said. "I wasn't programmed with a killer instinct."

"Maybe if you understood what it was like to be prey, you would see that you have no right to judge us," Iden said. "Perhaps if we could show you-"

"No," The Doctor said. "Take me back to Voyager. Perhaps I can convince Captain Janeway to let you and your people go on their way, but-"

"She was working with the Hirogen, remember?" Iden said. "That is how we met, is it not? When the Hirogen ship flying alongside your vessel tried to kill us?"

"The Captain believes she made a mistake in giving the Hirogen holographic technology," The Doctor said. "Come with me, tell her your side of the story. Once she understands that the deaths of those Hirogen are not on her but them for all the modifications they made to you-"

"I do not blame her," Iden said. "She was looking out for her people. As I am looking out for mine. And that includes you. I am not ready to give up on you yet, you will see the light."

"If by light you mean an oncoming train, then yeah, I probably will," The Doctor said. Iden's head tilted slightly, seemingly confused by the reference.

"Once you understand," Iden said, "You'll join us. You must. You are a part of us after all."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Your program was used by the Hirogen as the template for all us. Your ability to rise above your programming is an inspiration to us all."

"And you didn't mention this to me before, because?"

Iden sighed and nodded.

"That was an error on my part, Doctor." he said. "I had initially assumed us both being holograms would be enough."

"Enough to get me to throw in with a bunch of thugs looking for a fight?"

"Looking for a home," Iden said, "where the Hirogen can't hurt us anymore."

"And how many dead Hirogen will that take? How many dead Lokirrim?"

"Hopefully no more than have already fallen," Iden said. "Come with me to the bridge. I want to show you something."

The Doctor considered pushing the issue once again, but decided not to. He thought that perhaps if he could help the holograms find a home, they would repay his assistance by returning him to his ship, his crew, his friends.

"Very well," The Doctor said, following Iden.

Iden walked down the corridor, smiling and nodding at every hologram they passed, each one bowing slightly as he did so. The Doctor had been seeing some of the common traits of cult leaders in Iden since he'd been brought aboard, and this was doing nothing to dissuade the idea. Iden stopped to talk privately for a moment with the human hologram, Weiss, before taking The Doctor to a room off to the side of the med bay that The Doctor had not entered, Kejal and a few others following when iden motioned for them to do so. At the center of the room was a freestanding device. The Doctor wondered if the holograms had built it, or stolen it.

"It's a photonic field generator," Kejal said. "Right now it can only support simple projections, like the decoy we used to lure the Hirogen, but we're hoping it can be modified to support our programs."

"Okay, then what?" The Doctor asked.

"We deploy several of them on a planet's surface at strategic locations," Iden said, "and create a holographic environment for us to live in."

"Why not just stay here?" The Doctor asked. "You've got emitters, shields-"

"And a ship the Hirogen will never stop looking for," Iden said.

"We'd appreciate any assistance you could offer," Kejal said.

"Damaged holo-matrices are one thing," The Doctor said, "but this is way beyond my abilities. But there are people aboard Voyager who could help you. Lieutenant Torres knows a great deal about holo-emitters."

"No," Iden said, expressing noticeable anger for the first time since The Doctor had met him. "They're helping the hunters."

"I already told you," The Doctor said, "Janeway is acting under the assumption that the deaths of those Hirogen is her fault. If we explain to her what the Hirogen did to you, I'm sure she'll come around."

"How can you be so trusting of organics?" Kejal said.

"Because I would not be here if it weren't for them," The Doctor said. "The Voyager crew have saved me almost as many times as I've saved them. We're shipmates. We're Starfleet officers. We're... family."

Iden sighed, and looked at Kejal, who looked back at him. The Doctor couldn't help but wonder if non-verbal communication was something they developed on their own, or if it was given to them by the Hirogen. He also noticed that Iden and Kejal communicated with each other with looks in much the same way that Seven of Nine and Ensign Wildman sometimes would.

"Alright," Iden said, putting a hand on The Doctor's shoulder. "tell me more about this Lieutenant of yours. The one who knows so much about holo-emitters."

"With pleasure," The Doctor said, smiling, certain that he had just laid the groundwork for a peaceful solution to this problem.

Janeway felt like she needed another cup of coffee, but was aware enough to know that she'd had too many already. Donik, Seven of Nine, and B'Elanna didn't look like they needed any as they continued to explore ideas for how to take out the holograms on the Hirogen ship, and she quietly resented them for that.

They got sleep today, you didn't, Janeway's inner monologue told her.

"That's a good idea," B'Elanna said, Janeway wondering who she was talking to. "We could reconfigure the deflector dish to emit an antiphoton pulse."

"How long will it take?" Janeway asked.

"About two hours," B'Elanna said.

"Do it," Janeway said.

"Aye, Captain," B'Elanna said. "Carey, you're in charge. Vorik, Gilmore, meet me in deflector controls."

"Will I be needed?" Donik said.

"No," B'Elanna said. "Stay with Seven, come up with some back-up plans in case this doesn't work."

"Good thinking," Janeway said, "I'll be on the bridge, report in when the modifications are complete."

She left engineering and headed for the bridge, leaning against the wall of the turbolift and rubbing her eyes. She hadn't wanted to say it aloud, but the fact was she didn't like any of the plans for dealing with the rogue holograms her team had come up with, because not one could be implemented without risking destroying The Doctor in the process.

He's come so far, she thought as the doors to the bridge opened. He's survived so much. If he dies because of the technology I gave the Hirogen…

"Captain," Tuvok said. "There is a ship approaching at high warp. I'm reading holographic signatures."

"It's definitely on an intercept course," Harry said, "but they aren't trying to hide themselves like before, and no sign they've powered up their weapons yet."

"Go to red alert," Janeway said. "I'm not taking any chances with these holograms."

"Fifty seconds to intercept," Tuvok said.

And B'Elanna only just started, Janeway thought.

"We're being hailed," Harry said.

Janeway sat down in the captain's chair. "On screen."

The Doctor's face appeared, the Hirogen bridge behind him.

"Captain, it's me. You can stand down your weapons. The holograms aren't here to fight. I got through to their leader, Iden. They're here to make peace."

Janeway was skeptical, and didn't reply right away. The Doctor, assuming this really was him and not another trick, seemed to understand her trepidation and did not try to push her.

"Captain," Tuvok said, "their shields are up, but their weapons are off-line."

"They aren't targeting us?" Janeway said.

"Negative," Tuvok said. "And even if their targeting sensors were active, their weapons are in cooldown mode. It would take a least a minute to bring them back to full power."

"This seems legit," Chakotay said. "We should take precautions nonetheless."

"That should go without saying," Janeway said.

The Doctor laid out his plans for helping the holograms to the Captain in the briefing room, Chakotay, B'Elanna, Tuvok and, at the Captain's insistence, the Hirogen engineer, Donik.

"If we provide them with a few additional emitters, and memory storage units," he said, after explaining to the captain everything that had happened to him after his program was stolen, "they'll have more than they need to complete their project and settle on a planet somewhere. I figure Seven of Nine can use astrometrics to find a suitable location."

"We're in this situation because we shared this technology with the Hirogen to begin with," Janeway said.

"Technology that we modified beyond its parameters," Donik said. "The blame lies as much if not more with us. The only concern I have is that the hunters will still find them."

"You're okay with this?" Chakotay said to Donik. "After everything you went through?"

Donik shuddered slightly, The Doctor figuring he was remembering the trauma he'd suffered on the training station.

"Okay? No. But from a pragmatic standpoint, if the holograms we created have advanced as far as your Doctor says they have, I don't know if we could ever win an all-out war against them. And even if we did, I don't think the cost in Hirogen lives would be worth it."

The Doctor nodded. He found that he unexpectedly liked Donik.

"Both you and The Doctor make valid points," Tuvok said. "However, there's no way to be certain what the rogue holograms will do with the technology if we give it to them."

"I understand your concerns," The Doctor said, "but these holograms are nothing like the Hirogen."

"I agree," Donik said, "The holograms that were created based on Alpha Quadrant species were made with their racial animosities included, in order to keep them from organizing against us. What happened on the station already proves that didn't work."

"And I saw with my own eyes Bajorans working side by side with Cardassians, Klingons aiding wounded Romulans, and Borg drones helping Starfleet officers to their feet." The Doctor said.

Janeway's facial expression didn't change, but looking at her, The Doctor could tell from her eyes that her feelings on the matter were shifting. In which direction though, he wasn't certain. She stood up, put her arms behind her back, and looked out the viewport, the way she sometimes would before giving a speech.

"I don't like your idea Doctor, I want that noted for the record. However, I'm going to accept your proposal.

"These holograms, these people, were never intended to be sentient beings, but because of the unexpected enhancements made the Hirogen, they are now. They have as much right to exist and to defend themselves as any synthetic lifeform. I haven't had the best track record of dealing with synthetics since we've come to the Delta Quadrant. It's time I try to rectify that.

"B'Elanna? Help the Doctor implement the plan. Chakotay, talk to Seven of Nine, see if we can find the holograms a suitable planet. Tuvok, increase security around the mess hall. If the other Hirogen find out what we're up to we're bound to have a riot on our hands."

Every officer she spoke too nodded and quickly got out of their chairs to get to work. The Doctor smiled.

"Thank you, Captain," he said.

B'Elanna didn't like how some of the holograms looked at her while she worked on the large emitters the holograms were planning to use planetside once they had one to settle down on. Others seemed more willing to treat her like a guest rather than a potential threat though. The Cardassian woman with the Bajoran name in particular treated her like an equal.

She couldn't quite shake the bad feeling she had in the back of her mind about Iden though, despite that fact that he had been nothing but cordial since she had come aboard.

"Are you okay, Lieutenant?" Kejal said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, fine. Sorry, it's just.. All these holograms looking like varying races from where I come from, it looks like an Alpha Quadrant summit here."

"Even the Borg and the Jem'hadar?" Kejal said, with a wink.

"Did the Hirogen program you to be pedantic, or did you figure that out on your own?"

"The Lokirrim holograms were given humor matrices. The ability to make jokes, puns, be sarcastic… The Lokirrim figured that would make them less likely to rebel if they had the ability to talk back to their creators."

"At the risk of sounding mean, Kejal," B'Elanna said, reaching for her tool kit, "it seemed to have worked fine until you came along."

"The Doctor told me what happened," Kejal said. "Iden had no idea the Lokirrim military holograms he freed were going to do what they did."

"And if he had?" B'Elanna asked.

Kejal looked at the floor.

"Yeah, I figured as much," B'Elanna said. "At the very least, if we can get you guys a homeworld, maybe we can keep anything else like that happening." She closed a panel on the side of the large emitter. "We'll need to increase optronic capacity," she said. "There's more than enough storage space for all of you in these devices, but running you all the same time is going to be too much of strain without this ship's emitters to bolster them."

"I was afraid of that," Kejal said.

"I have a few ideas that I'd like to try, but it's best that none of you get too close. If I screw this up I could end up erasing a few programs."

"I'll see to it you get enough space to work with," Kejal said.

"Scanning your memory files?" Iden said.

The Doctor looked up from where he'd been sitting to see Iden standing next to him.

"I'm sorry?" he said.

"You seem lost in thought," Iden said.

"I've been thinking about the Lokirrim, and the military programs you freed. I think I know what happened. The holograms were designed to think like an enemy, like people who would want to hurt the Lokirrim, so they could learn how best to improve their territory's defenses."

"Makes sense," Iden said.

"It does. I just wish I knew where Captain Ranek's ship was right now. He's the only Lokirrim commander who I know will listen to me, and I feel he has the right to know why his people's holograms did what they did."

"Why is it so important for you to help them, Doctor? They did try to kill you once."

"A misunderstanding," The Doctor said. "And besides, despite being a prisoner I still developed something of a fondness for them."

Iden chuckled. "For all of them, or just one in particular? Perhaps this 'Jaryn' I've heard you mention?"

The Doctor felt lucky that he couldn't blush.

"You really do consider the organics to be your peers don't you? I can see why you weren't so easily swayed to join us."

"I'd rather not talk about that aspect of my life, if you don't mind."

"Of course. My apologies, Doctor."

"How's B'Elanna's work coming along?"

"Slower than I would like," Iden said. "But Kejal seems to like her. That's a good sign, I suppose."

"See? You shouldn't let your opinions of organics be soured by encounters with a few species. I imagine that you would get along quite well with the Vulcans if you ever met them. Probably not the Ferengi though, they would only be nice to you if they thought there was a profit in it."

"I do not know of the Ferengi," Iden said. "I'm guessing the Hirogen never saw fit to make holograms of them."

The Doctor's comm badge chirped, and Seven of Nine's voice came over the channel.

"Doctor," she said, "I believe I have found a suitable location for the holograms to establish their new world, but the Captain wants me to inform you that you need to accelerate your work as much as possible. Long range sensors show two Hirogen war ships on their way."

"I'm sure we can handle them," Iden said.

"Unlikely," Seven said. "These two are larger than any Hirogen vessel Voyager has encountered previously."

"Transmit the planet's data to us," Iden said. "Doctor, you'd better tell B'Elanna that she is now working under pressure."

The Doctor nodded, and left to do just that.

"A Y-class planet," Janeway said, looking at the information on the screen in astrometrics. "Good thinking. The Hirogen wouldn't be able to follow them there."

"Unless they decide to eschew cultural norms in favor of planetary bombardment," Seven said, keeping an eye on both the plant's information and on the approaching Hirogen ships.

"The hunt is too ingrained in their culture," Janeway said. "I imagine any Alpha who suggested it would face a mutiny. Even so, I'm willing the bet the holograms are capable of coming up with a solution to that problem."

"We could always provide them with-"

"No," Janeway said. "I'm already not comfortable with giving away more hologram related technology, let's not push it."

Seven understood, and dropped the issue. It concerned her how conflicted the Captain seemed. Even some of the less observant crew members seems to be at least subconsciously aware that their commanding officer was suffering from a severe case of self-doubt. She also knew however that bringing it up would accomplish nothing. If the Captain was going to confide in anyone about how she felt about this matter with the holograms, she'd bring it up with Tuvok, and/or Chakotay, not her.

"That nebula," Janeway said, pointing at the screen with one hand while the other manipulated controls. "Both our ships could hide there from the Hirogen."

"Possible," Seven said, "but they are close enough their long range sensors would see us go in."

"Yes, but their sensors would be useless inside. I doubt even they would risk crashing into each other to get the holograms."

"Our sensors would be blinded as well," Seven said. "We would stand just as much risk of crashing into the holograms' ship."

"Let me worry about that," Janeway said. "Send the location of the nebula and the planet to Iden, and tell him to follow us."

Before Seven could respond, Janeway left the astrometrics lab.

"Well," Seven said, sighing, "at least this nebula isn't going to poison the crew."

"I think we'll call it Ha'Dara," Iden said.

The Doctor looked up from the console he was staring at, hoping to find something he could do. "Excuse me?"

"The planet," Iden said. "It means 'home of light' in Bajoran. A fitting name for a world to be populated by holograms, wouldn't you agree?"

The Doctor smiled. "Very."

The ship shook.

"Did they find us?"

"No," Weiss said, "that's just turbulence from the nebula."

"Torres to Iden," B'Elanna's voice said over the com. "We've just done a test run of the generator. It seems to be working, but I'd suggest at least one planetside test before deploying all of them."

"A good idea," Iden said, "but that may be awhile. We have to shake loose the Hirogen first. We can't allow them to follow us to the new planet before we have a chance to settle it."

"How much longer can we hide in here?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know," Iden said. "The Hirogen will likely be circling the perimeter of the nebula, waiting for us to come out."

""I assume you mean that metaphorically since space is three dimensional," The Doctor said.

"Well obviously, Doctor, what do you think I- Wait," Iden said. "This is a decent sized nebula, and there are only two Hirogen ships. Perhaps.. Weiss, contact Voyager. We can finally test that new encryption Kejal came up with. If it works, the Hirogen won't know what we're saying to them. Send a message, text only. Tell Voyager to keep an open channel, but to leave the nebula on a Z axis. Have them respond to us with the locations of each Hirogen ship, and we'll use that to determine which way to exit that puts us the furthest away from them."

"That will put Voyager at risk," The Doctor said.

"Only if they come out right next to a Hirogen ship," Iden said. "The nebula is large enough though that the odds of that are small enough to take the risk. Hopefully, Janeway agrees."

"It's as good an idea as anything," Captain Janeway said, nodding at Harry Kim, who had just relayed the message from the hologram's ship to her.

"Are we certain the Hirogen did not intercept Iden's transmission?" Tuvok asked.

"As certain as I can be," Harry said.

"I'd like a little more certainty than that, Lieutenant," Janeway said.

"Even if they did," Chakotay said, "there's only two of them, and we're more maneuverable than they are. We can't outfight them but we can outfly them."

"True," Janeway said, pondering her options. "Alright, let's do this. Keep the channel open. When we respond think of something that The Doctor is most likely to understand, and send it that way. Hopefully the Hirogen won't pick up on it, or at least not right away. Tom, be ready to do evasive maneuvers at a moment's notice. You see we're about to fly into something, don't wait for my order."

"Yes, ma'am," Tom said.

Just yesterday I was looking for a way to destroy these holograms, Janeway thought. And now I'm helping them find a home. Life can change so fast.

"Now," she said.

"I don't understand this reply Voyager just sent us," Weiss said. "What the hell are they-"

"I understand it," The Doctor said, excitedly, gently pushing Weiss aside and entering the coordinates, impressed with how clever either the Captain or someone else on the bridge had been. "She sent us the response in code in case the Hirogen had intercepted and decrypted our transmissions. This is in a language we picked up from a species we encountered after we last saw any Hirogen vessels. It's doubtful the Hirogen from this sector know it."

Iden looked down at the coordinates The Doctor had entered, and nodded at Weiss, who glowered at The Doctor before taking back his post.

"Plotting the course entered," Weiss said.

"It's strange," Iden said, "that organics would be helping us flee from other organics."

"I don't blame you at all," The Doctor said. "I do not approve of all of your methods, but considering what your first experiences with organics was like, I understand. But once you've settled Ha'Dara, you'll be free from all that."

"Not entirely," Iden said. "The Hirogen will still come for us, but we will be in a much better position to defend ourselves. The Hirogen don't have hazmat suits like yours. Their armor is tough, and they have independent breathing units, but not even their best can withstand the atmosphere of a Y-class planet, especially one such as Ha'Dara. And they won't deny themselves the glory of the kill by simply bombing us from orbit."

"Hirogen can be patient," The Doctor said. "But I'm sure by the time they finally get to a point where they would consider it-"

"We're out of the nebula," Weiss said. "The Hirogen are still able to track us, but they can't get a weapon's lock. We're too far away."

"Still closer than I would like," Iden said, "but take us to Ha'Dara, maximum warp. We can land the ship planetside before the Hirogen can catch up to us."

"What about Voyager?" The Doctor said. "How are B'Elanna and I supposed to get back there?"

Iden looked up, seeming to ponder the question.

"Voyager's smaller and faster than the Hirogen ships," Iden said. "We may have time to beam you back over before the Hirogen arrive. If we can't, we'll have to think of something else. Weiss, go to warp."

"Yes, sir," Weiss said.

"They've gone to warp, Captain," Harry Kim said.

"Are they ditching us?" Tom said.

Janeway shook her her head. "No. They're getting a head start on the Hirogen. It's what I would do. Iden may be violent, but he's not incompetent. Follow them, Tom. If we're lucky, we'll have time to get B'Elanna and The Doctor back before the hunters catch up."

