Earth was watching the Vidiian guard closely, he was still sleeping. It was nearly a week since the Voyager kids discovered the Diezen betrayal, and the Vidiians had been working nearly non stop to come to a diplomatic solution with the Diezen council. Earth glanced over her shoulder. Conix and Gavix had logged into the computers mapping system and were analyzing every bit of data they could find. It had taken some time for the kids to rip off a section of metal wall covering and inconspicuously access the main system.
Kes and James were playing tick-tac-toe on the dusty floor over in a corner, while Marianna was sleeping in her bed. Naomi, Arron, Kathy and Kavik were all watching over the Telaxian twins' shoulders. Earth glanced back at the guard, still sleeping.

"Hey Earth, you might want to take a look at this." Arron called out in an undertone. Earth walked over to the screen while Kathy moved over to keep an eye on the guard.

"What did you find?" Earth asked.

"The mines all seem to run on a gaseous power system. Similar to a Warp Engine in power." Conix said.

"We've been analyzing the ore the crew is mining," Gavix said, "and it appears that the gas is formed within the stone." "Basically the Diezens are mining Warp Power." Arron said.

"How are they containing the energy?" Earth asked.

"They aren't." Kathy answered from her post.

"They aren't." Earth said.

"Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration." Conix said. "They are containing it, they just aren't containing it successfully. " "The entire mineshaft is a time bomb." Gavix said. "One well aimed phaser blast and the whole area for miles around goes up in smoke."

"And the crew is working in there?" Earth said.

"Yes." Gavix replied.

"Who was the meathead who came up with this technology." Earth grumbled under her breath.

"Someone who hadn't created the technology for themselves." Arron replied.

"We have to tell the Vidiians about this. We can't let them blow up those mines." Earth said.

"Maybe we want them to." Naomi said, earning her several bewildered looks. "If the mines went up in flames the Diezens would be distracted with the damage and would probably start attacking the Vidiians. It would be the perfect time to slip back onto Voyager and get the crew back."

"Sure, but if you blow the mines to the stars there won't be a crew to save." Arron said.

"We'd have to get them all out of there beforehand." Earth said thoughtfully. "But I'm not sure if we can in our current position."

"We'd have to make contact with the Captain or one of the other crewmen." Naomi said. "Could you do that?" She asked the Telaxians.

"Sure, we could do that. But chances are that the Diezens are watching the crew while they are mining. Contacting one of them could put their lives in danger." Gavix said. "Plus, they'd need to be using a tricorder or something similar in order to catch on to our frequency."

"How would contacting them make it easier for us to get them out of there?" Kes asked.

"We'd have to convince the Vidiians to stage a ground attack against the mines. That would distract the guards long enough for the crew to get out." Naomi replied.

"Unfortunately it's too dangerous to contact one of the crew, and even if we could the chances of them having any sort of technology are slim." Conix said.

"Do you think they'd force a pregnant women to work in the mines?" Arron said softly, thinking of his mother and unborn sibling.

"I'm sure your mom's fine." Earth said.

"That's not what I mean." He replied. "If my mom isn't mining she would be much easier to contact, plus she's an engineer, if any of the crew have technology she would be the one using it."

"You're right." Conix said while he and his brother immediately started working.

"Hey, guys. Sleeping Beauty is waking up." Kathy said.

"Alright. Gavix, Conix, lets call it a day." Earth said.

"Aye, aye." They said as they replaced the wall over the console they had been working on.


"So you see, if you take the mining facility by force you would have control over the largest supply of explosives on the planet." Earth said. She was standing in the Vidiian meeting room at the head of the long table. Several Vidiians were watching her skeptically.

"We do not have enough men to stage an attack." One of the Vidiians said.

"Not at the moment. But by tomorrow you could have a fleet of Vidiian ships at your disposal. All you need to do is tell them about the tyranny of Diezens. By betraying your ship they betrayed the entire Vidiian society, possibly taking hundreds of lives. They must pay for such an outrage." Earth said.

"That may be," a different Vidiian said, "but by proclaiming war we would be putting ourselves at risk."

"The choice of action is your own. I am merely explaining the most logical course of action to you. If you decide to let this disgraceful species get away with what they have done it is your own decision, and I will accept it." Earth replied. The Vidiians glanced around the table, a few soft whisperings took place. "Very well. We shall contact our allies. Return to the holding room." A Vidiian commanded. Earth felt like leaping for joy, she'd done it, the Vidiians were going to fight.


B' Elanna felt sick, very sick. She was going to have her baby soon, she could feel it. She watched from her position, leaning against the wall of one of the shacks, while Dolby attempted to access the Diezen computer, which B' Elanna had found three nights earlier hidden behind a pile of metallic boxes, the same boxes the rest of the crew had been storing mining materials in. She watched as a shower of sparks rained down on top of Dolby's head. B' Elanna sighed.

"Move away from the console, I'll take it from here." She said angrily, she really wasn't in any condition to brainstorm through a foreign database, but considering the alternative. She glanced over the system, it was far too basic to send out anything less than a distress signal.

"Well?" Dolby asked. The two had been hoping to access the weapon holding compartment, instead they'd have to hope someone helpful would drop by.

"The only thing I can do with this thing is send a distress call." B' Elanna said.

"Well that's helpful." He grunted sarcastically.

"It's better than getting electrocuted." She pointed out his earlier flaw. He glared at her.

"Wait a second, I'm reading a localized transmission from a Vidiian ship."

"Can you access it?"

"I think so…. Yes, here it is."

'To whomever is hearing this message, hopefully Lieutenant Torres or at least someone who isn't Diezen.' It was Conix's voice. 'We are all here on the Vidiian ship, in one piece, and are working with the Vidiians to attack the Diezens. Reinforcement Vidiian vessels will be arriving tomorrow. A land assault will take place at your location and attempt to take control of the mines, it is your job to get out of there and into hiding, the Vidiians should keep your guards busy. Good luck, and I hope someone from Voyager is hearing this or we're all dead meat.'

"I can't believe it. They're alive." Dolby said. B' Elanna was speechless.

"You there! Stop!" A guard roared.

"Did you get into the weapons compartment?" Kathryn asked as soon as she walked in with Chakotay and Tuvok. The Captain stopped at the sight of the two crewmen. B' Elanna had several burns running down her arms, and Dolby looked like he'd just been through a fighting match with an angry Klingon.

"What happened?" The Captain asked as she and the two other seniors started cleaning the burns/wounds.

"A guard caught us accessing the control panel." B' Elanna said. "We couldn't get into the weapons but we received a transmission."

"A transmission? From who?" Kathryn said.

"The kids. We heard Conix talking about an alliance with the Vidiians. They're going to attempt to take the mines by force, we'll have to hightail it out of here and get into hiding." Dolby said.

"And the kids?" Chakotay asked, his voice cracking.

"They're all fine." B' Elanna said, a tear of joy slipping down her cheek. Kathryn also looked overwhelmed with joy.

"Well, Mr. Tuvok, why don't you go and spread the news. Make sure they keep this as quiet as possible." Kathryn said.