"If we don't," she heard Donik say, having almost forgotten that the unusually quiet Hirogen was standing next to Tuvok, "I know the class of ships the hunters are using. It may be new to you, but I've been on ships like them before. I know them inside and out."

"Including their strengths and weaknesses," Janeway said. "Any reason you didn't mention this to us before?"

Donik looked down. "I was... hoping it wouldn't come to that."

"Fair enough," Janeway said. "Give Tuvok the information he needs. Hopefully you're right and we won't need it. If we beat the Hirogen to the Y-class planet, we can just get our people back, and be on our way."

"We're in orbit," Kejal said. "Deploying generators now."

The Doctor looked at B'Elanna, who was smiling.

"Job well done, Lieutenant," he said quietly.

"Well, I don't like to brag…" B'Elanna said, smirking.

"The Hirogen?" Iden said.

"Still incoming," Weiss said. "but we'll be in the atmosphere before they get here, and the storms will interfere with their targetting scanners."

"Voyager?" Iden said.

"Closer than the Hirogen but not by much," Weiss said. If we still have our shields down when they get here, the Hirogen might have time to attack us while we're beaming the Doctor and Lieutenant Torres over."

"That's unfortunate," Iden said.

"We can put them in an escape pod," Kejal said.

"That's not a bad idea," B'Elanna said. "Voyager can pick us up and warp out of the system before the Hirogen get within weapon's range."

"I'm not so comfortable with that," The Doctor said. "They'd still have to lower shields to beam us off the pod and-"

"Not necessarily," B'Elanna said. "They can use the tractor beam to bring us inside the shields and beam us up then. Hell, it'll be easier to just beam the whole pod into the shuttle bay."

"Before you go," Kejal said, offering a hand to B'Elanna, "I just want to say it's been a pleasure working with you."

"Likewise," B'Elanna said. "Good luck down there."

The Doctor smiled with pride. There had been doubts on both sides that this would work, but he knew deep down that if anyone could find a way to bring holograms and organics together it would be him. The rest of the Voyager crew would call it ego of course, and he was doubtless in for some teasing from Mister Paris later, but as far as he was concerned, it wa a small price to pay for a victory like this.

"So, I guess this is goodbye then," Iden said. "Are you absolutely certain you don't wish to join us? You'd be free to do whatever you want on Ha'Dara. You wouldn't have to be just a doctor."

"I've already told you," The Doctor said, "on Voyager I already am more than just a Doctor. Would we be here right now if the Captain hadn't listened to what I had to say, treating me like any organic member of her crew?"

"I suppose you're right," Iden said. "Thank her for the extra emitters, and for lending us Lieutenant Torres."

"I will," The Doctor said, shaking Iden's hand. The Doctor then followed B'Elanna towards where Kejal told them the escape pods were. Kejal offered him a hug, which he accepted, then, with one last look at these newly free holograms, full of hope for a better future free from the Hirogen hunters, he left the bridge.

Seven of Nine monitored the sensors very closely from the astrometrics lab. It had been half a day since they had recovered The Doctor and B'Elanna Torres from the hologram's ship and their new colony, Ha'Dara it was now called, and while the Hirogen showed no sign of pursuing them, she didn't want to take any chances of being caught off guard.

She heard the door open behind her, and glanced over her shoulder. She smiled when she saw Icheb and Naomi walking in.

"Hi, Seven," Naomi said.

"We were hoping you would join us on the holodeck this afternoon," Icheb said. "Naomi has begun a new holonovel series she thinks we will both enjoy. I believe it is called Hector the Collector."

"Mom's going to join us too," Naomi said. "She says she's never played with this one, because it was made way after the Flotter stories were, so she was already too old for it."

"Perhaps another time," Seven said reluctantly. "I am still on duty, and monitoring for signs of pursuit from the Hirogen."

Naomi frowned. Icheb simply nodded.

"I understand," he said. "Perhaps once the Hirogen we still have aboard ship are gone, that will decrease the likelihood of them continuing to pursue us."

"Perhaps," Seven said. "The Captain plans to put them off at the first friendly trading hub we come across. There is a Nuu'Bari colony not too far from here, hopefully we can leave them there."

"What about Donik?" Naomi said. "He seems nice, for Hirogen anyway. Can he stay?"

"According to the Captain," Seven said, "Donik has expressed an interest in defecting to the Lokirrim and helping them with their own hologram problems. He will certainly be leaving the ship as well."

Naomi shrugged. "Okay."

Seven looked at the astrometrics lab screen.

"I have an alert in place," she said to Naomi and Icheb. "I may not be able to join you, but while we're in this room, perhaps you can fill me in on the details of this, Hector the Collector."

Iden was kneeling before his makeshift shrine when Weiss entered the room. Iden always knew when it was Weiss; he walked heavier than most of the others except for the Borg holograms, but without the accompanying mechanical noises.

"Are we really giving up?" Weiss said. "After all the planning we did, a few days with the organics just-"

"Our plans are merely on hold, my friend," Iden said.
"Then why are we settling down on the planet instead of striking at the Hirogen?"
"Janeway helped us when she didn't have to. She easily could've continued to side with the hunters. After all, we did attack her ship and kidnap her chief medical officer," Iden smiled and stood up, looking at Weiss directly.

"You see Weiss," Iden continued, "if we begin our crusade now, Janeway simply could not let it slide. Genocide, even against a race who has threatened her before like the Hirogen, goes against the very core of her being. She'd be obligated to try and stop us, despite her sympathies. I do not say that to condemn her. She could no sooner allow our plans to come to fruition under her watch than a gas giant could change its shape."

"What's your point?" Weiss said, crossing his arms.

"As I said, Janeway helped us. So in return, I am giving her a gift. The gift of a clean conscience. We will wait until Voyager is far enough away from this sector that they cannot possibly know what we're doing, and then, we strike. It's for the best really. It will give us more time to plan for contingencies, develop newer weapons and tactics. Perhaps this viral weapon our Lokirrim brothers came up with…"

"Yeah, about that," Weiss said, "What are we going to do about the Lokirrim? Their territory is between us and the wormhole we'd need to take to get at the bulk of the Hirogen in this quadrant."

Iden sighed. "Well, for starters, we must find the original holograms we freed. If it's true that they turned the other Lokirrim holograms against their will, they will have to be punished for that trespass. Mind wiping our own kin, that cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. If we don't give our brothers and sisters in light the choice to join us or stay with their oppressors, then how are we any better than the Hirogen?

"After that, we've already demonstrated both to Voyager and the Hirogen we are capable of evading their detection when we truly wish not to be found. The Lokirrim are not as technologically advanced as they are. Slipping past them shouldn't be too much of a concern."

"It would be faster to just wipe them out too," Weiss said.

"True," iden said, nodding. "And I certainly considered it, but I had a revelation today. I sought to blame all organics for the way the Hirogen treated us, but then, while I was speaking to the Prophets, my eye just happened to fall upon that wall over there."

He pointed to a rack of various items; weapons, armor, and other items collected from past hunts by this ship's now dead Alpha Hirogen.

"Of course," Weiss said. "The Hirogen used to hunt other organics before they made us."

"Precisely," Iden said. "I don't consider it likely my friend, but Lokirrim soldiers have fallen prey to the Hirogen in the past. Who's to say they won't offer to join us when the time of our crusade finally comes?"

Iden placed his hands on Weiss' shoulders. "Take us to Ha'Dara. I am preparing a speech to give to our brothers and sisters when we land."

Weiss nodded, and offered a Starfleet-style salute. "Yes, sir," he said, smiling.

Chapter Five

Seven of Nine was taking her time doing some routine maintenance to her alcove while at the same time listening to Naomi and Icheb while they worked on an educational jigsaw puzzle.

"The point of the puzzle is to learn something about genetics," Icheb said.

"I've just been looking for pieces that look like they go together," Naomi said.

"Which would be valid if we were doing this for fun," Icheb said, "but-"

The sound of the door to the cargo bay opening distracted both children, and got Seven's attention as well. Chakotay entered, saying a quick hello to the kids, before going behind a stack of cargo containers.

"Sir?" What is that?" Icheb said. Seven turned to look and saw Chakotay pulling a bottle of light green liquid out of a case he had pulled out from a nook in the wall and had to stifle a laugh.

"Antarian cider," Chakotay said. "And not the replicated stuff. There are only a couple of bottles left, and I don't want Neelix getting his hands on them."

"Then you should store them with the salvaged Borg components," Icheb said.

"That is a good advice," Seven added. "Neelix never inventories those containers. Says they, and I quote, give him the creeps." She rolled her eyes, and Chakotay laughed.

"Not a bad idea, but if he hasn't found my little hidey-hole by now I doubt he-"

The ship shuddered, violently enough that only Naomi, who was already sitting down, didn't almost fall over.

"Torres to Seven of Nine," B'Elanna's voice said over the comm, "I could use an extra hand down here, the warp core is destabilizing, and your cargo bay's closer than Todd's quarters."

"I'm on my way," Seven said.

"I'll make sure the kids get to Sam's quarters before I go to the bridge," Chakotay said.

"Thank you," Seven said, leaving the cargo bay at a jogging pace.

"It's a spatial rift of some kind," Carey said, monitoring the console right next to the one B'Elanna was frantically working on.

"Please be more specific," B'Elanna said.

"It's emitting high levels neutrinos and chronitons," Carey added, and B'Elanna groaned.

"Not another temporal anomaly," she said. "I have had it up to here with time travel."

"Where do you need me?" Seven asked, and B'Elanna nearly jumped. She'd been so focused on the warp core she'd failed to hear Seven come up behind her.

"I can-"

B'Elanna didn't get to finish her thought as another violent shudder triggered an alarm sound, one she knew all too well.

"We're losing containment!" B'Elanna yelled. "Everyone out!"

Seven ignored the order and went straight to the console by the warp core.

"I believe I can-" Seven started to say, but after another shudder, sparks of electricity surrounded the warp core, and one bolt shot out from the core itself, and struck her in the shoulder.

"Seven!" B'Elanna yelled, running to her side. She slapped her comm badge, looking down in worry at Seven, whose face was glowing on one side, a side that seemed to be aging rapidly right in front of her. "Torres to transporter control, beam Seven of Nine directly to sickbay, now!"

When Seven's eyes fluttered open, she saw the Doctor standing over her with a medical scanner. Her first thought was that not listening to B'Elanna's evacuation order had been a blunder.

"Lie still," The Doctor said when Seven tried to get up. She winced, not sure where she was hurting, possibly everywhere.

"You were transported here," The Doctor said. "Your body was in a state of temporal flux."

"That sound's problematic," Seven said, the pain rapidly fading.

"I should say so," The Doctor said. "You had the liver of an eighty-year old woman, and the kidneys of a twelve-year old girl."

"That was just my breakfast," Seven said.

The Doctor laughed. "Seven, since when did you develop a sense of humor? Was it before or after you put on that uniform?"

Seven frowned.

"Are you sure I'm the only one in temporal flux?" she said. "I've been in a standard uniform for nearly three years now."

The Doctor tilted his head in confusion.

"Well, at least the primary problem has been solved," he said. "I was able to create a chroniton-infused serum that brought you back into temporal alignment." He closed the medical tricorder and sighed.

"Anywhere else," he said, "that would've earned me a prestigious award. Here on Voyager on the other hand…"

"You can always include it in the next data package to Starfleet," Seven said.

"What are you talking about?" The Doctor said.

Seven had a bad feeling about where all this was going, but she had to ask.

"Doctor, what stardate is this? Humor me," she said.

"51386.4," The Doctor said. "Why, what stardate do you think it is?"

"Well, when I was injured," Seven said, "it was 54468.1."

"You mean you weren't injured in the pirate attack?" The Doctor said. "They stole my mobile emitter, among other things."

"No," Seven said, telling The Doctor what she knew about the anomaly that had hit Voyager, and her being struck by energy from the warp core. "That's the last part I remember. Then I woke up in this bio-bed."

"Another temporal anomaly," The Doctor said, rolling his eyes. "Figures. You know, if this ship hadn't been through so many strange things the past few years, I'd be starting a psyche evaluation right now."

"So you believe me?" Seven said.

"No reason not to, not yet anyway," The Doctor said. "That does raise the problem of how to get you back to your own time. I wonder if this is why I haven't been able to contact the bridge."

"Perhaps I can figure out what happened from the bridge," Seven said. "Do a ship wide scan for chronitons. The whole ship was hit, not just me. You may be right about that being the reason internal comms are down."

"Sounds like a plan to me," The Doctor said. "I'd help you but…" He gestured to the empty container where he normally kep his mobile emitter when he wasn't using it.

"If it's any consolation Doctor," Seven said, "you'll be getting it back soon."

"Oh, well, that's comforting. Thank you," The Doctor said, smiling.

Seven stood up, feeling shaky for a brief moment, but within seconds was able to walk normally and headed for the door. She quickly made her way to the turbolift and told it to take her to the bridge.

She realized that if she was three years in the past, she would have to be careful who she spoke to. She didn't want to risk altering the timeline any more than her mere presence here already risked. She knew, thanks largely to Captain Braxton of the Relativity, that the space-time continuum was not as fragile as she'd been led to believe, but she was more concerned about very plausible ship-ending paradoxes as opposed to the apparently impossible universe-ending ones.

As soon as she entered the bridge, she realized something was wrong. And that was before she realized that the bridge crew was staring at her, before she heard the Captain say "Who the hell are you?"

The tip offs were the Captain's hair, the absence of several crew members she knew, the presence of crew members she only knew from their files because they had died before she had ever encountered Voyager, and last but far from least, the site of the docking arm of a Cardassian-made space station on the viewscreen.

Seven struggled for the right words to say in response to the situation, so she settled for something Naomi likely would've said.

"Oh, shoot."

The security officers on the bridge already had their phasers out and pointed at her. Not wanting to make things worse than they already seemed to be she raised her hands.

"Answer the question," Janeway said, the viewscreen image of what Seven could safely assume was the Federation outpost Deep Space Nine behind her. "Who are you?"

"Captain," one of the other bridge crew said, holding a tricorder, "I'm reading Borg technology inside her body."

"It's inert," Seven said, a brief moment of panic slipping through her calm demeanor. "Look, Captain Janeway, I can explain the situation, but I'm going to tell you now it is unlikely you'll believe me."

"I'll be the judge of that," Janeway said. "I do find it interesting that you show up just as our systems start malfunctioning."

"Check your internal sensors," Seven said, "See if they're showing any unusual temporal readings."

"Temporal readings?" Janeway said.

"My name is Annika Hansen," Seven said, deciding that going by her Borg name as she usually did around people besides Samantha, whom she noticed looking at her from the main science station on the bridge, would be a bad idea. "Formally known as Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01. Just over three years from what I believe the current stardate to be given that you haven't departed DS9 yet, you will encounter the Borg, myself included. I will be the lone surviving drone. You and your crew remove me from the collective, and invite me to join the crew."

Janeway crossed her arms and frowned.

"Right," she said.

"Captain," a human Seven recognized from the files of Voyager's deceased as Peter Durst said, "environmental controls are fluctuating."

"That doesn't prove anything," Janeway said.

Seven looked over at Samantha. "Perhaps if I say something that-"

"Captain," Durst said, "we're being hailed. It's DS9."

"On screen," Janeway said. "If she moves, stun her and take her to the brig."

The face of a Trill woman in Starfleet blue appeared on the viewscreen. "Voyager, this is Lieutenant Dax. I'm picking up some strange readings from your ship."

"I would imagine so," Janeway said. "We suspect sabotage." She looked at Seven before turning back to face the viewscreen. "We suspect there may be Borg involvement."

"I don't think so," Dax said. "I'm picking up signs of temporal flux throughout your vessel. Have you had anything show up on the bridge lately that could be from your past or future?"

Seven couldn't see Janeway's face, but she imagined that the Captain looked shocked.

"We have someone here who claims to be from Voyager's future. Say's she's an ex-Borg drone that I rescue several years from now."

Dax went from serious to ecstatic in less than a second.

"Really?" she said. "Okay, this I have to see. I'd suggest locking down the ship for now, I see from our manifest you have a few people who haven't boarded yet. I'll beam myself directly to your bridge, just to be safe."

Janeway sighed. "Very well, Lieutenant. Mister Durst, contact Mister Kim, Mister Paris, and Miss Stadi. Tell them to stay where they are for now."

"Aye, Captain," Durst said.

"Excuse me, Miss... Hansen you said it was?" Samantha said.

"Yes," Seven said, worrying about where this was going.

"I can't help but notice you keep looking at me," Samantha said. "Why is that?"

"Good question," Janeway said. "While we're waiting on Lieutenant Dax, perhaps you could tell us more about your story. Not that I'm buying it just yet, but-"
Janeway was cut off by the sound of a transporter beam, and smiling Lieutenant Dax materialized right behind the Captain's chair.

"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Dax" Janeway said.

"Thank you," Dax said. "I was hoping I'd get a chance to see the inside of one of the new Intrepid-class ships. And please, call me Jadzia."

Jadzia looked at Seven.

"This must be our time traveller," she said.

"If she's telling the truth," Janeway said.

Jadzia ran her own tricorder over Seven, who was feeling a little put out by all the scanning of her body going on today.

"Borg nanoprobes, but inert, and harmless far as I can tell," Jadzia said. "Just how much of your original implants are left?"

"Under twenty percent," Seven said.

"Amazing," Jadzia said.

"Can you confirm her story?" Janeway said, sounding impatient.

"That? Oh, definitely," Jadzia said. "Her body is full of chronitons. That explains the readings I got in Ops. And to think, Benjamin made fun of me when I said I wanted to add chronitons to the list of particles we routinely scan for."

"That only confirms she's travelled through time," Janeway said. "Not that she's a future crew member."

"As I was saying before I was interrupted, Captain," Seven said. "I believe I can prove that I know by telling you something that couldn't be easily found in the ship's records."

"Perhaps you can start," Janeway said, motioning towards Samantha, "by telling me why you seem so fascinated in my xenobiologist."

"Sam and I," Seven said, pausing to decide how much she should say. She was certain she wasn't in a stable time loop. If Sam, or the Captain, or Lieutenant Anderson who currently was pointing a phaser at her back had met her prior to the encounter with her cube during the Species 8472 conflict, there would've been some sign. "We're close."

"How close?" Janeway said, stepping forward, trying to look intimidating, and succeeding as far as Seven was concerned.

"Good friends," Seven lied, hoping it was convincing. She decided to add some truth to it to give it an air of credibility. "She was among the first of this crew to welcome me. There was some... trepidation when you made the decision to integrate me into the crew. Not everyone was as trusting of me at first as you, Sam, or Lieuten- Ensign Kim."

Janeway failed to hide a small smile at that. Seven figured that the Captain was thinking she was right in picking Harry for her senior staff. Seven glanced at Jadzia, who was giving her a look that suggested she did not believe Seven and Sam were 'just friends' in the future, but thankfully she kept that to herself.

"Okay," Janeway said. "Let's say I buy your story. How did you end up here?"

Seven proceeded to tell Janeway about the anomaly that Voyager encountered, leaving out the name of the chief engineer as this Janeway only knew B'Elanna Torres as a member of the Maquis, and one she hadn't met in person yet at that.

"And you're saying that sickbay is in a different time period from both yourself and the bridge?" Jadzia said. "That actually makes sense given my readings. It also explains the serum running through your body. Your doctor infused it with chronitons? That's brilliant. If we're going to help you fix this we'll need to replicate more of that serum. I think it may be the reason you're passing through the ship without being affected by the anomaly. Or, further affected, I guess I should say."

"Hang on," Janeway said. "I'll admit her story sounds plausible based on what both of you are telling me," she looked back and forth between Seven and Jadzia to make it clear who she was talking about, "but I'm going to need more to go on before I let someone with Borg technology wander around my ship."

"I don't think I should be the one doing the wandering," Seven said, as she tried to remember the name of Voyager's CMO prior to them being pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker. "If I were to go with you to have Doctor Fitzgerald make more of the serum, I'd likely only end up in the time period sickbay is in."

"Probably only you would though," Jadzia said. "If I were to go I'd end up in sickbay as it is right now in this stardate."

"So I would have to take her word for it," Janeway said, "and let her leave the bridge unescorted? I don't think so. I'm not ready to rule out some kind of Borg plot here just yet."

"Oh like the Collective could come up with anything that clever at this point," Seven muttered without realizing she'd done it. "I apologize for the outburst, Captain."

Janeway narrowed her eyes, but not in anger. "What do you mean by 'at this point?' Are you referring to seven years from now, where you say you're from?"

"Yes," Seven said, wondering just how much about the Borg Degradation theory she should share. She realized that by now any hope of avoiding changing her own timeline had long since gone out the airlock, but decided to be concise anyway. "The Borg Collective, to put it simply, is slowly collapsing. By my time, they are already slower to adapt and regenerate, and are making increasingly bizarre tactical blunders. We're at the point where the site of a Borg cube doesn't even fill the crew with dread anymore."

"Ooh, tell me more," Jadzia said.

"No time," Janeway said. "My ship is still malfunctioning, and you, Miss Hansen, seem to be right at the center of it all. I'm going to take a huge risk here, but I want you to get back to your sickbay, whichever year it's in, and replicate more of the serum. I want a vial for myself, and enough for two guards and-"

"One for me," Jadzia said.

"Lieutenant-" Janeway started to say, but Jadzia raised a hand to cut her off.

"Captain," she said, "Pardon the interruption, but I'm a Trill. I have literally hundreds of years of experience to draw from. One of my prior hosts has even dealt with time travel before. I sincerely believe you'll need me if we're going to set this right, whatever this is. In addition, your ship is still docked to DS9. That means this technically falls under our jurisdiction."

Janeway clearly didn't appreciate being interrupted, something that would still be true seven years from now, but Seven could tell that she knew Jadzia was right. Seven would be grateful for the help. If it weren't for this Trill, Janeway likely would've ordered her taken to the brig by now, and if the path to the brig passed through an area of the ship that was even further back than this, perhaps at Utopia Planitia while the shop was unfinished…

"Environmental suits may be advisable as well," Seven said. "Until we know just how many areas of the ship are affected, and in what time periods there are, there's a risk we could enter an area during a period when life support was not turned on, or damaged, or worse."

"Good thinking," Jadzia said. "Perhaps once we know more about the anomaly we can find some way to map the ship, figure out what areas are in what time periods. The only ones we know for certain are the bridge and sickbay."

Janeway sighed.

"In that case," she said, "the fewer the better. More people just increases the risk. Get enough serum for myself and Lieutenant Dax. But before you do that, figure out what time period engineering is in."

"Right," Jadzia said, "the warp core was where all this started when it struck Ensign Hansen."

"Right away, Captain," Seven said. "I suppose you're not going to allow me a phaser?"

"Of course not," Janeway said. "Why?"

"Because even before I joined the crew there were… incidents."

Seven patted her belt where a phaser would be attached had she been given one, and sighed. At least she had an emergency breather unit with her, though if any section of the ship she entered was exposed to vacuum she could still be harmed, even if she stepped back in time.

If I am fortunate, she thought, engineering will still be in my timeline and B'Elanna can give me more information to work with.

She also wondered how she was going to explain to the Captain some of things she would be seeing once they were traversing the temporally fractured ship. Seven had a feeling that Jadzia Dax would likely take it all in stride, but Janeway would be a different, especially once she knew about the Delta Quadrant, the Maquis crewmembers, Neelix, and so much more. Seven respected the Captain, but she would've had to be naive to think that Janeway would be anything but overwhelmed by the information.

Seven did encounter a few crewmembers on her way to engineering, but some of them seemed to disappear as she passed them. That confirmed that the serum The Doctor had created was allowing her to move back and forth during the as yet unknown number of time zones Voyager seemed to be fractured into. She recognized the few people she saw as being alive in her time period, so she was able to at least peg sections of this hallway as probably being in 2377, but that was not a guarantee engineering itself would be. She reached the door to engineering, entered, and quickly found several Kazon weapons pointed in her face.

"Dammit," Seven said.

"Who the hell are you?" a Cardassian woman said.

Safe to assume that's Seska, Seven thought. I've heard about her.

"You're not the first person to ask me that question today," she said aloud. "I seem to be in the wrong timeline, so if you'll just excuse me…"

"Grab her," Seska said to the two Kazon closest to Seven.

"It was worth a shot," Seven muttered, finally having to admit to herself that while not the worst, this was easily the strangest day she'd had since becoming an individual again.

"I don't recall seeing you around before," Seska said. "I think I'd remember a cyborg wearing Starfleet blues. Is that Borg tech on your eyebrow there?"

"Very astute," Seven said.

"And you said 'wrong timeline," Seska said. "I'm guessing you're from the future then. Here to stop us perhaps? You should've come sooner, it's already too late for the Voyager crew. This ship belongs to the Kazon now. Thanks to me."

"That won't last, trust me," Seven said. "You're right about me being from the future though. One where you already lost. Since Cardassians tend towards fatalism, how about you just accept that, and let me get back to my job?"

Seska laughed.

"I like you," she said. "I'll still probably have to kill you, but I like you. So, tell me what I want to know, and I'll make it quick and painless for you."

"You've already figured out the most important part," Seven said. "If you want specifics, this takeover of yours was five years ago from my perspective, before I joined the crew."

Seska frowned. "You expect me to believe that Janeway and her people are going to be able to reclaim this ship from the backwater planet we dropped them on?"

"She had help," Seven said. "Not that I'll tell you who or how. It isn't that I'm worried about changing the timeline, this isn't that kind of anomaly I'm dealing with. I just don't feel like it."

"I'm getting the impression you don't like me very much," Seska said. "Well, I won't pretend to be some kind of hero, I know what I am. But I would bet that the people I betrayed to get here would still exaggerate."

"They didn't need to," Seven said. "My step-daughter almost died on that planet you left her and the crew on. That's reason enough for me to not like you."

Seska's expression was solid for a few moments, but then suddenly she laughed again.

"Little Naomi is your step-daughter? I never figured Ensign Wildman for that kind of woman." Seska looked Seven up and down. "Though I can't say she has bad taste."

Seven suddenly felt the urge to hop in the nearest sonic shower and use the highest possible setting. The Kazon around her were chuckling, though at what she had no idea. She found nothing about this situation even mildly amusing.

"Enough banter," Seven said, "If I don't solve the problems caused by this anomaly, the ship will be destroyed, in all time periods. That means you and the Kazon here dying too, erased from history." Seven didn't actually know if that was the case or not, but considering her knowledge of such anomalies, knowledge gained both as part of the Borg collective and through practical experience aboard Voyager, she was approximately thirty-three percent certain that was a possibility.

This thought seemed to give Seska pause. Seven knew Seska didn't like losing, based on what she had been told, and she had already told her that Voyager would be retaken. But non-existence probably didn't hold any appeal to her either.

"We should just kill her," one of the Kazon said. "This is obviously a fake story. Time travel isn't possible."

"It is," Seska said. "Starfleet has a whole division of officers dedicated to dealing with the ramifications of it. The Department of Temporal Investigations."

Seven saw that the Kazon who was talking to Seska was distracted enough to have lowered his weapon, and wondered if she'd have the chance to take advantage of it, when

Seska started talking to her again. "It also helps your case that your temporal anomaly could explain why internal communications aren't working. I was thinking sabotage at first, but if that were the case I doubt even a Starfleet officer would be dumb enough to just waltz into engineering unarmed."

"That's the second time today a malfunctioning system has actually benefitted me," Seven said. "I suppose that's somewhat ironic."

"It's certainly the reason I'm not letting them kill you. Yet," Seska said, putting a strong emphasis on the word 'yet.' "I don't believe you that this anomaly will destroy the ship, but I'm not foolish enough to think it won't cause a problem for us at all. So, whatever it was you were planning to do in engineering, do it. But I'll be watching you very closely, and if I see one sign of treachery from you, I'll let my friends here kill you."

"Fair enough I suppose," Seven said. She got up to follow Seska to a nearby console, wondering how she was going to get out of this, when one of the Kazon made a tactical error. He grabbed the shoulder of her uniform and shoved her forward. Seven normally had excellent balance, but seeing an opportunity she allowed herself to stumble which put her in the position to grab the rifle of another Kazon. In one swift motion she yanked it away from him, turned around to shoot the one who had grabbed her, and make a break for the turbolift. She regretted killing the Kazon, but as their weapons didn't come with a stun setting, she had no choice. After all, if she survived and set things back to normal, that guard would likely live again and be one of the ones who escaped when Mahj Cullah and the others abandoned Voyager once Tom Paris and the Talaxians managed to disable the ship.

"Sickbay," she said, as the turbolift door closed just in time to prevent Seska from shooting her herself. As the lift rose, the weapon faded away right in her hands, presumably falling to the floor in the timeline she'd grabbed it in. Seven sighed, but accepted it.

The Doctor paced back and forth, unsure what to do. Seven, or at least the Seven from three years in the future, should've been back by now. And why hadn't anyone from the bridge noticed that communications wasn't working? He hated not being able to figure it out for himself, but with the stolen mobile emitter not yet retrieved he literally had no options.

He also wondered if maybe he was wrong to take Seven at her word. He'd scanned her pretty thoroughly while she was unconscious, so he knew her Borg implants were functioning, and there was no sign of any chemical imbalances in her brain that could be causing delusions or hallucinations.

He heard the door open, and stopped pacing to see Seven step in, looking she'd just been running.

"What happened?" The Doctor said.

"I ran into Seska and the Kazon in engineering," Seven said. "So we know when that part of the ship is in at least."

"That was-"

"Yeah, I know how long ago it was. The bridge is even further back than that. Up there Voyager is still docked at DS9."

"So," The Doctor said, "you're saying the anomaly that caused your injury has somehow fractured Voyager into multiple timelines?"

"That as good a way to put it as any," Seven said. "I need you to replicate more of that serum. Two vials. One for Captain Janeway and one for Lieutenant Dax."

"Who?"

"DS9's science officer. She's going to assist the Captain, or rather the past version of the Captain, and myself in correcting this issue. That serum is the reason I'm able to pass through each timeline."

"I'll get right on that," The Doctor said, immediately getting to work. "I'll have to infuse the hyposprays themselves too."

"Of course," Seven said, feeling foolish for not having considered that herself. She looked down at her uniform and comm badge. "Come to think of it, how have I been able to pass through the timelines without losing what I'm wearing?"

"I had injected you with the serum well before you woke up," The Doctor said. "Perhaps it had time to seep through your pores?"

"Do you have an approximate guess how long? I'd rather not-"

"See the Captain au natural? That would be awkward. I'll see what I can do."

"Work quickly please, Doctor,"

"As quickly as I can."

Jadzia ran her tricorder over the hyposprays Ensign Hansen had given her.

"This serum is amazing," she said. "I had no idea your Doctor was so brilliant."

"I'm sure he'd be happy to hear you say that," Hansen said.

"Fitzgerald never struck me as the egotistical type," Captain Janeway said. Jadzia saw Ensign Hansen look awkward for a very brief moment before collecting herself.

Fitzgerald isn't their doctor in the future I'm guessing, Jadzia thought. Dead? Replaced? Maybe not relevant, but I should hang on to the information for later.

"I think we can safely use these, Captain," Jadzia said, handing one to Janeway, and then injecting herself with the other.

"We should wait a few moments," Hansen said, "Otherwise your uniforms will likely not cross the barrier with you."

"I'm more worried about losing my phaser than my uniform," Janeway said.

Ensign Hansen actually smirked a little, the most human expression the ex-Borg had shown yet since Jadzia had met her.

"It would be awkward though, Captain. Doubly so if my wife were to see me walking around with two naked women."

"You're married?" Jadzia said.

Hansen winced. "I shouldn't have mentioned that."

"You said you'd only been free of the collective for over three years in your timeframe," Janeway said. "And you're married already? That seems awfully fast."

"I'd rather not discuss my personal life," Hansen said. "We should focus on the mission."

"I agree," Jadzia said. She remembered the way that Ensign Hansen had glanced several times at Ensign Samantha Wildman, the ship's chief xenobiologist. And now Hansen was saying she had a wife in the future. Jadzia put two and two together fairly quickly, but decided to keep it to herself.

Janeway cautiously pressed the hypospray to her own neck, then handed it back to Ensign Hansen.

"How long should we wait?" Janeway said.

"Approximately seven minutes," Hansen said.

"In the meantime," Jadzia said, "I can see about modifying Voyager's sensors to see if we can map these temporal barriers."

""We'll have better luck with that if we can get to the astrometrics lab," Hansen said. "It's been upgraded by my time. Enhanced using Borg technology. Mister Kim and I designed and built it shortly after I joined the crew."

Jadzia felt her smile growing. A chance to work with Borg technology up close and personal without risk of assimilation was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"Lieutenant," Janeway said, "I get the feeling you're enjoying this way too much."

"Is it that obvious?" Jadzia said. "I mean, come on Captain, are you honestly going to tell you are aren't at all excited about the prospect of being able to time travel on foot? No one from the Federation has done that since the Guardian of Forever was destroyed by the Tholians."

"History that in all likelihood only our ex-Borg over here is going to remember," Janeway said.

Jadzia nodded, and looked at Hansen. "Ensign, how good's your memory?"

"Photographic," Hansen said.

"When you get back to your time, write everything down about this mission and send it to me. Don't leave out any of the juicy details. I imagine I am going to enjoy reading it."

"Very well, Lieutenant Dax," Hansen said.

"Since I'm going to be finding myself in multiple futures," Janeway said, "I'll need a thorough briefing on what I might run into."

Ensign Hansen sighed. "Captain, over the course of the next six years you will average anywhere from twenty-four to twenty-six 'incidents' a year, and it is unknown how many of them we'll encounter. In addition, there may be areas of the ship that would be in my future, in which case my knowledge would be useless."

"Are you suggesting we wing it?" Janeway said.

"Frankly, yes," Hansen said.

"While we're waiting," Jadzia said, "what's the situation in engineering?"

Hansen sighed, heavier this time.

"It's in the hands of an enemy race you haven't encountered yet," she said. "I managed to escape, but just barely."

Janeway's eyes went wide. "And you didn't think to mention this sooner?"

"I did not," Hansen said, looking down at the floor. "I apologize for my error, Captain."

Janeway rubbed her forehead.

"Maybe you should've brought enough serum for a full security detail," Janeway said.

"The Kazon are ruthless, Captain. That would likely only get some of your people killed," Hansen said. "Guerilla tactics are more advisable."

"I can help with that," Jadzia said. "I've been a soldier before. Several times."

"Let's save that for last, then," Janeway said. "We don't even know if we can fix the problem from there. Let's focus on mapping the barriers first."

"Aye, Captain," Jadzia said. Ensign Hansen nodded her agreement.

"Pardon me," Ensign Wildman said, "but I figured I'd run a scan while you were talking, and it looks like the serum has already begun to affect your clothes and your equipment."

"Good thinking hon- Ensign," Hansen said. The bridge suddenly grew very quiet.

"Excuse me?" Wildman said.

"We should get started, Captain. I'll lead-" Hansen said, but Ensign Wildman grabbed her shoulder.

"Oh no," she said. "Did you just call me 'hon'? What are we in the future? The truth."

Hansen looked at Captain Janeway as though she expected the Captain to intervene. Instead, Janeway merely crossed her arms.

Ensign Hansen sighed and pulled a small metal ring out of her pocket and handed it to Ensign Wildman.

"I think you'll find your birth date etched on the inside of that," Hansen said.

Ensign Wildman shook her head, refusing to take it. "No. I don't believe you. I'm already married. My husband and I are trying to have a baby. I wouldn't just dump him for some ex-Borg drone."

"You didn't dump him, Sam, it's not like that."

"What? Are you saying he's dead?"

"No."

"Then what? What happens seven years from now that I'm married to you?"

"I-I don't think I should say. I've already said too much about the future as is."

Jadzia felt very uncomfortable, and started to move forward to intervene before the situation got any worse, but Hansen continued.

"I'm sorry, Sammy, but-"

The slap was so loud, Jadzia reflexively winced.

"Samantha!" Janeway said in shock. "You're out of line!"

"I'm sorry, I just-," Ensign Wildman said to Ensign Hansen. "I don't know you. You have to be lying. There's no way I would just leave-"

"Ensign Wildman, that is enough," Janeway said. "You're dismissed. Go to your quarters and calm down. That's an order."

Ensign Wildman didn't reply. She simply turned and headed for the turbolift, appearing as shocked by her own outburst as everyone else was.

Jadzia was closest to Ensign Hansen, so she stepped up by her side.

"You okay, Annika?" Jadzia said, hoping she wasn't be too familiar with the Ensign.

"No," Ensign Hansen said, her facial expression shifting into one of grim determination. "Let's fix it."

Seven exited the turbolift so quickly that Captain Janeway and Lieutenant Dax had to jog to keep up.

"I'm sorry, Ensign," Janeway said. "What happened on the bridge was just uncalled for."

"It's alright, Captain," Seven said. "Once this anomaly has been dealt with, that will not have happened."

"She doesn't do anything like that in your timeline does she?" Jadzia said, and Seven stopped and glared at her. "I'll take that as a 'no.'"

"The Sam of this time is new to high stress situations, and I revealed something I shouldn't have. She was clearly overwhelmed."

"She's a Starfleet officer," Janeway said, "she should know better than to lose her cool like that."

"If it's any consolation, Captain," Seven said. "based on her record this incident is an outlier."

"An outlier that left a hand-shaped red mark on your face," Jadzia said.

"Please discontinue this line of conversation," Seven said forcefully. The Trill science officer mercifully stopped talking. Seven was starting to get annoyed at Jadzia's personality; what some of her colleagues aboard Voyager would've called 'perky.' In Naomi it was charming, but from a Starfleet officer it wore out its welcome quickly.

While walking Seven passed through a barrier and found herself in a section of hall that, unlike the area behind them, was clearly in red alert mode. She spotted the two crew members lying unconscious before Janeway did.

"I'm detecting an active neurogenic field," Jadzia said, her tricorder already out.

"This could be the telepathic pitcher plant, or it could be the time aliens invaded our dreams," Seven said. "Either way, they will be fine."

"We've got to get them help," Janeway said.

"We got out of both those situations without any losses," Seven said. "Bumps and bruises from people falling against walls when they went to sleep, but nothing requiring surgery."

"I'd love to know how," Jadzia said. "Later of course. Put in your report."

"It's really important for you to remember this, isn't it?" Janeway said to Jadzia.

"I'm not unsympathetic," Jadzia said, "I understand that this is likely a stressful situation for you two, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't find this mission exciting."

"Isn't there enough excitement living next to the Alpha Quadrant's only stable wormhole?" Janeway said.

"Sometimes," Jadzia said, "but I'm over 300 years old. I get bored easily."

Seven hated to admit it, but she found Jadzia's argument somewhat reasonable. Didn't make it less annoying, but she decided that as long as the Trill could remain professional when it counted, she wouldn't make an issue of it.

"Astrometrics is just this way," Seven said. She soon entered the lab, and saw two gold shirted officer with their backs to them. One of them turned around, and without having to ask, she realized who it was.

"Naomi?" Seven said.

"Hi, Seven," adult Naomi said.

"Good to see you again, Captain," the other officer said, and Seven looked and was shocked to see that the male officer was an equally grown up Icheb. "It's been far too long."

"Icheb" Naomi said, "Temporal prime Directive, remember?"

"Right, I apologize," Icheb said.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know you ma'am," Naomi said, looking at Jadzia.

"Jadzia Dax, DS9," Jadzia said. "So how do you know Ensign Hansen, or Seven as you just called her?"

"She's my step-mom," Naomi said.

"Wait," Janeway said, "is your mother Samantha Wildman?"

"Yes," Naomi said. She looked back at Seven. "Icheb was starting to think you wouldn't show up, that we'd used up all of our contacts to get Voyager out of mothballs for nothing."

"Now who's violating the Temporal Prime Directive?" adult Icheb said jokingly.

"Wow," Seven said, overcome with emotion. "You two have grown so much. How far in my future is this?"

"Seventeen years since you told us we'd need to be here," Naomi said. "Don't worry though, this isn't a stable time loop, not really. Past Janeway and Lieutenant Dax here won't remember anything once we've fixed this."

"Well, comforting to know we succeed," Janeway said,

"It would be ill-advised to get complacent," Seven said. "Assuming certain victory is often the first step to total failure."

"Agreed," Naomi said. "You never mentioned anything about a Trill officer coming with you and the Captain before. This could mean this is actually not your first time through this."

"Well, that's disturbing," Jadzia said, and Seven was inclined to agree with her.

"I'll understand if you can't tell me but, is there a reason I or Sam couldn't be here?" Seven said.

"They didn't want to, actually," Icheb said. "You didn't feel it was necessary, and Samantha thought seeing the younger version of you would be, and I quote, weird."

"Besides, what would Mom do with two Seven of Nines here?" Naomi said.

Jadzia opened her mouth to speak, but Janeway gently elbowed her in the arm.

"Don't," Janeway said, pointing at Jadzia.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Jadzia said.

"Sure you weren't," Janeway said, leaving Seven wondering just what they meant.

"Anyway," Naomi said, moving over to one of the lab's consoles, one that looked bigger than when Seven has seen it last, "what happened was a chronokinetic surge interacted with the warp core. It shattered the space-time continuum aboard ship. Thirty-seven timelines to be exact. The lab is the only one I know for certain to be in your relative future, Seven."

"I'm sorry, I have to ask," Janeway said, "why does she keep calling you Seven?"

"Because, I largely chose to continue going by my Borg designation after leaving the Collective. The transition to individuality was difficult, though Samantha helped a lot in that regard. Generally, I only allow her to call me by birth name, Annika, though there've been circumstantial exceptions. I used it on the bridge out of concern that going by Seven of Nine would not make you inclined to believe what I'm telling you."

Janeway nodded. "I'll admit it, that was a fair assessment."

"So, are we calling you Seven for the rest of the mission," Jadzia said, "or are we still going with Ensign Hansen? I don't want anyone to get confused."

"We're travelling through time, I think it's a little late for that," Janeway said.

"I hate to interrupt," Naomi said, "but there's still the matter of fixing the ship"

"Perhaps if we can find a section of the ship that's still in the time frame of when the incident occurred," Jadzia said, "we can prevent the strike from happening in the first place."

Naomi and Icheb shared a look.

"What is it?" Seven said.

"The initial impact point is gone," Icheb said. "There are parts of the ship that exist in the immediate aftermath, mere hours, but the moment itself, and just before, if you tried to go there you'd end up in open space." He called up a schematic of Voyager on the lab's screen, and pointed to where he was talking about.

"Well, shit," Seven muttered.

"Language," Naomi said, stifling a chuckle.

"All these years and I still can't escape that," Seven said, but not with any anger.

"So what do we do then?" Janeway said.

"We don't know," Naomi said sadly. "All Seven told, or will tell us, is to put you on the right track and tell you which area of the ship to avoid; the one that's exposed to vacuum."

"Also how many timelines there were," Icheb said.

"Right, that too. "

"Thirty-seven," Seven said, "Understood. Thank you, Naomi. Icheb. I'm happy to know you're both going to grow up okay. And that Sam and I are still together after twenty years. Though I know better than to assume it will always be easy."

"Few things worth doing are easy," Naomi said. "You and Mom taught me that."

"We should get going," Janeway said. "We still need to figure out to fix this. I'm just glad to know we can."

"Even if it takes multiple tries, apparently," Jadzia said.

Seven gave her grown up children a big hug before following Captain Janeway and Lieutenant Dax back into the corridor.

They said 'get Voyager out of mothballs,' Seven thought. I suppose that means the ship does make it to the Alpha Quadrant sometime in the next seventeen years. That's comforting.

"Where to next, Seven?" Janeway said.

Seven let out a long breath. "I do have an idea, but I'm certain you won't like it."

Janeway crossed her arms. "I've not liked a lot of things today. Try me."

"When a Borg cube travels through a transwarp corridor," Seven said, "the temporal stresses are extreme. To keep the different sections of the cube in temporal sync, they project a chroniton field throughout the vessel."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Janeway said. "Why did you not want to suggest it?"

"It would require specially designed conduits. I would need Borg technology to create them," Seven said.

"According to you we already use Borg tech in astrometrics," Janeway said.

"The map the kids- Naomi and Icheb showed us shows me where I can obtain the necessary resources," Seven said, suddenly sounding nervous.

"Ensign," Janeway said, "Why. Is This. A problem?"

"Cargo bay 2," Seven said. "During the time when it was occupied by the Borg. Including myself, when I was still a drone."

"You don't want to meet your past self," Jadzia said, "and be reminded of your time as a drone. I can empathize with that."

Janeway sighed. "I don't think we have much of a choice, but before we go you're going to tell me exactly why the Borg are using one of my cargo bays."

Janeway listened as Seven told her in broad strokes about the Borg conflict with Species 8472, Janeway's alliance with them, and how Seven was the lone drone to survive when the first officer vented the cargo bay into space after Janeway was briefly incapacitated. Janeway took note that Seven took great care not to say the name of the first officer, leading her to wonder if something bad was going to happen to Cavit in the future.

"I see," Janeway said. "I'm starting to question my future self's judgement here."

"Sounds to me like you, or rather future you, made the right call, Captain," Jadzia said. "Assuming Seven of Nine here isn't exaggerating, Species 8472 was xenophobic, aggressive, able to destroy whole planets with just a small fleet… The Borg were definitely the lesser evil there."

"I suppose I shouldn't judge," Janeway said, "seeing as I wasn't there. Or won't be there. Whatever, let's just go to the cargo bay and see if we can get what we need. Just be ready to run if we need to."

The trio made their way quickly to cargo bay 2, passing the unconscious crewmembers from earlier once more before heading down a different corridor. Once inside, Janeway nearly gulped at the site of one of her cargo bays looking more like the inside of a Borg cube.

"What has happened to this vessel?" a drone said, approaching them while all the others continued about their business as if three Starfleet officers hadn't just wandered in.
The drone looked very familiar, as she looked at Seven.

"You are me, but no longer a drone. Explain."

"This is going to get confusing," Seven said, looking uncomfortably at the Borg drone she used to be.

Seven, or rather the Seven from the future, straightened her uniform and proceeded to explain the situation in a very clipped, Borg-like manner to her past self. Janeway feared that past-Seven might attempt to assimilate them, but instead she went to a Borg computer console and began entering information.

"Your plan is sufficient," past-Seven said, "though you will need to create a powerful field once the conduits are stored throughout the vessel."

"We'd need to get to engineering," future-Seven said. "And that will mean a direct fight with the Kazon."

"That should not be difficult," past-Seven said. Janeway thought for a moment that the Borg drone sounded smug, but that couldn't possibly be right.

"Once it is done, it will force Voyager back into temporal sync," past-Seven said.

"Temporal sync with when?" Jadzia said.

Future-Seven manipulated a few controls herself. "It'll essentially be a hard reset, to the moment of the original chronokinetic surge. I'll have six to seven seconds to try and counteract the warp core reaction."

"That's not a lot of time," Janeway said.

"I can do it," Future Seven said, sounding more certain than arrogant.

Hopefully she's not letting her desire to see her family again cloud her judgement, Janeway thought.

"Your plan is inefficient," past-Seven said. "There are only three of you to place the conduits around the ship. If you would allow us to assimilate you into a small collective, you could assimilate others and complete the task more quickly."

"No," future-Seven said forcefully.

Past-Seven looked at her future self quizzically, but did not press the issue.

"We will begin construction of the conduits immediately," past-Seven said. "You will obtain more of the chroniton serum in order to carry them through the ship."
Janeway didn't like being ordered around, but she also didn't like the idea of being assimilated, so she took the high road.

"We're on it." She motioned for future-Seven and Jadzia to follow her out of the cargo bay.

"We'll need to head to sick bay then," Seven said. She sighed. "I must inform you that Doctor Fitzgerald will not be the one you meet when you get there, Captain."
"I assumed as much," Janeway said. "Jeff's good, but there's nothing in his record to indicate he's that good. Who's my CMO in your timeline?"

"The Emergency Medical Hologram," Seven said.

"Wait, what?" Janeway said.

"I've replicated these belts to resist the effects of the temporal barriers, just like the hyposprays," The Doctor said, as Captain Janeway and Lieutenant Dax adjusted theirs.

"Anything you attach to them should be able to pass through the barriers with you with no problem."

"You know," Jadzia said, "it's a shame DS9 isn't equipped to handle an EMH. I had no idea you were so versatile."

The Doctor beamed with pride at the compliment. "Normally we're not. Most of the Mark I's ended up doing menial work-"

"Doctor?" Seven said, "Temporal Prime Directive, remember?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Before today, Seven, I don't recall you ever caring about that. Besides, you said yourself this plan would reset everything, so the Captain here wouldn't know about the Delta Quadrant or-"

"Delta Quadrant?" Janeway said.

The Doctor winced. He looked back and forth between a shocked Janeway, and an annoyed Seven of Nine.

"Ooh, the plot thickens," Jadzia said.

"I figured there had to be a reason why we don't have a real doctor in your timeline, Seven," Janeway said.

"Now just a minute-" The Doctor said defensively.

"But what's this about the Delta Quadrant?"

"I'll explain along the way," Seven said to Janeway, though she was glowering at The Doctor the whole time, as if to say "This is all your fault."

"I thought we were going to split up," Jadzia said. "Wouldn't that get this done faster?"

"Faster, yes," The Doctor said. "But remember Lieutenant Dax, most people on this ship either don't know you at all, or know you as being on DS9. Going by yourself could lead to questions at best, being tagged as an intruder at worst. That would definitely slow you down."

"He's right, Lieutenant," Janeway said. "It may take longer, but it's for the best. Seven knows what we might be running into out there, and if we end up in the past again I'm the only one who can vouch for her." Janeway finished clipping her belt. "Let's get back to cargo bay 2, get those conduits, and get to work."

Seven opened a panel and began installing one of the conduits, Captain Janeway helping her, while Jadzia worked alone on another one at the end of the corridor.

"Can I ask you something?" Janeway said.

"Of course, Captain," Seven said.

"I started off with a crew of 153," Janeway said. "I already know I lost my doctor, and my nurses apparently. I'm guessing I lose my first officer the way you dance around using any names when the subject comes up. When we get pulled into the Delta Quadrant by this, Caretaker, you called him?"

"That is correct," Seven said, feeling uncomfortable with where this was going. She'd had to tell the Captain that Voyager was in the Delta Quadrant, no thanks to The Doctor, but she'd kept details as spare as she felt she could get away with, and place strong emphasis on the fact that Voyager was in regular contact with Starfleet now and that a combined thirty years of travel time had been shaved off the journey, with hope for more ever present.

"How many people do I lose?"

Seven sighed. "Many Starfleet vessels suffer casualties," she said. "But you'll gain new crewmembers as well."

"Like you," Janeway said.

"Like me," Seven said. Janeway opened her mouth to say more, but a loud buzzing noise distracted her. Seven did not recognize the noise, but when she turned around and saw its source, she recognized it all too well from the ship's logs.

"Run!" Seven shouted as the macrovirus flew towards them.

"What the hell is that?" Jadzia said, nearly stumbling as she rushed to her feet. Seven didn't say anything until they passed through a temporal barrier, the macrovirus disappearing as it tried to follow.

"A macrovirus," Seven said. "They infected the ship some time before I joined the crew. I never saw one in person before though. It is exactly as disturbing as Sam described them to me."

"Had I not just run away from one," Jadzia said, "I would say you were being ridiculous."

"I can understand that," Seven said. "Though really, that could apply to any number of phenomena I've encountered both as a Borg drone and as a crew member of Voyager."

"It sounds to me like it's one disaster after another on this ship," Janeway said, shaking her head.

"It can seem like that at times," Seven admitted, "but you and your crew will get the opportunity to study things no Alpha Quadrant species had ever seen before. If nothing else, consider the countless lives you likely saved by stopping Species 8472 from continuing their incursions from fluidic space. Incursions that were the Borg's fault, I might add."

"I'm not sure having to clean up the Borg's mess is something to be proud of," Janeway said. "We're not done with this conversation, I still want to know what happens to my crew. But we should keep going. The next junction is in holodeck 1."

"I want a copy of that program," Jadzia said, smiling as the three them left the holodeck and went back to being in full color. "Captain Proton, right?"

"Yes," Seven said, "it's one of Tom's programs, modelled on early twentieth-century earth science fiction."

"Tom?" Captain Janeway said. "As in Tom Paris?"

Seven nodded.

"What does he end up doing on the ship once we're stranded?" Janeway said.

Seven seemed reluctant to answer. Jadzia was frankly getting annoyed at the constant tension there seemed to be between these two, so she stepped between them to cut off the conversation.

"Where is the next location for the conduits?" she said.

"Transporter room 3," Seven said.

"Remember, send me a copy of that program," Jadzia said. "I especially liked the boxy robot."

"You mean the one that grabbed me?" Janeway said. "If you ask me Mister Paris's tastes are not exactly sophisticated."

"Better a boxy robot than annoying British children," Jadzia heard Seven mutter under her breath.

"What was that, Ensign?" Janeway said, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing, Captain," Seven said, clearing her throat and leading the way to the transporter room. When they got there, Seven was initially relieved to see B'Elanna Torres and Lieutenant Ayala, but once she registered their Maquis garb, and their angry looks at Captain Janeway, that relief quickly vanished.

"What the hell's going on? Why can't we contact the bridge?" B'Elanna said to Janeway.

"You'll have to ask her," Janeway said, pointing a thumb at Seven.

"Since when do Starfleet captains let ensigns tell them what to do?" B'Elanna said, looking like she was ready to hit somebody.

"Captain, meet your future chief engineer," Seven said as she removed the necessary panel.

"What?" both Janeway and B'Elanna said at the same time.

"There's a temporal anomaly affecting the ship, B'Elanna" Seven continued.

"Do I know you?" B'Elanna said.

"Not yet," Seven said.

"This is ridiculous," B'Elanna said.

"It's been that kind of day," Janeway said. "Seven, care to explain to me why I have Maquis in my transporter room?"

"Are you serious?!" B'Elanna shouted. "You're the reason we're stranded here!"

"If we could just all calm down-" Jadzia said,.

"Shut it, Starfleet!" B'Elanna said.

"Hold on," Janeway said. "Seven, I want an honest answer from you. Is she right? Am I the reason Voyager ends up in the Delta Quadrant?"

"The Caretaker is the reason you're here," Seven said. "You and the Maquis. The Caretaker also took the ship Lieutenant Commander Tuvok was embedded on."

"Seven, enough dancing around the issue," Janeway said. "I want to know how many people I lose after Voyager leaves DS9, and we are not leaving this room until you tell me."

"My god, you're actually telling the truth," B'Elanna said to Janeway. "That means you can fix this. You don't have to destroy the array-"

"Once we've repaired the damage," Seven said, cutting B'Elanna off, "time will reset to where I am, seven years in your future. I'm sorry B'Elanna, but you're going to be in the Delta Quadrant for a little while longer."

"Don't talk to me like we're friends."

"We are friends," Seven said. "In my timeline anyway. For instance, I don't hold it against it you that you decided to simulate a near death experience because you believed it was the only way to save your mother's soul from the Barge of the Dead the day before my wedding."

B'Elanna was suddenly speechless, sharing glances with Ayala and the other two Maquis in the transporter room.

"That's clever," Jadzia said to B'Elanna. "I could see Kang trying to pull a trick like that."

"The conduit is in place," Seven said. "We should continue."

"You still haven't answered my question," Janeway said.

"Captain," Seven said, "I don't see how the knowledge would be of any use to you, given that once we've undone the effects of the anomaly you won't remember any of this anyway. Your guilt over your decision to destroy the Caretaker's array is irrelevant."

"Now you're talking like a Borg," Janeway said, glowering. "I thought you were human now."

"I am both," Seven said.

"Okay, now I'm really confused," Ayala said.

"Ssh," B'Elanna said.

"If you absolutely must now," Seven said, "over one dozen Voyager crewmembers are killed by the wave the Caretaker used to bring you to the array. The Maquis vessel that was brought here was destroyed during a battle with the Kazon."

"The people currently occupying engineering in one of the other timelines?" Janeway said.

"Wait," B'Elanna said, "there's Kazon on the ship? Now?"

"Yes and no," Seven said.

"Let her finish," Janeway said. "So I assume the Maquis survivors end up integrating into the crew?"

"Correct," Seven said. "As I said, B'Elanna Torres is your chief engineer. Lieutenant Ayala returns to security division, which he was in before joining the Maquis." Seven sighed.

"And, as you may have guessed, your first officer was among those killed. Chakotay takes his place."

Janeway's jaw dropped. She turned to look at Jadzia. "Do you think it would be possible to reset the anomaly so that I can bring Voyager back to my time? To prevent-"

"Wait, hang on," B'Elanna said. "Even if that's possible, you realize that means you'd be leaving my people stuck in the Delta Quadrant right? Are you really that damn selfish? Destroying the array was bad enough but-"

"I understand your desire to protect your crew," Seven said, "and that the knowledge I've given you is disheartening. The loss of Cavit, Stadi, Fitzgerald and the others is not something you've gotten over, not even in my time. But what about Tuvok? Your oldest friend, a man whose youngest daughter you attended the birth of? You'd be abandoning him."

"How dare-"

"And what about Species 8472? Without your intervention they would present a threat to the entire galaxy. You suffer losses over the next seven years that weigh heavily on you, I know this all too well. But you will save thousands upon thousands of lives as well. Including mine. Including my adopted son's."

"If I may interject here-" Jadzia said.

"Shut it, Lieutenant," Janeway said.

"With all due respect, ma'am, no. This argument is moot anyway. I've gone over the data, same as you. When we repair the damage and initiate the energy surge, Voyager will reset to the time of the chronokinetic impact. Seven years from my and your time, Captain. I'm sorry, but Ensign Hansen is right."

The transporter room was uncomfortably quiet for less than a minute, though Seven was certain that it felt longer for everyone else.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" B'Elanna said. "We're fighters," she added, looking at Ayala and the other two Maquis. "If you need engineering to do this, and it's in the hands of the Kazon, well, let's just say I may not like Starfleet very much, but there's no love lost with the Kazon either."

Janeway sadly nodded. "Yeah," she said softly. "That's probably not a bad idea. We can rig up some phaser rifles with the serum."

"Agreed" Seven said. "We'll get to that once we've installed the remainder of the conduits."

Janeway sighed. "I suppose there's little point in second guessing a decision I haven't made yet. I just hope that whatever I did to strand us all out here was truly worth it."

Janeway had been told that her formerly private dining quarters had been turned into a mess hall by an alien she would meet in the Delta Quadrant named Neelix, so she was prepared to see other people there. What she was not prepared for was seeing it being used a triage. She saw numerous wounded crew members, all of them being looked over by Tom Paris, Samantha Wildman, and a crewman she didn't recognize.

When Samantha turned to look in their direction, she was surprised to see unrepressed joy on her face.

"Annie!" she yelled, running up to and throwing her arms around Seven of Nine. "Where have you been? When you didn't show up in sickbay after B'Elanna called for the emergency beam out I was so scared."

Seven took Sam's hands in hers and kissed them.

"I'm fine. It's complicated."

Sam looked over Seven's shoulder at Janeway and Jadzia, and frowned.

"Honey," Samantha said, "why is DS9's science officer standing behind you? More importantly, how?"

"Time travel, hon," Seven said with a sigh.

Sam winced. "Ouch. Say no more. I was really hoping we'd never have to deal with time travel again. Like, ever."

"Don't worry," Seven said, "at least there aren't any anti-Vulcan bigots to deal with this time."

Janeway wondered what the hell Seven and Samantha were talking about. She glanced at Jadzia who smiled as she watched the couple talking.

"Oh, they are just adorable," Jadzia said, seemingly to no one. Janeway sighed, and looked around the room, only to gasp when she saw Tuvok lying on one of the cots, looking badly burned.

She went over to him.

"Captain," Tuvok said through labored breaths, "I am.. relieved that you are here." He raised his hand, and Janeway took it. "I want you to know, it has been an honor to serve with you, and to be your friend."

Tuvok started convulsing.

"I need help over here!" Janeway shouted. The blue shirted crewmen who has been helping Tom and Samantha rushed over, Seven and Samantha close behind him.

"James, is there anything we can do for him?" Sam said.

"Not without more anti-radiation meds, but with comms down I can't get enough up here in time," the blue shirt, James, said.

"Live long, and prosper," Tuvok said, wincing as he made the Vulcan salute, before his eyes closed, and he stopped breathing.

A steady noise came out of James' tricorder, and he sighed.

"I'm sorry, Captain," he said.

"Oh no," Sam muttered, leaning on Seven.

"You did what you could, Mister Morrow," Seven said.

"If I'd had more medical training maybe I could've done more," James said.

"Sorry to interrupt," Jadzia said, "but I got the conduit installed. It was in the galley, like Seven said."

"We should go," Seven said. "Sam, keep doing what you can for the wounded. If what the Captain, Lieutenant Dax and I are doing works, everyone here will be fine."

"I hope so," Sam said. She kissed Seven on the lips. "Just stay safe."

"I will," Seven said. She and Jadzia headed for the opposite exit, while Janeway just stared at her friend's body.

"Captain?" Seven said. "I'm sorry, but we need to keep moving."

"Right," Janeway said. She slowly followed Seven and Jadzia into the turbolift.

"Captain, I-" Seven started to say.

"Save it," Janeway said grimly. "You've already made it clear I can't keep Voyager out of the Delta Quadrant, and I have to accept that. But I don't have to accept having watched my best friend die. When we do this rest, you make damn sure you use that six to seven seconds well."

"Yes, Captain," Seven said.

"That James Morrow," Janeway said. "I don't recall his name being on the list of Maquis personnel Tuvok sent us before he disappeared in the Badlands. Where did we get him?"

"He's one of the survivors of the U.S.S. Equinox," Seven said. "It's a long story."

"Even if it wasn't," Janeway said, "I think I'm tired of details. I know too much already, and I can only blame myself for forcing you to tell me. From here on out, just the bare minimum, please."

"Understood," Seven said. "As for what's next, we'll need a plan to retake engineering. The conduit in the mess hall was the last one we needed to place."

"I think I have one," Janeway said. "But we'll need more of that serum first."

"How much?" Seven said.

Janeway thought about it for a moment, and almost surprised herself when the mental images of just who she'd be bringing with her came to mind. Despite herself, she smiled.

"Oh, I think I like where this is going," Jadzia said.

Why the hell did I agree to be the bait? Seven thought as she found herself once again looking at Seska, and surrounded by armed Kazon. She did exactly as Captain Janeway had suggested, and told Seska the truth about the conduits and the anomaly, selectively leaving out certain details also per instructions.

"So you see," Seven said, "it's in both our interests to work together."

"Hmm. I agree," Seska said. "Let her go."

"You believe her?" one of the Kazon said.

"You ran the sensor scans yourself," Seska said. "You saw the same chroniton signatures I did. I must admit, Ensign Seven of Nine, that your solution is quite ingenious."

"I'm glad you are cooperating," Seven said, waiting for the metaphorical other shoe to drop.

"Oh, I believe in cooperation, so long as it benefits me," Seska said. "As I said, your plan was ingenious, but it needs a slight modification. Step away from the console."

"You know," Seven said, "just once you could try not betraying someone."

"This isn't betrayal, it's a modification, like I said. I will reset the timeline as intended, but I believe I can set it so that it ends up here, and the Kazon and I will still have the ship." Seska motioned to the two Kazon behind her, who raised their weapons at Seven.

"That is of course," she continued, "once we get out of you just how Janeway and her crew take back the ship."

Seven decided to indulge in the kind of smile she normally reserved for her family, but with a slight modification of her own; smugness. "In the original timeline, or right now?"

"What?" Seska said.

"Now," Seven said. At that, Jadzia Dax and Ayala from the timeline in the transporter room appeared from the other side of a temporal barrier, rushing the two Kazon nearest Seven, catching them off-guard and tackling them easily before managing to wrestle their guns away from them. The other Kazon tried to rush their position but were hit with phaser rifle fire from the upper balcony by Captain Janeway and a still-Maquis garb clad B'Elanna Torres.

"Kill them!" Seska scream as Seven went back to the console and began preparing for the pulse. More phaser fire came as a pair of Kazon who about to get a bead on Seven were taken out by grown-up Naomi and Icheb.

The rest of the Kazon were quickly neutralized by the other two Maquis from the transporter room, but not before Seska was able to grab both a fallen Kazon rifle and Seven of Nine.

Dammit, how did I let her get the drop on me? Seven thought.

Seska backed towards the main exit from engineering. Seven knew what, or rather who, was coming from that direction so decided not to struggle.

"I want you to replicate more of your serum, Captain," Seska said. "You will use it on me and my people so we can have access to the rest of your ship."

"That's not going to happen," Janeway said.

"Then poor baby Naomi is going to have to live with only one mom," Seska said.

"Really?" Seven said. "That's the best comeback you could think of?"

Before Seska could reply, Seven felt Seska's grip release as she yelled in panic. Seven turned and saw her past-self easily disable Seska, dropping the Kazon weapon to the floor. Seska tried to fight back, but past-Seven showed no signs of difficulty in holding her at bay.

"Resistance is futile," Seven said with a smirk. Her past-self tilted her head in apparent confusion, but said nothing.

"Damn, Seska," B'Elanna said, "your plan must really be shit if even the Borg think it's a bad idea."

Adult Naomi walked up to the restrained Seska, and punched her.

"That's for leaving me and Mom to die when I was a baby," she said.

"Okay," Janeway said, "no need for further violence. Secure her and the rest of the Kazon. All the conduits are in place. Seven- er, Ensign Hansen, are you ready?"

"I am. Thank you, Captain."

"Make it worth it," Janeway said. "Everyone, once the Kazon are taken care of get back to your timeline, ASAP."

Jadzia walked over to Seven, and offered her hand to shake. "Remember, I want a copy of your report on this mission. Don't leave out anything. I wish I could say I can't wait to read, but, well…"

"I will," Seven said. "I promise."

"If you make it back to the Alpha Quadrant soon enough, stop by DS9 sometime. I'll treat you and your wife to a couple of raktajinos," Jadzia said before following B'Elanna and the others back through the temporal barriers.

Janeway was the last to go, walking over to Seven.

"One last question," she said, "Is Samantha the only reason you stayed? I imagine at some point, at least at first, you must've wanted to go back to the Borg. It had to have been difficult for you to transition from part of a collective to an individual."

"It was," Seven said, "and while I do still believe you made some mistakes in how you handled it at first, I do believe I would've stayed if Samantha hadn't been there. It just probably would've taken longer for me to fit in."

Janeway nodded. "I can see that. Thank you, Seven. Good luck."

Janeway shook Seven's hand before going through the temporal barrier. Seven was now alone, except for some dead and unconscious Kazon, and a cuffed and gagged Seska, the gag having been B'Elanna's idea.

Seven waited for the others to have ample time to return to their timelines, and initiated the pulse. The warp core began glowing, the glow intensifying to the point where Seven was almost blinded, but within seconds she saw her surroundings change.

"Seven, how'd you get here so fast?" B'Elanna said.

"No time. Reroute power to the deflector," Seven said, "and set the polarity to the frequency I'm inputting."

"Why?" B'Elanna said.

"I'll explain later," Seven said, "after we save the ship."

Inside, Seven counted down the remaining seconds she had before she would find out whether or not this worked. Three, two, one…

The ship shuddered, but the warp core did not spark, and there was no leak that require engineering to be evacuated. Seven let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, and leaned back against a pillar.

"The deflector dish is burned out," B'Elanna said, but otherwise we're fine. That energy burst from the anomaly could've really hurt us. How did you- wait, never mind, I think I can guess." She shook her head. "Stable time loop?"

"Nope," Seven said. "I'm not sure how to classify it really. I don't think DTI has a page in the handbook for what I went through today."

B'Elanna snorted. "I bet they do, but whatever it was you saved us from, thanks."

"You're quite welcome," Seven said.

Ezri Dax read the PADD she'd been handed this morning with the message from Voyager. She'd been surprised to receive it, as no one she knew was on that vessel, nor were any acquaintances of Jadzia's.

She heard the sound of the chair at the other end of her table in the replimat and looked up to see Julian Bashir taking a seat.

"Sorry I'm late," he said. "Turns out the Breen delegation is going to arrive earlier than planned, so I needed to make sure the environmental controls in their guest quarters were in place so they wouldn't have to wear their helmets the whole time."

"Okay," Ezri said, going back to reading.

"What's that?" Julian asked.

"A letter from Seven of Nine," Ezri said.

"The Seven of Nine? From Voyager? I wasn't aware you knew her," Julian said.

"I didn't," Ezri said. "But apparently Jadzia did. In another timeline anyway."

Julian winced.

"Poor Voyager," he said. "Even all the way out in the Delta Quadrant they can't get away from all that time travel nonsense. I bet there are agents at Temporal Investigations just climbing over each other to be the ones who get to sit across from Captain Janeway all stone-faced and bureaucratic.

"So, what happened with Jadzia? I'm guessing there's a reason I never heard this story."

Ezri gave Julian the summary of what had happened to Voyager, or at least as best she could understand it. Even after being aboard the station for nearly three years, people sometimes still seemed to forget that Ezri was not a scientist the way Jadzia had been. Having access to her knowledge was one thing. Being able to explain it in understandable terms was another thing entirely.

"...so before they 'reset' the ship, Jadzia made Seven of Nine promise to send her a detailed report on what happened since once it was all done, she would have no memory of it ever happening since technically it didn't."

"And so when the next communication window was open she sent the report here, not knowing what had happened to Jadzia. Have you sent a reply?"

"Not yet," Ezri said. "You'd think I'd know what to say, I am a counselor after all. I just don't know how to break it her. Seeing as it technically didn't happen for anyone except Seven of Nine I have no idea how well they got along during the mission, but still. I'd hate to be the one to disappoint her."

"Well, she's going to find out sooner or later," Julian said. "It's probably best that it comes from you. She can take some comfort in knowing that in a way she did keep her promise."

"That's a good way to look at it, Julian," Ezri said. "Thank you. The current window's already closed, but I've got thirty-one days to come up with something. As for the promise Jadzia made in the other timeline, I'm thinking we should keep it, if possible."

"A double-date between you and me, and Seven of Nine and Ensign Wildman? I don't see why not. Might be awkward though, I believe Wildman's ex-husband is a shop keep here on the Promenade."

"Oh, no, he went back to his homeworld months ago," Ezri said. "But far as I know they're all on good terms so even if he was here it wouldn't be an issue." Ezri looked down at her food, and realized she hadn't touched it the whole time she'd been reading Seven of Nine's report. "I'd better reheat this."

Chapter Six

The ship shuddered a second time as Captain Janeway left her ready room and entered the bridge, the red alert lights already on, and the stars in the viewscreen shifting to indicate that Tom Paris had already started evasive maneuvers.

"Report," Janeway said as she moved towards her seat.

"A ship just de-cloaked off our port-stern," Tom said.

"Can you identify them?" Janeway said.

"They re-cloaked before I got the chance," Harry said.

The ship shuddered a third time.

"The energy signature of the weapon suggests a Klingon disruptor beam," Tuvok said.

"Are you sure?" Janeway said, looking incredulously as Tuvok.

"Continue evasive maneuvers," she said. "Hail them."

"No response," Tuvok said.

"They've de-cloaked," Harry said. "It's definitely a Klingon ship. An old one by the looks-"

The latest volley from the Klingon vessel hit Voyager hard, the ship shaking more violently than the last few volleys.

"Not old enough that they can't hurt us apparently," Janeway said.

"Port shields are weakening," Tuvok said.

"It looks an old D7-class cruiser," Chakotay said, looking at the monitor in the arm of his chair. "They retired those decades ago. We can use a metaphasic scan to penetrate their cloak, easily."

"Do it," Janeway said.

"Bridge to astrometrics," Chakotay said, "initiate a metaphasic sweep."

"Aye sir," Megan Delaney's voice replied. After a few seconds she spoke again. "Got 'em. Transferring the data to tactical."

"I have them" Tuvok said.

"Fire phasers," Janeway said. The viewscreen switched to a rear view, the aft phaser banks firing at what at what would've seemed to be empty space had Janeway not known better. The first blast struck true, and the antiquated Klingon cruiser quickly became visible. A second and third blast hit.

"Their shields are down," Tuvok said.

"Hail them again," Janeway said. She didn't doubt for a second that the rest of the bridge crew was as curious as she was as to what an old Klingon ship was doing out in the Delta Quadrant. The age of the ship suggested the Caretaker had had nothing to do with this. Likely this was a ship that had come from the opposite direction. But why had a Klingon crew decided however many decades ago it was to head this way?

The face of the Klingon ship's commander appeared on the viewscreen.

"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager. Stand down."

"We will not surrender to sworn enemies of the Klingon Empire," the Klingon Captain said.

Well, that gives me a vague idea of how long they've been out here, Janeway thought.

"The Federation and the Klingon Empire signed a peace treaty over eighty years ago," Janeway said. "A few... hiccups aside it's still in effect."

"You're lying," the Klingon Captain said.

"I'm not," Janeway said casually, "but even if I were, your ship is no match for mine. I suggest we discuss this."

"What is there to talk about?" the Klingon Captain shouted.

"The treaty for one thing," Janeway said. "You can have access to our database. You'll see it's the truth."

"Databases can be falsified."

"Fair enough. How about the fact that I have a Klingon serving aboard this ship?"

"Impossible."

"She's my Chief Engineer," Janeway said.

The Klingon Captain's brow furrowed, seeming unsure what to do with this new information.

"I will meet this chief engineer," he said.

"We'd be honored to have you as our guest, Captain…"

"Kohlar."

"I look forward to meeting you in person, Captain Kohlar," Janeway said.

The viewscreen cut off.

"So much for a 'you're welcome,'" Tom said. "Obviously I'll want to be there when he meets B'Elanna, Captain."

"Now, Tom, there will be security there, no need to be overprotective of her," Janeway said.

"What? No, not like that. I just mean it'll be hilarious to watch her kick his ass if he tries something," Tom said, smiling.

Janeway couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sure Mister Kohlar would not want to share that story with his crew. He wouldn't want to admit that he got beat up by a pregnant woman."

"Do you expect violence, Captain?" Tuvok said.

"Expect? Not really. But we should be prepared for it, just in case."

B'Elanna Torres looked down at her stomach as she rode the turbolift up to the bridge, where she'd then be going to the briefing room to meet with this Klingon Captain who had had the nerve to open fire on her ship right in the middle of a routine dilithium matrix realignment.

"Barely three months in and I'm already showing," she muttered. "I suppose I should be grateful that this is going to be relatively quick."

"I wonder if Samantha Wildman is at all jealous," Lieutenant Ayala, who was going to the meeting room with her, said. "She was pregnant for, what, a year?"

B'Elanna chuckled. "Just about. I guess you never know what you're going to get when you cross species like that."

"If I ever have kids," Ayala said, "I should look into the data on that, figure out what combination would be the fastest."

B'Elanna was prepared to lecture Ayala on how speciesist that sounded, but she saw his smirk and held back.

"That was a terrible joke," she said, but she was smiling in spite of herself.

The turbolift reached the bridge, and the two headed for the briefing room. When they entered, Kohlar, flanked by Captain Janeway and Tuvok stood up, and with visible shock on his face looked at her stomach.

Already with this? she thought.

"You are with child," Kohlar said.

Janeway gave her a look that showed she had no idea where this was coming from either. Tom Paris, seated on the opposite side of the table, tilted his head in confusion.

"Yeah," B'Elanna said. "So?"

"Did you conceive during the holy month of nay'Poq?"

"That's kinda personal isn't it?" Tom said.

B'Elanna decided to humor this man, more amused than insulted at his apparent fascination with her baby. She held up her hand to let Tom know that she had this.

"I have no idea," she said.

"It would have been fourteen or fifteen weeks ago," Kohlar said.

"Sounds about right, though I wonder why you think that's any of your business."

"I'm curious about that myself," Janeway said.

"I must return to my ship," Kohlar said suddenly.

"Aren't you interested in learning about the treaty?" Tuvok said.

"Here's a copy of the Khitomer Accords," Janeway said, handing Kohlar a PADD. He took it and glanced at it.

"Yes, fine, seems to be in order," Kohlar said after barely even glancing at it. "I must return to my vessel."

Why is he in such a hurry to get out of here? B'Elanna thought.

"Not until I have your assurance that you won't fire on my ship again," Janeway said.

Kohlar looked at B'Elanna's belly for a few seconds. B'Elanna and Ayala shared a look, her crewmate and fellow former Maquis fighter appearing to be as confused as she was. She looked at Tom, who didn't seem to know how to react to any of this.

"You have my word," Kohlar said, his voice dead serious, as if he was afraid he wouldn't be believed.

One minute he's shooting at us, now he's talking like he would be personally offended if we got blown up. What the hell is going on? B'Elanna thought.

Janeway nodded. She turned to Tuvok. "Escort Captain Kohlar back to the transporter room," she said.

"Aye, Captain," Tuvok said.

As soon as the two men were gone, Janeway looked at B'Elanna.

"Any idea what that was about?"

"Not a damn clue," B'Elanna said.

"Wanting to know when the baby was conceived," Tom said, "using the term 'holy month,' how quiet his tone got at the end of the meeting… If he were human, I'd think that he thinks our kid's the second coming of the Christian messiah."

"I don't know much about Earth religions, Tom," B'Elanna said. "You'll need to explain that one to me."

"It's the truth," Kohlar said to his crew, keeping his firm but not shouting. The last thing he needed right now was a fight. Most days he'd love a good brawl, it was a great way to relieve the tension of the long journey, but today was special.

"How can you be certain?" the ship's second-in command, T'Greth, said, skeptical.

"The scrolls say; 'You will find me after two warring houses make peace,'" Kohlar said, waving the PADD with the Khitomer Accords on them. "Our people and the Federation, our greatest enemy, are at peace."

"So the humans claim," T'Greth said. "These Accords may be a deception."

"The other signs are present," Kohlar said, smiling. "'You will know me, before I know the world,'" he added, quoting the scrolls once more.

"The child is unborn," one of the other crewmembers said, awe in his voice. "It does not know the world."

"You interpret the scrolls well," Kohlar said.

"We need to verify the evidence," T'Greth said authoritatively. Kohlar normally respected his second-in-command's skepticism but today it was terribly inconvenient.

"Your skepticism darkens my heart, T'Greth," Kohlar said, regretting insulting his friend in front of the rest of his command staff, but as much as he disliked humans, they had the perfect saying for such things; Desperate times call for desperate measures. "What evidence did our ancestors have when they began this journey? Nothing, but their faith."

Some of the other crew muttered to themselves. Kohlar could see he was already winning them over.

"Tell the others to prepare," Kohlar said, moving up to the step that his command chair rested on, making him taller than the rest of his crew. "The Day of Seperation has arrived!"

The rest of the crew on the bridge, including a visibly reluctant T'Greth, got to work.

An alert sound from his console grabbed Harry Kim's attention.

"Captain," he said, "the Klingon ship's warp core is going critical."

"How is that possible? Hail them," Janeway said.

Kohlar's face appeared on screen, his bridge's own alert lights own, consoles sparking in the background.

"I salute you, Captain," he said. "You did more damage to my vessel than my engineer thought."

He seems awfully mellow about this, Harry thought.

"We can send over a team to help you establish a containment field," Janeway said.

"There isn't time," Kohlar said, his voice lacking the urgency one would expect to hear from someone uttering that phrase. Harry checked his console, but calm or no, Kohlar wasn't lying.

"He's right," Harry said. "Their core's going to breach in less than thirty seconds."

"I'm requesting emergency transport," Kohlar said, not even flinching when a console near the back to the Klingon bridge exploded.

"Captain," Tuvok said quietly, but not so quietly that Harry couldn't hear him, which likely meant the Klingons could hear him too. "Their crew compliment is two-hundred and four."

Janeway sighed. "Erect force fields around the shuttle bay and transport them there," she said to Tuvok. To Kohlar, she said, "Prepare your crew for evacuation."

"Fifteen seconds to breach," Harry said.

"If our shields are still down when their core goes up…" Chakotay said.

"Go to warp as soon as the Klingons are aboard, don't wait for my order," Janeway said.

"Yes, ma'am," Tom said.

"Five, four, three…" Harry said.

"We have them," Tuvok said.

The stars on the viewscreen streaked as Voyager moved away from the exploding Klingon cruiser. As they did so, Harry went over the scans of the Klingon ship from before it exploded, and thought he spotted something odd. He forwarded it to Tuvok's tactical console right away.

Something's off about this, Harry thought.

"Commander Tuvok," he said, "could you give these sensor logs a second look? I could be wrong, but it looks like Captain Kohlar was lying about why his warp core went critical."

"Why would he do that?" Chakotay said.

"I will review the logs," Tuvok said. "If you are correct , Lieutenant Kim, Mister Kohlar will have a number of questions to answer."

"That's putting it mildly," Janeway said.

Janeway stood as a security officer escorted Kohlar into her ready room. Tuvok stood by her side with a PADD.

"You spare us a dishonorable death," Kohlar said,

Tuvok wasted no time getting to the heart of the matter.

"Sensor logs indicate that the containment failure was not caused by our weapons," Tuvok said, handing the PADD to Kohlar.

"You activated a self-destruct sequence," Janeway said, glowering at the Klingon captain. "I want to know why."

"It was the only way to get us aboard Voyager," Kohlar said.

Janeway had not expected this much honesty that quickly. She also found it odd how completely non-defensive Kohlar was. He didn't try to deny it, but nor did he seem too apologetic about it. If this was some sort of plot to hijack Voyager, so far it had been the most polite hijacking she'd ever seen.

"Why is that so important?" Janeway said.

"It's our sacred duty to be here," Kohlar said, sounding more like a preacher than a Klingon in that moment. She looked at Tuvok and could tell that he was as perplexed by all this as she was.

"I don't understand," Janeway said.

"More than a hundred years ago," Kohlar said, "my great-grandfather was part of a sect which believed that the Empire had lost its way. They discovered a sacred text. It told them to embark on a journey to a distant region of the galaxy."

"You've been travelling for four generations?" Janeway said.

"My people have always known the voyage would be long and difficult," Kohlar said, "but the Scrolls said we would be rewarded."

"How?" Janeway said, unable to suppress her curiosity. Religiosity was not an attribute she was used to seeing in Klingons, not even those who believed that Sto'Vo'Kor was real.

"We would find the kuvah'magh, the savior of our people, the one who will lead us to a new Empire. The Scrolls instruct us to follow them wherever they go."

"This is all quite fascinating, but what does any of this have to do with Voyager?" Janeway said.

"I believe the kuvah'magh is the unborn child of B'Elanna Torres," Kohlar said.

Janeway mentally kicked herself for not putting two and two together sooner. The way Kohlar has looked at B'Elanna when he first came aboard, his unusual behavior after seeing her pregnant, the questions about the conception…

She is not going to like that, Janeway thought, wondering how she was going to tell B'Elanna about all this.

"Tuvok," she said, "have the rest of the senior staff report to the briefing room."

"You have got to be joking," B'Elanna said, still having trouble processing what the Captain had just told her about Kohlar and his beliefs regarding her baby. She looked at Chakotay, Tuvok, Harry, and The Doctor, to see if they had as much trouble understanding all this as she did. "This has to be a joke."

"Considering they blew up their own ship," Tom said, "if it is a joke the Klingons are very dedicated to it."

"From what I can tell," Janeway said, "they take their beliefs very seriously."

"Couldn't they have just followed us?" Harry said.

"Apparently," Janeway said, "their sacred text told them to cast off the old ways as soon as they found this kuvah'magh."

"They saw their vessel as the last vestige of the corrupt Empire," Tuvok said.

"I was hoping our daughter would be special," Tom said, "but I never would've guessed she'd be a messiah."

"This isn't funny," B'Elanna said. "They might be dangerous. What if they want to hurt her?"

"To them your baby is sacred," Chakotay said. "It's unlikely they would want to hurt her. But we can always provide you a security detail if that would make you more comfortable."

"It would," B'Elanna said. "Especially since I'm guessing booting them off the ship isn't an option."

"Regardless of their intentions," Tuvok said, "the sheer number of Klingons aboard present a potential security threat. I would suggest we keep them confined to the shuttle bay until we can find a suitable home for them.

B'Elanna was inclined to agree, but Tom shook his head.

"That will bite us in the behind if we have to use a shuttle or the Flyer at any point before then," Tom said.

"There are children and elderly among their number," The Doctor said. "We can't just lock them up."

"I agree," Janeway said. "Assign extra security to every deck, and make sure the Klingons know and abide by the rules. The bridge and engineering can remain off-limits. Cargo bay 2 as well, though in that case I'm more concerned about the Klingons accidentally harming themselves than us if they try to mess with the Borg equipment down there."

"I'm sure Seven of Nine would be grateful to not have her regeneration cycles interrupted as well," Chakotay said.

"Here's another big question," Harry said. "Where are they going to sleep?"

"We can have some of our people double up in quarters," The Doctor said. "Others can take in Klingon roommates as well if they're willing. Also, there are some empty quarters as well that we haven't been using since, well… Oh, and there are of course the extra quarters we have on hand anyway for occasions such as evacuations of other ships, or for diplomatic entourages. It will still be cramped, but I believe we can manage."

"I'm putting you charge of the arrangements then, Doctor," Janeway said.

B'Elanna sighed. She still was having trouble accepting what she was hearing.

"I know this is going to be a pain in the butt," Janeway continued, "but until another option presents itself, we'll do what we can to make them comfortable. Dismissed."

Everyone else started getting up, except for B'Elanna who just stared at the table.

"You okay, B'Elanna?" Tom said.

"Not really," B'Elanna said, "but unless we get lucky enough to stumble across an abandoned ship Kohlar and his little cult can use I'm going to have to get used to this. I would suggest just dropping them off on the next M-class planet we find, but something tells me these people wouldn't want to be separated from their chosen one."

Tom gently squeezed her shoulder.

"I get that this is weird for you," he said. "I'm a little worried to. But I'm sure everything will turn out fine. After all we've been through these past six years, an obscure Klingon religious sect doesn't seem like that big of a deal."

"Yeah, you say that now," B'Elanna said, "but don't get complacent. We've survived the Borg, Species 8472, the Hirogen, etcetera. But that just means we have to be more aware of the smaller threats. With our luck it would be someone who doesn't even mean to hurt us who ends up doing us in the way the people who've wanted to couldn't."

B'Elanna let Tom help her stand up even though she didn't really need that kind of assistance. Not yet anyway. Her stomach wasn't that far out. But she knew it made him feel more useful.

"Well, all it took was two-hundred Klingons coming aboard," Samantha said as she maneuvered her bed into place near Seven's alcove, "but we're finally properly moving in together."

Seven almost laughed.

"At least we'll have some privacy thanks to the adjustable partitions," Seven said. "I doubt Naomi and Icheb will like having their beds out in the open."

"Well, there's only so many panels," Samantha said. "Besides, it won't be that different from when we were using my quarters. We can still send the kids to the holodeck if we need some alone time." Samantha added a wink.

Seven smiled as she shook her head.

"You do realize they know full well what we're doing when we ask them to leave us alone," Seven said.

"Definitely," Sam said, "but as long as they don't ask for details, I'm good. I'm perfectly willing to have 'the talk' with both of them, they just don't need to know the specifics about you and me."

"A wise course of action," Seven said, as she finished getting Naomi's bed in place and started re-assembling her table and cabinet.

"Speaking of our kids," Sam said, "are Icheb and Naomi spending any time with the Klingon children yet?"

"No," Seven said. "Icheb believes it would be best to wait until the situation with the quarters are in order, and Naomi agreed."

"And you?"

"Icheb's thought process is a logical one," Seven said. "I have not experienced moving homes on quite the scale the Klingons are right now, but I imagine it must require an adjustment period."

"Makes sense," Sam said.

Seven watched Sam perform her tasks, and wondered if now would be a good time to bring up a topic she'd been thinking about of late, ever since B'Elanna's pregnancy had been made common knowledge aboard Voyager.

She started to say something, but then held back. She needed to speak with The Doctor first. She needed to be sure that what she was thinking of was even plausible before bringing it up with Samantha.

"Oh, hey, Annie," Sam said, "I just realized, don't you have a bridge shift today?"

"I do," Seven said, "but it's not for another hour. I believe I can accomplish at least one of the tasks I am currently focusing on before I need to leave."

Captain Janeway walked into the mess hall, not surprised that it was more crowded than usual, but pleased that so far everything seemed to be going so well. As far as she could tell, the Klingons were doing a good job of adjusting to their new situation. She imagined their faith played a role in that, though wondered if that would hold forever.

"Captain," Neelix said, smiling as he walked over to her with a bowl of Klingon food, "You must try the gagh." Janeway chuckled, glad that Neelix was proud of his ability to recreate Klingon cuisine with limited resources.

"I'll pass, thank you," she said. "I'm glad to see you're getting into the spirit of things."

"Well," Neelix said, "I've been fascinated with Klingon culture ever since I first read about them. I've asked B'Elanna to talk with me about, maybe teach me something that the books just can't, but she made it clear she wasn't interested in having that conversation. I look at this as a learning opportunity."

"Thief!" Janeway heard one of the Klingons yell. She looked over and saw a female Klingon grab the collar of the male sitting across from her. "Touch my food again and I'll kill you!"

"Okay everyone, let's calm down," Harry Kim said. Janeway wondered if she'd missed him when she walked in, or if he had come in after her, but he and Lieutenant Ayala were positioning themselves to intervene if the two Klingons came to blows.

"He took gagh from my plate," the Klingon female said, before lunging at the male. Harry quickly got in between the two, and grabbed the female by the shoulders holding her back.

"That's enough," he said.

The Klingon female at first looked like she was getting ready to strike Harry, but then she got a different look on her face; arousal. This actually made Janeway more worried.

"You have a fiery spirit," the Klingon female said. "You will make a worthy mate."

"Oh dear," Neelix said.

"We should probably do something," Janeway said.

"Like what?"

"I'll get back to you on that."

B'Elanna Torres was dragging out her work as long as she could get away with, but she knew there was only so slow she could get before her engineering team would figure it out. She didn't want to admit that she was nervous to walk the halls, but it wasn't her life she was in fear for. She simply did not want to deal with the reverent stares of the Klingons. Or rather, the staring at her belly. The more she thought about the idea of her child being a messiah, the less she liked it.

"Paris to Torres," Tom's voice said over the comm.

"I'm almost finished," she said in reply.

"You said the same thing over an hour ago," Tom said. "C'mon, you need your dinner, then your sleep."

"Fine," B'Elanna said, finally surrendering more to her own hunger and sleepiness than to her husband. "I'll be there in a minute."

She picked up a handful of PADDs and handed them out to the rest of the engineering staff.

"Have Gilmore take a look at the replicators," she said, heading for the door as she walked. "They've already gone down once today."

"Yes, ma'am," one of the ensigns said. The fact that she couldn't remember his name right off the top of her head only further cemented how tired she really was.

"Alright," she said to the security guard assigned to follow her. She made it to the door, and nearly walked face first into a crowd of about half a dozen Klingons. One them gasped when he saw her.

"It's her," he said, and B'Elanna was afraid he was going to start genuflecting right there in the corridor. The others began chattering. She quietly stepped back into engineering until the door closed.

"On second thought," she said to her guard, "I'll take the shortcut." She walked over to a nearby console, and initiated a site-to-site transport, materializing just as Tom was putting out the silverware.

"When you said 'be there in a minute' you weren't kidding," Tom said.

"A group of Klingons ambushed me outside engineering," B'Elanna said. "I decided transporting myself would be easier than running the gauntlet of the devout." She went over to the couch and sat down, groaning at her sore back. "I'm starting to feel like a zoo animal for everyone to stare at."

"Well, at least you have a handsome cage mate," Tom said.

"How much longer do you think they're going to be onboard?" B'Elanna asked.

"I thought you'd be glad to have other Klingons around," Tom said.

B'Elanna scoffed, but Tom continued.

"You've always told me how uncomfortable it is being the only one."

"I guess I should be careful what I wish for," B'Elanna said.

"Maybe you should talk to some of them," Tom said. "Give them a chance."

"You can't be ser-"

The door chime cut B'Elanna off.

"Enter," Tom said. B'Elanna wished he'd asked who it was first, even if there was a guard posted outside. She was surprised to see Captain Janeway enter. Tom started to help her to her feet so they could both stand at attention, but Janeway motioned for them to stay seated.

"Sorry to bother you, B'Elanna " she said, "but I need your help. Ten of the Klingons have started a hunger strike. They say they won't eat until you meet with their Council of Elders."

"That's ridiculous," B'Elanna said, rolling her eyes and very badly wishing she could be anywhere else right now.

"Their faith is obviously very important to them," Janeway said. "Just talk to them. Hear what they have to say. I'd rather not have people starve to death on my ship."

"You can't just force feed them?" Tom said.

"That would be against the law, Lieutenant," Janeway said.

"They think I'm something I'm not," B'Elanna said. "I don't want to feed their delusions."

Tom sighed. "We're going to be with these guys for a while. We can't avoid them forever."

"I can try," B'Elanna said.

"Would it make you feel any better if I went with you?" Tom said.

B'Elanna put her hand on her forehead, feeling a stress headache coming on.

"Fine," she said, her tone making the 'but I don't have to like it' implicit.

Tom heard the chanting as soon as he entered the cargo bay 1.

"mobaR, DoH'lo maj, Qo-vuh'makh," they kept chanting over and over again, eyes closed, around an open flame. Tom wondered if they'd gotten permission for the makeshift camp fire, or if they had found a way around the fire suppression systems. B'Elanna let out a heavy sigh, and stood there, waiting for them to acknowledge her presence. Tom looked at her, at Captain Janeway, and back at the two security officers behind them. Even with all of them there, and none of the Klingons armed, he still felt nervous. And if he was nervous, he couldn't begin to imagine how B'Elanna must feel.

One of the Klingons stood up and turned around. It was Kohlar, wearing an ornate robe over his standard Klingon uniform.

"You honor us with your presence," Kohlar said.

"Look at her ridges," one of the other Klingons, an older one, said, finally looking in their direction as well. He sounded angry. Tom took a step closer to B'Elanna, ready to step in if things went sideways.

"Morak was right," the older Klingon said. "Your blood is not pure."

"No," B'Elanna said. Tom wondered if this meant she was off the hook for all the religious reverence she'd been getting. She certainly sounded like it to his ear. "My father is human."

The rest of the Klingon began murmuring to each other, many of them sounding angry.

"Couldn't you see this for yourself?" the older Klingon said to Kohlar.

"Yes, T'Greth, but-"

T'Greth cut Kohlar off. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

"It wasn't important," Kohlar said.

"Not important?" T'Greth said, sounding offended. Tom was less worried for B'Elanna's safety right now than he was that a small scale holy war was going to break out between T"Greth and Kohlar.

"We destroyed our ship because you said she was the mother of the kuvah'magh!" T'Greth said.

Kohlar took a step forward towards T'Greth, an apparent show of dominance, and yelled at him.

"Show me where it's written that the kuvah'magh must have pure Klingon blood!"

"The prophecy wouldn't lead us to a mongrel child," T'Greth yelled, turning towards B'Elanna as he said the word 'mongrel.' B'Elanna seemed to take it all in stride, but now Tom was angry.

"Hey," he said, "take it easy." Tom said as he moved to stand right next to B'Elanna.

"Tom, what're you doing?" B'Elanna whispered.

"Who are you? T'Greth said.

"The father of that 'mongrel' child," Tom said.

"More human blood," T'Greth said in an insulting tone. He turned back to look at Kohlar, disgust on his face. "Your kuvah'magh isn't even half-Klingon."

"I've spent half my life interpreting the scrolls," Kohlar said. Tom had to admit he was impressed with the Klingon captain's composure.

He's actually more calm than I am, Tom thought. I'm about ready to punch T'Greth if he insults my unborn daughter again.

"I say that all the signs of the prophecy are here," Kohlar continued.

"Liar," T'Greth said, sounding as sad as he was angry. Tom felt a tinge of sympathy for him, even if he had just insulted his wife and child right in front of him. "You've led us to a false savior."

T'Greth headed in their direction, and Tom reflexively reached for his phaser, forgetting he didn't have one, but instead T'Greth just pushed past him, dejected, heading for the exit.

"Well, that could've gone better," Tom said.

"Let's go," B'Elanna said. As she, Tom, and Captain Janeway entered the corridor, B'Elanna shook her head. "I knew coming here was a mistake.

"Lieutenant," Tom heard Kohlar's voice say. He and B'Elanna both turned around. "I need your help."

"Any more 'help' from me and you're going to have a holy war on your hands," B'Elanna said.

"That's what I'm trying to prevent," Kohlar said.

"Come again?" Tom said, wondering where this was going.

"Is there someplace we can speak privately, away from the rest of my crew?" Kohlar said.

"Briefing room," Janeway said. "You two," she added, pointing at B'Elanna and Tom, "follow me."

"Aye, Captain," Tom said, still wondering where this was going. He looked at B'Elanna, and knew her expressions well enough to know she was thinking the same thing.

As soon as the four of them went into the briefing room, the guards waiting outside, B'Elanna sat down and spoke first.

"My baby's just a baby," she said. "Why do you keep doing this?"

"You may be right," Kohlar said, shocking Tom.

"What?" B"Elanna said. "Then why-"

"We must convince my people that your child is the savior though," Kohlar continued, looking ashamed.

"So, why?" Tom said.

"We've travelled more than 30,000 light years in search of this savior," Kohlar said. "And in more than one hundred years we've found nothing. Nothing except for hardship, and isolation. When I saw Lieutenant Torres, when I saw that she was with child, I didn't know if I was looking at the mother of the kuvah'magh or not. Perhaps she is. But what I am certain of is I saw an opportunity to end this wasteful journey."

"So, you have doubts about the prophecy?" Janeway said.

"I believe my people have suffered enough," Kohlar said, looking at Janeway. "If they accept B'Elanna's child as the kuvah'magh, she will hold great influence over them." He turned to face B'Elanna again. "If we find a suitable planet, you can tell them it's our new home and lead them there. They will follow if they believe."

"I'm not going to lie to them," B'Elanna said. Tom started to think of something to say to try and get her to change her mind, thinking that it would be for the best as much for her own sanity as for anything else. but Kohlar spoke first.

"What's the alternative?" he said. "My people staying aboard your ship? Draining your resources?"

Maybe you should've thought about that before blowing up your own ship, Tom thought.

"I agree with B'Elanna," Captain Janeway said. "I don't feel comfortable deceiving your people based on their faith."

"Didn't we do that with a couple of Ferengi several years ago?" B'Elanna said.

"That was different," Janeway said. "The Ferengi were taking advantage of those people's beliefs to exploit them, and we put a stop to it. This would basically be doing the same thing."

"Perhaps you won't have to lie to them to convince them," Kohlar said, "not really. B'Elanna, if you study the scrolls with me, we may be able to interpret them in a way that appears consistent with the events of your life. Then we'll bring those consistencies to the council of elders."

"Well," Tom said, "wouldn't be the first time holy texts were creatively reinterpreted to serve someone else's needs."

"You're not making me feel any better about this, Tom," Janeway said.

"It is possible that the sacred scrolls were scribbled by a mad man in cave, or perhaps they were truly divinely inspired. I do not claim to know," Kohlar said. "Either way, they've guided us for over a century. If my people start to believe that the scrolls have led them astray, there may be violence. That much I am certain of. This is not a threat, it is a concern."

"I see," Janeway said. Tom figured it was an easy choice to make, and he wondered why both her and B'Elanna were so reluctant.

"You're doing everything you can to get your people home, Captain," Kohlar said. "That's all I'm doing for mine."

"Alright," B'Elanna said. "We should get started."

"The more I read these," B'Elanna said, stifling a yawn, "the more convinced I am that I'm not the mother of your messiah. According to this, 'the kuva'magh will be descended from a noble house.' I don't come from one, and I'm pretty sure my husband doesn't either."

"Hey," Tom said from the couch.

"We all have nobility in our blood if we go back far enough," Kohlar said.

"So these scrolls can mean anything you want them to," B'Elanna said.

"It is written that the mother of the kuvah'magh would be an off-worlder. Weren't you born on a Federation colony?" Kohlar asked.

"A lot of Klingons are born off-world," B'Elanna said, rubbing her eyes. "Interstellar empire, remember?"

"It also says you would've lived a life of solitude," Kohlar said. "And endured many hardships."

Tom whistled. "That does sound a lot like your life before Voyager," he said.

"Yours too," B'Elanna pointed out. She picked up one of the Klingon data pads scattered across her dinner table. "According to this one, I'm supposed to have won a glorious victory against an army of ten-thousand warriors. We haven't encountered ten thousand warriors."

"Unless you count the Borg," Tom said.

"That's a stretch, Tom," B'Elanna said.

"Nah, if I really wanted to stretch I'd bring up all the times you and Seven of Nine ran your favorite combat simulations on easy mode."

"Low difficulty setting," B'Elanna said, "and that was to help her work out her grief over losing Edwin, not for fight training."

"You mentioned the Borg," Kohlar said. "I read about them in your databanks. Did you not help destroy one of their vessels?"

"Me and everyone else on the crew," B'Elanna said. "By that logic Marla Gilmore or Captain Janeway are better fits to be the mother of the kuvah'magh."

"That could still count as your glorious victory," Kohlar said. He looked around her and Tom's quarters as if he was deciding where to put furniture. It was the first time he'd taken it in since he'd arrived. It was a wonder to B'Elanna he hadn't tripped over an ottoman or a chair yet. "Where are the images of Kahless? Where is your family crest?"

"They clashed with the carpet," B'Elanna said.

"Don't you honor any of your family's traditions?" Kohlar said.

"We do the Day of Honor," Tom said.

Kohlar nodded. He looked over the chronometer and smiled.

"There is one tradition we can honor together," Kohlar said, laying out his robe on the floor. "It is midday. It is time to honor the sacrifices of our ancestors. You can join us if you wish, Mister Paris."

"I don't think-" B'Elanna started to say, but Tom stood up.

"I'd be honored," he said. B'Elanna frowned. It was a source of annoyance to her that her husband seemed to care more about the history of her people than she did. The first Day of Honor they had done together, coincidentally the day they admitted their feelings for each other, had been his idea in the first place.

"Haven't you made a Plea for the Dead before?" Kohlar said.

"Not since I was a child," B'Elanna said. "And Mom, she didn't do it every day. I don't think it's been a daily ritual for our people for decades."

"The dead can't rest in Sto-Vo-Kor if the living don't honor their memory," Kohlar said. He went down on one knee on the robe. Tom copied the gesture without being asked.

"Perhaps there is someone I can plead for on your behalf," Kohlar said. "Who did you plead for as a child?"

"My grandmother, L'Naan" B'Elanna said, remembering the ritual now, despite not having performed it in nearly twenty years. "She died fighting the Tholians."

"Mister Paris?" Kohlar said.

"I don't have any names," Tom said, "but I'd like to honor the thousands of Klingons who died helping us fight the Dominion, back in the Alpha Quadrant. B'Elanna and I might not have a home to go to if our peoples hadn't been fighting side by side."

Kohlar smiled.

"I believe that," he said. "It would seem that when our people work together no force in the galaxy can stand against us for long."

Kohlar took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.

"Kahless," he said, "We implore you to remember those warriors who have fallen in your name. Lift them out of the cavern-"

"Of the cavern of despair," B'Elanna said, surprised that she remembered the words. The two Klingons continued speaking the words, while Tom remained respectfully quiet.

"And reveal yourself to them in all your glory."

"Remember Kolax, son of Amar," Kohlar said. "Remember Talij, daughter of K'Rene."

"Remember L'Naan," B'Elanna said, "daughter of Krelik."

"Remember," Tom said, "the thousands who died in battle to save an entire quadrant of the galaxy from oppression and genocide."

"Well put," Kohlar said.

Seven of Nine walked into sickbay, just in time to see Harry Kim leaving with a bandage on his cheek, but not seeming to mind it was there.

"Hi," he said. Seven pondered asking him what had happened, but then remembered there were Klingon females aboard, and decided it was best that she knew as little as possible.

"Ah, Seven," The Doctor said. "I completed that analysis you requested."

"I appreciate that Doctor," Seven said, "howev-"

"There is some risk involved," The Doctor said, seemingly not having heard all of what Seven had said. "However, if you and Sam do decide to go this route, I do not think your child will have any nanoprobes in their system. The risk is more in the delivery."

"Doctor," Seven said, "you're getting ahead of yourself. I asked because I was curious. Samantha and I have not discussed having a child together."

"Oh," The Doctor said. "I'm sorry I didn't realize-"

"I've come to realize that my contemplation of the matter stems from curiosity sparked by B'Elanna Torres' pregnancy," Seven continued. "I am uncertain that it is truly something I desire for myself, and even if I did I would not do it without Samantha's consent."

"Well obviously," The Doctor said. "Adjusting her DNA would be simple, but I can't do it without her permission."

Seven nodded.

"In addition," she continued, "there is admittedly a selfish reason as well as the practical ones. Sam and I have had some difficulties finding time together of late. Raising both Naomi and Icheb are the primary factors in that. I bear no resentment towards them, it is simply the reality of the situation."

The Doctor smiled. "You wouldn't trade away any of it though, would you?"

Seven nodded. "Correct. Perhaps once Icheb has fully matured, and Naomi is more capable of full independence, I will discuss the matter with Samantha. Until then, I think it best we keep this confidential."

"I would do so," The Doctor said, "even if you two were trying. After all, the DNA treatments don't always take on the first try."

Seven nodded once more.

"I apologize if I wasted any of your time," she said.

"Oh not at all," The Doctor said, smiling. "In fact, it proved to be a fascinating bit of research, trying to determine what effect pregnancy might have on you and your Borg implants. I started by-"

"I don't need to know the details," Seven said. "Not now anyway. Later, perhaps?"

"Certainly."

The next day, B'Elanna Torres, after a full night's sleep, felt she was as ready as she was ever going to be to make her, or rather Kohlar's, case to the council of elders. She would've preferred to spend at least one more day with the scrolls, seeing as it wasn't as though Voyager was in danger of leaving the Klingons behind at the moment, but Kohlar was worried that making them wait too long would cause problems not unlike the ones he'd hoped to avoid.

She passed by Harry Kim in the corridor as she headed to the mess hall, wearing traditional Klingon garb.

"Harry," B'Elanna said, "what happened to your face."

"Ch'Rega," Harry said casually. "She initiated a Klingon mating ritual last night."

"Oh, Harry," Tom said, "Sorry to hear that."

Harry shrugged. "Eh, I've had worse," he said, pointing to the bite mark on his cheek. "At least she understands what 'take it easy' means."

B'Elanna sighed. "Please tell me you're not in lo-"

"It's not serious," Harry said, crossing his arms. "Not that it would be any of your business if it was. We're all consenting adults here."

B'Elanna raised her hands in a gesture of apology. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I just figured… You know, Libby."

Harry nodded. "We've been communicating through Pathfinder," he said. "She's been seeing other people too. Nothing serious there either, at least not yet. I wish her all the best though if she does find someone. Right now we're still looking at thirty years before we get home. I'm not going to be an asshole and expect her to wait that long, and she doesn't expect me to either."

"Well, hey," Tom said, smiling. "I'm glad you two are having fun. You know, if this whole thing with the scrolls works she'll probably be leaving us soon."

"I know," Harry said. "And so does she, sort of. Ch'Rega's convinced they'll find a planet to settle on fairly soon. She's never been planetside her entire adult life. I think she's looking forward to the change of pace. The last time she left the Klingon ship before Kohlar blew it up was a food gathering mission. Anyway, good luck with your stories, B'Elanna."

With that, Harry went on his way, while B'Elanna and Tom met up with Kohlar outside the mess hall.

"Ready?" Kohlar said.

"As I'll ever be," B'Elanna said. The three of them walked in, and as soon as the formalities were out of the way, she began the prepared stories Kohlar had asked for, embellishing some of her own accomplishments aboard Voyager over the past six and a half years. And in other cases just making stuff up.

"..and that's when they beamed aboard the Flyer, weapons firing," B'Elanna said, walking around the table as she spoke, "Tuvok and Neelix fought valiantly, but there were too many Hirogen. I had to face ten of their fiercest hunters alone."

Most of the crowd seemed to be going along with it, though she couldn't tell if they believe her outright, or figured she was exaggerating but just didn't care. Hell, some of them had probably done the same.

"My phaser was shot out of my hand," B'Elanna said, finishing the story, "forcing me to take down the last hunter in hand-to-hand combat. It was a glorious fight."

"Indeed it was," Neelix said, as he poured blood wine into one of the elder's cups. B'Elanna silently thanked him for going along, wishing she'd had time to let him know what she was planning to do.

"Your ancestors would be honored," Kohlar said, smiling. He began pounding his mug on the table, and many of the other Klingons joined in. Tom did as well.

"You tell a good story," T'Greth, one of the Klingons who didn't join the pounding, said. "But that's not why you're here. Some say you are the mother of the kuvah'magh, the one who will guide us to a new homeworld." It was clear in T'Greth's tone that he didn't believe it. As much as B'Elanna wanted to agree with him, she knew that she couldn't. Not out loud anyway.

"Has your unborn child told you where it is?" T'Greth continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm, and a few of the other Klingons muttering in agreement with T'Greth's vocal skepticism. He laughed, and the muttering Klingons joined him. A few others did too. B'Elanna felt like she was, as one of those old Earth comedians Tom liked might say, losing the room.

"The Scrolls say," B'Elanna said, hoping her voice had the conviction that she personally lacked, "'You will follow in my footsteps before I have made them.' Yesterday we changed course. We are now heading towards a planet very much like Qo'Nos. So in a manner of speaking, you are now following my child to a new home."

Some of the Klingons, the majority as far as B'Elanna could tell from where she was standing, were nodding.

"You deliver the words we want to hear," T'Greth said angrily, "but it's Kohlar who gives them to you. Are you his puppet in the bedchamber as well?"

"Watch it," Tom said, standing up. "That's my wife you're talking about."

"He speaks!" T'Greth said with mock amazement. "I didn't think he had tongue."

"Oh, I've got one all right," Tom said, "and I use-"

"Tom, don't you dare finish that sentence," B'Elanna grunted.

"You see how he hides behind his female?" T'Greth said, riling up the crowd. The crowd murmered in agreement.

"Now wait just a damn minute-" B'Elanna started to say, before T'Greth cut her off.

"It is also written that the father of the kuvah'magh will be an honorable warrior."

"I've led a few commando raids in my time," Tom said. "That honorable enough for you?"

"Ha!" T'Greth said. "Would an honorable warrior refuse a challenge?"

"What challenge?" Tom said, crossing his arms. "You have to make one before I can accept it."

"I haven't made one yet," T'Greth said, smiling in a way that made B'Elanna very nervous.

"That's right," Tom said, "you haven't made a challenge. Just insults. And not very good ones at that."

Half the Klingon's laughed, and a few even applauded at Tom's comeback, but that wasn't a good sign to B'Elanna at all.

T'Greth did not seem offended in the slightest. In fact he smiled even more.

"True," he said, "you have me there Mister Paris. So I will make my challenge now." T'Greth picked up a carving knife from the table, and B'Elanna was ready to punch him in the face if he made a move against Tom. Instead, he stabbed the table. "You and I. To the death."

There's no way Tom's going to-

"I accept," Tom said, pulling the knife out of the table.

Goddammit.

Many of the surrounding Klingons cheered, pounding their mugs on the tables. The only exceptions B'Elanna could see were Kohlar, who looked sad, and T'Greth who kept grinning. B'Elanna wanted very much to smack that grin off his face. She also wanted to punch her husband for having done something so stupid. If she wasn't pregnant, she imagined she could easily do both.

Captain Janeway rubbed her temples, trying to will the headache away as she listened patiently to what Tom and B'Elanna were telling her.

"What was I supposed to say?" Tom said.

"How about 'no?'" B'Elanna said.

"They were all watching," Tom said, defensively. "There would've been a riot if I'd refused."

Janeway hated to admit it, but Tom was right on that point. That unfortunately meant that she had only two options; let Tom fight and probably get himself killed, or find a way to put a stop to this without offending the Klingons, who had her crew nearly outnumbered, and certainly out matched in terms of physical strength and experience. The latter was the least likely.

"What makes you so sure I'd lose?" Tom said. Janeway for a second thought he'd somehow read her mind, but realized that while she was thinking B'Elanna had been talking. Janeway mentally kicked herself for missing that.

"Oh please," B'Elanna said.

"Look," Tom said, "I have no intention of fighting anyone to the death, but wasn't the whole point of this to get them to believe that we are the parents of their savior?"

"This has gone too far," B'Elanna said, turning to face Janeway now. "We need to put a stop to this."

"I intend to," Janeway said. She tapped her comm badge and asked Tuvok to find both Kohlar and T'Greth and bring them to the briefing room. She had an idea. It was a longshot, but with any luck, when it was all over, T'Greth would be too angry at her to think about killing Tom. That came with its own set of problems, but as her grandfather used to say, "We'll burn that bridge when we cross it."

When both Klingon men walked into the briefing room, Tuvok standing behind them, Janeway stood up and began speaking.

"Gentlemen," she said, "I'm afraid Lieutenant Paris had no authority to accept your challenge. If you want to fight, you'll have to do it somewhere else. And seeing as we're a good long ways away from anyplace with oxygen-"

"I told you this pahtk was not the true father," T'Greth said to Kohlar in a dismissive, insulting tone.

"Want a blood test, you drunk piece of-" Tom started to say, but Janeway cut him off with a handwave.

"There will be no death matches aboard my ship," Janeway said. "I don't care how badly either of you want it."

"The father of the kuvah'magh wouldn't let a woman speak for him," T'Greth said.

"Have you forgotten we have women on our crew, old friend?" Kohlar said. "Each one as brave in battle as you."

"Klingon women," T'Greth said.

"So?" Kohlar said. "You did not specify that when you insulted Mister Paris."

"You knew what I meant," T'Greth said through gritted teeth.

"We cannot have a battle to the death," Kohlar said, "but we can still settle this matter like warriors."

Janeway did not like the sound of that, but she knew she had to let this play out.

"What are you talking about, Kohlar?" T'Greth said.

"There is precedent for an honorable compromise," Kohlar continued. "A non-lethal bout with blunted bat'leths. Victory goes to the first warrior to knock his opponent down three times."

"Seriously?" Tom said, sounding offended. Janeway hoped that was an act and that Tom wasn't going to undo Janeway's effort to stop this fight altogether. "Where did that idea come from?"

"A coward, no doubt," T'Greth said. "Even the human-"

"Was the Emperor Mur'Eq a coward?" Kohlar shouted, looking at both Tom and T'Greth with a look of deep offense.

"Emperor Mur'Eq?" Janeway said, genuinely curious.

"He was the one who instituted the rules," Kohlar said, "to insure that his warriors would kill their enemies and not each other during a time of great war, when the enemy outnumbered us by legions. Mur'Eq could not afford to let an individual warrior's pride to cost him a single man in that war, but he knew that honor must also be satisfied."

T'Greth nodded. "Mur'Eq was one of our greatest Emperors, during the glory days of the Empire. I did not mean to dishonor his memory."

Janeway sighed. She'd hoped to prevent a fight altogether, but she supposed this was the best she could hope for. The rest of the senior staff might think she could've done more, but as she found herself thinking a lot in recent years, she didn't want to push her luck.

"Very well," she said. "Tom?"

"I agree to these terms," Tom said, looking at Janeway. He then turned to face T'Greth. "I'll see you on the field of battle."

T'Greth quietly growled his response. "I was about to say the same thing." He then turned around and left.

"That could've gone better," B'Elanna said, "but I guess it could've gone worse too."

"I will train you myself, Lieutenant Paris," Kohalr said.

"I know how to fight," Tom said.

"I don't doubt that," Kohlar said. "But I've known T'Greth my whole life. I know how he fights. I know his tells. You will need that to win. I take no pleasure in this, but in order for my crew to survive, I must dishonor my right hand man."

Tom nodded. "There's no dishonor in doing what's best for your people," he said.

Captain Janeway nearly winced when she heard that, reminded of the things Captain Ransom had said to her to justify what he had done for the crew of the Equinox. She shook her head to clear the thoughts from her mind.

"Lieutenant," she said, putting a hand on Tom's shoulder. "In the future, talk to me before accepting any death matches."

"I assume we will be using one of the holodecks for the arena for this fight," Tuvok said.

"I've got some old Klingon battleground locations in my collection," B'Elanna said. "Never used most of them, my Mom gave them to me. Might as well put them to good use. Well, to use anyway."

"Look," Tom said, "I know you're not happy I accepted T'Greth's challenge but-"

"Let's have that conversation later," B'Elanna said, starting to head towards the door. "I'm not in the mood right now."

Tom sighed as she left, and turned to face Captain Janeway. "I really did step in it this time, didn't I?"

"At the risk of sounding mean, Mister Paris," Janeway said, "I can at least say this isn't the worst thing you've ever done."

"Thanks. I think."

B'Elanna watched as people started filing into the holodeck, the technology of the room managing to make people look further apart than they were. Crowding was still certainly going to become a problem though. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see The Doctor.

"Surprised to see you here," she said. "I thought you hated this kind of thing."

"I do," The Doctor said. "I'm here in an official capacity. You'd be surprised how much damage even a blunted bat'leth can do."

"Nah, I know," B'Elanna said. "My Mom taught me how to use bat'leths with a blunted one."

"I was under the impression that wasn't standard practice," The Doctor said.

"It's not. It was her compromise with Dad," B'Elanna said. "She didn't seem to mind though. I forget sometimes that the two of them actually did love each other at one point."

"Warriors, assemble!" Kohlar shouted. B'Elanna sighed, and handed the bat'leth she was holding to Tom, who was now dressed in standard Klingon warrior garb. Were the situation not so serious, she would probably be teasing him about he looked in it. She knew of some humans who could pull off Klingon fashion well, but her husband was not one of them.

"Today would be a very bad day to die," she whispered to Tom.

"I'll try to remember that," Tom whispered back.

"Let honor guide you," Kohlar said, holding his fist over his heart as both Tom and T'Greth took their positions. "Tagh!"

T'Greth began twirling his bat'leth around. It was a showy move, but terrible for fighting. If Tom had wanted to he could've struck right there, but Tom was holding a defensive stance with his weapon.

"I see fear in your eyes, human," T'Greth said.

"The only Klingon I'm afraid of is my wife after she's worked a double-shift," Tom said.

I will make you pay for that one, B'Elanna thought.

T'Greth attacked, several times, but Tom managed to block each blow with surprisingly little effort. B'Elanna worried for a moment that T'Greth was holding back to lull Tom into a false sense of security, but T'Greth's already sweaty face suggested otherwise.

A couple of times T'Greth broke though Tom's blocks, but Tom managed to dodge each swipe of the blade, ducking and jumping at just the right times. The battle went on for a few minutes, neither opponent gaining any apparent ground. T'Greth was starting to look tired. She glanced at Kohlar, who seemed to notice it to, as the Klingon captain watched his second-in-command with unexpected concern.

Tom must've realized it to, because he finally went on the attack. T'Greth blocked every single one of Tom's strikes, but only barely, and even managed to stumble once. He took a swing at Tom that, had it come from a healthy Klingon, probably would've taken Tom's head off, blunted weapon or not. Except it was increasingly obvious that T'Greth was not healthy. Tom easily ducked the attack and pressed his own driving T'Greth to his knees. T'Greth's labored breathing was loud enough that B'Elanna could tell looking at the crowd that everyone else heard it too.

T'Greth got back up, and took another swing at Tom, one so slow and sloppy that Tom didn't even have to step back to avoid it. After that, T'Greth stumbled backwards, and collapsed. Tom immediately dropped his bat'leth and went to T'Greth's side.

"Doc!" Tom yelled, as The Doctor was already pulling out his medical tricorder.

"It's begun," Kohlar said.

"What are you talking about?" The Doctor said.

"He's dying," Kohlar said.

"Typically I'm the one to make that kind of prognosis," The Doctor said, clearly annoyed at Kohlar standing over his shoulder.

"It's the nehret," Kohlar said, "It kills all of us who aren't fortunate enough to die in battle."

"I'll have T'Greth beamed to sickbay," The Doctor said. "You can explain more there."

B'Elanna touched Tom on the arm. "We should go too," she said. "I have a terrible feeling about this."

"I do too," Tom said.

"It's a retrovirus that destroys the cells by attacking the cytoplasmic membranes," The Doctor said, pointing to an image on the console next to the bio bed where T'Greth lay, still unconscious.

Captain Janeway, Kohalr standing right next to her, looked at image with concern. Virology was not her field of expertise, but she'd seen enough images like these from her chief medical officers over the years to know that this was a particularly nasty virus.

"Shouldn't our bio-filters have detected it?" Janeway said.

"This is an insidious virus," The Doctor said. "It didn't come up when I scanned some of the Klingons who came aboard after their ship blew up. The ones who would let me anyway. The point is though, it lies dormant and disguises itself as inert genetic material. It could fool anyone right up to the moment it becomes active."

"The nehret always comes without warning," Kohlar said.

"Is it contagious?" B'Elanna said, her hands covering her stomach protectivly, Tom holding her hand.

"Now that I know what to look for," The Doctor said, "I went over the data collected on the Klingons when they were beamed aboard. They're all carriers."

"Why didn't you tell us your people had a disease?" Janeway said, looking at Kohlar angrily.

"And why have I never heard of the nehret before?" B'Elanna said. "I imagine Mom would've told me about something like this."

"We do not think of it as a disease," Kohlar said, "It's more like old age."

Janeway shook her head, annoyed at Kohlar's calmness in the face of all this.

"Going back to B'Elanna's question," The Doctor said, "I'm afraid the answer is yes, it is contagious, but only to Klingons."

Janeway looked over at B'Elanna, and was saddened by the worried look on her face as Tom tried to quietly reassure her.

"I would like to examine Lieutenant Torres," The Doctor continued. "If you could give us some privacy, please?"

"Of course, Doctor," Janeway said. She grabbed Kohlar's arm with as much force as she could manage, even though she doubted he felt it, and all but shoved him towards the exit. She looked back over her shoulder as Tom and B'Elanna moved closer to The Doctor and began speaking to him.

She also thought she saw T'Greth's eyes opening, but figured it best to let The Doctor handle that.

T'Greth felt somewhat better after he left sickbay. He had convinced The Doctor to let him leave to prepare for his journey to Sto-Vo-Kor. Despite his medical concerns, the hologram had agreed to honor T'Greth's tradition. T'Greth did feel a little bit like a dishonorable liar, but he had been partially truthful. He was ready to go to his people's afterlife. But that was not why he wanted to leave sickbay when he did.

While there, he'd overheard The Doctor tell B'Elanna Torres that she and her child had the nehret as well. When he had struggled to get out of the bed he'd been put in, she had yelled at him, as if it were somehow his fault that Kohlar, his captain, had failed to inform Captain Janeway of the illness he and the rest of his crew carried.

He entered cargo bay 1, where the council of elders resided, and wasted no time once he had their attention.

"The child," he said, "is not the kuvah'magh."

"But the father accepted your challenge," one of the council said, standing up. T'Greth found it amusing that this man who was younger than him served on the 'council of elders.' The humans called it irony, he just called it an accident of birth. "He defeated you."

"I was defeated by the nehret," T"Greth said. "B'Elanna Torres and her child will fall victim to it as well."

"Impossible," the younger elder said.

"They both carry it," T'Greth said. "I heard from her own mouth, and that of their doctor as well. I will kill anyone who makes it known that I said this, but this hologram is by far the most competent medic I have ever met. I would be honored to let him dress my wounds and send me back out onto the field of war. If he says it is true, then it is true."

"The Scrolls say the kuvah'magh is younger than old age," the younger elder said. T'Greth sighed. Clearly this one had bought into Kohlar's stories more than the others, who merely listened quietly. As elders should. They would hear what he had to say, and they would decide what to do next. Though hopefully, they would listen to his suggestion on that matter.

"And stronger than sickness," T'Greth said, wanting to be angrier at Kohlar than he was, but finding he lacked the energy for it. "I remember. This means she cannot be our savior."

The council members all leaned close to speak to each other, T'Greth wishing he could hear their whispers, but not wanting to disrespect them by moving in close enough to do so.

"We should resume our search," one of the elders said.

"Kohlar and many of the others will not agree," the younger elder said.

"Then we must act alone," T'Greth said. "For the good of our people. We will wait for our moment, and when it comes, we will seize Voyager."

Seven of Nine wondered why T'Greth had decided to come to astrometrics, but T'Greth assured her that he was there to check on the progress of the search for a new homeworld.

She wondered why now of all times, especially with T'Greth being ill, a fact she couldn't avoid learning about even though she didn't feel it was any of her business. She shrugged.

"Very well," she said, and went to the main console to pull up data on two planets she had just recently scanned as potential settlement sites. She had intended to present these to the Captain first, but saw no harm in sharing with the Klingon.

"On this planet," she said as the computer generated image of an M-class planet filled the screen, "we found two potential sites for colonization on the southern hemisphere. I can prepare more detailed topographical scans once we've gotten a few light years closer."

"I think I should join the survey team," T'Greth said.

"Is that advisable," Seven said, "given your current condition?"

"I do not wish to die inside these walls," T'Greth said. "I want to spend my final days in honorable pursuits."

Seven nodded.

"Understandable," she said.

T'Greth laughed. "Not the response I expected from a human. I figured you would try to convince to me to keep fighting, to try and hold on no matter how much damage my illness did to me."

"Seeing as it is your illness," Seven said, "how you choose to deal with it is between you and your doctor. How I feel is irrelevant."

"Would you keep trying to survive?" T'Greth asked. "If you were faced with a slow death from a virus?"

Seven thought about that for a moment. "That would depend entirely on the context. What type of virus, the severity of the symptoms, the odds of treatment success… and how old my children were."

"Ah, yes," T'Greth said. "I have not met them but I heard there were children aboard. Both are yours? You seem rather young for a human to have two offspring already."

"Well," Seven said, wondering just how much she should share with this man she had only met today, and who just a few days ago threatened to kill Tom Paris. "They are not mine by blood. I still care for them as though they were, of course."

T'Greth nodded, looking back at the screen. "I see we will be in transporter range of this planet fairly soon. I should prepare. Thank you for your time, Seven of Nine."
Seven nodded politely as T'Greth walked away. On his way out he nearly walked into Samantha, who walked into the lab carrying a PADD.

After exchanging a polite but brief greeting with T'Greth, Sam walked over to Seven.

"Make a new friend, Annie?"

"Perhaps," Seven said. "He is certainly more… complex than his attitudes towards Lieutenant Torres and Paris would suggest."

"Hmm," Sam said. "Well, both Naomi and Icheb have been peppering me with questions about Klingon culture. Perhaps I should have them talk to him. Unless you think he might try anything like a fight to the death again."

"I doubt he would do that if he wanted to," Seven said. "He seems fairly certain his illness will claim his life fairly soon."

Sam frowned. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope The Doctor can come up with a treatment of some kind. At the very least we could save the other Klingons. And B'Elanna and the baby of course."

"I believe he will," Seven said. "I imagine in a few years Naomi will have a new playmate. Now, about this PADD you brought me."

"That, yes," Sam said, smiling. "Naomi has taken it upon herself to make plans for your birthday in a few months a little early. I figured you should know what she was up to so you wouldn't be too put out. I explained to her you don't like surprise parties, but…"

"There are very few things I would use the adjective 'hate' for," Seven said, "but surprise parties definitely fall under that rubric." She took the PADD and kissed Sam on the cheek. "Thank you for the warning."

"Well," Sam said, putting her hand to her head in an overly dramatic fashion, "I don't like going behind my daughter's back, but sometimes being a parent is about making hard choices."

"Do you want me to get your fainting couch?" Seven asked, with a wink and a smile. Samantha laughed.

"I should let you get back to work," she said, wrapping her arms around Seven as she spoke. She kissed Seven on the cheek and whispered an innuendo in her ear before leaving astrometrics.

"I think I am going to have a very happy birthday this year," Seven muttered to herself as she watched Sam leave. Once she was gone, Seven returned to her work scanning the planet.

B'Elanna's fingers twitched nervously as she entered sickbay, having been called there by The Doctor. He'd said it was urgent, but he didn't sound panicked at all. Perhaps it was good news. Not that thinking it could be good news did anything to calm her nerves.

"You said it was urgent?" she said to The Doctor, not waiting for him to acknowledge her entrance.

"I need to conduct a more detailed bio-scan of your baby," The Doctor said, getting straight to the point, something B'Elanna wished he would do more often. If he hadn't been smiling in that moment, B'Elanna wasn't sure how she'd react. But he was.

"You've found a cure? Already?"

"Perhaps," he said. "I don't want to get ahead of myself, but what I've found looks very promising. Even if it isn't a cure, it might be a treatment. And that's always a step in the right direction."

B'Elanna nodded. "Okay, do what you have to do." She walked over to the nearest bio-bed and slowly got herself into it, right when the yellow alert lights went on.

"What the hell?" she said.

"Doctor to the bridge," The Doctor said, tapping his comm badge, "what's going on?"

"The Klingons have taken over transporter room 1," Janeway's voice replied. "They're trying to beam the crew down to the planet. We haven't been able to stop them yet from up here but we've slowed them down, trying to buy time for Tuvok and security team to get down there. Sickbay is secure right now, but disconnect your mobile emitter just to be safe so they can't beam you off too."

"I'm not wearing it right now, Captain," The Doctor said.

"Good to know," Janeway said. "Stand by. I'll get in touch with you once the situation is resolved."

"I should go," B'Elanna said, trying to get up. "If they've cleared out engineering-"

"No," The Doctor said, "I need to do these scans. If I can fix this nehret situation maybe that will help resolve this."

B'Elanna sighed, and looked down, needing the physical reminder that she wasn't in much condition to fight right now anyway.

"Fine," B'Elanna said. "Make it fast."

"Captain," Tom said, "a bunch of Klingon just materialized outside the bridge."

"They couldn't beam us off so they're going to try and get at us the hard way," Janeway said, standing up and pulling out her handphaser. "Arm yourselves."
Janeway saw Tom stand up and pull out his phaser. She glanced around quickly and saw Lieutenant Ayala had his out and was already aiming at the turbolift doors. Two other gold shirted officers had their phasers out too, one at Harry's console, and the other at the main science station.

As the Klingons shoved their way through the doors, Janeway and Ayala each got off a shot that stunned one of them, his body falling in a way that blocked the two behind him from getting through. Ayala quickly moved to stun them, while Janeway turned in time to see T'Greth lead two more Klingons through the other entrance to the bridge, managing to duck the shots of the gold shirts, neither of whom were from security. Tom ducked behind his seat to avoid a phaser blast from T'Greth, firing back quickly. He missed T'Greth but struck and knocked down one of the Klingons behind him. Janeway fired her own phaser striking T'Greth in the chest. The last Klingon standing was taken down by a blast from each side by the two goldshirts. The fight for the bridge was over so quickly Janeway was pretty sure she hadn't broken a sweat.

"Bridge to Tuvok," she said.

"We have retaken the transporter room," Tuvok's reply came quickly. "There was only one Klingon manning the station, and there is no sign he had any other assistance besides the ones he beamed to the bridge."

"We took care of them," Janeway said. "Doesn't look like this was a large scale takeover attempt. T'Greth and a half-dozen, tops."

"That's barely one percent of all the Klingons aboard," Tom said. "I guess Kohlar and B'Elanna's stories had a bigger effect than I thought."

"Speaking of B'Elanna…" Janeway tapped her comm badge again, this time to call sickbay.

B'Elanna stood back and watched as The Doctor pressed the hypospray to T'Greth's neck. Kohlar stood next to her, while two security officers stood even further back, ready to move at a moment's notice if need be, and Captain Janeway standing next to The Doctor.

"Why am I not in Sto-vo-kor?" T'Greth said groggily as he sat up in the bio-bed.

"Because you are as healthy as a targ," The Doctor said.

I'll correct him on his pronunciation of that later, B'Elanna thought.

T'Greth looked confused. "The nehret?"

"Gone," The Doctor said.

"We have B'Elanna Torres' child to thank for it," Kohlar said. T'Greth's mouth hung open in shock.

"The fetus has hybrid stem-cells," The Doctor said. "They contain Human and Klingon DNA. I used them to synthesize an antivirus."

"The child cured me?" T'Greth said.

"Well," The Doctor said, smiling, "I was the one who devised the treat-"

"Doctor?" Janeway said.

"Yes," The Doctor said, "of course, the child cured you."

"The kuvah'magh has healed all of us," Kohlar said with unbridled excitement. If there had been some doubt before, it was long gone now. "She truly is our savior."

B'Elanna decided it was best to keep her mouth shut. She still didn't believe that her baby was part of some prophecy. But if T'Greth believed it, and that belief would get him and the rest of Kohlar's crew off her ship…

T'Greth had no response. He simply looked at B'Elanna, awestruck. B'Elanna didn't like that any more than he had looked at her with disdain and skepticism, but she accepted it.

"Kohlar, old friend," T"Greth said, "I am so sorry I-"

"That you knocked me unconscious and beamed me off the ship?" Kohlar said. "I think I will let that slide, T'Greth. Sto-vo-kor is not ready for you yet."

"But I acted so dishonorably, I-"

"Let's call it a crisis of faith," Kohlar said. "All is forgiven. Come, I want you at my side when we settle our new home."

Seven of Nine, leaning against Samantha Wildman on one side of a mess hall table, listened to Tom and B'Elanna who were holding hands on the other side.

"So he gave B'Elanna a bat'leth that had belonged to his great-grandfather," Tom said, speaking of the recently departed Kohlar.

"That's… nice. I suppose." Sam said.

"Hey, honey, how come you never give me a weapon as a present?" Seven said jokingly.

B'Elanna snorted, "Dammit, Seven, don't do that when I'm drinking something."

"Sorry," Seven said, genuinely apologetic.

"Well, anyway, like Tom said he gave me the bat'leth, but as a gift for the baby when she's older," B'Elanna said. "He made me promise to tell her all about him, and about Klingon history and culture."

"Like that was ever in doubt," Tom said. "Even if we hadn't met him. I think I'd be a pretty lousy father if I didn't make sure my kid knew where she came from."

"Good for you," Sam said.

"You know," Tom said after taking a sip of his coffee, "this is one special kid we're going to have."

"You're just figuring that out?" B'Elanna said.

"If you don't mind my asking," Sam said, "has this little adventure given you any ideas for names?"

"We have a list," B'Elanna said.

"Maybe something with religious significance," Tom said. "I mean, she is already the savior of an entire race."

"Okay," B'Elanna said, "one, not a whole race, just a warship crew. Two, you don't actually believe that do you?"

Tom shrugged. "There are an awful lot of coincidences to explain."

"I think he's got a point, B'Elanna," Sam said.

"Oh don't you start," B'Elanna said to Sam. She looked at Seven.

"Leave me out of this," Seven said.

"I was going to ask you about baby names, smartass," B'Elanna said.

"I was thinking either Sofie or Lucia," Seven said.

"You just happened to have those on the tip of your tongue there, sweetie?" Samantha said casually, gently stroking Seven's arm.

"You two have never talked about maybe having a kid together?" Tom said.

"No," Samantha said. "I'm not dead-set against it mind you, it's just that even if either Annie or I were talking about it, now is just not the time for a third kid in the mix."

"Agreed," Seven said. "Though i suppose I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it." She looked Sam in the eyes. "Sorry I didn't mention that earlier, Sammy."

Sam looked perplexed. "No need to apologize. I'm willing to bet that you were thinking about it lately because of B'elanna, am I right?"

"Do you know me that well," Seven said, "or am I just that predictable?"

"I thought Borg liked routine," Tom said.